Stealing Luca's Heart (10 page)

His voice trailed off as he seemed to suddenly be very tired.

She stood to straighten his covers. “Did you know about the governor’s office coming to see me with the news?”

“Just bits and pieces. It was good of them to do that.” His words were slowing.

She could see he needed his rest. She’d talk to him later about Saren.

The hospital door opened, and they both looked over at Simone and a young female nurse who was by her side. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to have him rest now,” the nurse said. She began checking Cal’s vitals and pushed a button to quiet the beeping machine. Simone quietly waited by the door.

“I’ll be back at lunch tomorrow, then,” Ally promised. “Don’t know what I’m supposed to do the rest of the day, but seeing as you’re the one with the tubes and bandages, you win.” She gave him another hug and walked out past Simone.

Simone turned to her. “I’ll be right there.”

Ally stood in the hallway wondering if she should close the door to give them privacy but decided against it. What could they have to talk about that would require that? She leaned against the wall and listened.

“Do the police have any idea yet who shot me?” her dad said quietly.

“No, they don’t have any new information. All of the farmhands who were working in that area were questioned. No one saw anything strange. We needed to eliminate them in case they were out having an unsanctioned target practice. Sean was out earlier in the morning on the trail with a small tour group, and he said he didn’t see anyone, either. We’ve managed to keep it out of the media. It’s very odd. That’s such a remote area of the farm.” She stopped, assessing her next words carefully. “Listen, we’ll figure this out.” Simone paused. “Lunch tomorrow?”

“No sense Ally hanging around here all day. It would be good for her to get her mind off me and enjoy herself a bit.” She heard a yawn. “Can you keep her busy at your place?”

“You know there isn’t much to do at our place, Cal, but we’ll try and entertain her,” Simone joked, walking out the door.

Ally and Simone rode the elevator down to the lobby in silence. She was grateful that Simone was leaving her to her thoughts. When the doors opened, Simone finally turned to her. “I received a text from Gabi saying she’s outside with food whenever we’re ready. We were going to have a small family dinner tonight, but I’m thinking tomorrow night might be better. Your sister will be here, and you can have a chance to rest tonight. Sound okay?”

“That sounds great.” Ally smiled with some effort. “I’m not sure I’m up for a big group gathering tonight.”

“That’s what I figured. Come on, I bet you’d love a hot bath, maybe a glass of wine, yes?”

She glanced at Simone. “You’re clearly a mind reader.”

Simone led the way out the hospital doors. “We tried to make travel arrangements for Tara for today, but she proved a bit harder to pin down. I’m sure your dad told you she’s coming tomorrow.”

“He did. Tara is little more unpredictable than I am.”

Gabi was waiting in her Jeep as the two women walked out of the hospital.

“Okay, ladies, how about some fish and chips for the ride back?” Gabi handed a wrapped parcel to her aunt and one to Ally as she climbed into the back seat. “I already ate, so just dig in while I get us home.”

“This smells great. Thanks, Gabi.” She unwrapped her package to discover that dinner was wrapped in many layers of yesterday’s newspaper. Ripping it open, she was pleased to find large fillets of battered fish surrounded by French fries in the greasy sheets. With her mouth full, she asked, “Wow, this is so fresh. What kind is it?”

“Snapper. Glad you like it. There’s a bottle of water, tomato sauce, and some napkins in there too. It’s quite messy.”

She continued to admire the landscape while she shoved the fish and French fries into her mouth. Gabi was driving back the way they had come into town and was now winding her way past the airport along the lake frontage road with the mountains on their left. Queenstown would be on the opposite side of the lake soon. The lakeside restaurants had their patios spilling over with people enjoying themselves.

Ally suddenly felt quite relaxed. Her stomach was full; her dad seemed as well as could be expected; she was surrounded by beautiful scenery; and she was in the company of two cool kiwi ladies. Simone seemed like a class act, and Gabi appeared perpetually happy. She also seemed extremely well-known in her fire-red Jeep. Ally lost count of how many cars honked a hello as they passed by. Gabi waved to each one.

Simone turned around to face her. “I understand you’re a teacher at a university in Iowa?”

Ally nodded. “Global economics, mainly, but I share Dad’s passion for green energy development.”

“I’ve been to the States quite a bit but haven’t had the opportunity to visit Iowa. It sounds like a very nice place to grow up. We’ve given Cal some information to take back with him that I hope helps the governor there. But it really sounds like the farmers know what they’re doing. Maybe use fewer chemicals; just my opinion, but that’s the way we’ve always done it. I do like what they’ve done with the wind turbines in the state.” Simone looked at Gabi, exchanging expressions that appeared more like a secret smile.

“Dad is really proud of those. His contacts with Eurostar agreed with him that the central corridor of the state was ideal for wind turbines. All of those are Eurostar-owned and operated. Wind energy development has brought in a lot of money to the state in terms of jobs and payouts to farmers who owned the land and leased it to Eurostar.”

“That’s very interesting. I’d like to talk more about the arrangement between the landowners and the state before you and your dad leave,” Simone said seriously.

“Sure.” She looked out her window, realizing that the road they were on was getting steeper and narrower. “Wow, are we going to be going much higher?” She scooted to the middle of the back seat, trying to stay focused on what was ahead of them. She noticed a complete lack of guard rails on the rough mountain road.

“It’s not too much farther. The house is off this main road,” Gabi explained.

“This is a main road?” She sure as hell she didn’t want to see the side roads.

Gabi chuckled. “This road does get interesting when there’s ice or mud. I don’t even notice the cliffs off on the right side anymore. Although, I do get a laugh at the sign over there every time I see it.” Gabi pointed to a yellow road sign on the right shoulder they were passing. It was a picture of a car attached to an open parachute.

Ally caught Gabi’s grin in the rearview mirror. She leaned over and peeked out her window down the long drop into a canyon. Forcing her mouth to close, she shifted to the far side of her seat.

“This is part of a larger canyon called Silver Fern Canyon that’s part of our property,” Simone explained, looking back. Simone glanced down at her fingers on the back of her seat. “Don’t worry, love, the Jeep is four-wheel drive, so even if two tires go over the cliff, we still have the other two to roll us out.”

She slowly nodded, not sure if that was a joke, but said a silent prayer of thanks when the Jeep turned the corner, leaving the canyon road behind.

“Almost there,” Simone announced.

Ally had seen photos of New Zealand farms, but the images didn’t do justice to the scenery surrounding her. They had driven into a wide valley situated between two mountain ranges. All around were lush green rolling hills climbing gradually up the mountains. Sheep paddocks filled the fields along the road. Looking ahead, Ally imagined that this corridor through the mountains could go on indefinitely.

Now she understood the pride this kiwi family had in their land. Knowing that they owned everything she could see and beyond left her speechless.

They were passing hundreds of sheep, so many she couldn’t even estimate their numbers. The Jeep stopped at a one-lane bridge to let a man on a four-wheeler cross first. As he passed them, Ally admired the Border collie on the back. The man had a wide-brimmed sun hat tied under his chin.

The winding road meandered out of the canyon and climbed into a small forest. It soon opened up again to showcase a lovely expansive modern home. More modern than she would have expected to see. As the Jeep slowed, she could see that the house was elevated on the rise to enjoy the best view of the entire valley.

Gabi rounded the corner on the circular dirt drive and stopped in front of the sidewalk leading up to the house. “Home, sweet home.”

Ally surveyed the two-story home with its cedar beams and layered rock trim in varying shades of black and gray. It appeared to have been built recently. There were also six peacocks walking lazily toward the backyard.

“This is the main house,” Simone said. “You look surprised, Ally. Is something wrong?”

“Your home is beautiful. I guess it’s a contrast to what I was expecting. I know you’ve had this land for generations, so I was assuming you’d have a home that looked older, more colonial. What type of rock is that?” she asked, pointing to the thin, neatly layered rocks forming columns in front of the front door.

“It’s schist, pretty common to this area. You sound like you have an interest in building.”

“More of a hobby, I suppose. I’ve been updating my own house.”

The trio walked slowly up the sidewalk, admiring the home.

“We built this concrete house ten years ago when Luca was beginning to make noises about not living with his parents anymore,” Simone explained. “So, we let the boys build or live wherever they wanted on the property, and we built the new house for us, with enough room for guests. It’s a little deceiving from the front. The house sprawls off in a few directions in the back.”

By this time they had all made their way up the stone steps.

Simone pushed open the wooden front door, stepping inside. “I’ll give you a tour and then leave you so you can catch your breath.”

“Hang on. Ally, this is where I say see ya,” Gabi said, hanging back on the steps. “I would love to show you where I work tomorrow morning, if that suits you?”

She nodded. “That sounds great.”

“Remember, I sell fun for a living, so we’ll have a good time,” Gabi said, winking.

“That you will,” Simone commented.

“You really don’t have to entertain me,” she said. “I can just wander around, count the sheep…” Actually, she had no idea what she would do.

“Yeah, right. You’ll be here for years. Remember, this country has more sheep than people.” Gabi said, grinning. “I’ll pick you up after breakfast. Wear something that can get wet.”

“Great, I’ll see you tomorrow. And thanks again for the fish.”

“No worries,” Gabi said with a wave.

She followed Simone into the house. She could hear Gabi’s Jeep tearing back down the dirt road.

Simone took a few steps and then stopped and turned to Ally with a concerned look. “On second thought, let me show you to your room so you can take a bath, have a rest, or just exhale. You’ve had an unbelievably long few days. You can get the tour when you’re ready.”

Ally nodded, looking into the main living area as she followed Simone. It was a long, open room with a vaulted ceiling and cedar beams running across the width. Expansive glass sliding doors ran along the entire length of the back wall, separating the rich wooden floor from the stone patio outside. There was a schist gas fireplace at the far end of the living area that soared up to the roof.

“Don’t you worry about mosquitoes or bugs coming in?”

Simone followed her gaze. “Not really. We don’t have a big mozzie problem. We leave the sliders open all day to enjoy the fresh air. We plant lots of lavender outside and that seems to keep the bugs away.”

“How interesting.” She’d never heard of using that before.

As they walked the length of the house, she admired the sleek modern design and furnishings. She knew from her conversations with her dad that concrete homes were very smart. The thermal mass from the insulated walls allowed for a constant temperature inside, used less energy, and were cost-effective to build and operate. Homes in New Zealand didn’t have central heat or air conditioning, so building them out of concrete made sense.

Simone finally stopped at the end of a hallway and opened a door on the left. “You make yourself at home. You have your own suite, so hopefully you’ll be comfortable here. If there’s anything you need, George and I will be around tonight. The kitchen is at the opposite end of this hall. Anything else I can get for you right now? Tea? Coffee? Something else to eat?”

“I think that bath is a good start. I’m ready to scrub off that airplane smell. I’ll get settled and catch up with you later, if that’s okay.”

“This is your home for as long as you’re here. We’re just happy to have you,” Simone said, giving Ally a warm embrace and turning back down the hall.

“Simone?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for everything. We’re so very grateful.”

Simone walked back over to her and placed her hands gently on her arms. “You’re welcome, but don’t you dare thank me again. It’s how we are here, and you’ll just have to get used to our smothering. Your dad has.” Simone gave her a wink and left.

Chapter 9

Ally walked into her room—noticing her “sliders” were open—and was met with an easy breeze. She looked around at the comfortable room. It was situated at the end of the house with her sliding doors facing the west. There was an inviting, queen-size bed with crisp white linens, white down comforter, and pillows
. I better not go anywhere near that bed, or I won’t get back up
. Better to work through the jet lag and go to bed local time. It was almost six p.m., so just a couple more hours to go.

A large, oak armoire stood against the wall to the right of the door. She smiled, noticing her luggage in front of it. These people were nothing if not efficient. She picked up her toiletry bag and went to get cleaned up in the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and set her bag on the sink. She glanced toward the inviting tub and noticed a metal bucket sitting in the middle of it. The bucket was filled with ice and a bottle of wine. A wine glass sat next to the ice bucket.