The Rouseabout Girl (20 page)

At last he got to his feet, stretching lazily.
‘
Better call it a day, lass, if you want to catch up with your beauty sleep!’

She rose reluctantly. ‘I guess.’ She was switching off the standard light in a co
rn
er of the room when an odd gasping sound startled her and she turned
and saw
that Sandy was slumped back on the settee, his face pallid and a grey tinge around his lips. She had to bend low to catch his muttered words, ‘Pills ... my room.’ She was gone in a flash, running along the passage, flinging open the door to his room and switching on the light with trembling fingers. Where would a man keep his life-saving medication? On the bureau—nothing there. The front drawer? The small box was in full view and snatching it up she ran back along the hall. ‘Please,
please
, God,’ she prayed, let me be in time!’

For a dreadful moment, seeing the inert figure, she had a sickening feeling that she was too late, then with shaking fingers she forced the pill through Sandy’s colourless lips. ‘Sit up, Sandy, try to sit up!’ She cradled his head in her arms.

‘I
’m—okay.’ His voice was no more than a whisper.

‘What’s this?’ Jard’s terse tones reached her from the doorway, then the next moment he was at her side, his gazing moving from the pills scattered over the floor to Sandy’s ghastly features. ‘A heart attack? Dad! Wake up! Wake up!’

‘It’s all right,’ Lanie told him on a great sigh of relief.
‘I’ve seen him this way before, and if he gets the pills in time
—
’

He was scarcely listening to her, she realised the next minute. She had never seen him like this, his eyes dark with shock, his voice stricken. ‘You’ll be fine, Dad, you’ll get over this!’

Sandy’s eyelids fluttered and a light of recognition flickered in his eyes. ‘Jard! What the hell are you doing back here?’ With an effort he raised his head then essayed a weak grin. ‘Not to worry. Lanie knows how to look after me.’ His low tones strengthened. ‘She’s had a bit of practice in saving my life. Have to ... let him into our little secret, eh, Lanie? No use trying to cover up any longer about that other time when I came to grief at the shareholders’ meeting in town and you took me home and looked after me.’

Jard was gazing towards her. ‘Is that true?’ His tone was laced with urgency as if the matter were very important to him. ‘Tell me, Lanie, what does he mean?’ Before she could answer he had gently drawn her to her feet. ‘S
o
that’s why he was at your f
l
at in town? That’s why he insisted on bringing you down here to work for us? You fooled me, Dad,’ the gaze he bent on Sandy was a mixture of love and tenderness and anger all mixed up, Lanie thought. ‘And you,’ his voice softened and there was a tenderness in it that made her pulses
leap, ‘you didn’t let on
—
’

‘My fault!’ Sandy’s voice was gaining strength with every moment. ‘She was doing it to protect me. I didn’t want you to know you had a sick old man on your hands. But so long as I've got medication, and Lanie here, I’ll be right as rain! That’s why I want her to stay here for as long as she likes. Had ideas,’ he managed a wink in his son’s direction, ‘that things might have
worked out that way
—
’

‘Leave that part of it to me!’ said Jard. There was a triumphant, excited ring in his voice that Lanie couldn’t understand. Unless Paula—Her spirits dropped with a plop, why must she keep forgetting about the other girl? ‘I’ll be as good as gold now,’ Sandy was saying
weakly. ‘A good night’s sleep and you’ll never know this had happened. I don’t need any help, thanks.’ Slowly he got to his feet. ‘You stay with Lanie, Jard. She’s the one we have to look after!’

‘I intend to. Don’t go away, Lanie!’ His eyes flashed a message and there was something in his exultant glance that sent excitement singing along her veins. As she watched him helping Sandy out of the room, despite the older man’s protestations, she told herself that she had no intention of going away just now, not with Jard speaking to her in that tone of voice, as though he were promising her something ... something wonderful. But of course—she made an effort to wrench her whirling senses back to sanity—probably he-merely wanted to thank her for being at hand when Sandy was urgently in need of medication. There she went again, she scolded herself, dreaming up incredible, heavenly things all because of a few carelessly spoken words, forgetting all about ordinary matters like reaction after shock
—
and gratitude.

‘He’ll be all right now.’ He was hurrying towards her.
‘Lanie
—
’ Suddenly she was trembling, avoiding his
gaze for fear he might glimpse the emotion that showed in her eyes. He was at her side, taking her small tanned hand in his, pressing her fingers to
h
is lips. ‘I should
have known
—
’

A shiver of delight went through her. He knew all about her and Sandy and at last he understood! Then common sense returned with a rush and she heard herself saying in a low tone, ‘Paula? You didn’t bring her back with you from the party?’

His encircling arm drew her close and his deep chuckle reached her through a tide of happiness that was engulfing her senses. ‘Don’t worry about Paula! Believe me, it suited her very well to have no transport back here tonight ... all part of the project!’

‘Project? A wild hope was surging through her.

‘Sure!’ His encircling arm was drawing her closer. ‘Paula’s a great girl for the men, but somehow or other she always seems to get herself involved with the type of guy she can lead around by the nose. That is, until she fell in love with her own farm manager, and with Mike she met her match! He
’
s not the sort of man she could twist around her finger. They used to fight like mad, then six months ago they finished up with a blazing row and he took off the next day. She put another manager in his place, a married man with a family, but I guess the old magic still holds, and that’s why Paula spends so much of her time around here when she could be tripping around the world attending different horse shows. Both she and Mike are as proud as hell and neither will ever make the first move to get together again, but Mike’s parents and brothers live not far from here and I guess Paula’s always been hoping that she might run into Mike one of these days and put things right between them without losing face!’

'So that was why—’ The words escaped Lanie’s lips before she could stop them and swiftly she clapped a hand to her mouth.

It was too late. ‘Good grief!’ His tone was incredulous. ‘You didn’t get the idea she was hanging around here on my account?’

She threw him an expressive glance from laughing
green eyes. ‘Well
—
’

He drew her into his arms. ‘Shall I show you how I feel about the only girl in the world I’m interested in?’ He bent his head and as his seeking lips found hers she was aware of nothing else in the passionate excitement of his kiss.

A long time later he flicked a finger over her small blunt nose.
‘
Looks like it’s time we got to know each other, sorted things out. Things,’ his voice was very soft, ‘like my being jealous as hell about you and Sandy. And you,’ he grinned, ‘getting all het up about nothing at all—Lanie, my little love,’ all at once his voice was husky with emotion and his lips on hers sent fire coursing through her veins, ‘I’ve wanted you so. I love you.
I
can’t get along without you. Say you’ll stay here with me for ever ’

‘I love you too
,’
she whispered over the joy that was surging through her.

‘And you’ll marry me?’ he urged against her lips.

She threw pretence to the winds. ‘Just as soon as you like!’

Then once again his seeking lips found hers, sending her world spinning out of orbit, and she was aware only of his voice, low and infinitely tender. ‘I love you, my darling ... love you
...’

Harlequin
Pl
us

A WORD ABOU
T
THE AUTHOR

Gloria Bevan has been writing stories ever since she can remember. Painting is her second love, and when writing she sees the scenes of a story in a series of “mind pictures.
”

Although she was born in a small gold-mining town in Australia, she regards herself as a New Zealander, having come to New Zealand as a small child. She lives in a suburb of Auckland, and through the window of the room in which she writes she can see a vista of sea and the shadowy blue of distant hills.

The mother of three grown daughters, she and her husband, a building inspector, enjoy exploring different areas of the country. Sometimes a story is born in these new surroundings. What else sparks off an idea? “Almost anything can do the trick,” Gloria Bevan explains. “It could be a scrap of conversation overheard on a bus that starts the imagination working.”