Worth the Risk (7 page)

‘Don’t tell me—no running water and rats in the cupboards?’ Sean chuckled and strolled over to the huge glass window which stretched up into the eaves. His legs planted slightly apart, he stared into the darkness. ‘This must be a view and a half. Which fells can you see in daylight?’

‘The Langdales,’ Ally muttered, averting her eyes from those powerful shoulders. He was standing directly in front of her and she was ridiculously aware of how close he was. Almost close enough to touch… She closed her eyes and cursed herself. She didn’t want to touch him. Not even with the aid of a long bargepole. He was trouble. ‘You get the same view from the bedroom.’

The minute she’d said it she could have bitten her tongue off.

Sean turned slowly and gave her a lazy smile which seriously compromised her heart rate. ‘I’m not generally that bothered about the view from the bedroom.’

Ally’s face coloured but she ignored the implication and walked briskly towards the kitchen. ‘The bathroom’s through there and this is the kitchen. It’s not big but it should have everything you need.’

Sean stepped in behind her and immediately she wished she’d just left him to find it himself. This kitchen wasn’t big enough for two people. At least not when one of them was Sean Nicholson.

‘This place is fantastic. Did you convert it yourself?’

She shook her head. ‘A local builder did it for me. Then I lived in here while he converted the barn next door.’

‘He did a good job.’ He tilted his head to look at the rafters. ‘It’s the perfect rental property, isn’t it? Totally private.’

She hoped so. She sincerely hoped so. Living too close to this man would play havoc with her sanity. She must have been mad to let Will bully her into it. And why couldn’t she bring herself to tell him she’d changed her mind?

‘So you’ve had lodgers ever since you built it?’

‘Yes.’ She stared out of the kitchen window into the darkness. ‘My parents owned it years ago, then they decided to sell most of the land around here and they gave my sister and me the barn.’

‘But your sister doesn’t live here now?’

Ally stood without moving. ‘My sister died.’

There was a moment’s silence. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be.’ She blinked at the quiet sympathy in his voice and gave him a wan smile. ‘It was a long time ago.’

‘And the barn was derelict?’ He strolled out of the kitchen and ran a finger along the wall, following the line of the exposed brickwork.

She gave a short laugh and followed him, grateful that he hadn’t dwelt on the subject of her sister. Maybe he had more sensitivity than she’d given him credit for. ‘Oh, yes, completely derelict. Converting it was a massive job. Hence the lodgers.’

‘When did your last lodger leave?’

‘Fiona?’ Ally closed the kitchen door and brushed a blonde strand out of her eyes. ‘A month ago. She was offered a job in London and snapped it up. Like most people, she couldn’t wait to get away from rural Cumbria.’

Sean glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. ‘Most people maybe, but not you.’

She shrugged and walked over to the cosy living area. ‘I was never a lover of bright lights and city streets even when I was young. I’m a mountain, outdoor type so this place suits me perfectly.’

‘When you were young?’ His mouth quirked and he leaned casually against the wall, watching her steadily. ‘And you are now in your dotage, of course?’

Ally gave him a reluctant smile. She felt as old as the hills but maybe that was just inside. Obviously the trauma of recent events hadn’t aged her externally.

‘Well, let’s just say I’m certainly past needing the excitement of a big city.’

‘And what about other types of excitement, Ally? Are you past needing those, too?’

He wasn’t leaning against the wall any more. Somehow he’d managed to move close to her without her even noticing. ‘I’m happy with my life here, Dr Nicholson.’

Sean pulled a face. ‘Can we drop the formality? You make me feel as though I’m in the middle of a ward round.’

She didn’t want to drop the formality. Formality made her feel safer. First names made things more intimate and that was the last thing she wanted. ‘I would have thought you liked formality, having been in the army.’

He shrugged those wide shoulders. ‘I left, didn’t I? Frankly, I was never really into hiding behind rank and titles. Not my style. So, are you going to let me rent this fabulous place or…’ he paused slightly and his eyes gleamed ‘…do you need to check with Charlie?’

Charlie? Oh, goodness, she’d forgotten about Charlie! Why on earth had she misled him? She was going to have to confess before he found out for himself.

She swallowed. ‘Dr Nicholson—I mean, Sean—there’s something I ought to tell you—’

The sound of a car on the gravel outside interrupted them and she closed her eyes. Oh, great. Well, that was that. So much for her confession.

Sean glanced through the hall window. ‘You’ve got visitors.’

Not visitors. Residents.

At that moment the door opened and Charlie rushed in, her hair flying and cheeks pink from the cold.

‘Mum—what are you doing in here? There’s a brilliant motorbike outside and—’ She stopped dead when she saw Sean, her expression wary. ‘Who’s that?’

Ally swallowed, too flustered to comment on Charlie’s lack of manners. ‘This is Dr Nicholson, sweetheart. He’s going to be working at the surgery for a while and Uncle Will thought he could stay in our stable. Where’s Grandma?’

‘She said to tell you she’d ring you later. She’s gone because Princess is calving. I wanted to stay but she said no.’ Charlie stared at Sean. ‘Is that your motorbike?’

‘It is.’ Sean returned her gaze steadily, his face expressionless as his eyes flickered over the blonde hair and huge blue eyes.

‘Can I have a ride on it?’

‘No, you can’t!!’ Ally said quickly, careful not to catch Sean’s eye. ‘Come on, let’s go next door. If you hurry up you can still catch Blue Peter.’

‘Aren’t you going to introduce us?’ Sean’s voice was velvety smooth and Ally took a deep breath and forced herself to look at him. It was a mistake. Her heart slammed against her chest as she met those dark eyes.

‘This is my daughter, Charlotte.’

‘Known as Charlie, no doubt.’

Charlie stared at him. ‘How did you know that?’

Sean’s eyes were still on Ally. ‘Call it intuition.’

‘What’s intu—?’

‘Just go next door, Charlie,’ Ally interrupted quickly, stooping to pick up the abandoned schoolbag in an attempt to conceal her flushed face. ‘We’ve finished in here anyway, so I’ll just get Dr Nicholson the keys and then he can move in when he likes.’

‘Great.’ Charlie bounced out in front of them. ‘Wait till Karen sees that motorbike.’

Ally locked the door with trembling hands, aware that Sean was still watching her. When she risked a glance in his direction her heart tumbled frantically. Dear God, why did the man make her so nervous? She’d met attractive men before and not even given them a second glance. Why was Sean Nicholson different? Why did he affect her so badly? Still, at least this time she hadn’t dropped the keys. With a huge effort she pulled herself together. He was just a man. A handsome one maybe, but a man nonetheless, with all the selfish, self-centred attributes that went with the territory. She could handle him. She could.

She unlocked the door of the barn and Hero bounded up, tail wagging. Charlie immediately shot off to her bedroom, dragging the dog with her, leaving her alone with Sean.

Her heart thudding in her chest, Ally walked briskly over to the kitchen and tugged open one of the drawers.

‘You’ll need a set of keys.’

Sean lounged in the doorway, his eyes flickering briefly to the keys that she dropped onto the kitchen table. ‘So you’re happy for me to move in, then?’

‘Happy?’ Ally closed the drawer with a thump. ‘No, I’m not happy. I’m letting you move in because of Will so let’s be clear about that right from the start.’

Sean straightened and his firm mouth moved slightly. ‘Because of Will?’

‘Yes!’ Damn the man. How dared he stand there, looking so arrogantly handsome and amused? He obviously thought she couldn’t wait for him to move in. ‘I happen to owe Will a lot and I don’t want to hurt his feelings.’

Sean scooped up the keys and jangled them in his palm. ‘And what’s me moving in got to do with Will’s feelings?’

Ally glanced at him briefly and then coloured and bit her lip. ‘Because he thinks he’s matchmaking and I haven’t the heart to disillusion him.’

‘Ah, now I see.’ Sean pocketed the keys and his eyes gleamed. ‘You’re saying that you’re prepared to have a wild affair with me to spare Will’s feelings.’

‘Oh, very funny.’ She gritted her teeth. ‘You know very well that’s not what I’m saying.’

‘You’re not?’ He raised an eyebrow, his eyes dancing wickedly, and she resisted the temptation to thump him. Instead, she wrapped her arms round her slim body and glared at him.

‘This isn’t a joke, Sean!’

‘Am I laughing?’

‘Yes,’ she growled fiercely, ‘and you have no idea what it’s like to be constantly on the receiving end of everyone’s matchmaking attempts.’

‘Well, that’s where you’re wrong.’ He gave a short laugh and dropped onto one of the kitchen chairs, his legs stretched out in front of him. ‘I know exactly what it’s like.’

‘You?’ She shot him a look of pure disbelief. ‘You must have women coming out of the woodwork.’

He shrugged and pulled a face. ‘Maybe. But I certainly don’t intend to marry any of them just to please my friends.’

She stared at him. ‘And that’s what they want you to do?’

He nodded ruefully. ‘Especially Will. Which is why I don’t visit them as often as I should.’

Ally removed a wisp of blonde hair from her eyes. ‘Right, well, in that case it should be easy. Once Will sees we can resist each other perhaps he’ll give up interfering.’

Sean rubbed his dark jaw and frowned thoughtfully. ‘There’s just one problem…’

‘Which is?’

He gave a lazy grin and rose to his feet. ‘I’m not sure I can resist you.’

For a moment she was hypnotised by the look in his laughing eyes and then she came to her senses. ‘Oh, don’t be so ridiculous!’

‘What’s ridiculous about it? I find you very attractive.’

Her heart was beating a strange rhythm. ‘Well, the feeling isn’t mutual.’

‘You’re a rotten liar.’ His voice was soft, seductive and very, very male. ‘I was hoping you were going to suggest some serious public canoodling just to keep Will happy.’

‘In your dreams, Sean!’

‘Well, that just shows how little you know about my dreams.’ His wicked grin faded. ‘Believe me, none of the dreams I’ve been having about you could ever be played out in public, Ally McGuire.’

She swallowed hard. ‘Sean, please…’

‘Please, what?’

‘Just leave me alone.’

‘No.’

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake!’ She bit her lip and threw him a look that was half impatient, half desperate. ‘There must be plenty of women out there who’d faint if you just smiled at them. Why not pick on one of them? Why me?’

‘Why?’ His eyes locked on hers. ‘Because you’re gutsy and beautiful and because you’re fighting me every inch of the way.’

In other words, she was the first woman he’d ever met who’d refused him. She lifted her chin.

‘Denting your ego, am I, Dr Nicholson?’

He threw back his head and laughed. ‘Oh, no, Dr McGuire. My ego isn’t that fragile.’

He was standing only inches away from her and she was finding it harder and harder to breathe normally.

‘I’m not interested in what you’re offering, Sean.’

To her relief he didn’t come any closer. Instead, he rested one strong thigh on her kitchen table and looked at her thoughtfully. ‘And what am I offering?’

She turned away, flustered, and started getting things ready for Charlie’s tea. ‘I don’t know—a quick fling, a roll in the hay.’

‘You want marriage?’ His dry tone made her blood boil.

‘Dammit, don’t you listen?’ She whirled round to face him, her heart thumping, her blonde hair wafting down over her smooth cheeks. ‘I don’t want anything! I don’t want a fling, I don’t want marriage, I just don’t want any sort of relationship. Not with you, not with anyone.’ She broke off, her breathing uneven, and he looked at her steadily.

‘That bad, hmm?’

Ally looked at him blankly. ‘What do you mean, that bad?’

‘Your relationship with Charlie’s father.’

Her shoulders stiffened. ‘My relationship with Charlie’s father is none of your business.’

‘I disagree.’ He studied her calmly. ‘If it put you off men for life then I have a right to know what he did to you.’

Ally turned away and dragged a saucepan out of the cupboard. ‘You have no rights. No rights at all. And what happened with Charlie’s father is history.’

‘History?’ She heard the sudden coolness in his tone. ‘You mean she doesn’t see her father?’

‘No.’ Ally slammed the saucepan down on the hob and glared at him. ‘No, she doesn’t.’

He was frowning. ‘You think it’s right to keep a child away from her father?’

She ground her teeth and anger blazed out of her eyes. ‘You’re doing it again, Dr Nicholson. Jumping to conclusions.’

He shrugged. ‘Wasn’t he interested in being a father?’

‘Rob? The only thing Rob was interested in was himself.’ Ally didn’t want to think about Charlie’s father and how much pain he’d caused her entire family.

Sean was watching her closely. ‘But you must have loved him at one time?’

Loved him? Rob the rat? He had to be joking! But, then, Sean didn’t know the whole story, and she certainly wasn’t about to tell him. She was keeping her distance.

‘Everyone makes mistakes,’ she said shortly, rummaging in the vegetable rack for an onion.

‘And the child pays the price.’ Sean’s voice was suddenly hard and she gasped at the injustice of his remark, slamming the onion down on the work surface and whirling to face him.

‘You always judge people before you know the facts, don’t you?’ She jerked her head angrily, her blonde hair flopping gently onto her shoulders as it finally escaped from the restraining plait.

He shrugged those broad shoulders, unconcerned by her outburst. ‘So tell me the facts.’