‘Let me see,’ he said.
‘It’s nothing a pack of frozen peas won’t fix.’
‘Crap. You’re as pale as a ghost.’
She pulled her hands out of his grasp and swung her legs over the side of the chair. She bit her lip to silence another whimper. ‘See, it’s fine.’
‘Rubbish. Your third toe on your right foot is beginning to swell. I’ll get you some ice.’ His hand curved around her butt.
‘And that means your hand gets to go where?’
His grin was just visible in the poor light. ‘What? I’m just helping you off so I can get to the kitchen.’
She levered herself onto the wide armrest of the recliner but not before Tait’s hand had managed a firm squeeze.
Cheeks hot, she glanced at the stirring Bundy. ‘Focus, city boy. I thought you had a puppy you couldn’t wake.’ She carefully lowered her legs but stopped just short of the floor. ‘You stay with Bundy. I’ll get the peas. I have a feeling once I get to my room, I won’t be coming downstairs any time soon.’
‘Which is why,’ Tait suddenly stood, Bundy still cradled in the crook of his arm, ‘I’ll get the peas. Bundy can go outside for a widdle while I carry you upstairs.’
Tait dropped a kiss onto the top of her head.
‘I don’t need …’
But Tait had already walked to the library door. He turned and caught her sliding to the edge of the armrest.
‘Don’t even think about standing.’ He scowled. ‘If you aren’t exactly where I left you when I return I’ll tan that curvy little butt of yours.’
‘Promises, promises,’ she said as she continued to the edge of the chair.
‘Paige.’
Tait’s low voice was heavy with warning not amusement. She stopped. However it wasn’t his frown that kept her perched on the recliner after he’d disappeared but the growing suspicion that her foot wouldn’t bear her weight. She stuck out her leg and tried to move her swollen toes. She dug her nails into the leather armrest at the jolt of pain. Her foot couldn’t be broken. She had cattle to feed and jobs to do so she could take Friday afternoon off for the ball. She’d survived knocks and bumps before. There’d be no damage done. She lowered her leg until her heel touched the rug. She’d see if she could stand.
‘No you don’t,’ Tait said as he strode back into the room. ‘Do you ever listen to anything anyone ever says?’ He sighed. ‘No, don’t answer.’
He handed her frozen peas wrapped in a tea-towel, a water bottle, painkillers from the kitchen’s first aid kit and the mobile Anne had lent her. Then without any preamble he scooped her into his arms. She remained stiff. She shouldn’t be impressed he’d picked her up as though she weighed little more than the bags of dog food he’d stockpiled in the shed. But by the time he reached the bottom of the staircase she’d given into the urge to rest her head on his broad shoulder. She closed her eyes as his arms tightened around her.
It wasn’t long before the warmth of Tait’s body was replaced by the softness of her bed. She opened her eyes to the sight of him staring at her with concern. Without words, he showed her two painkillers and the water bottle, before setting them beside the phone on her bedside table. He then placed a spare pillow beneath her foot and gently positioned the peas against her toe. She flinched.
He bent to press a kiss to each eyelid. ‘I’ll have Bundy upstairs in my room so text me if you need anything.’
‘Thanks but I’ll be fine,’ she whispered, keeping her eyes closed, knowing full well once the endorphins from Tait’s touch faded, she was going to be far from fine.
‘Bundy, you little bugger,’ Tait said the next morning as he walked past the potted garden and climbed the verandah steps. He’d only left his good dress boots inside the kitchen door for what had to be half an hour while he’d worn his work boots to take Gidget her breakfast. Somehow Bundy must have dragged a shoe through the screen door. Tait examined the destroyed left boot. The puppy’s sharp canines had shredded the elastic side and then worried the dark-tan leather to within an inch of its life. Right on cue, the pup raced around the corner of the house, skidded to a stop and tackled the bottom of Tait’s jeans. Tait planted his foot on the floorboards as Bundy shook his head, pulled at the denim and growled.
‘And Paige thought I’d be trouble.’
Tait tucked the ruined boot under his arm and bent to free his jeans. He picked up the pup, who then mouthed his fingers with teeth that were far from baby-like. Tait extracted his fingers and held the squirming puppy in front of him.
‘You’re going to make a great work dog but right now you can terrorize the mop in the laundry.’
After checking Bundy had water and food, and adding his boot to the pup’s box of play things, Tait made his way to the kitchen. He tossed his Akubra onto the hatstand and walked into the large room that always made him feel so at home. He ignored the loss that lanced through him.
‘Morning,’ Connor said as he measured coffee into two mugs. ‘Everything okay?’ His worried glance looked past Tait for his daughter. ‘I saw the first aid kit on the bench.’
‘As usual Paige would disagree, but no, everything isn’t fine. She stubbed her foot last night on the recliner base and when I checked her earlier she was still asleep.’
‘She’s still asleep?’
From the laundry, Bundy howled. ‘Yes, just like Bundy should be. I didn’t want to wake her so Dusty and I fed Gidget ourselves.’
‘Thanks.’ The older man’s nod conveyed both gratitude and respect. He rolled his chair toward the phone, the coffees forgotten. ‘For Paige to sleep in, let alone sleep past dawn, something’s wrong. It’s too early to make an appointment with Dr Lee, but I’ll call Anne and I’m sure she’ll pop in when the surgery opens.’ He hesitated. ‘Would you mind taking Paige to town?’
Tait placed a hand on Connor’s shoulder as he passed to take over the coffee-making. ‘Car’s already parked at the front door.’ Tait tipped two teaspoonsful of sugar into Connor’s mug. ‘I figured we’d need a fast getaway. Plus I’m sure some ear plugs wouldn’t go astray. I’ve no doubt Paige’s protests will last the whole hour and a half into town.’
Ten minutes later, carrying a breakfast tray complete with a cup of tea and plate of Vegemite toast, Tait knocked on Paige’s door. Nothing. He pushed open the door. Paige still lay sleeping, the black smudges beneath her eyes proof of how little rest she’d had. He placed her breakfast on the photo-covered dressing table. The corner of the tray clipped a silver frame and it toppled over before he could catch it.
Paige’s eyelids flickered and then snapped open. Just like when she’d woken in his car in Glenalla, her first thought was for her father. ‘Where’s Dad? What’s happened?’
She went to sit upright and then sank onto her pillow. Her hand covered her eyes. ‘Please tell me this is another bad dream and I don’t really have a foot that feels as though it’s been run over by a cattle truck.’
Tait folded his arms against the urge to hold her. Her rigidity and the way she refused to look at him told him now was not the time to offer her comfort.
‘No, this bad dream is very real and it’s about to get worse. I’m taking you to see the doctor. Connor’s orders.’
Her hand uncovered her eyes. ‘No.’ She tried again to sit and he caught her elbow to help her. She swiped her hair off her face as she managed to stay upright. ‘I’m not going.’
‘Oh yes you bloody well are.’ He sat the plate of toast on her lap. ‘Now eat up.’
Mutiny tensed her mouth.
He moved to her cedar wardrobe and opened it. ‘Do scowling princesses own any other shoes besides boots?’
She didn’t answer and he swung around. She lay down, her face chalk-white and the plate of toast in danger of sliding from her lap. He rescued it.
‘When did you last have any pain relief?’ he asked quietly. He caught a brief shrug of her shoulders. He tipped out two tablets and again eased her into a sitting position. She swallo
wed the tablets without argument.
‘I’m sorry. I’m not a very good patient.’
‘That makes two of us.’
‘How bad does my foot look? I’m not game to take the sheet off.’
He moved to the end of her bed and lifted the thin cotton sheet. He fought to stop his automatic flinch. The angry, purple bruise that consumed her third toe also partially covered her second toe. Her foot must be broken.
‘Let’s just say, when you do something, you do it well.’
‘That bad.’
‘Yes, that bad.’
‘Okay. I’ll come to town with you. Again.’
He returned to the open wardrobe. ‘Don’t sound so happy, I’ll start to get a big-headed. Now about those shoes, there’s no way you’ll be putting a boot on for a while.’
‘Try down the bottom, at the back. I think there’s a pair of thongs I used to wear in the showers at boarding school.’
Tait went fossicking and pulled out a pair of purple thongs. He straightened and examined the handful of shirts and trousers that hung in the otherwise empty wardrobe. ‘You really are one-of-a-kind. I assumed all females had walk-in robes and cupboards that were rather like your father’s Bermuda Triangle shed.’
‘As I’ve said before, you need to get out more.’
‘Maybe I do,’ he said as he clicked the wardrobe shut. ‘Or maybe I need to hang around country girls more.’
Paige’s only answer was a moan as she manoeuvred her legs over the edge of the bed. ‘You were right. It looks bad. Real bad.’
He came to her side and placed the thongs on the rug next to her bed.
She offered him her hand. ‘I think I can walk, if you could please pull me up.’
He did as she asked, and once she was standing he placed an arm around her waist to steady her. She took a tentative step. Her face whitened further and she pressed her lips together as she took another step, using her heel to balance.
‘I’m good,’ she said in a thin, strained voice. ‘Maybe you could take the tray down to Dad and clear my room of the smell of Vegemite. I’ll clean my teeth and be ready in about five minutes.’
‘Are you sure?’ He reluctantly let go of her waist.
She nodded without looking at him. ‘See you in five minutes.’
He took hold of the tray handles to stop himself lifting her into his arms and carrying her to the en suite. The pain she was enduring was etched into every line of her face. But she didn’t complain or abandon her slow hobble across the room. With Paige there was no fuss, no dramatics, just determination, bravery and a quiet dignity. Paige Quinn really was one-of-a-kind.
Chapter Fourteen
Despite the cushions under her foot and the soft lambswool car seat cover beneath her, Paige failed to relax. The painkillers had taken the edge off her agony but it was the worry filling her hollow stomach that continued to bother her. How was she going to do everything that needed to be done? She didn’t require Dr Lee to confirm her toe was broken, but when he did Connor and Tait would have every excuse to cluck around her like broody hens. Between the two of them, she wouldn’t have a chance of sneaking away and getting things done. She looked at her bare legs that she only ever saw in jeans. There was no way she could get used to wearing shorts, let alone having to sit still. But at least one up-side of having a broken toe was she’d no longer be able to go to the ball.
Tait shot her a sideways glance. ‘You can wipe that smug expression off your face now, Paige Quinn. You’re still going to the ball.’
‘Oh please, how can I go if I can’t dance?’
‘You can hobble and still have fun.’
She arched a brow at him.
‘You’re going and that’s the end of it.’ The edge to his voice indicated he would carry her to the ball if need be.
‘Has anyone told you you’re very bossy?’
‘Yes, many times, and they’ve also called me a few other things.’
‘I think I might know what some of those things are.’
He grinned. ‘Witty, handsome, a great catch.’
‘Try stubborn, caffeine-addicted and obsessive.’
‘And those are my good points.’ He pressed a button on the mobile that rested in the handset between them. ‘And speaking of being obsessive, do you mind if I take my phone off silent? I’m expecting a call.’
‘Bronte?’
The name slipped out before Paige could apply her inner editor. She flushed. She didn’t want Tait to think she was prying again.
‘No, I spoke to her last Friday. What a difference a week can make. It seems she’s been consoling herself in a work colleague’s arms.’
‘And you don’t mind?’ Paige asked, still unsure.
‘Not at all. Her work mate is a single dad, and I suspect has been waiting for a chance to make his move for a while. He was always calling her over work matters. He also knows Bronte has a child, so let’s hope they can make a go of it. For Bronte as well as her daughter’s sake.’
‘So your visit here has been a success?’
‘In some respects.’
The phone rang before she could ponder the sudden tension in his words.
He read the name on the screen and pressed a button to silence the mobile. ‘My stepmother.’
‘Not the call you were expecting?’
‘Nor will the next call be.’
The phone rang again, and again Tait silenced it. ‘We should be safe now.’
The phone rang again. ‘Maybe not.’ He sent the caller through to message bank.
‘Is your phone always this busy? I haven’t noticed it ring so much at the house.’
‘That’s because I leave it on silent. I deal with my voicemail at night.’
The phone beeped, indicating a message had been left. ‘Well, you’ll be reading a very long message from your stepmother. She must really want to talk to you.’
‘Don’t mistake call frequency for any cosy mother-stepson relationship. She only rings when she wants something and I suspect she’s still trying to get me to finance her personal trainer into a gym franchise.’ There was no missing the derision in Tait’s voice. ‘Pester-power won’t make me throw money her toy-boy’s way.’
‘Toy-boy? You don’t mean …?’
‘I do. Sophia’s latest lover.’
‘Does your stepfather know?’
Tait shook his head. ‘Perhaps I’m not doing the right thing by not telling Bruce, but his health isn’t good. He might suspect Sophia is warming someone else’s bed, but her affair is still a complication he shouldn’t have to deal with at the moment.’
‘It must be hard keeping such a big secret, let alone any secret at all.’
Tait passed a hand around the base of his neck. ‘You have no idea.’
‘As a child I couldn’t even keep Dad’s Father’s Day present a surprise. And even now, it eats away at me that I’m not telling him the whole story of what is happening in the paddocks, but I promised Mum I’d look out for him.’
‘All secrets aren’t created equal, you know. Some aren’t designed to hurt, just protect, and some, like your Father’s Day presents, only bring happiness.’
‘After Chris and all his half-truths, honesty just seems so incredibly important.’ Paige pursed her lips. ‘But I guess in the big picture keeping things from Dad, like how many cattle we have left, isn’t such a bad secret. It’s not as if I’m hiding something major, like planning to run off to town with the postman.’
‘Just as well,’ Tait chuckled. ‘I’ve seen your postman. He must be at least ninety in the shade.’
Tait’s mobile rang again. This time he frowned as he hit the silence button. ‘Angelica, my stepsister.’
‘She must be missing you?’
‘Not exactly. She is her mother’s daughter. She only calls when she needs something.’
‘You mentioned chauffeuring her to her school formal. What is she? About eighteen?’
‘Yes, eighteen going on twe
nty-five. I shouldn’t have worn my big-brother hat and driven her and her friends around to make sure they’d stay out of trouble.’
‘Why?’ Paige cast him a curious look. ‘It was a nice thing to do.’
‘Have you met her friends?’ He grimaced. ‘I think the only word in their vocabulary is “hot”.’
She giggled.
‘Why are you laughing?’
‘No reason, I’m just imagining you chauffeuring around a group of girls fluttering their false eyelashes at you.’
‘It wasn’t anything to laugh about. It now seems the blonde with the very high heels and very short dress thinks all eighteen-year-old boys are “uncool”.’
‘And, let me guess, Angelica is playing matchmaker with her very “hot” stepbrother.’
He groaned. ‘If it isn’t both of them turning up on my doorstep, or asking me to take them places, Angelica is calling to put a good word in for her friend.’
Paige leaned over and squeezed his forearm. ‘Poor Tait. You have a big, red lipstick target drawn on your back.’
‘You’d better believe it.’ He glanced down at her hand. ‘I might need rescuing, you know.’
She pulled her hand away. ‘As I’ve said before there’ll be no shortage of female rescuers queuing to help you at the ball.’
Tait’s phone rang yet again. This time he pressed the talk button and inserted an ear piece. It must be the call he’d been expecting.
‘Hi, Cheryl. Yes, am on the way to Glenalla.’ He looked at Paige. ‘Yes, the puppy did find a home. And no, I don’t need to bring him to Sydney.’
Paige gritted her teeth. So much for Tait’s sob story about Bundy desperately needing a home. Tait had been prepared to give the orphan pup one all along. However for a blue heeler bred to herd cattle, and who’d mature into an intelligent, independent dog, Bundy had ended up at the best place for him.
‘I know, you’re always telling me I need a dog, but put it this way, now I get to keep all my shoes.’ Tait’s tone deepened. ‘No luck with the Three-M Pastoral Company?’ His mouth firmed. ‘I know whoever owns it has covered their tracks so I’ll take it from here. I might catch a break. I’ll talk to you tonight.’ He disconnected the call.
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