by Joanna Neil
‘That wasn’t all of it, though, was it?’ he commented. ‘We’ve all four of us talked about what we wanted to do with our lives. None of us was certain to begin with.’
‘Maybe not. But Alex helped me to find a place to stay when I started out at medical school, and he looked out for me all the time. He knew when I was having a hard time, and he took care of me. I feel as though I owe him a lot.’
‘You can’t build a relationship on gratitude.’ His tone had a mocking edge. ‘Otherwise we’d all be hugging one another and swearing undying love.’
Her gaze pinioned him. ‘You’re so shallow,’ she said. ‘Alex watched over me when I first left the family home. He was there for me when I had a bad bout of flu, and he bolstered me up when I was worried about exams.’
‘You mean he told you to put your books away and get out in the sunshine,’ Connor retorted. ‘Alex believes in taking breaks when things get too much, and his priorities are geared up to what’s relevant to him at the time.’ He flicked her a glance. ‘Besides, I’d have come and mopped your brow if I’d known you were ill.’
‘From what your cousin reported, you were too busy celebrating passing your finals by absconding with the skeletons from the lecture hall. I heard they were seen on the roof of the hospital, dressed in dinner suits and gowns and partying with champagne and wineglasses.’
He chuckled. ‘What can I say? No one could actually prove who was responsible, could they? The dean might have expressed his disapproval for such antics, but apart from reprimanding the whole student fraternity there wasn’t much else he could do. Besides, we returned them to the lecture hall in due course. No harm was done.’
He turned the car on to the Exmoor road and sent her a sideways glance. ‘Seriously, though, if I’d known you were ill, I would have been there with you. You could have phoned me. I’d have come right away.’
‘I’d hardly do that, would I? You were in London and I hadn’t seen you in years. Anyway, there was no need. I didn’t even tell my parents. Alex stayed with me and Jessica came over whenever she was free.’
‘I see what I’m up against.’ His mouth made a wry shape. ‘The odds are overwhelming. I never stood a chance, did I?’
She sent him a sweet smile and reached out to pat his hand. ‘You’ll get over it,’ she murmured. ‘I heard that fickle was your middle name.’
Touching him was a big mistake, she discovered. His long fingers were relaxed on the gear lever, lightly tanned, strong and supple, while his wrists were hard boned, totally masculine, the sunlight glinting on faint golden hairs. It was almost like a ripple effect, the way the energy passed from him to her. It ricocheted along her arm and through her body, filling her with heat and strange sensations that were wholly new to her.
He glanced at her, as though he felt it, too, but he stayed silent and she quickly put her hand back in her lap where it belonged. What was she thinking of, stroking the tiger in his den? Of course she had imagined his reaction. She was the one with the trigger reflexes, not him. He was cool and in control of himself, as always. The days of the reckless, troubled teenager were long past.
They arrived at the centre in under half an hour. Phoebe was calmer by then, and her brief moment of uncertainty had passed. Connor insisted on carrying their bags into the building, and together they went to Reception to find out where they would be staying for the next two nights.
‘I’ve put you both in the barn conversion,’ the receptionist told them. ‘It’s self-contained, with two bedrooms and en suite bathrooms upstairs, and a kitchen and living room downstairs, so you should have pretty much everything you need in there. Of course, you can have meals in the restaurant if you don’t want to fend for yourselves.’
‘That sounds wonderful,’ Phoebe told her. ‘It’s good that we still have an hour left to settle in before the evening meal.’ She made a slight frown. ‘Do you know whether Mrs Brannigan and her son have arrived yet?’
‘I think they were running a bit late,’ the woman told her. ‘She rang to ask us to set some supper aside for them.’
‘Okay, thanks. We’ll catch up with them later.’
They found the barn conversion in a secluded spot on the periphery of the centre. It was built of stone, with a deeply sloping roof that had window panels set into it at intervals. Connor unlocked the door, ushering her inside, before stepping in and placing the overnight bags down on the tiled floor of the wide hall.
‘This looks good,’ he said, glancing around. ‘First impressions, and all that. It’s very light and spacious—though I expect you’re already familiar with this place, aren’t you?’
‘I’m not,’ she said, walking through to the sitting room and glancing around. ‘I think this conversion must be new.’ She turned and beckoned him. ‘Come and look at this, it’s lovely. There’s a window seat, looking out over the lawn, and there’s even a paved area where you can sit outside.’
He came and stood next to her, laying a hand lightly on her shoulder. ‘It’s very pretty,’ he murmured. He looked at her, his glance drifting over her and settling briefly on her hair, her cheekbones and the curving line of her throat.
She sent him a brief, uncertain look, and he broke the connection, surveying the room and pausing for a while to take it all in.
Phoebe realised that she was holding her breath. With his hand on her shoulder she couldn’t think straight, and his nearness was having a very strange effect on her, causing her heartbeat to change gear from slow and steady to ultra-fast in the blink of an eye. Somehow in these new surroundings her responses were more intense.
After a moment, though, he took a step back from her and turned away. ‘I’ll take the bags upstairs. Do you want to come and look at the rooms?’
She nodded, pulling in a swift breath as she gave a final glance around before following him.
The upstairs accommodation was finished to the same high standard as the ground floor. The bedrooms had been fitted in under the eaves, but they were spacious and filled with sunshine that poured in through the skylights.
‘That’s something I hadn’t expected,’ he said, looking towards glass doors that took up a good portion of one wall.
She walked over to them and opened them up. ‘Oh, my,’ she said, ‘there’s a balcony out here.’ She stepped out onto it and breathed in the country air. ‘Just look at that view.’
Connor came and looked out, following her gaze. ‘It’s beautiful,’ he said. ‘You can see right out over the valley.’
‘It’s fantastic,’ she agreed. ‘I had no idea there was any accommodation like this. I’ve only ever stayed in the basic self-catering apartments when I’ve been here before.’ She turned to him. ‘You must have picked out the best of the bunch.’
‘Something like that,’ he agreed. ‘It occurred to me that if we had somewhere idyllic to stay, you might give up on going out and about, and we could spend the whole weekend here, just the two of us.’
She sent him a harassed smile. ‘Sure you did,’ she said. ‘You wouldn’t have spared a thought for the Brannigans being left to their own devices, would you?’
‘Well, maybe just a teeny one.’ He held up his fingers, demonstrating, as though he was taking a pinch of salt.
‘You’re hopeless,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘What am I to do with you?’
‘Throw caution to the wind and elope with me,’ he suggested, a wicked grin curving his mouth. ‘No one will miss us for a while, and I promise to have you back here, safe and sound, at some point. I’m not exactly sure when that would be, but we could think about it eventually.’
‘Think about unpacking your bags and getting ready for the evening meal,’ she told him firmly. ‘As if you’d let anything come between you and a three-course dinner.’
He blinked. ‘True. That’s very true.’ He clapped a hand to his head. ‘What on earth was I thinking?’
‘I could hazard a guess, but on second thoughts I won’t go there. Out of the room, Dr Brou
ghton…this one will do nicely for me. Go play on your own balcony.’
He walked mournfully out of the room, and she could hear his soft mutterings as he went. ‘Cruel, hard-hearted woman. Made of stone…has to be. I’m maltreated and misunderstood. Was there ever anyone dealt as bad a hand as me?’
Phoebe’s mouth curved. All sorts of adjectives came to mind where Connor was concerned…irrepressible, mischievous, wily and conniving, to name just a few.
He may well tease her and test her mettle, but underneath it all was there just a hint of real intent?
Connor had never been one to let chance pass him by, and for all his artifice and devious ways she couldn’t help but feel a tug of attraction towards him. Was she in danger of losing her heart to him?
She couldn’t let that happen. He would never seriously entertain the idea of love and commitment, yet those were values she prized above all else.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘OKAY, then. What do we have planned for today?’ Connor looked at Jamie across the breakfast table, inviting him to choose. ‘There’s fishing, canoeing, archery practice or horse riding, to name but a few.’
‘I want to try the zip wire,’ Jamie said, his eyes shining in anticipation. ‘I saw the children whizzing down it last night and I wanted to have a go then, but Mum said no, it was too late, we’d only just got here and we needed to unpack.’
‘I noticed them, too,’ Phoebe said. ‘They looked as though they were having a great time, didn’t they?’
Jamie nodded excitedly and started to talk animatedly to Phoebe about everything he wanted to try while he was at the centre. ‘And I want to take lots of photos—I got a new camera for my birthday.’
‘That’s a good idea. What kind is it?’
Seeing that Jamie was deep in conversation, Connor glanced at Mrs Brannigan. ‘Whizzing down the zip wire sounds like fun…What do you think, Chloe?’
She looked a little doubtful. ‘To be honest,’ she said, keeping her voice low so that Jamie would not hear, ‘I’m not altogether sure what will be okay for him and what won’t.’
Connor nodded. ‘Up to now, you’ve always let him choose his own activities, haven’t you? Generally, children with heart problems are very sensible in knowing their own limitations. I think the same probably applies after surgery. Up to now he’s made a good recovery, so we’re justified in hoping that he’ll become stronger and eventually be able to lead a normal life.’
‘But he collapsed a while ago…I’m afraid that might happen again.’
‘It’s understandable that you’re worried, and certainly we need to keep an eye on his blood pressure. Having the occasional bout of hypertension doesn’t signify that anything major is wrong. It probably just means that he over-extended himself too soon, and he’ll learn to adjust to that.’
Jamie finished telling Phoebe about his new camera, and then turned back to his mother. ‘So can I go on the wire today? It’ll be great. I can’t wait to try it out.’
Chloe hesitated, and Jamie directed his plea towards Connor. ‘Will you tell her it’ll be okay?’
‘I think you’ll be fine.’ He frowned. ‘Mind you, your mother said she might like to do some of these things with you, so we do have to bear her old age and infirmity in mind, don’t we? She might need some help if she’s going to try it with you.’ He winked at the boy, and Jamie laughed, looking at his mother to see her reaction.
‘Cheeky monkey,’ she said, giving Connor a playful punch. ‘We’ll see who can keep up, just you wait and see.’
Connor shook his head, looking back at Jamie. ‘These women are all talk and no substance, don’t you think? There was Phoebe telling me she wouldn’t even contemplate trying out the archery, and just because I pinched her toast she’s getting ready to paint a target on me. You and I will just have to stick together, lad. Men of iron, that’s us.’
Jamie giggled. ‘You’re daft,’ he said.
‘Never a truer word,’ Phoebe put in, glancing up from sipping her orange juice. She looked back at Jamie. ‘Of course, once you’ve had a go on the wire, you might want to try something completely different. We could always go for a wander round the wildlife site. I heard there were some roe deer hiding out among the trees, and all kinds of different birds to see. I know you said you were interested in bird watching. You might like to take some pictures for your photo album.’
Jamie nodded. ‘Perhaps we could do that this afternoon. I really want to have a go on the zip wire first. It looks as though it will be fun, shooting down over the trail and going through the trees.’
Connor looked at Jamie’s mother. ‘Is that okay with you? There’s a lift up to the top of the slope. He’ll be strapped into a harness—one that supports him in a kind of cradle seat, and then once he’s been lifted up to the start point he’ll be able to zoom along the wire in comfort. All the children seem to love it.’
Chloe nodded. ‘If you think he’ll be all right doing that, it’s fine with me.’
Jamie gave her a beaming smile, and Phoebe thought how wonderful it was that this young boy had been given his quality of life back after heart surgery. He had been born with a defect to his heart that had made it difficult for his blood to circulate effectively, and as a consequence he had been frail, short of breath a lot of the time, and unable to take part in the normal activities that children of his age enjoyed.
Now, though, he was ready to sample the delights of outdoor feats that would have debilitated him before his surgery.
‘Come on, then, soldier. Let’s get moving, shall we?’ Connor said. ‘We’ll possibly need to stop off at the shop, so that your mother can buy her newspaper and a few postcards. That way, your breakfast will have time to settle.’
Jamie frowned. ‘Do we have to, Mum? You’ll be ages in the shop. You always are.’
‘Yes, we do,’ his mother said with a wry smile. ‘Anyway, you can go and talk to some of the other children while you’re waiting for me. Didn’t you say there was a boy you met last night that you were going to hang around with? I thought he said he would be near the photo shop first thing?’
‘Oh, yes…I forgot. That’s okay—take as long as you like in the shop.’
Phoebe smiled. Jamie was a typical boy, wanting to do everything all at once. Connor had been egging him on, but she knew that he had the boy’s welfare at heart. He had a medical bag on hand in case the child’s heart rhythm changed dramatically, and there was oxygen ready if necessary. She hoped it wouldn’t be needed.
‘Are you going to have a go?’ Connor asked her some half an hour later as they watched Jamie and his mother shoot past them in turn on the wire. Jamie was grinning in delight, and Chloe looked equally thrilled.
‘I’m game if you are,’ Phoebe said, ‘though I have to say this feature is a new addition to the centre and I haven’t ever tried it before.’
‘You’ll be fine. I had a go when I was on holiday in Scotland a couple of years ago, and it’s exhilarating.’
Phoebe reserved judgement on that, but she queued up with Connor to use the wire, and when it came to getting into the harness he was there to lend a hand.
‘Step into it,’ he murmured, ‘and I’ll do the clasps for you.’
Phoebe had never used this type of harness before, and she accepted his offer of help readily enough, without realising how much intimate contact would be involved. He clipped everything into place, and she was conscious of his every movement, aware of his hands brushing her body, gliding over her jeans-clad legs to ensure that the straps were correctly fitted and shifting to adjust the tension of the bands across her back and chest. He checked the belt around her waist and made sure that the straps were secure around her shoulders.
‘Does that feel okay?’ he asked, when he had finished.
‘Um…yes, thanks,’ she managed, keeping her head lowered so that he wouldn’t be able to see the pink flush of her cheeks. What had she let herself in for? The slightest touch of his fingers caused every ner
ve fibre in her body to flare in heated response. This was just the beginning of her stay here. How was she going to cope with having him this close for the next couple of days? Her body was betraying her at every turn.
Riding the wire, when she finally set off on the downhill run, was a fantastic experience. The speed of the descent gave her an adrenaline rush, and it was good to be out in the open, feeling the soft touch of the breeze on her face and loving the way it rippled through her hair. The scenery all around was breathtakingly beautiful as she swung through the dappled sunlight in the trees and descended into the glorious open space of the valley below.
Connor had gone ahead of her and reached the end of the trail some minutes before she did. As she felt her feet touch the ground he was waiting, ready to steady her and help her to regain her balance just as he had done for Jamie.
‘Whoa,’ he said, catching hold of her as she began to spin round in a dizzying circle. ‘I have hold of you.’
He certainly did. She couldn’t be anything but conscious of the way his arms were wrapped around her, and she was fairly sure that her dizziness had nothing whatever to do with her landing. His warm, sure touch had a lot to answer for.
‘Are you steady now?’
‘I am. Thanks.’ She straightened and pulled in a quick breath, knowing that she ought to put some distance between them and at the same time revelling in their closeness. What on earth was wrong with her that she should be feeling this way?
Throughout the rest of the day they moved from one pursuit to another, letting Jamie choose what he wanted to do.
‘For a boy who started life with a heart problem, Jamie is definitely making up for lost time,’ Phoebe remarked to his mother. ‘He seems to have packed so much into today.’ They were walking slowly back towards the courtyard shopping area after their evening meal, and Jamie was with another boy, heading for the quad bike circuit just a few yards away.