by Rena Manse
Clear? That was clear? “Mr. Gilyard—”
“Concern yourself with being a nurse, Miss McKenny. My people shuffled a lot of papers to get you here.” Over his shoulder, his eyes made a sweep of both provocation and invitation, with a goad in his tone to match. “I think it’s time you let me see what all the hype’s about.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The transport truck barreled on and Ashley blinked like a possum in the taillights. Hadn’t a clue what hit her. Covering her mouth with both hands, she shivered her head before looking around.
She listened. Footfalls faded to a safe distance. Her shoulders drooped from under the weight of grief. After a minute, she put one foot in front of the other, cautious in her continued search, but making frequent pauses to confirm her safety.
Finally, she located a back entrance. She threw open the door, grunted and scrunched her face in the freedom of the outdoors. Concern herself with being a nurse. Could a man who worked at making women beautiful be an honest to goodness chauvinistic pig? He disgusted her. Didn’t like women. Go figure. Just dress nice and look pretty, leave the real thinking to the men.
“Jerk,” she muttered.
She picked her way across the patio and to the flat stone laid steps. Val had joked about a playboy grandson. Misogynist was more like it. Smart, powerful women like her mother threatened him.
Ashley took a couple of deep breaths, but couldn’t make head or tail of Aaron Gilyard. He loved Val. No mistake. The limited interaction she’d witnessed provided hard evidence to the true love and utmost respect between them.
If this is how he treats people who disagree with him, he has serious issues. Hopefully, he’d spend most of his time out of the house as he’d claimed. She thought on that with a tiny smile. You mind your business, buddy. I’ll mind mine.
The man lives in beauty and stays so grouchy. Tuning into her thoughts she took a good look around. It was beautiful. She broadened her smile as she set off down the brick steps. The pathway ran the length of the house, and she chose a direction mapped from her balcony, shaking off mean Aaron and his word games with every step.
Ashley paused to take in the back of the house. Ceiling-high reflective glass and wrap-around balconies covered the second and third floors. All curved and sculpted in a seamless flow. Shading her eyes, she pondered the mystery behind floor number three. A private office? A huge one.
Taking her curiosity with her, she continued on the path. The rustle of leaves, the songs of a few birds, and the drone of waves whisked her to another place. Unfortunately, she lasted only twenty minutes trying to lose herself in euphoria before dropping onto a small iron bench to rip off her sandals.
“Never buy catalogue again,” she promised herself, rubbing where the treat-yourself-‘cause-you’re-going-to-The-Hamptons sandals cut into the back of her ankles.
A loud snort shot her off the bench to see whatever what was coming for her out of the bushes. Behind the bench, a horse’s head, then body peeled out of the trees. High on the steed, a profusely sweating black man shared her curious gaze. The stable-hand, or whatever he was, didn’t look much older than her twenty-seven years, his boyish smile giving an apology.
“Sorry. Did I frighten you?”
“’T’s okay.” Her heart fluttered while she watched him gently sway as the animal beneath him moved. “This place is full of surprises. Men literally jump out of the woodwork.” Oh, how lame.
His smile turned friendlier. “Are you a guest of the Gilyards?”
“I’m here for Valerie.”
He nodded. “We’ve been expecting you. I’m Jonathan Riley. I live next door.” He slipped off a glove and extended his hand.
“Ashley McKenny,” she replied, feeling his strong grip while the chestnut horse gave her the eye.
“Ashley McKenny. Beautiful.”
The simple word flattered her into a blush. “I haven’t strayed off the Gilyard property, or am I trespassing?”
“Not at all. The Gilyards and my family aren’t concerned with boundaries. Will you be staying here long?”
“A few months. It depends on Valerie’s progress.”
“How is she doing?”
A sentence halted in her throat. “Very well, thanks.”
“Tough old bird,” Jonathan quipped in a laugh.
Ashley feigned a gasp hearing her instinctive answer blurted out loud. “Everyone knows?”
“I’m pretty sure she wants it on her epitaph.”
The wink he sent served as a signal to relax. She did. Hard not to under his charming stare. Remembering he mentioned family, she unsuccessfully checked out his still-gloved left hand.
“Where are you from, Ashley? Aaron mentioned a nurse from out of town.”
“Out of the country, actually. Toronto. Have you ever been there?”
“Ontario?” He nodded. “I enjoy the film festivals up there. Montreal is a great place to be anonymous. Then there’s getting lost in the BC mountains.”
The man knew Canada across the map. No sense talking about her stay-cations. Her adventurous brother, Peter, had seen every major city in the world, plus many unmentionables. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d visited Montreal, much less taken a stroll downtown Toronto for the International Film Festival.
“There’s a lot of local flavor. What about you? Did you have an enjoyable ride this morning?”
After a beat of surprise, he roared with laughter, removed his other glove—which revealed a barren ring finger—and wiped his brow with a damp sleeve.
“This must look horrible. Not a cause for concern, Nurse McKenny.” He tugged at his damp shirt. “I have a private lake I swim in from time to time. It’s only water.”
Blood pounded in her ears at her mistaken words, how they must have come across. Useless with handsome strangers, she blamed the antics of her brothers for giving her parents reason to shelter her life. She cracked a nervous smile, but relieved all the same he didn’t suffer from an unusual gland anomaly. The horse’s hoofs clicked on the stone path.
“I should get back. He’s had enough for today.” Jonathan tugged on his riding gloves, and caressed the horse’s neck.
“It was nice meeting you, Jonathan.”
“Same here.” Turning the horse, he stopped to look back at her. “Could I interest you in a horseback ride tomorrow morning?”
Yes. “I—I have my duties to Mrs. Gilyard.”
“She rises late.”
Ashley wasn’t surprised to hear Val’s life was an open book. What Jonathan said was true. Val had reached the stage where she took a nap in the afternoon and stayed up most of the night. Ashley moaned in contemplation, wanting to believe she could ride an animal that size.
“Large creature, possible high speeds. What about the fact I’ve never been on a horse before?”
“Seven then?” Mischievous eyes dared her.
Yes. She chuckled, taking in the sheer mass and muscle of the beast. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll be here at seven. If you can get away, all the better.” He gestured his head toward her, a wide grin followed. “Right here. I’m looking forward to it.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Ashley buckled on her killer sandals and doubled-timed it to the house. With space to think about the offer, she was terrified. A horse? She pictured herself bouncing in a loose saddle, right round the barrel of the horse. Her last thought, hitting bottom upside down and being trampled by hoofs. Horrid.
Too late to change her mind, she wouldn’t leave him waiting there in the morning. Arriving at her room, mind overloaded, stressed and perspiring, she stripped from the door straight across to the bathroom to take a shower. Later, sprawled on the bed, sleep took her between waves of anxious reflection.
Aaron flashed in her mind. For the past few hours, how had stress come to equate Aaron Gilyard? This should be the start of a life-changing experience, living in an amazing home in an amazing, wealthy and historic town. But th
e one person she should get along with the most was out to get her. What would Jesus do?
“I don’t know about Jesus, but David would send a few thousand men to kill him dead.” She laughed and groaned, hit with remorse for thinking that about someone, but her thoughts were sprinkled with drifting in and out of sleep and her dreams became mumbo jumbo.
Aaron would be an easy person to get along with. They’d gotten off on the wrong foot. That wasn’t really him standing at the top of the staircase wielding an ax. She’d straighten it out once she woke up. Easy fix.
Murmurs of conversation pricked Aaron’s ears as he made his way to the kitchen for a late lunch. He hadn’t heard this rich and young animated quality coming from his grandmother in a long time. This sounded like Home. At least the McKenny woman was doing something good.
Leaning on the doorframe inside the entrance to the patio, he listened to the garbled words as they came into focus.
“It’s gorgeous, Val,” he heard Ashley say. “Pure paradise.”
“That’s the idea. It’s been featured in a few journals and magazines. People think it’s where he really sleeps.”
Ah-h. The corner of his lips lifted. Ashley had ventured to his suite on the third floor. He rested his hands in his trousers’ pockets, and wondered what she thought of it. What she’d think if she’d gone up with him.
“We all want to steal that fraction of fame from a celebrity nowadays.” His ears pricked at her words. “People want to see where the great minds lay their heads, what the inspiration is, where they relax. It’s like getting a piece of them.”
He wouldn’t have minded her terminology, but didn’t know if she was being foolish or bold. Of course people wanted a piece of him; grudges, fame, a lover, an associate. No telling what type of agenda the claws were attached to, but they reached to sink into him all the same.
“He designed it himself as a place to get away without going anywhere,” his grandmother informed Ashley. “He’s spent days at a time in seclusion.”
“I can understand why. It’s isolation when locking yourself in your room won’t do.” He heard something resonate in her voice. Wistfulness. Concentrating on it, he missed what his grandmother said.
Footsteps brought their housekeeper through the patio doors. A woman in her early fifties, Janet’s boisterous personality carried wit as well as stability. He appreciated she would, no doubt, fuss over Val like a mother hen for the next few months.
Her cutting Irish accent came out with just the right amount of spitfire. Oftentimes in a thick unintelligible stream, like now that she’d caught him lurking like a prowler. He didn’t flinch. His smirk must have reassured her. She tempered her tirade into a weak smile, shaking a finger at him in warning.
“Fix me a plate of whatever they’re having?” he asked, motioning his head to the patio. “I’m starving. I’ll pick it up in a few minutes.”
“I’ll have it in the warmer, Mr. G,” she promised before stepping around him without another word.
Reinserted into the conversation, he listened to Ashley describe his reverse L-shaped haven on the third floor. Though the front of it contained a fully equipped gym, Aaron spent most of his time on the treadmill or with the boxing speed bag. His grandfather had suffered from ill health, and Aaron decided to answer stress behind a desk by letting the bag have it.
Her words took him toward the rear of the house, down the three steps at the large potted plants and Indian-bead curtain, to his living area. Black and white paintings decorated the room. An independent fireplace sat near the middle of the back window; a small office space to the right side, a huge private though door-less bathroom in the far corner.
In the elbow of the backwards L, elevated on a two-step platform, and framed by more potted plants, lived his bed. One color oil painting hung over it. Aaron had smiled at the thought of Ashley marching up there to inspect his personal space, but stopped when she described the colors of the centerpiece painting.
Pale and deep blues with dull greens churned in the wild waters; dangerous purples in the threatening sky. Angry. Moody.
A little mess in his peace.
He lived with a tumultuous sea in a space dedicated for restoration. Exactly how he liked it. He knew it, and now it seemed she know it, too. And if she could guess that about him, she probably knew how to operate below the surface of the storm. It couldn’t be a mere guess. She was Sandra McKenny’s daughter, after all.
He flattened his back against the wall and tilted his head to the hard surface. Ashley might portray a picture of innocence to Val, but he’d seen a rebellious fire, and that kind of heat didn’t just go away.
He might have walked away if he didn’t hear her mention his neighbor.
“Jonathan? The second or the third?” Grandmother enquired.
“He’s young.”
“They both look young, dear. But I supposed you mean Jonathan E. Riley, the third. Handsome, isn’t he?”
“What are you smiling at?” Ashley’s voice floated like chimes, but it was hearing the responsive laugh from his grandmother that made him crinkle his face. Some girly things about Grandmother he didn’t need to know.
“I’m sure an attractive woman like you caught his eye. No doubt he asked you out.”
Ashley laughed this time. “In the right place at the right time.”
“I wish we could trade places.” His sweet grandmother did not just say that. She got brazen when she wanted, but she didn’t need to make him feel guilty for spying. “He’s very active. I believe he plays polo, and sails. He’s also a pilot. Of course, he likes a beautiful woman with him while he’s at it.”
Val made Jonathan Riley sound like the magazine feature on him last year. Aaron wasn’t ignorant that Janet and the Riley staff traded house secrets. They kept the juicier bits amongst themselves, or his reputation would be a lot stickier than it stood now.
Aaron liked Jonathan, considered him a friend. And he valued their mutual respect as a younger generation of successful businessmen. But Val setting up the Riley Investments firm proprietor with her nurse?
Aaron pivoted to his shoulder and crooked his neck to peer around the wall toward the umbrella-covered table. Ashley had changed into something more his style; a scoop-neck blouse and pencil skirt. As he watched, she had a way about her common to all women. She raised her hand to smooth her black, shoulder length hair, preening for his next door neighbor who wasn’t even there.
“He asked me to go horseback riding tomorrow,” she said before sipping a dark red drink.
“You’ll have a good time.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Of course not.”
Aaron crunched his eyebrows as Val’s words reached his ears. This couldn’t be happening.
“Have your own fun while you’re here. You’re not my prisoner, and you’re definitely not my jail keeper. Unless you expect to sit in my room to watch me sleep, or spoon-feed me, I don’t see how you can be around me twenty-four, seven. Once I stand on my right leg, I have good enough balance to move from chair to bed or the restroom. You shouldn’t feel overly obligated.”
“Thanks. That’s generous, but the truth is I do have an obligation. I didn’t fly all the way down here with my own agenda.”
Interesting choice of words, McKenny.
“I understand, Ashley. But, I’m your first priority, not your only one. I was young once too, you know.”
They laughed and clinked glasses. Aaron had heard enough when his stomach drowned out the next sentence. He turned and set his feet towards the kitchen.
Unbelievable, his grandmother just gave Ashley a free ride.
Ashley thought about Val’s words all day. Readying for dinner, she helped her change, and took a cue from Val’s wardrobe that her own clothes were okay. The dining/sitting room sections offered an outdoor view and salty smell of the ocean.
Aaron rose from the head of the table when he saw them. In his pristine suit and tie, he took it upon himse
lf to help Valerie into the space provided for her wheelchair. Ashley let him at it, the two hadn’t seen each other all day.
“How are you feeling this evening, Grandmother?” Aaron took his seat.
“The same as I did this morning; dull and bored.”
“Your tongue is sharp as ever so I find that difficult to believe.” His wink came to Val’s obvious delight and Ashley’s misgivings.
“Thank you. Did you just come from a meeting, or did you turn your suits into your casual wear? Honestly, Ashley, we’re just shirts, shorts, and jogging suits around here. Aaron, we can’t be frightening Ashley at the dinner table.”
The half smile looked good on his lips. The eyes didn’t when they came to rest on her. Slowly they shifted to the food Janet brought in. “Janet, that smells great.”
Did it ever. Though after hearing him say a decent prayer giving thanks for the food, she barley tasted it. Throughout the meal, Ashley couldn’t stop staring. There was nothing patronizing in his mannerism. His honest attention was easygoing and contagious. Ashley frowned. Maybe she was the one with the problem.
As the meal wore on, he returned a few curious looks of his own until it ended up being longer and longer stares between them. He must have assumed she was trying to seduce him with all her glances. Ashley trained her eyes on the table. Shaking her head at another score on her weird-o-meter.
“Have you ever played snooker?” asked Val.
Ashley looked up to find Val’s pale blue eyes on her. “No. Not the way normal people intended.”
She wheeled her chair backward. “Then you’re just the victim I need.”
“Grandmother, you have only one functional arm.” Aaron rose to assist Val to the door. “I knew you faked your injuries,” he mumbled, kissing the top of her head. He left them to their rivalry.