Boomerang bride

by Margaret Pargeter

  'I see.' Vicki turned to rescue her vegetables. Leoda Morris, if she became Wade's second wife, would certainly need someone to do this kind of thing for her.

  Wade took a step nearer, then moved back, as if resisting the impulse to take hold of her. 'Sometimes,' he muttered tersely, 'you see less than a blind man. Now will you please take off that absurd apron—one of Mrs. Clover's if I'm not mistaken—and come with me? You look as if you could do with a drink, and we have a guest, remember!'

  Old Mr. McLeod had listened to Miss Webb's persuasions and gone to bed, but there was Jeff and a cousin of his, a cattle buyer who had just flown in, so the conversation was fairly general. The buyer was there to look over a few hundred head of shorthorns which Wade had brought from the Victoria River region the year before to fatten. Some stations, Vicki understood, only raised their cattle to three- or four-year-old stores and sold them to fattening properties in other areas. Wade both bred and fattened but, listening to the men talking, she realised that fattening properties were too few. When she had first come to Baccaroo, Vicki had been amazed to learn that cattle often spent weeks being driven through inadequately .watered country before arriving at the fattening areas, footsore and thin. Then, after taking a year or two to recuperate, they had often to be walked many miles to the slaughtering centres in the south, or to the railheads, as many of the properties were so huge they couldn't be reached by roads. Vicki, who had thought such cattle driving expeditions had gone out with the Wild West, had been startled.

  She noticed that Leoda Morris soon looked terribly bored.

  'I've heard it so many times before, my dear,' she drawled, when Vicki glanced at her uncertainly. 'Don't get me wrong, though. Hundreds of women on cattle stations share this terrible enthusiasm for heat and dust and cattle. I just don't happen to be made that way. Away from the city I get bored. Of course Baccaroo is something special.' Her eyes lingered on Wade before returning coldly to Vicki. 'I could easily be tempted to spend much of my life here.'

  Vicki went hot and found the rest of her meal tasted like sawdust. Leoda's meaning couldn't be mistaken, but what sort of wife would she make for Wade? Surely a station owner's wife couldn't absolutely isolate herself in the house and gardens, however luxurious they might be? Besides, Baccaroo, though comfortable, could never be termed glamorous. Vicki liked it as it was and it would take a lot of money to bring it up to Leoda Morris's standards. Then, recalling Wade's remarks in the kitchen, she realised he must be wealthy enough to pander to Miss Morris's every whim, to keep her in the idle luxury to which she was obviously accustomed. For her he might even be prepared to spend some part of every year in the city.

  Secretly she watched him, feeling childish when he caught her at it but not able to look away when his grey eyes studied hers. She could read little in them. She was so busy trying to that she forgot her own might be unconsciously revealing. She found herself longing that things might, have been different between them. If only theirs could have been a normal marriage! Then she could happily have welcomed his return as—what had he said?—a normal wife would. Wouldn't it have been truly wonderful to have been able to throw her arms around him in front of everyone, especially Miss Morris! But of course, he hadn't meant she should go that far when he had talked of her welcome being lukewarm.

  Miss Webb spoke, just as Vicki felt she might be drowning in eyes which held hers unashamedly captive. 'Graham is delighted with his present, Mr. McLeod.'

  His present? Vicki felt sudden tears sting her eyes before she wrenched her gaze from his—not before a little of her anguish showed but soon enough, she hoped, to save her pride. He had brought his son a present but not his wife. Any vague hopes she had had that things might change between them faded. This only seemed to emphasise the way things were going.

  The buyer filled the brief silence with stories of his own sons, ending with a humorous remark directed at Jeff that if he didn't hurry up and marry he was going to be left out. 'Maybe the woman I want just isn't available,' Jeff appeared to surprise even himself by saying tautly, his glance sliding involuntarily towards Vicki.

  Vicki heard herself replying, utterly without intention, her reaction to despair immediate, perhaps as she was so familiar with it herself. 'One day she could be, Jeff. Very soon ...' She wanted to go on, but Wade's look silenced her.

  - 'It happens to the best of us, Jeff,' he said forcibly, and changed the subject deliberately. But not before Vicki felt the full impact of his icy disapproval.

  Jeff was distracted, though doing his best to hide it, realising he had overstepped the mark with Wade, but not even his quick, apologetic glance made Vicki feel much better. The buyer's eyes were curious and Leoda Morris's spitefully alert. Vicki, for no good reason she could think of, only wanted to sink through the floor.

  Later Wade went out with the other two men and, surprisingly, Leoda decided to retire. She had had a headache all day and it was after eleven. She went upstairs followed by a sympathetic and obviously impressed Miss Webb who advised her gently on the excellence of a hot drink and aspirin..

  Vicki, feeling ashamed of being reluctant to add her own administrations to those of Miss Webb, stayed behind a few minutes before going up herself. Not wanting to stay down long enough to hear Wade's possible comments on her earlier indiscretions, she almost ran to her room.

  Just as quickly she undressed and got into her narrow bed, wishing feverishly that she had some sleeping tablets. She had been sleeping badly and tonight she had no desire to lie awake, to hear Wade pause enquiringly outside Leoda Morris's door. Technically she knew she couldn't as it was too far away, but in her mind she could see it clearly. He would stop and knock. She would open die door and let him in, welcome him with a devastating smile, her headache forgotten.

  Trying desperately to bolt out :the agony it aroused, Vicki turned and buried her head in her pillow.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Five minutes later Vicki was still lying there when Wade came in. She heard the door open, not too gently, and his decisive footsteps coming over the floor. It could only be him; she didn't look up as he paused by her bed. As she had done before, she pretended to be asleep, hoping he might go away. What she had said to Jeff was probably reprehensible but hadn't been premeditated, and she didn't feel she need apologise.

  She didn't realise the utter stillness of her body betrayed her. Wade placed a far from kind hand on her bare shoulder, jerking her over to face him.

  ."You could suffocate lying like that.' He spoke coldly, but his eyes were smouldering flames when she looked up at him.

  Feeling instantly that she had some reason to defend herself, she tried to forestall what she knew instinctively was coming. I didn't expect to see you.'

  'You never do, do you?' His mouth thinned as he stared down at her. 'You make the most outrageously obvious remarks and expect me to take them lying down!'

  'I'm sorry,' she muttered, aware that an apology might be necessary, yet unwilling to take the entire blame. Hard misery caught at her heart and brought a quick shudder. 'But if I did precipitate matters a little, you can't really blame me. You never made any secret of your intentions to be rid of me as soon as possible.'.

  "Not so you can live with Jeff, right under my nose!'

  'I'll live where I like!' Why did she feel sick at even the thought of leaving Wade? 'Not that I imagine for one moment that I'd want to stay here.'

  You can't think I'd let you? Carrying on your clandestine meetings, your secret assignments ...'

  'That's a lie!' she spat at him, no docile, anguished young girl any more, wilting under his hard attack, but a small, spitting cat. 'At least Jeff Curry's good and kind and doesn't parade his other women in front of me and ask me to entertain them! You couldn't wait to get rid of me before bringing Leoda Morris back here. You'll be off to her room, I suppose, now that you've lectured me on the crime of being unfaithful!'

  'Be quiet, damn you!'

  She didn't obey, not even when his eyes stru
ck such sparks they seemed to burn her. Her voice did waver fractionally but gained momentum. She was unable to stop. 'I remember how I caught you coming out of her room in the middle of the night!'

  'You little fool—you don't know what you're talking about!' His control was taking greater effort now. This much was clear as his hands bit deeper into her smooth arms, but Vicki, her head thrown back, the vivid colour coming and going in her satiny cheeks, was past taking heed of any danger signals.

  'I have the evidence of my own eyes!' she cried, drunk with a reckless resentment. 'It's not just some gossip I listened to. I'm not putting two and two together and making six, as you're doing I'

  'So you've decided I'm going to her tonight?' Her heart beginning to beat rapidly, Vicki realised she had driven him somewhere beyond his normal iron limits of restraint. 'Just leave me,' she gasped, with an optimism which died almost before it was born.

  Before she could move, with a swift exclamation, he was picking her up and carrying her through to his room. His arms were tight around her struggling body, his face carved like granite above the ivory paleness of her own. Then she was on his bed with his tall length stretched out beside her and he was kissing her with angry, almost brutal kisses while his merciless hands tore her brief nightclothes from the shrinking softness of her limbs.

  ·No, Wade, no! I can't bear it!' she spoke in quick Utile gasps against his punishing mouth.

  "You're going to have to bear a lot more than this,' he rasped, his mouth leaving hers only long enough to enable him to throw off the loose towelling robe he wore.

  'How you must hate me!' Her lips parted as her breathing quickened. 'I never hated you,' she moaned, turning her head in a futile effort to avoid him, not knowing why she was confessing even this much.

  'You might before morning,' he said thickly, using his hand to turn her back to him, his body half over hers to hold her still. 'I mean to have you and if another man cares to take my leavings then he's welcome. You might also, come the morning, be convinced I didn't spend the night in another woman's bed.'

  'No, Wade—you must listen!' She was struggling now in earnest as fear lent her strength. 'That's not the only thing! You want a divorce, don't you? This way you could be ruining your chances.'

  'Have you quite finished?' Impassively his arms finally prevented further frantic struggles from her small, quivering body, his muscular legs aiding his control of her slender limbs. It was terrifying that she could only he panting against him and that she seemed to be arousing him to the point where reason departed. Yet with the exquisite cruelty of his complete dominance she could feel her own senses beginning to respond fiercely.

  He appeared about to go on castigating her, then changed his mind as he expertly judged how she sought to hide her stormy response. 'Let's call a truce for a few hours,' he groaned against her breast. 'I want you, Vicki! I wouldn't be telling the truth if I denied it. I can make you want me just as much, but I want to hear you say so. I want to hear you admit it.'

  It's just sex,' she gasped, twisting her head this way and that to avoid his seeking mouth, which she knew might soon have her speaking as wildly as he was. 'Nothing else,' she choked. 'It's degrading!'

  But her lips were trembling with a warmth of uncertainty and passion as he stopped her feverish flow of defensive words. His mouth crushed hers until reality faded and she could only ding to him, unable to defend the crumbling barriers she had erected so weakly against his superior male strength. His mouth wandered to her closed eyes, over her hot cheeks, on down the slender column of her neck to rest on the traitorously beating pulse at its base.

  It was minutes before he commented on her last wild statement. 'Whichever way you describe what's happening isn't going to make me change my mind. I don't know why I've waited so long, nor do I know why you protest so much when every bit of you is crying out to belong to me J'

  'You're the one who usually knows all the answers Vickie could scarcely speak. It took a tremendous effort to do anything at all, all her concentration being given over to the mammoth task of resisting him, of ignoring the surging delight which threatened to consume her whole body.

  'Yes,' he increased that delight by sliding his hands slowly over her taut breasts, 'but some things no longer make sense. You're going to have to find a few answers yourself, and very soon, so take warning. Right now it's sufficient to have you here in my arms, like this.'

  The blood was hot through her body, singing in her veins, and she could feel his heart pounding over her own, his powerful muscles straining against her. On a sobbing breath, which despaired of her own sensuous response, she made one last effort. 'You must listen to me, Wade. You never wanted Graham ...'

  'He's my son, isn't he?'

  'You don't love him!'

  'Vicki!' he groaned, his mouth coming back to hers again, with a hungry urgency which betrayed his impatient needs, 'leave it, will you? God, you don't know what you're doing to me. We can talk later—tomorrow.'

  No!' She tried to resist, but he simply tightened his hold, bringing her back to him, pinning her half under him so she was wholly trapped by his ruthless weight. To move was impossible, to try and do so only made her more conscious of the heat and roughness of his skin, the hardness of his fingers gripping her chin.

  He trailed a hand across her throat, his lips following, before moving to her ear. 'Don't you ever listen to a thing I tell you?'

  'I' Vicki's world was exploding around her beneath the sensuous movements of his hands. She couldn't recall what she had been going to say. How could she even think with his harsh breath raging over her, his heart deafening her with its heavy, threatening beat? v 'Vicki,' he said huskily, 'the memory of the last time is too vivid. I want -you, the delight you can give, and I don't think either of us wants to stop now. You could try being honest for a change.'

  She was intensely aware that he spoke the truth. Where he was concerned she was vulnerable, especially when she loved him. His mouth seemed to touch every bit of her . trembling body before coming back to explore, her parting lips. The sensuality of his kisses brought surrender swift and complete. As his hands slid over the lovely curve of her .' hip, her arms went tightly around his neck, her fingers seeking the hardness of his broad shoulders, clutching them with tense abandonment. Then their bodies moved together and clung until a sudden violence exploded within them, shattering the cool depth of the night about them with repetitive light, like a burning torch of a thousand flames.

  In the morning Wade was still beside her, his arm around her, his body hard against hers. But when she awoke and unconsciously lifted her mouth to his, he merely pressed a swift kiss on it and immediately left her.

  'Don't tempt me, I'm late already,' he said grimly. 'I have to see the buyer who came last night and there's another one flying in this afternoon. I'll see you later.'

  There was something very final about the deliberate taut-ness of his body as he went through the door. This must be the last time, she realised, that she would ever lie here and watch him leave like this. The last time, she reiterated, wondering however she would survive such pain.

  Through the night she imagined she'd heard him whisper something about never letting her go. But most of the. night she had been so out of her mind with loving him she might have made a mistake. For her own sake she must only remember how he hated her. Her wanton response to his lovemaking; would just be something he would recall with a cynical indifference when he eventually married the woman he loved.

  After he had gone she dressed quickly and began her day, feeling forced to go about it as if nothing had happened. Leoda Morris grumbled continually that Wade- wasn't around to talk to, trying Vicki's stretched nerves beyond endurance by her constant references to him. Old Mr. McLeod didn't help as he refused to see Leoda for even a few minutes.

  Mr. McLeod was another worry this morning. For the first time Vicki could remember he declined to get up. It was this more than anything else which threw, her into a mild panic
and caused her to tackle him about it. While aware that an almost imperceptible friendship had grown between them she hadn't realised how fond she had become of him. Yet when she asked he simply said he felt a little tired.

  Miss Webb, with her expert knowledge of nursing, was convinced there was nothing to get in a state about, but Vicki was not so sure. Wade had disappeared to the far reaches of the property and probably wouldn't be home until nightfall. While feeling she might be accused of making the wrong decision, Vicki decided not to call the flying doctor. Wade would know what to do.

  As if this was not enough, more problems demanding a decision arose after lunch. An old friend of the McLeods', with a large station south of Alice, was in touch to remind Vicki that she had promised to bring Graham and his nurse over for the afternoon. She had forgotten all about it, perhaps because of old Mr. McLeod. Feeling she couldn't possibly leave him, and with Graham almost dancing with disappointment, she asked Leoda if she would go instead. -

  Fortunately a bored Leoda was delighted and, after seeing them off, Vicki went to sit with the. Old Man, by his bedside.

  Thinking to amuse him a little, she mentioned how excited Graham had become over his outing. Then she touched on his growing love for Baccaroo, how well he was settling down. It didn't hurt her to say so any more and she understood the comfort the Old Man derived from hearing it.

  This afternoon, however, he astonished her almost to speechlessness by a curtly asked question. 'How would it be if I told you to take the boy and leave, at the first chance?'

  Vicki stared at him, unable to believe her ears. 'You can't really mean that, Mr. McLeod!'

  'Yes.' He looked drawn and worried, vulnerable—if that wasn't so impossible. 'Damn it all, child, I was responsible for bringing you back and I know, when I'm gone, Wade intends to keep the boy.'

  'Keep Graham ... ?' She felt bewildered, not knowing how much the Old Man knew, how much it was safe to say.