The Australian's Desire (Mills & Boon By Request)

by Marion Lennox, Lilian Darcy, Lilian Darcy

  ‘We’d appreciate the help,’ Andrew said. ‘I don’t want to create a panic through the whole resort by turning this into a major search, but we have to find her. If we don’t by morning then we’ll have to close the place down. Even with the trails off limits, the risk is too great now that we know that she can and will seek out human contact and then attack so viciously.’

  ‘You have somewhere to put her?’

  ‘Fred’s doing fine in his temporary cage. We have a crew starting tomorrow, getting the aviary back in operation.’ He looked out at the water, where an official-looking motor launch was speeding towards the dock. ‘That’s Ben and the vet. Let’s get this sorted.’

  It was quiet and still in the hide, and even now that it had been thinned in places by Cyclone Willie, the thickness of the surrounding vegetation meant that any sounds from the water or the resort could barely be heard. The hide smelt of new, treated wood and varnish.

  Rowdy stood on one of the raised benches that allowed small children to see through the unglassed windows that overlooked the rainforest clearing. Janey sat beside him, her body twisted so she could rest one elbow on the wooden sill. Littered on the ground was a pile of rainforest fruit. It had been placed there and in a couple of other spots where they’d have a good chance at capturing the wounded bird if the fruit lured her.

  ‘I can’t see anything,’ Rowdy said.

  The walkie-talkie in Luke’s hand crackled with voices occasionally. He couldn’t make out all of the exchanges. None of them were addressed to him.

  ‘Off the side of the trail, Ben,’ he heard.

  ‘At the creek? Over!’

  ‘Hearing something in the undergrowth, but they move so damned quietly.’

  ‘Tell us your position now, over.’

  One voice belonged to the vet, Julie Nguyen, and another to wildlife officer Ben Chandler. Luke also heard Andrew and another resort staffer.

  ‘Where is she?’ Rowdy said.

  ‘Might have to be pretty patient, love,’ Janey told him.

  She watched Rowdy more than she watched for the cassowary.

  And Luke watched her.

  She had sand and salt stuck to her legs and a mist of sweat on her back. The strap of Georgie’s scarlet swimsuit was twisted on one shoulder, and her denim shorts had dirt marks in several places. Her sandals were covered in dried mud. She looked hot and tired, but she didn’t complain or pace around, just sat and watched Rowdy, or occasionally the clearing, and waited for the clean-cut ending they were all hoping for.

  So different from Alice, and yet they did look alike sometimes. Thank goodness they weren’t alike! But there was something about Janey’s smile, her colouring and the way she walked. Something in her beauty now that she knew how to let it show.

  Was he looking for Alice, then? Was there still some stubborn ghost of Luke’s old attraction to his ex-wife lingering inside him? Was that why he wanted to keep watching this woman? Was that why he’d been so hungry to make love to her last night?

  Janey was grieving for her sister, and he’d grieved, too, because his son had lost a mother. But he’d had so much anger towards Alice over the past five years. He wanted to let all of it go—the memory of his shallow infatuation, the sense of bitter betrayal, the agony of losing his child.

  If his attraction to Janey came from a subconsious desire to find the best parts of Alice, then he didn’t want it, not at all.

  Let it go, he urged himself. Don’t think about it. Don’t feel it.

  But then, watching Janey lift her hot dark hair to cool the skin at the back of her neck, he suddenly remembered the party she’d talked about last night.

  Yes! That’s right! He could picture her now! She’d been wearing a glittering silver dress, shimmying her hips, closing her eyes, dancing with a champagne glass in her hand. The room had been dark, the music and laughter deafening.

  They’d all got hot and sweaty, and she’d lifted her hair up from her neck just like that, just the way she was doing now, and in his drunken state he’d had this hazy thought, Wow! She’s all right when she lets herself go. She’s beautiful. I knew she would be …

  He still didn’t remember the actual kiss. He’d been so exhausted that night he’d started seeing stars, but he remembered Janey, and what he’d thought about her.

  It hit him in a blinding flash of understanding that he had been totally wrong. He wasn’t looking for Alice in Janey. That wasn’t why he’d wanted her so much last night, and wanted her still.

  Never.

  It was—and always had been—the other way around.

  Eight years ago, when he’d first met Alice, the reason he’d fallen for her so hard and so fast and so disastrously had been because he’d subconsciously thought he was getting Janey’s mind and spirit, her work ethic, her good sense and her grounded soul, all packaged in the instant, charismatic appeal of Alice’s confidence and effervescence and beauty.

  He’d been looking for Janey in Alice, and he’d been so, so wrong about both of them.

  Oh, hell!

  And then he understood something else—that now, though he had no right to expect or ask for it, he might—just might—have earned a second chance at getting things right. The way she’d responded to him last night. The looks she gave him sometimes, full of trust. The love she showed for his son, every minute.

  ‘Behind you. She’s going the other way, over,’ he heard on the walkie-talkie. He hadn’t been paying attention for the past few minutes. He’d been miles away, learning the truth about his heart. Learning too late? How much had he hurt her by making love to her and then not remembering their kiss? Why had she made such a point about something so messy and so long ago?

  ‘I’ve got her, I can see her. No … She’s gone into the undergrowth. It’s so thick, I’m not keeping up, and I can’t hear her.’

  ‘Which direction? Over.’

  ‘Can’t tell.’

  ‘I can see her!’ Rowdy suddenly whispered. ‘I see her! I see her! She’s coming this way.’

  ‘Yes!’ Janey exclaimed. ‘I think that’s her. I saw a flash of blue.’

  Luke fumbled for the control button on the walkie-talkie. ‘This is Luke. Looks like we have her coming out into the clearing, over.’

  ‘She’s right here,’ Rowdy said.

  ‘Luke again.’ He had to fight to concentrate. He was still thinking about Janey.

  She’d stood up to watch the big, flightless bird picking its way into the open in search of the fruit it could smell. Her lithe, long-legged body was poised in electric concentration, with one foot on the ground and a knee resting on the bench. Her arm brushed Rowdy’s little shoulder. The two of them were both riveted by what was happening, and Luke had a fresh understanding of how important this was.

  They could still lose the bird, and what would that do to his son?

  He spoke into the walkie-talkie. ‘She’s coming into the open, moving slowly. Limping. The leg looks nasty.’

  He heard a crackling, and then Ben Chandler’s voice. ‘Stay quiet, OK? Is she going for the fruit?’

  ‘Yes. She’s just found it.’

  ‘That gives us some time to get there.’

  The minutes passed, slow and tight with tension. Elke grazed greedily on the squashy, colourful fruit. It was almost gone. Would she stay there, looking for more, or limp back into the undergrowth? She’d begun to nudge the ground with her beak, her keel-shaped crest bobbing up and down. She was getting impatient. The feast looked to be over.

  Then they saw a flicker of movement, not the bright plumage of a rainforest bird but the more muted colours of Ben’s gear. He wore a chest protector, chainsaw chaps and groin protector, and carried a pole injector—more or less a syringe and needle at the end of a six-foot pole, Luke had seen. Ben stopped at the edge of the undergrowth. Elke had sensed his presence. What would she do? Which way would she run? Or would the remaining fruit keep her where she was long enough? Rowdy was holding his breath.

 
; Ben loped forward and pushed the pole into the bird, his movement so fast and quiet that Luke couldn’t see which bit of the creature he’d hit. But apparently he’d got the dose into her because she teetered on her feet, stumbled a few paces and then fell.

  ‘Is she OK?’ Rowdy asked.

  They’d told him about the sedating medication in the syringe, but Janey reassured him, ‘She’s gone to sleep, kind of. She’d be too scared and she wouldn’t be safe to handle if she was awake, remember?’

  ‘But she’ll wake up again, won’t she? She’s not dead?’

  ‘No, she’s not dead, sweetheart. She’s fine. She’ll wake up later on.’

  Ben came cautiously up to the bird, speaking into his walkie-talkie. ‘Bring the buggy around,’ they heard him say. Behind him petite, black-haired Julie Nguyen emerged with a tarpaulin and the two of them slid the limp bird onto it with a degree of effort. It must weigh fifty kilos or more, Luke thought.

  ‘Can we go and see her?’ Rowdy asked.

  Luke waved at Ben who nodded. When they reached the centre of the clearing, Julie had begun to examine the bird. ‘The leg’s not broken, thank goodness. They’re such difficult patients, they don’t survive fractures. But, still, the muscle is badly torn. Not looking good. She’ll need it cleaned and stitched, and she’ll need antibiotics.’ She had a broad Australian accent, a sweet voice and a cheerful manner. ‘If she’d been a wild bird, I’m not sure if we could have pulled her through because the recovery period would stress her too much, but the fact that she was raised in captivity and will be in familiar surroundings should work in her favour. I think she’ll be fine. We just need to get her back to the animal care room, where we can work on her before she wakes up.’

  ‘So she’s not going to die?’ Rowdy said.

  Had Julie been briefed? She bent down to him, propping her hands on her knees. The silky black of her ponytail swung over her shoulder. ‘She’s not going to die.’

  ‘You’re not going to shoot her because she hurt Sam?’

  ‘No, because she’s going back in a really good cage so she won’t be able to hurt anyone else. Thanks for helping us capture her. It wasn’t safe to leave her in the wild. Hey, if she and Fred have some babies, want to think of some names for them? Send us an e-mail and tell us what you think they should be called.’

  ‘Names!’ He looked very seriously at Janey, a little overwhelmed by the new responsibility. He was exhausted, Luke realised.

  ‘No hurry, Rowdy,’ he said quickly. ‘Think about it another day. I bet you can come up with some great names if you give it some thought. Can we grab a ride back to the resort in one of the buggies?’ he asked Ben. ‘We won’t wait while you load Elke up. It’s getting late.’

  He put his arm around Janey without even thinking about it and squeezed her hard. She squeezed him back, but then drew away uncertainly and sneaked a look up into his face that she didn’t want him to see. He didn’t know what she felt, whether from her point of view there was anything more than his son bringing them close like this. There had to be, didn’t there? What was she thinking about last night?

  Despite his earth-shattering understanding of what had really been going on in his head and his heart eight years ago, he still felt on very shaky ground.

  CHAPTER NINE

  LUKE watched the day’s last boat back to the mainland churning out into the open water, leaving a path of white wake that seemed to glow in the rapidly fading light. ‘Look’s like we’re spending the night on the island. I’ll have to call Charles so he can get someone to cover for me at the hospital tomorrow.’

  ‘If we can get a cabin, it sounds like a nice idea, not a setback,’ Janey told him. ‘Rowdy’s wiped out, and so am I.’ She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pushed several more back from her forehead.

  ‘We haven’t asked him yet how he feels about being called Rowdy.’

  ‘You think now’s the time?’

  ‘We should make sure, not just let it slide. Sometimes kids accept things because they don’t realise it can be different, don’t you think?’ He walked over to his son, standing beside the dock rail, and bent down to him, knowing that Janey was just behind him, listening. He needed to do this right. ‘Rowdy?’

  ‘Are we staying the night?’

  ‘Looks that way. But can I ask you something?’

  Rowdy nodded.

  ‘We’ve been calling you Rowdy. Do you like that, or do you want to be called something else?’

  ‘You mean Felixx, or one of my other names?’

  ‘Your other names?’

  ‘Mum changed her mind. When I was four, she thought Nuriel was the right name. But then it didn’t fit my spirit, she said, and she tried Rami, but that didn’t fit either. I can’t remember what my name was before Nuriel. Max and CJ call me Rowdy, and so does Georgie. I like it.’

  ‘Know what?’ Luke said, in a slightly unsteady voice. ‘So do I!’

  He stood up and circled back to Janey, spreading his hands in a silent question. She nodded, and he knew she approved. ‘Now, let’s organise that cabin,’ she said, ‘before I collapse in a screaming heap. I’m a wreck!’

  ‘You look good.’ While he felt sticky with sweat.

  She laughed. ‘Yeah, right!’

  He didn’t argue, just held her gaze for a little too long and left her to make of it what she wanted. She did look good. Sun-kissed skin on her cheeks and shoulders, the fresh evening breeze blowing her hair. A weary yet contented smile.

  Some good things had happened today—new beginnings born from danger—and she had hope in her face now. For Rowdy. For herself.

  For me?

  He took a moment to think about the kind of beauty she had. An unusual kind. So responsive to how she felt inside. When she was down or stressed or doubting of herself, her face went tight and forbidding. But when she was happy, when she let herself fly, she totally glowed.

  Yeah, Janey Stafford, no matter what you might think, you look good.

  ‘We have an in with management—shall we use it?’ he said. ‘See if Andrew can wangle us something really nice?’

  In the end they didn’t have to lean on Andrew for any favours. The resort had had plenty of cancellations thanks to the cyclone, and there was a three-bedroom luxury cabin with private deck and Jacuzzi available. ‘For you three, complimentary, with a four-course room-service dinner and wine thrown in,’ Andrew told them.

  ‘I think two courses is probably enough for this little guy,’ Luke told him.

  ‘What would you like, mate?’

  ‘You eat pretty much everything, don’t you, Rowdy?’

  ‘I think hamburgers with everything are good,’ he said seriously. ‘And tropical juice. And cake with fruit salad and cream, like we had at lunch.’

  ‘There you go, is that do-able?’ Luke asked.

  ‘No worries.’

  ‘If we could have it pretty soon, because bedtime’s not going to hold off much longer.’ He looked at Janey for confirmation, and she nodded. ‘But maybe save the four courses and wine until eight o’clock or so?’ he finished.

  ‘Whatever you want.’

  Andrew summoned someone to show them their cabin, and Janey announced as soon as he had gone, ‘I think I’m going to cry!’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because it’s so clean and airy and nice, and I’m so tired, and so hungry I could eat about six of Rowdy’s hamburgers.’

  ‘Have a shower.’ He looked at her more closely and saw that she was actually trembling, her blood sugar had dropped so low. ‘And then a soak in the Jacuzzi on the deck. He’s a self-feeding organism. I’ll get him ready for bed.’

  She gave him a suspicious look, and the air crackled with last night’s tension suddenly. ‘You’re spoiling me. Do you think I’m about to collapse in a screaming heap or something? I’ve been out of hospital for two and a half days.’

  ‘Yeah, and that’s not long enough. As your doctor, I’m prescribing a shower and a hot tub.�
��

  ‘You’re not my doctor.’

  ‘And you’re too fond of a good argument.’

  ‘Only this isn’t a good one, because I’m too tired. You’re right. I need the hot tub.’

  It was sheer heaven. Janey washed off the sand and salt, shampooed her sweaty hair, then wrapped herself in a huge, fluffy towel, went out to the jacuzzi and was faced with a decision.

  Put Georgie’s salty swimsuit back on?

  Really, it didn’t quite fit her, and the straps had been digging into her shoulders all day. A wooden lattice screen made the hot tub very private, as did the churning foam covering the surface. No one would see …

  So, not much of a decision, as it turned out.

  She dropped the towel onto the wooden decking, lowered herself into the tub and floated there with her eyes closed while the tension drained from her body. The water churned, buffeting her tired muscles and coaxing all thought from her mind. She could easily have fallen asleep …

  ‘Auntie Janey?’

  Her eyes drifted open. Rowdy stood on the deck, leaning on the side of the hot tub so that a pair of big brown eyes were just inches from her face. ‘Hi, sweetheart,’ she said. How long had she been in here? She hadn’t really intended to leave Luke to put him to bed. ‘Was your hamburger good?’ She knew he must have eaten it, because there were beetroot stains and bun crumbs and a tomato seed still on his face.

  But Rowdy didn’t have hamburgers on his mind any more.

  ‘Luke says he’s my dad.’ He almost had to yell the words, over the churning sound of the hot-tub jets. ‘Is he?’

  Janey’s heart went thump, and her sleepy contentment dropped from her like a stone.

  Luke appeared, looming behind Rowdy, his eyes narrowed. He raked his white teeth across his bottom lip. ‘It just came up,’ he mouthed, over his son’s head. He took an agitated pace. ‘I hadn’t planned on …’ He stopped, looking helpless.

  ‘Is he my dad?’ Rowdy repeated. ‘Mum never said.’

  And, of course, Rowdy needed the truth now. He’d had so much uncertainty and so much chaos in his little life. He’d lost his mum. He needed the truth.