It was late morning when the helicopter arrived to pick them up, the two men piloting the machine ordered to wait outside while Kyle dressed her. Their expressions were speculative when Kyle eventually emerged with her in his arms, although Kyle didn't seem to notice or care as he sat in the helicopter grim-faced with her cradled in his arms.
The noise of the helicopter engine as they took off penetrated her fever somewhat, so that by the time they reached the ranch she was in a half-lucid state, certainly aware enough to hear Kyle snarling out a barrage of orders to what seemed like an army of people as he carried her effortlessly up to her room.
But those few brief moments of lucidity seemed to have tired her, and she once again fell into a fever-drugged sleep, aware of nothing and no one.
The room was in darkness when she woke, no lamp burning as it usually was, and instead of the scratchy blanket against her body she felt something soft and silky against her skin. It took her several moments of confusion to realise she was no longer at the cabin with Kyle sleeping across from her, to remember that she and Kyle had been in the helicopter, that they were now safe.
And with those memories came the ones of the night she had spent in Kyle's arms, of knowing the full possession of that powerful body. She briefly wondered what they would have said to each other the next morning if she hadn't been burning up with fever. He hadn't wanted to talk when they were still in each other's arms, she had no reason to think he would feel any differently in the clear light of day.
She turned now as her bedroom door softly opened and a slim, middle-aged woman came quietly into the room carrying a jug of water and a glass.
The kind blue eyes warmed with satisfaction as the woman turned on the small bedside lamp and found Shelby looking at her. 'So you're awake at last,' she greeted quietly.
'At last?' Shelby echoed, her voice still rasping.
The woman poured some of the water into a glass before helping Shelby sit up to drink it. 'You've been in a delirium for over three days—'
'Three days!' She looked up in surprise, the water having eased the dryness of her throat.
The woman smiled as she eased her back on to the pillows. 'I know it only seems like a matter of hours to you, but I can assure you Mr Whitney has been most concerned by your prolonged illness.'
'Kenny?'
The woman shook her head. 'I meant Mr Kyle Whitney,' she explained.
And Shelby knew the reason for his concern. Her illness had just meant that she had to be an unwanted guest on his ranch for three extra days! 'Of course,' she said stiffly. 'I—er—I don't remember seeing you at the ranch before?' she added enquiringly.
The woman smiled. 'That's because you haven't. I'm Amy Summers, the nurse Mr Whitney engaged to take care of you.'
'Nurse?' Shelby echoed sharply.
'No need to look so worried,' Amy chuckled as she made her more comfortable. 'You haven't been close to death's door or anything—although you did have a very nasty fever for a while. But, you'll start to feel better now, and the sprain to your ankle is healing nicely.'
She moistened her lips. 'If I haven't been that ill why did I need a nurse?' It was just something else that put her in Kyle's debt, and she didn't like it.
Amy straightened. 'As I understand it there was no one else available to take care of you,' she dismissed. 'And you have needed constant care the last few days.'
Of course she had, and there was only Helen Whitney here with Kenny and Kyle, any help she had with running the house employed only on a daily basis. 'It would seem I've been a nuisance to everyone,' she muttered.
'Feeling sorry for yourself is just part of your symptoms,' the other woman sympathised. 'You haven't been a nuisance to anyone, you were genuinely ill.'
She wondered if Kyle could dismiss this latest disaster of hers so casually. 'What time is it?' she asked softly.
'A little after six—in the evening,' Amy smiled at her complete disorientation. 'I understand it was quite some adventure you had to get the fever,' she lightly teased.
Shelby instinctively liked the other woman, grimacing up at her. 'I'm sure Kyle didn't put it that way!'
The older woman laughed. 'What man wouldn't enjoy being stranded for two days in a primitive cabin miles from anywhere with a beautiful young woman like you?'
'Kyle Whitney! Sorry,' she added ruefully. 'But I can assure you there was nothing romantic in our situation at all, most of the time I was terrified.'
'Of the blizzard?'
'Of Kyle!'
Amy laughed again, obviously taking it in good humour. 'I've known Mr Whitney from a distance for several years, I suppose he could be a little intimidating.'
That had to be the understatement of the year! 'Is Mr Whitney at home now?' She knew Kyle usually came back to prepare for dinner at about this time. 'Kyle, I mean,' she explained at Amy's puzzled expression.
'No, he isn't here.'
'Er—How about Kenny?' she asked with a casualness she was far from feeling.
'No, he isn't here either,' Amy shook her head.
'Oh.' She couldn't hide her disappointment, at least needing to talk to Kenny so that they could work out the problems between them. 'Do you know when they'll be back?'
'I couldn't say,' the other woman shrugged.
'Oh well, I could do with a shower and a freshen up before I see either of them.' She frowned. 'I take it I can get out of bed now?'
'Only for short periods, you'll find you still feel very weak. But I think you misunderstood me when I said that neither Mr Whitney is at home. I was told when I arrived here that both of them would be away for several days,' she explained gently at Shelby's surprised expression.
She swallowed hard at this piece of information. Did both Kenny and Kyle consider her so unimportant that they could carry on with the business of running the ranch without feeling it necessary to at least give her some explanation for Kenny's callous behaviour? 'I see,' she moistened her dry lips. 'In that case I suppose I'll have to wait until they return. Do you have any idea when that will be?'
'I'm afraid not,' Amy looked regretful. 'Although I'm sure Mrs Whitney will know. I'm going down now to get you a little hot soup, I'll ask her then. And don't attempt to get out of bed while I'm gone,' she warned sternly. 'We don't want any more accidents. I'll help you to wash once you have a little food inside you.'
In truth Shelby knew she didn't have the strength to get out of bed unaided even if she had wanted to, feeling exhausted just from her brief conversation with Amy. Although she did perk up a little bit when Helen Whitney came back into the room instead of the nurse.
Tall and thin, with a constantly worried expression, Shelby had nevertheless come to like and respect Kenny's mother, liking her forthright manner that could be less cutting than that of her nephew's.
'Amy tells me you've been asking about Kenny and Kyle,' she predictably came straight to the point, although she looked more worried than usual.
Shelby nodded. 'She said they were both away on business.'
'Not on business,' Helen shook her head, sighing heavily. 'I'm so sorry, Shelby. Kenny has done a lot of things in the past that I've been ashamed of, but this is the worst of them all.'
She frowned. Surely the other woman hadn't been told that Kenny had deliberately left her out in the storm? But who could have told her, only she and Kenny knew the truth of. her 'wandering off after an argument', and she felt sure he wouldn't have admitted the truth to his mother.
Helen wrung her hands together. 'Kyle was so angry when he found out.'
'Kyle knows?' Her eyes widened.
'I couldn't keep something like that a secret,' the other woman sighed. 'Not from Kyle. I hate to think what's going to happen when he catches up with Kenny.'
Shelby was more confused than ever. 'I'm sorry, but I don't understand…?'
'Of course you don't,' Helen gave a tight smile. 'Instead of explaining, as I meant to do, I've been indulging in self-pity. And it's you I should be
thinking of, not myself. Four days ago,' the words were forced out of her, 'Kenny ran off with Wendy. Kyle has gone after them.'
CHAPTER FIVE
The roaring fire in the lounge bore little resemblance to the one she and Kyle had shared at the cabin, and yet Shelby wished she were back there now, that she hadn't had to bear the added humiliation of knowing Kenny had run off with his childhood sweetheart.
Three more days had passed since Helen had told her about Kenny and Wendy, and apart from a brief telephone call from Kyle to his aunt the previous evening they had had no word from him concerning the runaway lovers. Helen had rushed to take the call, and although she related the fact that he had asked how Shelby was he hadn't asked to speak to her. Not that she expected he would want to, he obviously had enough family problems to worry about without concerning himself over her, not the least of them being that Wendy's father was reputedly furious about the young couple going off together the way that they had. He had telephoned the ranch on several occasions, and relations were definitely frosty between the two households.
Shelby couldn't say she was altogether surprised by what had happened, not after Kyle had told her of Kenny's reaction to her being lost, although she would have preferred it if Kenny had been man enough to stay and face her. It was his mother she felt the most sorry for, Helen obviously feeling her son's behaviour as a personal reflection on her, and although Shelby had tried to comfort her she had had little success.
Her own health was improving rapidly. She was still slightly weak from her 'flu, but her ankle caused her the most problems, making it difficult for her to get about. She was managing with the help of the walking-stick Amy had supplied before she left yesterday, Shelby no longer requiring a full-time nurse, although she had no idea when her ankle was going to be strong enough for her to make the arduous journey home. Soon, she hoped. Preferably, she would like to be gone before Kyle returned.
In the meantime she could do little more than sit around, doing for herself what she could, not wanting to be any more of a burden to Helen than she already was, knowing the other woman had enough to worry about already.
'Dinner is ready, if you are,' Helen quietly came into the room to tell her.
She followed the other woman through to the kitchen, the two of them eating together in there, a habit they had fallen into in the absence of the Whitney men, Shelby having protested at Helen treating her like a guest, insisting they save time and effort by eating informally in the kitchen.
Helen seemed more troubled than ever tonight, having no appetite for the delicious beef she had prepared, pushing the food uninterestedly about her plate, her tortured thoughts inwards.
Shelby eyed her worriedly. The other woman really had taken Kenny's behaviour badly, and she was going to make herself ill if she weren't careful. 'Is there anything wrong?' she finally felt compelled to ask.
Helen looked more distraught then ever, looking all of her fifty years at that moment. 'He found them,' she revealed jerkily. 'Kyle found them!'
She put her own knife and fork down slowly, taking her time about answering. 'He told you that yesterday?' she prompted, wondering why she hadn't been told before.
'Yes,' Helen acknowledged shakily. 'That was all he would say, that he had found them. He said he would tell me more about it when he gets back.'
Shelby slowly moistened her suddenly dry lips. 'Kyle is coming home?'
'Yes,' the other woman nodded, her hands moving together agitatedly.
'When?' Suddenly her own hands felt decidedly damp and shaky.
'He didn't say,' Helen said dismissively. 'Just that he would be back within the next few days.'
She swallowed hard, doing her best to look cool and calm. 'And will Kenny and Wendy be with him?'
'He wouldn't tell me that either, said he would explain everything when he gets here.' She looked at Shelby with pained eyes. 'You do suppose they're all right, don't you? Kyle was so angry when he left here that I—'
'I'm sure Kyle won't have harmed either one of them,' she assured with quiet confidence.
Helen still didn't look convinced. 'You didn't see him before he left,' she shuddered at the memory. 'It was just like history repeating itself. Well, almost.'
Shelby looked puzzled, wondering if Helen were all right or if the strain of the past week had been to much for her. 'What do you mean?' she prompted softly.
The older woman was pale now. 'I'll never forget the day his father stormed out of here after Jim. Of course the circumstances were slightly different, but I'm sure Kyle must be reliving the similarities. Of course, he was only fourteen at the time, but that can be a very impressionable age.'
'Helen, I don't wish to sound dense, but I…' she shook her head, shrugging her puzzlement.
'Of course you don't understand,' the other woman sighed. 'It isn't something any of us like to talk about, least of all Kenny. He was still only a baby when his father walked out on us.'
'Jim was your husband?' Shelby finally realised the connection, although not exactly the similarities.
'Yes,' Helen acknowledged bitterly. 'For two years I suppose you could call him that, we did go through a marriage ceremony. But for Jim I'm afraid that was the limit of his commitment. He was never a true husband to me, and he certainly was never a father to Kenny. I doubt if he was ever faithful, and when he and Katherine fell in love…!' She shook her head. 'He didn't give Kenny and me a second thought. Neither of them did, they just went.'
Shelby found these disclosures a little awkward, in the circumstances, although she said nothing as Helen poured her heart out. The poor woman obviously hadn't had an easy life, deserted so early in her marriage by her unfaithful husband, and Kenny's behaviour now couldn't be helping. But in view of the fact that Shelby was no longer going to become a member of the family she felt as if she were intruding into a private family matter. Kyle Whitney certainly wouldn't approve of her being told quite so much about his uncle.
But the other woman seemed to need to talk, and Shelby didn't like to stop her, saying nothing as Helen began to talk again.
'Kenny's resented what he calls the Whitney charity all his life,' she sighed. 'Always looking for a way to escape from it and the past.'
Shelby briefly wondered if marrying her would have been one of these ways of 'escape' he sought. Although it didn't make much sense to her, Kenny and Kyle were partners, so why should he consider living at the Double K charity? There were too many things she didn't understand, and most of all she didn't understand Kenny.
'Well I think he may finally have found it this time.' Helen stood up to agitatedly clear the table, needing to have something to do with her hands. 'I doubt Kyle will take him back here after this latest escapade. It was bad enough when Kenny told him he was marrying you, but— Oh I am sorry,' she was instantly contrite at her thoughtless disclosure, looking pleadingly at Shelby for understanding.
'It's all right, Helen,' she gave a tight, humourless smile. 'I'm well aware of how much Kyle disapproved of me as a wife for Kenny, he made no secret of it.'
'That was before he really knew you. I'm sure that since you've been here—'
'He still feels the same way,' she told the other woman gently. 'Even though there will no longer be a wedding.' She had ordered all the plans for the following week to be cancelled as soon as she felt strong enough to think properly, knowing that even if Kenny could come up with a feasible excuse for his behaviour—although she doubted it!—she could never marry him now.
'I wish you would reconsider that, at least wait until Kenny gets back and you can talk to him.'
'If he conies back,' she pointed out softly.
Helen seemed to look iller than ever. 'He has to come back,' she said worriedly.
Shelby thought the other woman might be being a little optimistic, although she didn't say so. She couldn't imagine why Kenny had left in the first place if he intended coming back. Kyle probably only wanted to find his cousin to find out what they were to
do about the ranch.
And she had no idea how she was going to face Kyle when he got back! She had thought a lot about the night they had spent in each other's arms the last few days, and although she would have liked to blame it on the onset of her illness making her act out of character she knew she couldn't in all honesty do so. At the time she had gone into Kyle's arms she had known exactly what she was doing. She wondered what reason he had used to himself to justify his own actions.
When she heard the car drive up to the house the following evening she knew that Kyle was home. And coward that she was she remained in her room when she heard, the deep timbre of his voice downstairs, telling herself she was giving Kyle and his aunt time alone together, but knowing that she really didn't feel confident about seeing him just yet.
There was silence downstairs for some time after his arrival, then a couple of doors slammed a short time later and she heard someone coming up the stairs, knowing that if Helen was upset by something Kyle had told her that she should really go and talk to the other woman.
Kyle was in the process of shrugging out of his suit jacket when they confronted each other across the spacious area at the top of the staircase.
His eyes instantly narrowed on her, icy and enigmatic, deep lines of weariness grooved into the side of his mouth and nose, a tired droop to the wide shoulders he flexed beneath the fitted grey shirt.
Shelby eyed him warily, instantly aware of her own appearance as his gaze swept critically over the pale green silk blouse and fitted black trousers she wore. 'I hardly thought we would be dressing for dinner,' she finally said defensively.
For a moment he didn't answer, only continued to stare at her. 'Unless you feel in the mood for cooking it,' he drawled, 'I doubt if there will be any dinner.'
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