by Karin Baine
Beside her, Shade stood straight and firm, her head pointed at their intruder, her muscles tense. But she didn’t seem too wary of Josue, more like questioning what was going on. Mallory resisted the urge to pat her because she’d probably relax, and she still knew nothing about this man and why he was in her house. She waited.
‘Désolé. I thought I’d come to the right address. It’s been a long journey from Wellington, crossing over on the ferry and driving all the way down here today.’
That was a helluva distance. Still, ‘Don’t you use a GPS?’
‘I do, and it led me here. I was going to Kayla Johnson’s house. Do you know her?’
One of my closest friends. All the air whooshed out of her lungs. Three hours ago, she’d flown out in the rescue helicopter to pick up Kayla from beyond the Cardrona ski field and taken her to the hospital in Dunedin because Queenstown’s hospital didn’t do major surgeries. Her paramedic friend had two broken legs and was suffering from a severe concussion, having been lucky to avoid a small avalanche from taking her to the bottom of a rocky gully.
When Mallory had held Kayla’s hand as she’d been unloaded at the hospital’s emergency landing pad, Kayla had been talking gibberish, probably because of the concussion, but she’d said something about a doctor coming from Wellington. Was this man really meant to be staying in her friend’s house? Was she supposed to go along and let him in because of a few whispered mutterings? It wasn’t happening. At least not tonight. Hold on.
‘GPSs are usually very accurate with street addresses. Kayla’s house is another two hundred metres up the road.’
‘Number 142. I have reached my destination,’ he said in a monotone as if imitating the voice of his GPS. There was a suspicious glint in his eyes like he was laughing. Yes, his mouth was definitely twitching.
‘Number 124. You have not reached your destination.’ She retorted in a similar monotone, trying not to glint or twitch. He was beguiling to say the least. Great. Just what she needed at the moment.
‘I must’ve muddled the numbers.’
‘I’d say so.’ It was getting harder by the minute not to give in to the smile trying to bust out from deep inside now that she was starting to relax. She didn’t intend on making him feel too comfortable. Not yet anyway. That’d mean losing the upper hand, if she even had it.
Josue Bisset smiled slowly and easily. ‘I’d better take my bags and get out of your way. I’ve caused enough trouble for one night.’ His face softened further, making his mouth even more delectable.
He was probably used to winning over obstinate women. He was built, tall and broad with looks to match. Women would lap up anything he said or did. But surely not a home invasion? Okay, a slight exaggeration now that she understood why he was here, but still. Still what? What to do next came to mind. Nothing. Let him get on his way and she could take that shower she’d been hankering for over the last hour. But she had yet to explain about Kayla.
Mallory walked through the sitting room to the double doors opening into her kitchen-dining space. ‘It’s not as straightforward as that.’ With Shade nudging the back of her leg, she dumped the pizza on the bench and opened the pantry. Shade seemed to have decided to ignore Josue, which gave her hope he was all he appeared to be, a friendly, honest man who’d made a genuine mistake. Hopefully Kayla had had him checked out before offering him a room in her house. Hadn’t he mentioned her brother?
‘I take it you know Dean?’ she called over her shoulder, and gasped when she saw Josue had followed her and was looking around the kitchen with something like hope.
He locked a steady gaze on her. ‘I worked with him in Wellington.’
Fine. Dean wouldn’t have sent him to his sister if he’d had any concerns. She filled Shade’s bowl with food and placed it on a mat beside the water bowl. ‘There you go, my girl.’
Her uninvited guest now stood with his hip against the kitchen counter, his nose crinkling as he breathed deep while looking at the pizza box. The mouth-watering smell of bacon and cheese and mixed herbs was probably getting to him. It was certainly reminding her how hungry she’d been before she’d seen the light on in here.
He said, ‘Dean and I get on very well, and he showed me around some interesting places during my time in the capital.’
It was a reference of sorts, Mallory supposed as she filled the kettle. It wasn’t her place to change the arrangements, except they might not be the same any more. Kayla’s parents would be on the road to Dunedin, if they hadn’t already arrived, and they’d surely have contacted Dean about what had happened. But then the last thing that would be on Dean’s mind would be the doctor moving into his sister’s house.
‘I know nothing about what you’ve organised but unfortunately things have changed. Kayla won’t be coming home tonight, or for some weeks.’ Kayla’s parents would insist she stay with them until she was up on her feet again, and who knew how long that would take? ‘She and two other people were caught on the edge of an avalanche this afternoon. Fortunately, they all survived but Kayla’s injuries are serious. Both legs broken and a severe concussion at the very least. I was part of the team that airlifted her off the mountain earlier. She’s now in a hospital in Dunedin.’
Shock filled those steady eyes. ‘That’s awful. I’m sorry to hear that. Have you heard any more about her condition since you returned to Queenstown?’
‘No, but I’m unlikely to until her parents find out more. The paramedic thought Kayla would need surgery on her legs. They were in a bad way. She’s going to hate being restricted by casts and crutches.’ So much for getting back on track and recharging her energy, which had disappeared since her husband had died. ‘Hopefully she’ll be fine once she gets past the shock.’ Mallory turned away to wipe a hand over her damp cheeks. Life was so unfair to some people. ‘She’s one of my closest friends.’
A light touch on her shoulder told her she wasn’t alone, that Josue understood she was upset. It felt good, and totally out of place. She might have become a little restless with her life, due to not having anyone special to make a future with, but this good-looking Frenchman who claimed he was only here temporarily wasn’t going to help one little bit. A short future was not what she intended next time she got involved with a guy. But it would have been good to download after today’s drama. Drama he’d added to, she reminded herself.
He must’ve sensed her tension because he stepped back, putting space between them, not being intrusive. ‘I do hope very much she’s going to be all right. Maybe Dean’s left a message to update me.’ He pulled out his phone and shook his head. ‘Nothing, but he’s probably on his way south and, to be fair, there’s no reason why I should be at the top of his list of people to tell.’
She was grateful for his small gesture of understanding and for not overdoing it. It made her feel she wasn’t dealing with this completely alone, which was silly as she could talk to Maisie any time. ‘I didn’t know about you coming to stay, though Kayla did try to tell me something before the medical staff whisked her inside the hospital. She wasn’t talking coherently and I’m only guessing it might’ve been about you.’ Now what? Did she offer a complete stranger a room for the night? It wasn’t in her to kick him out when he was new to town, though he could probably still go along the road to the other house.
‘It was a last-minute arrangement after the accommodation I’d organised was withdrawn due to someone else now not leaving.’ Doubt was filtering through the exhaustion coming off the man in waves. ‘Maybe I should go into town and find a hotel for the night. I don’t want to cause any more worries for Kayla or Dean.’ Again, he locked his gaze on her. ‘Or you. I am very sorry for this.’ His apology sounded genuine.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ She was shattered, her brain whirring all over the place. What were the choices? ‘It’s not up to me to say, but it sounds like there’d be no problem if you want to go to the house.’
The guy was dropping on his feet, and obviously hungry by the way he kept glancing at the cooling pizza. Just as well she’d ordered an extra-large one. There went tomorrow’s lunch. Shifting the box to the table, she collected plates and paper napkins, and nodded. ‘Let’s eat. Maybe you should try to get hold of Dean afterwards.’
‘I will.’ Hope was filling his eyes and lifting his drooping shoulders.
Mallory yawned, no longer able to hold herself upright, her whole body starting to sag with her own share of exhaustion. The need for a hot shower was becoming urgent, which was a normal response after a tricky rescue flight, especially when it involved someone she knew, something that happened quite often as she’d grown up here. Today’s trip, flying Kayla to the hospital, had been particularly gruelling. Her friend was barely getting her life back together and then this. Now Mallory just wanted to unwind, but there was a foreigner in her house who needed help. And a lock on the bathroom door in case he wasn’t as genuine as she’d begun to think.
Shade was happily chomping her way through her food, the tinny clicks against the bowl as she tongued up dried biscuits loud in the sudden silence. If she wasn’t perturbed by their visitor, Mallory believed she was safe. After closing the curtains in the lounge and kitchen-dining area, she flicked on the heat pump that she’d forgotten to pre-set that morning, and said, ‘Let’s eat before we do anything else.’
Josue pulled out a chair for her. ‘You are being so kind. As I said, I’m Josue, from Nice. I’m working at the hospital for two months before going home. I’m also joining the search and rescue outfit. Can I ask your name?’ He held out his hand.
She hadn’t told him? Of course she hadn’t. She’d been too busy asserting herself. Slipping her hand into his to give a friendly shake, she ignored the heat that spilled into her and said, ‘Mallory Baine.’ She studied his face more deeply and nearly gasped. Talk about being blind before, or perhaps she had been too focused on him as an intruder and not a man, because now she saw good looking didn’t begin to describe him.
A strong jawline, a hint of stubble darkening his chin and lower cheeks, generous lips and those big eyes that seemed to miss nothing. Wow. Then what he’d said dropped into her bemused head, and she tugged free of that warm grasp. ‘I volunteer for S and R. That’s why I was flying tonight.’ So this man would be on her patch over the coming weeks. Seemed they had been destined to meet, which shouldn’t be an issue, except for the sudden tapping going on under her ribs that wasn’t about finding a stranger in her house, and more about how he was waking up her stalled libido. It had been a while since her last fling, and she didn’t want another. These days she was more inclined to want the whole package. And Josue wasn’t going to be that. Apparently, he was here short term, while she was looking for someone to share the bed and mow the lawns. Someone to have a family with.
‘We’ll be seeing a bit of each other then,’ he replied, unknowingly agreeing with her earlier thoughts.
The accompanying smile went straight to her chest, spreading tendrils of warmth throughout the chill brought on by tiredness and the shock of finding a stranger in her house. Though she was getting used to him already. Tap, tap, went her pulse. Shut up.
‘I guess we will. S and R can be busy.’ This was getting out of hand. She’d met Josue less than fifteen minutes ago in the oddest situation and already he had her thinking about him in ways she didn’t usually consider men. Two particular horrors having hurt her in the past had, until recently, kept her only wanting the occasional fling. Lately, though, she’d started wanting to find that one person to live with and love and share everything, even when there wasn’t much time in her hectic life for a relationship, which was a deliberate ploy to keep her mind off what she didn’t have and on what she did.
When she wasn’t working, rescuing or keeping the property up to scratch, she was with her widowed mother at the dementia unit, painting her nails, combing her hair or searching for hidden possessions.
The worst thing Mallory had ever had to do in her life had been to admit her mother into full-time care. It had become necessary when she’d gone for a walk in the middle of the night last winter without a clue where she was. She’d been looking for Mallory’s father, the love of her life. Not a safe thing to do under the best of circumstances, and a wake-up call for Mallory about her mother’s mental state.
‘Have you done search and rescue before?’ she asked Josue, more to keep the conversation going than a serious need to learn anything about him.
‘Oui. In France and then in Wellington. I think it might be physically more challenging in the Wakatipu terrain than anything I’ve done before.’
‘The mountains are tough, the bush as dense as anywhere in the country and the rivers freezing even in summer.’ She nodded at her German shepherd now happily curled up on a dog bed. ‘Shade works the land searches.’
One brown eye opened at the sound of her name, and Shade thumped her tail.
Josue nodded. ‘She has the strong build required to spend hours walking in all sorts of weather and terrain.’
‘She loves it.’ Opening the box, she nodded at the pizza. ‘Help yourself. It won’t be very hot now. Do you want me to reheat it?’
‘Merci. This is good of you. I’m starving. It’ll be fine as is. By the time I arrived in Queenstown all I wanted was to get to the house, but I should’ve stopped to get something to eat. I must’ve given you a fright, being in your house.’ Again, that smile.
‘“Fright” was one word for it.’
‘What’s another?’ His smile widened. Used to charming his way through a woman’s doubts?
‘Disappointment.’ Her return smile was tired but cheeky.
One eyebrow rose. ‘Disappointment? You felt let down? How did I manage to do that by being inside your house uninvited?’ He was still smiling at her.
Mallory surprised herself by laughing. ‘I was shocked when I saw the lights on. I wasn’t expecting anyone, but when I saw that case on my porch, I hoped my other close friend had decided to surprise me with a visit.’ It would’ve been perfect timing after Kayla’s accident. They’d have talked half the night and convinced each other Kayla would be fine.
‘Instead you found a sleepy Frenchman on the couch who’d messed up putting correct directions into his GPS.’ He nodded. ‘Yes, I can understand your disappointment.’ His low laugh went straight to her blood, ramping up the pace and heat. ‘At least I didn’t scare you into considering doing something dangerous to me.’
‘You wouldn’t be sitting here munching on pizza if I’d had any serious qualms at all. Instead, Zac would be hauling you down to the police station by the scruff of your neck.’
‘Zac?’
‘A local policeman who lives around the corner.’ The advantage of knowing many people in this town was having their numbers just a touch away. ‘I’m thinking we shouldn’t bother Dean tonight. Obviously, you can go to Kayla’s house, but...’ She hesitated. What she was about to say seemed pointless when the other house was a minute away, but Josue was shattered and alone, and she knew from experience how debilitating that could feel. Rapidly squashing unwanted images, she drew a breath and said, ‘If you want to doss down here for the night and move along the road tomorrow, you’re welcome.’ Shade would be more than happy to sleep in her room, just in case she was completely wrong about him.
‘Doss?’
‘Grab a bed.’
‘You’d trust a stranger to stay in your house?’
‘If Dean’s okay about you staying with Kayla then it’s all right with me.’ Kayla would’ve quizzed her brother for hours about this man. She took no risks about her safety. Except today she’d obviously got that wrong, but nothing would’ve indicated she was about to be knocked out by an avalanche.
Mallory knew about bad luck. Hers had come about because of her choice in men. Jasper had been bad enough, but they’d been tee
nagers, and she’d had a lot to learn. Whereas she’d been twenty-four when she’d moved in with Hogan, who’d turned out to be a right scrounger who had been enough to make her think twice for a long time about getting caught up with another man. A man she could trust with her heart again.
She did want to take another chance, and sometimes wondered if she was like her parents and would find the right match when she was older. In the meantime, she was cautious in a friendly way. But the restlessness over not having her own family was growing harder to deal with as the months went by. A loving man and kids were all that was missing from her life.
Her gaze went to Josue, who was watching her as he munched pizza. Waiting for her to retract her offer? He looked honest and decent, and there was a twinkle in his eyes when he wasn’t yawning. Okay, so she might be too trusting, but better that than always being overly careful. Was Josue wondering how to answer her invitation? Had she put him on the spot somehow? ‘Would you prefer to stay here or go along the road to the other house?’
‘I’ll stay, merci. I think you’re right. It’ll be best to get in touch with Dean tomorrow.’
‘That’s settled.’ Taking a surreptitious look at her guest, she hoped she hadn’t gone and done the wrong thing. Fingers crossed he was as decent as he looked.
When Mallory got up to make tea, she glanced down at her overalls. She never wore them inside, and certainly not while she ate dinner, even at her most knackered. She still had her boots on! ‘I’ll show you the room you’ll use and then I’m taking a shower. There’s an en suite bathroom attached to your room.’
She’d grown up in this house and still used her original bedroom, which had been enlarged when she’d been a teen. Her dad had died five years ago, which had been the catalyst for her mum starting to become lost in her own little world. Her parents had been so close they’d only functioned 100 per cent when they’d been together. It mightn’t have caused the dementia, but her mum had never been the same since the day they’d buried Mallory’s dad at the cemetery near Lake Wakatipu.