Black Ice (11 page)

The phone rang and he snatched it up.

'Yes?'

'Philip, have you found out where Daniel is yet?'

A sigh shuddered through Philip. 'No, Mother. I told you this morning I'd let you know as soon as I find out. I have work to do now. I'll see you tonight.'

Hell! It had been a mistake to tell his mother that Daniel Brand had left Noosa without informing them where he was going. She had become quite agitated, as though Philip had deliberately mislaid him, like an unwanted gift.

Moving back home after his father's death had seemed the only answer to his anxiety over his mother's mental health, but he wondered now if he'd done the right thing. Lately she had started to phone him morning and afternoon. Just trivial conversations, with no purpose he could detect.

Between his father's embezzlement and Daniel Brand's snooping, Philip wondered if his mother's strange behaviour might be more than he could cope with.

 

The O'Connor house was square in design, with a hallway running from the front door through to the kitchen at the back. On the left hand side at the front was Kirri's bedroom, then Catelyn's, the bathroom, then Cate's bedroom and en-suite. On the opposite side of the hallway at the front was J.D.'s bedroom, an office, and a small guest room to which Daniel was shown, with the living room between these and the kitchen.

After morning tea, Kirri took Daniel on a tour of the yards and sheds. Then Cate rang an old cow bell to call them all to lunch.

'Do you ride, Dan?' J.D. asked the question before he took a generous bite from a roast beef and salad sandwich.

'I haven't for a while,' Daniel had an uneasy feeling that J.D. had more than an idle purpose behind the question, 'but, yes, I can ride.'

'Feel up to a ride around the property this afternoon? If you're not too tired from travelling, that is.'

Daniel caught a glimpse of Kirri's face as he returned J.D.'s relaxed look. Her frown confirmed his own suspicions.

'Just tell me when to be ready,' he replied.

 

Kirri reined in her horse under the shade of a stand of eucalypts, and watched as Daniel and J.D. cantered towards her. They hadn't joined in her wild gallop across the paddocks, and she wondered if they sensed her need to ride off the tensions that had gripped her since Daniel had come back into her life.

They were too far away for her to hear the words, but Daniel shouted something to J.D. and the two of them wheeled to the left and galloped towards the far boundary fence. It was then she saw it, a cow struggling to free itself from the barbed wire fencing wrapped around one back leg.

By the time Kirri caught up to the two men, they had already dismounted. J.D. pulled on his leather gloves and took a rope from his saddle. Two strands of barbed wire had broken under the cow's exertions, and her back leg was torn and bloodied. As the two men approached the animal, she lashed out at them in panic and fear, her hooves thudding into the grass. J.D. neatly caught her front feet with the rope and pulled it tight. The cow fell to her knees. As J.D. tied the rope to his saddle, Daniel grabbed the wild-eyed, tossing head and, with a quick twist, flung the beast onto her side.

Kirri handed J.D. the rope from her saddle and he swiftly captured the cow's free back leg and secured this rope to Kirri's saddle. He spoke soft, reassuring words to the cow as he began to untangle the barbed wire. His movements were sure and unhurried, but Kirri's gaze was on Daniel as he calmly held the cow so that it was unable to injure itself further.

J.D. tossed aside the last of the barbed wire and inspected the cow's injuries. Then he freed it from the ropes. Daniel let its head go, and the animal jumped to its feet and ran off.

'Bloody feral dogs probably spooked her,' J.D. muttered. 'That's one cow I didn't want to lose, she's prime breeding stock.'

'The injuries didn't appear too bad,' Daniel commented, slapping dirt from his jeans.

'No,' J.D. agreed, 'but I'll bring some antibiotics back for her later.' He looked at Daniel. 'Where did you learn about cattle?'

'My grandparents manage a ranch in Wyoming. I spent most of my school vacations with them until I went to College.' He smiled his slow, gentle smile, and Kirri's heart skittered around in her chest. 'Even won a few prizes in the local rodeo.'

Respect was evident in the look J.D. flashed Daniel as he remounted his horse, and Kirri was surprised by the surge of pride she felt in the man who was her daughter's father.

 

Myriad lights danced colours in the patchwork shades of black that stretched for kilometres below Stella Quinlan's eighteenth floor Sydney apartment. She gazed down at them for long minutes, thinking of Philip Weyburn as he'd sat in his big leather chair this morning. Years ago she'd analysed his character, and found him to be moulded in the manner of his father. Weak. She despised weak men. She had yet to find a man who was strong enough to match her. Many had appeared to be, on the surface. But Stella knew how to make them vulnerable, how to manipulate them to her needs. She knew how to touch a man, to excite him, to give him pleasure beyond what he thought endurable.

Her fingers gently rubbed the sides of the crystal glass cupped in her hands. The bourbon lay warm and mellow in her mouth, and she savoured it a little longer before swallowing. Tonight it was tempting to have a third glass, but she had only ever allowed herself two before going out, and she had determined years ago never to give in to the desires of her body. To do so was to be weak.

Her silk robe flowed around her as she walked to the kitchen and rinsed the glass, then walked to her bedroom. Like the clean, almost sterile, furnishings of the living area, this room gave no hint as to the personality of its occupant. No photographs of family or friends adorned the rosewood dressing table, no cherished ornaments sat on the bedside table. The painting on the wall blended appropriately with the colour scheme, but could have been chosen for that very reason.

Skilfully she applied make-up, highlighting her cheekbones and applying mascara and eye-liner to draw attention to her best feature, her compelling dark eyes.

But it was her statuesque body, with its voluptuous curves, that she used to most advantage. Dressed in fabrics that clung and moulded, so different to the severe business clothes she wore to the office, she moved in a way that signalled her intentions to any man watching. And if they read lust in her eyes, that only added to the game.

She moved back from the mirror and slid the robe from her shoulders. Her gaze followed her hands as they slid over her full breasts, down her flat belly, and across the front of her thighs. The image of Daniel Brand came to her mind, and she laughed. When she'd first seen him she had recognised that he was like her, strong and determined.

The short burst of laughter died into a wicked smile.

When she had finished with him, he would be as weak as the rest.

Cate O'Flaherty stared in surprise at Daniel, then shook her head. 'It's not often I get an offer from the men in the house to help in the kitchen, Daniel, and thank you for it, but I only have to stack the dishwasher now and I'll be done.' She cocked her head towards Kirri, who was wiping the last smear of vegetables and gravy from Catelyn's face as she sat in her high-chair. 'Perhaps you'd like to give Kirri a hand bathing your daughter and putting her to bed.'

Kirri glanced up quickly, caught off guard by Cate's suggestion. The image of Daniel helping her with Catelyn seemed to cement the idea of them as a family, and she didn't want to think of Daniel in that way. He might be the father of her child, but apart from that, he had no claim on her. 'It's all right, Gran, I can manage.'

At the disappointment on Daniel's face, Kirri felt contrite. She had watched him with Catelyn, had seen his gentleness, his reluctance to push himself on Catelyn for fear of driving her away. He knew he was a stranger to the child. Kirri had seen his hurt when Catelyn had rushed to J.D. as though
he
was her father.

'But I guess a bit of help wouldn't go astray,' she amended.

 

Like the rest of the house, the bathroom had been modernised, and smoky green tiles with scalloped patterned borders contrasted with a white bath and shower unit. Kirri undressed Catelyn, then handed her to Daniel while she ran the bath and added foaming gel.

Daniel took hold of his daughter as though she were a combination of fragile crystal and hot coals. The novelty of the situation wasn't lost on Catelyn either. She studied Daniel's face, then, as he tentatively smiled, reached out and grabbed his bottom lip and peered into his mouth. 'Teef!' she announced.

Kirri concentrated on her task, trying not to let her laughter bubble out. But from the corner of her eye she saw the flush of pride on Daniel's face as he nodded at Catelyn. 'Yes, teeth,' he repeated, his lip still clutched in a chubby hand.

A surge of love and tenderness so great it threatened to stop his breathing swept through Daniel. His daughter! This beautiful child with her big, liquid dark eyes and hair like ebony, was
his
.

Kirri's heart constricted. Daniel was so obviously besotted with Catelyn. Again she felt a trickle of fear that he might decide to fight her for custody of their daughter. Then she gave herself a mental shake. What she'd learned of Daniel Brand, even in such a short time, had given her no reason to think he would do such a thing. After all, he'd even stayed away from her because he'd thought she was involved with another man. Yes, she thought bitterly, and because of that I've had two years of living in fear of the past.

She turned off the taps and tested the heat of the water. Then she reached up to take Catelyn from Daniel. Her hands brushed against his bare forearms and she was stunned by the sheer physical desire that shot through her. She faltered, trembling, and Daniel's sudden stillness told her the reaction wasn't hers alone.

For a second they stood, barely touching, need shimmering between them like a force field. Then Catelyn twisted in Daniel's arms. 'Barf,' she demanded.

Daniel smiled, a strange mix of regret and delight. 'Is it okay if I bath her?' he asked.

Kirri nodded, afraid if she opened her mouth to speak no words would come from her throat. So she watched as Daniel knelt beside the bath and tried to wash his daughter. He soon learned that keeping a frightened cow on the ground was easier than bathing one little girl. To Catelyn's immense glee, Daniel was soon covered in as much foam as she was.

In a belated attempt to keep the bathroom floor somewhat dry, Kirri held out a large fluffy towel to capture the laughing child as Daniel lifted her from the bath. Daniel looked down at his sodden shirt. 'I think I'd better change,' he grinned.

'I'll get Catelyn ready for bed,' Kirri muttered and walked into the hallway. Damn, but that infrequent smile of Daniel's was getting to her. If he kept that up, she was going to have trouble not to melt into his arms and kiss him until rainbows spun through her head like a kaleidoscope. The problem was, she didn't know if that was what she wanted or not.

 

Daniel quickly changed his shirt, anxious not to miss out on any more of his daughter's life. Kirri just finished tucking Catelyn into bed when he walked into the bedroom.

'Isn't she a little young to be in a bed?' he queried.

'This little monkey was walking at ten months, and
running
at twelve months. She was also hauling herself over the side of the cot. It was a lot safer to move her into a bed. Not so far to fall.'

Black curls bounced as Catelyn spied him. 'Book,' she cried. 'Book.'

'Book?'

'She wants you to read her a story,' Kirri explained.

Daniel looked as though he'd been asked to give an impromptu speech to a room full of angry shareholders. Kirri couldn't help laughing. 'She can't read, Daniel. It won't matter if you don't do it right.'

She handed him a selection of children's books. 'You've never done this before, have you?'

He shook his head. 'Coyotes and bears aren't partial to bedtime stories.' He shuffled through the books, then his hands stilled. 'Peter Rabbit,' he whispered. 'My mother used to read that to me. It's the only memory I have of her.'

His soft words sparked an instant response in Kirri, and she clasped her hands tightly behind her back to resist the urge to hug this big, gentle man with all the strength she could muster. No wonder he felt so strongly about wanting to know his daughter, he had never had the chance to know his own mother.

'Kirri,' Cate knocked softly on the door, 'there's a phone call for you from Emma. Last minute wedding hiccup, I think.'

'You're on your own.' Kirri patted Daniel on the back and left the room.

 

As wedding hiccups go, it wasn't a disaster, but disappointing for Drew, the man Emma was marrying. Drew's brother, Chayse, had sent word that he might not be able to make it to Cairns to be best man.

Kirri had first met Chayse seven months ago when Drew and Emma were desperately trying to save a baby from a man who had tried to kill Drew. She wasn't sure exactly what Chayse did for a living, but Emma had said he was involved with the police in some way.

The wedding was to be held at the property that used to belong to Emma's father, and was now being used as a farm where street kids could learn about country life and gain work skills. It was the next property up the valley, and Kirri agreed to meet Emma and Drew there on Friday for the rehearsal.

It was nearly an hour later that the two friends had finally caught up with each other's news, and Kirri was anxious to see how Daniel had fared with his first lesson in reading to Catelyn.

She stopped in the doorway, her chest tightening so much she felt she couldn't breathe.

Daniel was lying on the bed, his eyes closed, Catelyn tucked into the crook of one strong arm. Her head nestled between Daniel's chin and chest. One tiny hand clutched the dark chest hair revealed by his undone shirt buttons. Her legs were tucked underneath her, bottom pushed up into the air, as though she were trying to get even closer to Daniel.