Forgotten Dreams (10 page)

This seemed to please Sara, and in nothing flat, Toni had her reclining against the pillows with the tray across her lap.

Toni sat on the edge of the bed and smiled lovingly at her aunt. "Did you sleep well?"

"Of course I did, silly. Was Papa upset with you?"

There was no point in trying to correct her, Toni decided, so she answered in kind. "At first he was very angry. But he's calmed down now. Don't you think it's time for you to get up and start getting dressed?"

"Oh, I suppose so," Sara answered disgustedly. "You know, I really don't care for lawn parties. All you get are grass stains on the hems of your dresses and petticoats, and a sunburn on your nose. Then there's that horrible punch the Hamiltons serve. It tastes like vinegar."

"Maybe it will rain today and you won't have to attend," Toni said calmly.

This was the second o third time since her arrival that she'd seen her aunt become completely lost in the past. It wasn't pleasant witnessing someone you loved losing their grip on reality. Yet Toni knew this was to be expected. Sara Cartlaigne had lived her life exactly as she'd wanted and would welcome pity from no one.

After a sip or two of the coffee and juice had been taken, the tray was removed. Toni did several other small things to make her aunt comfortable, then picked up the tray and left the room.

"Aunt Ellen seems to be the one in Aunt Sara's thoughts today," she remarked as she entered the kitchen. She set the tray on the counter, then emptied the glass and cup and placed them in the dishwasher.

"She never did recognize me."

"Try not to let it upset you, honey," Mrs. D said, patting Toni's shoulder. "The doctor assures me she's in no pain."

"Oh, Mrs. D ... I'm not really upset." Toni sighed. "I can't honestly say I'd want to hold on to her if she couldn't continue her life as she has. I understand her deep sense of pride and that feeling of independence she's blessed ... or cursed with. I'm just glad I came when I did. Perhaps I'm also being selfish.

She's always been special to me ... my talisman, you might say."

"I understand, my dear. But when that time doescome, you'll weather it with the same pride and independence your aunt possesses. Now," she added,

deftly switching the conversation to a less emotional topic, "I think I'm ready to visit Mr. Barr."

"From the looks of that basket, you have enough food to keep him supplied for a week."

"Nonsense," Mrs. D said as she grasped the two sturdy handles of the wicker container and headed forthe door. "A man needs nourishment."

After she'd gone, Toni set about straightening thekitchen and spent some time with her aunt, helping the older woman decide what to wear for her visit with

the doctor. Later, as she wandered through the house looking for something to keep her busy, her thoughts centered on her bank balance which, without the

weekly deposit of a paycheck, was beginning to dwindle.

Her spur-of-the-moment desire to visit Natchez had been just that. She hadn't thought beyond getting away from a situation that had been embarrassing and

painful for her. Now she was faced with paying rent on an apartment she wasn't using, and worrying about her furniture.

She could depend on Connie to look after things for her, and Toni knew her friend was expecting her to return to Richmond eventually. But with Aunt Sara rapidly losing ground, Toni wouldn't even consider leaving.

Getting a job like the one she'd had in Richmond would be impossible, leaving her with no other alternative but to seek a secretarial position.

"I'll remember to mention it to Susie," she murmured, just as the back door opened and Mrs. D walked in.

"Well?" Toni asked alertly. "Is he still growling like a grouchy bear?"

"Not at all, poor dear," the kindly woman answered. She set the hamper down on the counter, then faced Toni. "He's the most charming gentleman I've ever met."

Toni looked at the housekeeper, then out the window and back to the housekeeper. "I suppose someone could have switched bodies during the night," she said thoughtfully. "The Christian Barr I'm acquainted with is definitely not a charming gentleman."

"Ah, you young folks and your strange ideas," Mrs. D scoffed. "That young man is a treasure. And just between you and me, I think he's in considerable pain. I offered to call Brent, but he wouldn't let me. I think you should go over there and see if you can talk some sense into him."

"I'm sure he'll manage," Toni replied, unconcerned, but she remembered the glazed look of pain she'd seen in his eyes the evening before. She also had no trouble remembering being in Christian's arms and the feel of his lips against hers.

"Nevertheless, Toni, you should go over there and try," Mrs. D said worriedly. "After all, it was our goat that caused the poor man to be in this condition."

"All right, Mrs. D." Toni patted the woman's hand consolingly. "There's no need to pull out your crying towel. I'll go. By the way," she said with a grin as she started toward the door, "my aunt seems to have regained her faculties enough to demand her purple velvet dress. I hesitated at the plumed creation she called a hat, and decided to leave that little problem in your capable hands."

"Oh, my." Mrs. D sighed. "That dear lady has the most ... er ... the most remarkable taste I've ever seen when it comes to hats. I'd hoped she would have forgotten some of her more colorful ones."

When Toni reached the side entrance of the big house, she raised her fist and knocked loudly on the door. A gruff command to enter left her no choice but to open the door and go in. She'd have much preferred having her short conversation on the porch rather

than inside.

"Did your conscience get to bothering you or did Mrs. D shame you into coming over?" Christian asked from directly behind her.

Toni gave a startled gasp at the sound of his voice. She swung around and saw the "patient" leaning against the casement of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that flanked the door. His position had afforded him a perfect view of her as she'd approached the

house.

"Neither," she glibly lied, her dark eyes running over the tall length of him. Heavens! He was abso-lutely huge. He was dressed in faded jeans and a plaid shirt that was unbuttoned with the tail hanging loosely about his hips. "I've been busy this morning and this is the first chance I've had to run over."

Christian didn't move from his position as his dark-blue gaze reacquainted itself with each inch of her figure before coming to rest on her face. "I thought we'd cleared up the need for lies between us last night."

Every hair on the nape of Toni's neck stood on end at the mention of the previous evening. He didn't believe in wasting time, did he? "I wasn't aware that we had anything that needed clearing up between us. Perhaps my memory isn't as good as yours. All I recall is you being left with a fuzzy head after the shot Brent gave you."

And that, mister, is all I'll admit to, she silently vowed.

"You've forgotten that I kissed you? That you responded warmly and beautifully? I told you our affair would be something you'd never forget ... or words to that effect."

Without batting an eye, Toni calmly pushed back the sleeve of the green sweater she was wearing and looked at her watch. "It's twenty past nine. My aunt's appointment with her doctor is at ten fifteen. That leaves us with approximately fifty-five minutes to begin, and end the shortest affair on record." Toni was lying through her teeth about the time of the appointment and her taking Aunt Sara to the doctor, but she had to beat him at his own game. She glanced toward the sofa, then back to a scowling Christian. "Do you prefer sofas or beds for these little interludes in your life?"

"Am I supposed to applaud or turn vou over my knee?" he asked in a silky voice that barely hid the steel beneath.

Toni watched him take three slow, deliberate steps toward her, and knew a quiet moment of panic as she bravely stood her ground. "I really don't think either is necessary. I was simply giving you a dose of your own medicine," she said quietly. "Now you have some idea of how I feel when you start making ridiculous comments about 'our' affair."

By then Christian was standing directly in front of her. Try as she might, Toni was unable to keep her gaze from his tanned chest and the short dark hair that covered it and narrowed out of sight beneath the waistband of his pants.

It was as though human skin had taken on some new and important meaning for her as she stared. Her hands became tight fists of restraint against the almost uncontrollable urge to reach out and trail her finger-tips against him.

When she suddenly felt his touch against her neck and felt the inevitable pull toward him, she looked into his eyes, only to lose herself in their enigmatic glow.

She raised one small hand in protest, only to have it become pressed against the strong chest that had so fascinated her only seconds before- The beat of Chris-tian's heart, rapid and strong, pounded against her palm.

"This is ... ridiculous," she barely managed in a shaky voice that bore no resemblance to her normal tone.

"'I don't agree," Christian whispered as his arms swallowed her and his lips claimed hers.

Toni knew the war was lost before the battle ever began. His large, powerful hands pressed her against him, flattening her breasts against his chest. Instead of storming the softness of her mouth, as she expected, he traced the generous curve of her lips with his tongue, teasing her, making her desire grow more intense.

Each time the silken tip came near its mark, Toni prepared to welcome it. It became a titillating game of tempt and run till, on fire for more than a teasing moment, she put an end to his playful wanderings.

She somehow managed to disentangle her hands from between their bodies, then raised both to grasp Christian's head. This time, when his tongue completed its dalliance at the corner of her lips and lazily began to inch its way to the fuller, more sensuous center, her own honeyed tongue met it.

The sudden plunge she'd been eagerly awaiting came, and with it, a light-headedness that had her hands sliding down and grasping his broad shoulders for support. She invited him deeper into the exciting darkness of her mouth, completely giving herself over to the desperate need that sprang up within her. She knew that the merging of their mouths was only a prelude to a deeper urgency that was slowly enveloping her.

Suddenly it was as though the floor were being ripped from beneath their feet by a loud knocking on the door. Christian raised his head, his eyes dark with the same intense glow that marked Toni's. He ran his hands possessively over her hips and back, letting them stop beneath her arms, against the sides of her warm, tingling breasts.

"I could easily kill whoever is standing on the other side of that door," he rasped in a husky voice. He raised one hand and curved it to the side of Toni's

face, then bent and touched his lips to her forehead. "Don't you dare leave," he whispered. "We definitely have some unfinished business to discuss."

He stepped back then and hastily began to tuck his shirt into his trousers and button it.

Toni turned away from the bold, knowing expression on his rugged face, her hands instinctively smoothing her dark hair.

By the time Christian opened the door, she' felt she had at least one foot on the ground. She only hoped the visitor wasn't too careful in noting the rosy glow she knew was in her cheeks.

Whatever hopes she'd had of appearing calm and unflustered, however, were dashed the- moment she heard Susie's voice and saw Christian step back and invite her cousin in.

Susie swept into the room, armed with a large covered dish, and immediately sized up the situation. She leveled a sharp-eyed glance at Toni, smiled smugly, then turned to Christian, who was just behind her.

"This is such a terrible thing to happen to you," she began in that nighty way that usually had people thinking her head held nothing more substantial than sawdust. "When Brent told me about your accident and that there was no one to cook for you, I thought you might enjoy this." She thrust the dish toward him.

"Thank you," Christian said with his customary charm. "Between you and Mrs. D, I'll probably have to start jogging again." He included both women in a

broad smile and said, "Excuse me while I take this to the kitchen."

The very instant his back disappeared from view, Susie flew to Toni's side and clutched her arm. "I simply couldn't believe your good fortune when Brent got

back and told me who your new neighbor was. Isn't he fabulous?"

"If you say so," Toni remarked dryly, then tried to change the subject. "Did you stop in and see Aunt Sara?"

"I'll do that later," Susie said dismissively. "What do you mean, 'If I say so'? Have you lost your mind? Christian Barr is the type of man any woman would kill for."

"I guess he'd be a good catch," Toni conceded. "But he moves a little too fast for me. We'd be like the tortoise and the hare."

"Then have your engine overhauled, honey, because this one is dynamite," her cousin fussed.

"Don't be so pushy, Susie. I'm not a rubber ball, ready to bounce from one man to another. I came here for some peace and quiet, and to straighten out my life."

"What you've done, Antonia Elizabeth, is let that Steven Crowell turn you against all men. You're just stubborn enough to want to end up exactly like Aunt Sara."

"Would that really be so bad?" Toni asked, unable to keep from teasing Susie.

"It would be horrible and I won't stand for it. I intend to see you happily married if it's the last thing I do," the harassed blonde hissed in a furious undertone just as Christian entered the room bearing a tray.

"I hope you ladies will join me for a cup of coffee?" he said politely. Susie rushed forward and relieved him of his burden, then placed it on the large oval table in front of the extra-long sofa.