THEY ARRIVED BACK at the homestead toward sundown, having continued their leisurely exploration of the station. Neither had made any further effort to debate whether they should return to greet Karen. They had simply gone on their way, Nicole climbing out of the vehicle now and then to examine some feature more closely. Once she’d stopped to talk with an old friend, Judah, a full-blooded Aboriginal. Judah had once been Kooltar’s finest tracker, but he was now old and physically diminished, the black liquid eyes not as good or as bright but as wise as ever. Judah had been part of the search party for her mother and David McClelland, coming upon her and her grandfather as they huddled on the sand in grief. Even through her shocking trauma, she’d been aware of how kind and sensitive Judah had been with her.
“We old spirits, missy,” he’d told her, his dark eyes tragic. “We survive. Your mama fly up to the sky. Understand? After longa while, you’ll see her in the stars.”
So far she never had, but the idea still gave her comfort.
When they arrived back at the homestead, seated on the broad veranda were Callista, expression as inscrutable as ever, and a tall, good-looking brunette dressed in a tight strawberry-red T-shirt—she had eye-catching full breasts—with knee-length navy shorts, a sparkling white smile on her face.
“Hi!” she called in a bright, friendly fashion, pushing out of the rattan armchair. She moved to the top of the steps. “I was in the area—over at Mount Myora actually, an errand for Dad—I just had to call in. Hope you don’t mind?” She’d been addressing Drake, and now her golden-brown eyes shifted to Nicole. “Nicole, how lovely to see you again. It’s been such a long time. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Karen.” Nicole walked up the steps, extending her hand. “You look wonderful.”
“So do you. Like a model on safari in one of those glossy magazines.” Her dark eyes swept appraisingly over Nicole’s willowy figure. Nicole was dressed in a black T-shirt with khaki cargo pants. She’d woven her long hair into a thick braid. It hung between her shoulder blades, a carefree style that showed off the elegant column of her throat and the shape of her head. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat. Her eyes glowed an iridescent blue-green.
Inspection over, Karen linked her arm through Nicole’s in friendly fashion. “You have to tell me all you’ve been up to. It’s really good to see you. I was in Singapore when you were here for your grandmother’s birthday. Callista very kindly invited me to stay to dinner and overnight.”
“You might as well spend the night with us as fly in the dark,” Callista said, giving Karen a fond smile. “I’m sure you two young women have lots to catch up on. How did the afternoon go?” Callista’s glance slid to her nephew, who was lounging against the wrought-iron balustrade.
“Fine,” he replied casually. “We managed to see a lot.”
“That’s splendid. I thought you might have returned earlier.”
He shrugged. “The idea was to have Nic see as much of the station as she could.”
Callista appeared disconcerted by the nickname. She gave Nicole a glinting look. “Why don’t you both sit down. What would you like, dear?” She addressed her nephew.
“A nice cold beer.” Drake held out a chair for Nicole, who slipped into it. He sat down beside her with Callista and Karen in their original positions on the opposite side of the glass-topped table. “What about you, Nic?”
“A gin and tonic would be lovely. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our little sight-seeing trip, but it was thirsty work!”
“Not so little,” Callista cut in. “You’ve been gone for hours.” She said this as though she thought they’d been astoundingly rude.
Nicole barely stopped herself from laughing aloud. “The time passed so quickly. Kooltar is in remarkably good condition, given the drought.”
“Drake takes the trophy as a cattleman.” Karen beamed at him, reaching across Nicole’s body to touch his hand. “Running a big operation takes very special skills. My dad says Drake is the best in the business.”
“One of the best,” Drake amended. “It’ll be quite a while before I can touch Kyall McQueen, for one. He’s a truly formidable businessman.”
“So are you,” Karen maintained loyally.
“I imagine nothing is the same for Kyall with his grandmother gone.” Nicole gave a tiny involuntary shudder. “I was terrified of Ruth McQueen when I was a child and I didn’t scare easily. I remember once we were at a wedding getting overexcited and noisy. One look from her silenced the lot of us. She was positively awful to Christine, her own granddaughter. Christine was so sweet and beautiful. She tried so hard to please. Oh, I do want to see all of my old friends again. Shelley Logan was special—very brave! I understand she’s marrying Brock Tyson. Kyall married his one true love, Sarah Dempsey, at long last.”
“Dr. Sarah McQueen, head of the Koomera Crossing Bush Hospital,” Karen said. “Sarah is much loved and respected. She’s a fine doctor. The far-flung community is lucky to have her. She’s expecting another baby, did you know? It’s only just become official.”
“I’m quite sure Nicole hasn’t heard Sarah’s extraordinary story,” Callista said, more than a tinge of disapproval in her voice.
“Actually, my grandmother told me,” Nicole said quietly. “Gran has always had a soft spot for Sarah. Sarah was there for my grandfather. Gran will never forget that. When you think about it, Sarah’s story is not so unexpected. She had a baby when she was fifteen. She’s not the first and she’s not the last. She and Kyall loved each other. The miracle is they found their daughter Fiona even though she’d been adopted.”
“You’d know Fiona anywhere, Nicole,” Karen said. “She’s Sarah’s mirror image, just as you’re your mother’s. I expect you’ll meet up with everyone at Shelley’s wedding. We’re all going.”
“Alas, I don’t have an invitation.”
“That’s easily attended to,” Drake said lightly. “Brock has already asked me to be best man. He has Philip of course, but they’ve never been close. Shelley will be delighted you’re home, Nic. Every time I run into her in town, she asks after you.”
“As if you’d know.” Callista stood up as if at a signal. “I’ll go attend to the drinks. Anything else for you, Karen dear?”
Karen leaned back comfortably in her armchair. “I’ll join Drake in a long cold beer.”
NICOLE HAD BROUGHT something pretty so she could dress up a little for dinner. She brushed her hair until it crackled, then allowed it to hang full and loose the way the men in her life had always liked it.
What men? They paled into insignificance beside Drake. She had all but broken away from this man, but look how effortlessly he had reeled her back in. Something inside her, some niggling little voice, suggested he could have been the real reason she’d found it difficult to make a lasting commitment to any other man.
Under the shower she’d felt herself reliving that kiss. The kiss she couldn’t deal with. It was more like a revelation with the potential to disturb her life. All that long hot afternoon, they’d been acutely aware of each other, the hot air sexually charged, but he’d made no further move to touch her.
It could be his plan. His eyes watching her, like a big cat with its prey. Despite what Karen had said, she still believed Callista had called the young woman to come, but Callista was the only one with claws. Karen’s manner was friendly, her attractive smile at the ready, but Nicole knew there had to be a great deal of wondering going on behind the pleasant facade. Maybe their relationship hadn’t arrived at the point of commitment, but Karen obviously held to her high hopes. Her golden-brown eyes were constantly on Drake, her expression a dead giveaway. She listened attentively when he spoke. She was obviously madly in love with Drake, but he chose in his male arrogance not to heed it.
Men!
It was nice to get out of slacks and a T-shirt and into a dress, this one silk, in an iridescent shade of blue, cut like a slip. Her only jewelery was a pair of silver and enamel art nouveau pendant earrings set with amethysts given to her by her grandmother. They were right back in fashion. A light spray of Chanel’s Gardenia and she was ready to go. She couldn’t allow herself to be upset by Callista’s deeply ingrained hostility. Some things never changed. Callista had never been kind to her. Drake was the reason she was here.
She was ready to go downstairs, when someone tapped on the door. She knew it wasn’t Drake from the light, rather hesitant tap. Not Callista, either, she thought.
Opening the door, she looked into Karen’s glossy-lipped face. “Hi, Karen, have you come to get me?”
“I wondered if we might have a word.” Karen looked beyond Nicole into the large bedroom.
“Sure. Come in.”
“This is a beautiful room.” Karen advanced, staring around her. “Those paintings! Aren’t they lovely?”
“Haven’t you been in here before?”
Karen looked almost shocked. “Gosh, Nicole, Callista doesn’t give me the run of the house.”
“How extraordinary! I thought you were good friends. Please, sit down.”
“Thanks.” Karen, looking very sexy in a black halter-necked number she would have to have begged, borrowed or stolen from Callista if her story of “popping in on her way home” was to be believed, sank into a comfortable armchair, crossing her long legs and staring down at her strappy sandals. The sandals, at least, couldn’t have been borrowed from Callista. Callista’s feet were so small they might have been a child’s. Obviously the two conspirators were playing little games.
Surprisingly, Karen said, “I suppose you’ve cottoned on to the fact Callista got in touch with me.” She gave Nicole a rueful smile. “Anyone can see you’re no fool.”
Nicole let her laugh ripple. “Not all the time, I hope. It wasn’t difficult to figure out, unless you carry a little black dress with you at all times. Callista has always had a struggle liking me. Even before the old tragedy happened.”
“I wonder you plucked up the courage to come here,” Karen said, as though Callista, like Lucretia Borgia, had a reputation for poisoning troublesome guests. “I’ve never found her an easy person at the best of times. She’s madly intense. She loves to control everyone and everything.”
“Fortunately she can’t control Drake.”
“Oh, I know that. She knows it, too. Her whole life revolves around him. He’s very kind to her. You can bet your bottom dollar lots of other nephews would have asked her to move out.” Karen grimaced thoughtfully. “I expect I would,” she confessed. “It’s not as if she can’t make a life for herself. She’s still young. She’s got plenty of money. What is there for her here? Everything points to Drake marrying soon.”
Nicole considered. “You sound very confident of that, Karen. How do you know?”
“Believe me, I know.” Karen nodded her head wisely several times.
“You’re in love with him, right?” Nicole decided not to beat about the bush.
Karen started kneading her hands. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t. I’ve taken a big gamble on Drake even when I know I mightn’t win. He has far too many concerns. He’s just so ambitious! Excessive, in my opinion. It’s not money. He’s got enough money. It’s not even power.”
Nicole held up her hand. “Karen, Drake has a hard-headed determination to accomplish as much as he can in his lifetime. If you don’t understand that, you understand nothing about him. He wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t lead a highly constructive life. To him that means coming out top of the class. Making his mark. He was reared on the principle that hard work is greatly to be valued. The job comes first.”
“That’s just the trouble,” Karen groaned. “The job is Kooltar around the clock, and don’t let anyone forget it. I don’t think any woman will mean as much to him as the job. He’s a great businessman. A mover and shaker. Dad says he’s an even better operator than his father. It doesn’t seem to occur to Drake to enjoy life. Travel. He wants to build on everything here.”
“And you think that’s crazy?” For half a second Nicole wondered if Karen knew Drake at all.
“Life should be much more fun.”
“So what you’re saying is you resent Drake’s strong commitment to his obligations?” Nicole asked.
“I suppose I do.” Karen pursed her mouth. “I want him to have time for me. We could do lots of things together. Not always be looking for new fields to conquer. He’s taken over Opal Springs in Central Queensland, did you know that? He might have his eye on Eden.”
“Did he tell you that?” Nicole couldn’t keep the sharpness out of her tone.
“He may have.” Karen wrinkled her forehead as though trying hard to recall. “Is that important?”
“It is to me,” Nicole acknowledged bluntly. “I’d say it was far more likely you got that information from Callista.”
Karen shifted in her chair. “She could have said it. I can’t be sure. But you must find holding on to Eden a burden now that your grandfather has passed on, don’t you?”
Nicole felt slightly nonplussed. “Karen, you don’t understand any of this. I come from a pioneering family who just happened to open up this country for the pastoral industry. Eden is my ancestral home. My inheritance. I would fight to the death to keep it. And incidentally, I’m not hurting for money, before you go thinking I might have to sell.”
“I had the impression you were going back to the States. Aren’t you?” Karen asked, pink with fluster.
“Is this why you’re here?” Nicole asked. “Your job is to sound me out?”
Karen slumped forward, revealing a spectacular cleavage. “Honestly, can you blame me? You’re beautiful, Nicole, and sexy. You’re an interesting person, too. I hear you paint. Well enough to give an exhibition in New York. You must surely want to return there. It must be a fabulous lifestyle, the hub of the world. We’re so dreadfully isolated.”
“Yes, we are. It sounds like you’re at war with your environment, Karen. I know you weren’t born to it. Perhaps you should have made a life for yourself in the city.”
“I want Drake. I’ve got to have him.”
“Drake will never leave Kooltar, Karen. I’ve benefited greatly from my time overseas, but love of my own country runs through my veins, too. Love of the land doesn’t appear to have touched you, but it has me. Of course I’ll see New York again. I have dear friends there. But I’ve made no immediate decision on my future. I’ve barely touched base here. In any case, my family is running Eden.”
Karen looked up quickly, her expression sympathetic but with a touch of triumph. “Nicole, everyone knows Joel is finding running Eden after your grandfather a huge challenge. He’s certainly not in Sir Giles’s league.”
“Who is?” Nicole retorted crisply. “Do you mind my asking, Karen, is this Callista keeping her hand in? Did she put you up to all this, or is that utterly preposterous?”
Karen flushed violently. “No need to be sarcastic. Callista knows how much I love Drake. I have to know, Nicole. Forgive me if I offend.” She gave Nicole a humble glance. “Do you have any romantic interest in him? It would make it very hard for me if you did. I’ve put in so much effort I can’t just walk away. You’re quite right about Callista, of course. She doesn’t like you. She thinks you and Drake would be a disaster.”
“Like the old disaster?”
Karen bit her lip. “It was horrendous, though, wasn’t it? A scandal that won’t go away.”
“Not that your knowledge of it would be good. You simply weren’t around.”
“But the way your mother and Drake’s uncle died goes a long way toward explaining Callista’s point of view,” Karen persisted.
“She needs to blame someone. Me. I don’t want to offend you, either, Karen, but you may have a few things wrong. I’ve known Drake all my life. We grew up together. Our families were once very close. If he were planning on getting married, I think he would have told me.”
Karen’s attractive face turned stubborn. “It’s a loving friendship. At least it has been to date. I’ve hung around longer than the others, at any rate. Having a family, an heir, will become increasingly important to Drake. I love children. I’d make a great wife and mother. I’m not getting any younger, either. The biological clock is ticking away.”
“Karen, I can’t help you on this,” Nicole said. “You should ask Drake to confirm his feelings for you.” Not fantasize about becoming Mrs. Drake McClelland. It looked very much as if Callista was using Karen for her own ends, Nicole thought.
“You don’t sound as if you think my chances are good.” There was a tiny flash of hostility in Karen’s eyes.
“Drake is the one to talk to, not me,” Nicole repeated, making a determined move toward the door.
“He’s very, very fond of me.” Karen rose to follow her.
“You’d better get cracking, then.”
They moved down the corridor, hung with lovely paintings. “Have you ever slept with Drake?” Karen asked boldly.
“I can’t believe you’re asking me that, Karen,” Nicole replied lightly.
“But you’re here…” Karen looked at her with a worried smile.
“Drake and I have decided to patch up the old feud. It’s only civilized.”
“Nothing more? Be honest.” The golden-brown eyes focused on Nicole expectantly. Heartwarming girl talk.
Nicole didn’t oblige. “My private life is just that. Private.”
“I have offended you, haven’t I?” Karen moaned.
“No, no!” Nicole shook her head. What she really meant was a firm Yes, yes!
“You’re not going to confront Callista about our conversation, are you?” Karen asked with a note of genuine alarm.
“Lord, no. My lips are sealed.”
Apparently greatly relieved, Karen grasped Nicole’s hand, locking fingers like good friends. “I just don’t believe how nice you are.”
ANNIE HEADED OFF another tongue-lashing by producing an excellent three-course meal. Even though there were only four of them at a table that could accommodate six times that number, they were eating in the hushed elegance of the homestead’s formal dining room. Dining in such grand style obviously made Callista happy.
They started with a clear consommé, followed by wonderfully tender fillet of beef in a potato coat served with asparagus and a mustard-grain brown sauce. The dessert was chocolate and cherry mousse “domes” garnished with brandy snaps.
“That was a terrific meal, Annie,” Nicole complimented the housekeeper as she deftly removed plates. No fumbles this time, though she was sure Annie was fated to recount the story of “the time she saw a ghost” for years to come.
“We have our standards.” Callista gave a tiny delicate sniff, small hands fluttering like butterflies over the expanse of pristine white damask, fine china, sterling-silver cutlery, sparkling crystal wineglasses. Tonight she had looped her glossy dark hair into a thick crescent that curved around the nape of her neck, a style that suited her beautifully. In fact, it was so flattering to long thick hair Nicole thought she might try it herself. With the overhead chandelier on a dimmer and candelabra on the table lending their flattering golden light, Callista looked as lovely and exotic as a young Merle Oberon, a film star of yesteryear. For the umpteenth time Nicole wondered why Callista had never married, sitting there so small but regal, sipping her splendid dessert wine. She would ornament any man’s table, but all her love seemed to have been given to a brother who was gone.
That same sense of loss started to bear down on Nicole as though David McClelland was all around them. His spirit hadn’t been put to rest, she thought dismally. He was still in the house, just as Corrinne was woven into the fabric of Eden.
Afterward they moved with their coffee into the drawing room, where Callista went immediately to the grand piano, a nine-foot Steinway, its lid already up.
“Oh, lovely! You’re going to play for us!” Karen stated the obvious with delight, then curled into a wing chair, looking as though she wished for nothing more than to hear Callista play. “Callista is a marvelous pianist,” she said, injecting a lot of respect and flattery into her voice.
“I’m out of practice,” Callista demurred modestly, though Nicole sensed this was far from true.
“Come and sit beside me,” Drake said quietly, taking Nicole’s hand. They both settled on the sofa.
Callista took her seat on the long ebony bench, the light burnishing her hair. “A little Schumann to start…”
It was a ritual from the past. The young Callista playing to her brother, David, who adored music. Who had loved her. Before Corrinne Cavanagh had changed her golden days to darkness.
Music poured into the room, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, a very difficult Liszt prelude taken at a cracking pace without a slump. Callista became a funnel of energy and passion. Each note was crystal clear, perfectly precise, the big chords splendid. For a small woman Callista had a lot of power. The all-important “singing tone,” as opposed to sheer technique, testified to a real gift. Had she not been rich, she could have earned a comfortable living as a pianist.
After twenty minutes or so, Karen was so lulled by the music she fell asleep in her comfortable chair, emitting the gentlest of snores. That didn’t disturb Callista in the least. The woman seemed utterly oblivious to her audience now.
Drake very firmly regained Nicole’s hand and without speaking, inclined his head toward the open French doors.
“Gosh, should we have walked away?” Nicole asked in a doubtful whisper when they were out beneath the glittering canopy of stars. Callista, like Joel, was always apt to explode.
“She won’t notice for a good hour. I’ve seen all this a thousand times before. Callista loses herself when she plays. Sadly, not a lot of people get to hear her.”
“But she must get great pleasure out of her accomplishment. I don’t paint because I need people to see my work. I paint because I have to. It must be like that with Callista. If only she could be a happier person.”
Drake sighed. “It comes down to choice, doesn’t it? Some people elect to go through life unhappy, making their partners unhappy, as well. We do have a choice. Callista has chosen this way to live. I know my grandparents were very concerned for her mental health. She’s very highly strung, rather like her Steinway. She toppled into some kind of a psychic void after David died, then made the decision it was fairly comfortable to stay there, a splendid martyr. My uncle more than anyone used to love to hear her play. Sometimes I can’t take it, the sound of the piano at night. I don’t mean the beautiful music she makes, it’s the…” Words seemed to fail him.
“I know.” Nicole gently squeezed his arm. “When you’re trying to cure yourself, you don’t want the wounds continually ripped open. There’ve been too many tears. Too much loss. Let’s forget it for a while.” She paused for a moment to look up. The great constellation of the Southern Cross was right above their heads. To the desert tribes, the Southern Cross was the footmark of the great wedge-tailed eagle Waluwara. The Milky Way spread its diamond-encrusted glory across the center of the sky; a river with many Dreamtime legends connected to it.
“Such a beautiful night.” The dense heat of the day had gone. The desert sands cooled down quickly.
“Let’s walk.” He linked his arm through hers, the fingers on her bare skin trailing flames. He had only to touch her and all her senses came alive.
I’m falling in love, she thought. And I can’t stop it. It was a kind of bliss tempered by too many serious concerns. Yet being with him was so exciting. It vibrated through her.
“What will they think when they realize we’ve gone?” she asked, acutely aware of the touch of his gently moving hand. It thrilled her right through to the bone.
His laugh was rueful. “Callista will go on like that until she gets it out of her system. It’s much like going to a gym for a strenuous workout. Karen’s had one glass too many.”
“Actually I did, too.” Her blood seemed full of sparkling bubbles. “Be gentle with her, Drake.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” He pulled her a little closer to his side.
“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what it means.” She waited a few beats before changing the subject. “Karen seems to think you have your eye on Eden.”
There was a ringing pause. “Would you like me to make you an offer?” His tone was suave.
“You couldn’t afford it if you were one of the Rockefellers. We’re a tenacious lot. Would you sell your inheritance?”
“Of course not. I hold it in trust for my children and my children’s children. But I’m here working it, Nicole, not far away in another country. Kooltar is the flagship around which my life revolves.”
“Think you could ever love a woman that way?”
He glanced down at her. “How do you know I don’t worship at your feet?” In the moon’s radiance her skin bloomed, smooth and creamy like a water lily, the Aboriginal symbol of a star.
“You’re not that sort of man,” she scoffed. “I can’t see you in any submissive role. I can’t see you acting as I imagine your poor uncle David did with my mother.”
“What do either of us know about that? We were too young.”
“Well, he did let Heath take her from him,” Nicole said, a shade wretchedly. “Whereas you, like Heath at least in that respect, are definitely a man of action.”
“I’d like to see a little action with you.” A faint smile creased his face. “I took an awful risk kissing you. As it’s turned out, it was instantly addictive.”
“You should have considered that before you started.”
“Some things you don’t think about. You just do.”
“Here I was thinking it might have been part of the plan. Me, with Eden thrown in.”
“Is it so impossible?” His voice, deep and hypnotic, caught her like a hook.
She held her windblown hair with one hand. “You told me yourself you’re a risk taker.”
“Maybe I’ve been blinded by your charms.”
“I don’t think so. You’re very clever.”
He pushed back a long curving frond that blocked their path. “I’ve been waiting all my life for a woman to appreciate my mind.”
“Brains and brawn. You have both.”
“Just as well. I’d be no good at my job.” He halted for a moment as a bat soared out of a tree, its silhouette eerie against the moon.
“I don’t think the nightmare is over, Drake. I wish I could believe it, but I can’t.”
“Oh, Nic!” He took hold of her shoulders. “Are you ever going to leave this alone?”
She shivered. “I want to, but there’s a voice inside me telling me there’s more. You know as well as I do there are too many loose ends. They need to be tied up.”
His fingers tightened, a delectable pain. “I don’t want to see you put yourself in a position of danger. If there’s someone still out there, your stirring things up could make you the next victim.”
She gave a shaky laugh. “But I have to learn who that someone is so that I can take revenge. My own revenge.”
“Revenge is bad.”
“I’m sorry. That’s the way I am. If someone killed my mother, I want them brought to justice. You weren’t there, Drake. Granddad and I found them.” She turned to move on. “It’s a strange thing to be asking you, but do you think you could find me a good overseer for Eden? Joel needs help.”
“You’re seriously contemplating putting someone above him?”
“I can be ruthless when the situation demands. The job is too big for Joel.”
“The consequence would be crushing. Joel has always battled a low self-image. Even as a boy.”
She felt a flare of anger. “Are you implying that Granddad was forever finding fault with him?”
“No. I’m saying he couldn’t get your grandfather’s attention. He might have, had he been able to cope with your grandfather’s expectations, which were that he needed to turn into a carbon copy of Sir Giles. Impossible for him, and the result was alienation.”
“That’s not true.” She focused on the path in front of her, which stretched into a dark perfumed infinity.
“I’m afraid it is. You’ve got your head firmly stuck in the sand. The only one Joel was free to love was you. Siggy angered him with all her rules, and his father leads some interior life of his own. Who the hell knows Alan? He’s a dark horse if ever there was one.”
Nicole gave a dismissive shrug; she was never interested in Alan. “He’s simply a man who was corrupted by money, marrying into a moneyed family. It could be the reason he rushed Siggy into marriage. He certainly doesn’t work. He fools around in the office, mostly for appearances. At this stage, it’s easier to leave him alone.”
“In short, he’s a man behind a mask.”
“Pretty harmless, I’d say. He’s never given anyone any trouble.”
“Did your grandfather never run a background check on him?”
“Good grief, no!” She was appalled. “At least I never heard about it. He’s Siggy’s husband.”
“They’re hardly a loving couple.”
“You think you know everything about my family?” Her temper rose again.
“I saw more than enough.”
“You didn’t see everything.” Her voice quivered with outrage.
“I saw more than you. I’m older. I was always very observant.”
“Can we stop?” she asked, thinking an all-out argument was quite possible. “So many things I remember too vividly. Others perhaps I don’t want to remember. Feeling helpless, impotent, is a dreadful situation. Can’t you understand that, Drake?”
“Of course. But if we’re trying to pin this on someone, it has to be someone with the strongest motive. To many, that’s your father.”
“Yes. More than just on the face of it. I believe he’s a murderer.”
Drake threw her a look of angry exasperation. “Nicole, I’m not going to listen to this. Your father is dying. You want him to make a full confession before he goes?”
“He said he’s come back to Eden to clear his name.”
“Why can’t you believe him?”
“I’ve despised him for most of my life,” she blurted out.
“It never crossed your mind he might have had a raw deal?”
“You must be joking! For years he lived the good life.”
“You call the good life being marginalized? Your grandfather shoved him into the background. He wasn’t even allowed to be a father to you.”
“That’s not true!” Her hostility burned and burned. She threw up an agitated hand and he caught it in midair.
“It is true.” He held her wrist, knowing she would push each stage as far as she could. Push him. “Your grandfather didn’t want you to see anyone as the dominant male figure in your life but him. Surely you realize that!”
“I won’t be drawn into this. Don’t turn Granddad into a villain, Drake. He loved me. Heath didn’t. He could have been a father to me if he’d wanted to, but he didn’t. He was a drunk and a gambler. He had a violent temper.”
“Things might have been different if your mother had really loved him,” he said. “But it all went wrong.”
“It must have been right for a while. I mean, they got married. My mother rushed headlong into his arms, but it must have been over by the time they got back from church.”
“God knows,” he said, sighing. “They had you.”
“So you keep saying.”
“Please don’t push it, Nic.”
She stared down at their locked hands. “I can’t seem to breathe when you touch me.” The confession was forced out of her.
“You’re afraid of yourself.”
“I’m wise to be.”
He turned, realizing suddenly that the piano had stopped. For how long? Arms encircling her, Drake drew Nicole off the path, not stopping until they were lost in a thicket of towering shrubs.