AT TWENTY PAST THREE Abby’s boss finally showed up, looking slightly harassed but still very handsome in a smart grey suit and a crisp white shirt which highlighted his dark hair, olive complexion and deep blue eyes.
Even Abby had to admit that in the flesh her boss was a hunk. But she’d never been blindly attracted to a man on looks alone. Handsome is as handsome does, in her opinion. What attracted her most in the opposite sex was kindness and gentleness, qualities which Wayne had had in spades.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ Jake said as he strode into the kitchen, where Abby was making herself coffee. ‘Damned ferry was running late. Could I trouble you for some coffee? Black, with no sugar,’ he ordered as he slid on to one of the kitchen stools, reefing off his tie at the same time.
Abby wanted to scream at him. Didn’t he know how stressed out she was? But she held her tongue and made him the darned coffee.
‘So what did you want to talk to me about?’ she asked as soon as she’d placed his mug in front of him. She stayed standing on the other side of the breakfast bar, not daring to pick up her own coffee yet for fear of spilling it.
His forehead bunched in a frown, which only added to her discomfort.
‘You’re going to fire me, aren’t you?’ she blurted out.
His head shot up, his dark brows arching. ‘What? No. No, of course not! Good God, is that what you thought this was about?’
She just shook her head at him. ‘I didn’t know what to think.’
‘Why on earth would I want to fire you? You are the best housekeeper a man could have. I’m sorry if you thought that.’
Abby found herself flushing at his compliment. And his apology. Relief swamped her as well. She didn’t want to lose this job. Not for a good while yet.
‘It’s to do with Craig’s will,’ Jake said abruptly.
‘Craig’s will?’ she repeated, feeling somewhat confused. ‘Are you talking about your uncle Craig, the man who stayed here for a while during the winter?’
It had been back in July, she recalled, about four months ago.
‘Yes. The thing is, Abby, he’s left you something in his will.’
Abby just stared at Jake, shock joining her confusion. ‘Are you saying that he’s dead?’
‘What? Oh. Yes. Yes, he died last week. Incurable cancer,’ he finished up with a heavy sigh.
‘But...but that’s impossible! I mean, he was so alive not that long ago.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Jake said as he swept an agitated hand through his hair. ‘It came as a shock to me as well. I gather he found out during an MRI for his busted knee about the cancer. But he never told anyone, not even me. And we were very close. I knew nothing about his illness till his solicitor rang and told me he’d passed away.’
Abby found it hard to understand what he was saying. ‘You mean you weren’t with him when he died?’
‘No. No one was, other than the palliative care nurse. He’d booked himself into a hospice without telling anyone.’
‘But that’s terrible!’ Abby declared heatedly, upset that anyone would choose to die like that.
Jake’s shrug carried a weary resignation. ‘It was what he wanted. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about his death. It was all over the news at the weekend. He was quite famous.’
‘I... I don’t often watch the news.’
‘I see.’
She wanted to ask him why he hadn’t told her himself, but of course why would he? She wasn’t a relative, or a friend. He wouldn’t have known how much she’d enjoyed the time she’d spent with his uncle whilst he’d stayed here.
Craig had been a fascinating individual, highly intelligent, widely travelled and very well read. He’d been incredibly nice to her, showing an interest in her as a person and not just some kind of maid. The day before he’d left, he’d given her a list of ten books which he said everybody—especially young women—should read. She was still slowly working her way through them. They were the reason she didn’t watch the news much any more, and why she hadn’t seen the report of his death.
Tears flooded her eyes at the realisation that this very nice man was actually dead.
‘He...he said he was going away to have a holiday.’ Abby’s voice caught at the memory.
‘He told me the same thing,’ Jake said.
‘Instead he went away to die,’ she choked out. ‘Alone...’
Abby couldn’t think of anything sadder than dying alone. It was the main thing which haunted her about Wayne’s death. That he’d been all alone, out there in the ocean, with the storm raging around him and little chance of being rescued. Had he lost all hope in the end? Had despair engulfed him in the moments before he drowned?
Suddenly, a huge wave of grief overwhelmed her, emotional distress welling up in Abby till it could not be contained. Tears filled her eyes so quickly they spilled over and ran down her cheeks.
When a sob escaped her throat, Jake stared at her with a look of horror.
Embarrassment flooded in but there was no stopping her now. When more sobs racked her body, all Abby could do was bury her face in her hands. She simply couldn’t bear to witness her boss watching her whilst she wept her heart out. No doubt she was making a fool of herself. No doubt he thought she was a typically sentimental female to cry over a man she hardly knew.
The feel of strong male arms suddenly pulling her into a comforting embrace shocked Abby rigid. She certainly hadn’t expected a hug. Not from her very aloof boss. Unfortunately, his uncharacteristic kindness only made her weep all the more.
‘There, there,’ he said, patting her back as she clasped the lapels of his suit jacket and sobbed into his shirt. ‘No need to cry. Craig had a good life, with no regrets. He wouldn’t want you crying over him. Craig wasn’t one for tears.’
Abby could hardly explain that it wasn’t just Craig’s death which had set her off, but the way he’d died. All alone.
Oh, God...
Abby was gritting her teeth and doing her best to pull herself together when Jake stopped patting her back and slid his arms right around her, holding her quite close. No doubt he was still just trying to comfort her but for some reason Abby no longer felt comforted. She felt very discomforted. Because she liked him hugging her like that. She liked it a lot. The urge to slide her own arms around his back was acute. She wanted to hug him back, wanted to bury herself in the solid warmth of his very male body and...and...
And what, Abby? Make an even bigger fool of yourself? For pity’s sake, get a grip, girl.
Taking a deep gathering breath, Abby lurched backwards, releasing the lapels of Jake’s jacket as she gulped down a sob of shame.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she choked out, her face flushing as she spun away from him and grabbed a handful of tissues from the box on the kitchen counter, not saying another word till she’d blown her nose and composed herself. She did note rather ruefully, however, that Jake didn’t wait long to hurry back to the other side of the breakfast bar.
Her groan carried more shame. ‘I’ve embarrassed you, I can see. It’s just that... Oh, never mind.’ Her fisted right hand came up to rub agitatedly at her mouth. For a moment she was tempted to confide in Jake about Wayne’s tragic death. But only for a moment. Maybe, if he’d been any other kind of man she might have explained why she’d been so upset at the news of his uncle dying alone like that. But Jake didn’t invite confidences. Why, he’d never even asked her how her husband had died!
Despite his hug just now, Jake didn’t really care about her. She was just his employee, hired to look after his house. His housekeeper. A glorified cleaner, if truth be told.
Craig hadn’t treated her like that. He’d been genuinely interested in her life. Not that she’d told Jake’s uncle the total truth. Abby had become masterful at blotting out the really painful parts in her past. Talking about them wouldn’t have achieved anything, anyway.
‘The thing is,’ she went on, compelled to make some excuse for her emotional display, ‘I really liked your uncle a lot.’
‘He must have liked you a lot too,’ Jake replied.
‘Well, yes,’ she said slowly. ‘He seemed to.’
‘You haven’t asked me what he left you,’ Jake went on, his eyes on her.
‘What? Oh... Some books, I suppose.’
Jake frowned at her. ‘No, no books,’ he said. ‘Nothing as mundane as that.’
‘Then what?’ she asked, perplexed.
‘To be honest, he didn’t leave you anything directly. He left a letter for me with instructions of what he wants you to have.’
She blinked, then frowned. ‘That sounds...weird.’
‘Yes, I thought so too,’ he agreed drily. ‘But Craig was never a conventional man. Look, why don’t we both drink our coffee before it gets cold? Then, afterwards, I’ll fill you in on everything.’
When Jake picked up his coffee mug, Abby did likewise, sipping slowly and thoughtfully. A hot drink always calmed her. And brother, she needed calming after that crazy moment when she’d almost hugged her boss back.
‘I would have liked to go to his funeral,’ she said after a suitably calming minute or two. ‘Was he buried or cremated?’
‘Buried,’ he said.
‘Where?’ she asked.
Jake’s face looked grim as he put down his coffee. ‘Rookwood Cemetery.’
She wasn’t sure where that was. She didn’t have a GPS in the ute and often got lost. ‘I’d like to go and visit his grave some time. Pay my respects. Say a prayer or two. Would you take me?’ she asked him before she could think better of it.
Jake’s sigh suggested that was the last thing he wanted to do.
‘Okay,’ he said with a resigned shrug. ‘But I can’t go till next Saturday. In the meantime, wouldn’t you like to hear about what Craig wanted me to give you?’
‘Oh, yes. What is it?’
‘Well, first of all he wants me to buy you a new car. Something small and stylish, with a decent warranty.’
Shock at this news was swiftly followed by confusion.
‘But that doesn’t seem right,’ she said. ‘As much as I would love a new car, why should he ask you to pay for such a thing?’
‘It’s basically Craig’s money, Abby. He left most of his estate to me. Trust me when I say that my inheritance was considerable. So it’s no hardship on me to spend a seriously small portion of it on you.’
‘But why didn’t he just leave some money to me in his will to buy my own car?’
‘I have no idea. It might have been simpler all round if he’d done that. Apparently, he was worried that you might not spend it on yourself—that you might give it away to relatives.’
‘Oh, dear,’ she said, embarrassed. ‘I suppose it’s because I told him about paying for Timmy’s operation.’
‘No. He didn’t mention anything specific. Who’s Timmy?’
‘My sister’s little boy. She’s a single mum and doesn’t have any private health insurance. Timmy needed his tonsils out but would have had to wait eighteen months to have it done. She couldn’t afford the operation so I paid for it to be done privately.’
‘I see,’ he said, his tone sceptical.
A degree of anger pushed aside Abby’s embarrassment. ‘Please don’t think my sister’s a user because she’s not. She’s doing the best she can under the circumstances. Megan didn’t ask me to pay for Timmy’s operation. That was my idea. She won’t come and live with me, even though I said she wouldn’t have to pay any rent. Your uncle got the wrong idea.’
‘Possibly, but that’s irrelevant now. I have no alternative but to follow through with Craig’s dying wishes. He was most specific in his letter about what he wanted me to buy for you. A new car is the first cab off the rank. Then he wants me to give you twenty-five thousand dollars. For your travel fund, he said.’
Abby’s mouth dropped open. ‘Twenty-five thousand! But...but that’s way too much. What will people think?’
‘Who cares what they think?’ came his arrogantly dismissive comment. ‘And who are they?’
‘My sister for starters. She’ll think I’ve done something I shouldn’t have with your uncle to get him to leave me all that money.’
‘Really. Such as what?’
‘You know what,’ Abby shot back.
‘True,’ he said drily. ‘In that case I suggest you don’t tell her about your unexpected windfall.’
Abby gave a snorting laugh. ‘Hard to hide a brand-new car.’
‘True again. So what do you want me to do, Abby? Go against my uncle’s wishes? Forget everything?’
She looked at him with pained eyes. ‘I couldn’t do that. I don’t care so much about the new car, but I couldn’t turn down the travel fund money. It’s my dearest wish to go overseas and see the world. And I’d like to go before I get too old.’
Jake laughed. ‘You’re hardly ancient, Abby.’
‘I might be by the time I save up twenty-five thousand dollars.’
He seemed startled by this statement. ‘Do I pay you that poorly?’
‘No. But I have a house and a lot of bills.’ And the remainder of a debt for porcelain veneers.
Jake frowned. ‘You have a mortgage?’
‘No. My husband’s life insurance paid that off. But I still have a lot of bills. Maintaining a house is expensive.’
‘Tell me about it,’ he said with the first hint of a smile that day. He really wasn’t much of a smiler. Not with her, anyway. He smiled on television a lot though. Abby wished he would smile more. It really transformed his face from cardboard handsome into a likeable human being.
Unfortunately, his smile also did things to Abby which she was finding hard to process. Her stomach curled over and she found herself staring at his mouth and thinking totally unacceptable things. Like what would it be like to be kissed by him? And not just on her mouth.
Lord, but this wasn’t like her. She didn’t even enjoy sex that much, unlike her sister, who couldn’t live without it. Sex with Wayne had been okay, but nothing to write home about. She’d done it whenever he wanted, more for him than herself, because she’d loved him so much. In her mind, making love was a natural part of loving. Of marriage. She’d never been into sex for sex’s sake.
Why then was she looking at her boss and thinking that here was a man who just might change her mind on that subject?
Not that she’d ever have the chance to find out. Not only did he have a gorgeous girlfriend but he was totally off-limits. He was her boss, for heaven’s sake! On top of that, he clearly didn’t fancy her. A girl knew when a man fancied her and Jake definitely didn’t.
Her eyes dropped from his to her near empty coffee cup.
‘I’m still finding it hard to believe all this,’ she said, glancing up again once she had her wayward thoughts under control. ‘In one way it’s like a dream come true. But I still can’t get over your uncle dying like that. And all alone.’
‘Indeed,’ Jake said, that hint of a smile disappearing as quickly as it had come. ‘I’ve been thinking,’ he went on, his face very businesslike again. ‘I’ll put next Saturday aside so that I can take you to visit Craig’s grave in the morning, then we’ll go on and buy you a car afterwards. It’s not far from Rookwood Cemetery out to the major dealerships at Parramatta. Do you trust me to pick out a car for you, or do you want to choose one yourself?’
‘Well, I... I don’t know,’ she stammered, startled by how quickly he wanted to organise everything. ‘I’m not much of a car buff. But if it’s going to be mine I think I would like to look up a few possibilities on the internet.’
‘It’s a good idea to buy something that is cheap to repair,’ he advised firmly. ‘I would suggest you look at the Japanese cars. Or the Korean ones.’
‘All right,’ she agreed. He seemed to know what he was talking about, whereas she was pretty ignorant when it came to cars.
‘And what bank account would you like the twenty-five thousand put into? The same one your salary goes into, or do you want to start up a special travel fund account?’
Abby was taken by surprise when her chin began to quiver. But really today had all been a bit much.
‘Don’t you dare start crying again,’ he commanded.
Abby bit her bottom lip and blinked madly.
‘Sorry,’ she muttered through gritted teeth. ‘I’m not usually a cry baby.’ Which was true. Nowadays, Abby kept her emotions under tight control. There had been a time when she’d cried too much. And too often. But no longer.
Lifting her chin, she speared her boss with a dry-eyed and rather rebellious glare.
‘Good,’ Jake snapped, making Abby want to hit him. How on earth she could have been sexually attracted to this man—even for a moment—was beyond her.
‘You should go home,’ he went on in that same brusque manner. ‘You look tired. Ring me when you’ve decided on the brand of car and we’ll make arrangements for Saturday. You can tell me then what account you want the money put into.’
‘All right. Bye then,’ Abby went on rather sharply, gathering up her things and taking off before she could say or do something which might jeopardise her job. Or Craig’s remarkable legacies.
She almost slammed the front door, just getting control of her temper in time. She did slam the door on the ute and accelerated off faster than her usual sedate speed. But she soon slowed down, telling herself not to be so silly. No point risking her life because her boss was a pain in the butt.
Think about your new car, she told herself. And all that lovely money.
Abby sighed. Yes, it was sad that Craig was dead, but life went on, as she very well knew. You had to search for the positives in life or you would go mad.
Another thought suddenly came to Abby which made her wince. How much of this was she going to tell Megan? As she’d said to Jake, you couldn’t hide a new car. But perhaps it would be best if she didn’t tell her sister about the money. It might make her jealous and, yes, suspicious.
Abby pulled a face at herself in the rear-view mirror. She hated lying to Megan but she just might have to. Oh, dear. Even when things took a turn for the better, life wasn’t easy.