Wilderness Liaison

by Anne Ashby

  Aware Shal’s smouldering looks meant he wasn’t content to let their tryst die its natural death, Jodie was relieved to see a mass of people waiting for the helicopter to land. With any luck and a lot of manoeuvring, she should be able to avoid being alone with Shal.

  The rest of their party, showered and looking none the worse for their experience, soon surrounded Jodie and Shal. Everyone talked at once. Clasped in her father’s arms, for a moment Jodie gave in to the urge to burrow into him, before she pulled herself upright.

  “Everything all right, love?”

  Jodie smiled at her dad, nodding her head, thankful for her mother’s absence. She’d have seen more than Jodie would have wanted her to.

  Before her father could question her further, she swung around to the others. “How was the rest of the tramp?”

  Soon they were sharing stories she knew had already been exaggerated. Imagining what they’d be telling by the time they got back to Auckland, Jodie excused herself on the pretence she was dying for a bath.

  Keeping out of Shal’s way proved easy enough. The guest quarters were well away from her room in the house.

  A huge dinner had been planned for the returning group. In her mother’s absence, Jodie’s help with the last-minute preparation and serving didn’t appear out of place.

  The meal progressed with peppered stories lasting long into the evening. By the time they’d cleared up, it was late enough to escape to bed without comment.

  Lying in her childhood room, wide awake, Jodie blessed her good fortune even as tears trickled down her cheeks.

  Maata Wharetau’s phone call inviting her to stay and visit with Danny had come during dinner and she’d told Doug she intended heading out early in the morning before anyone was up. It was a long drive and she wanted to have time to visit with Maata and Ariana before they all headed for the hospital, she rationalised.

  Her father would pass on the note she’d already written, thanking the townies for their sterling efforts during the tramp, and wishing them well. She should have invited them back, but then Doug was sure to offer.

  As long as Shal never returned—or at least not while she was here. She didn’t know if she could bear seeing him again. Saying goodbye would be far too painful.

  She thumped her pillow. Cursing her vulnerability, she was angry beyond measure at her inability to resist his touch—and at his apparent ease at resisting hers.

  Now she had more haunting memories to disrupt her life. Curling herself into a foetal position, she felt the tears run faster as she remembered the warmth of his touch. Her fingers touched her lips, still feeling bruised from the passion that had raged between them. She’d never feel that touch again.

  Smothering her sobs, Jodie cried herself to sleep.

  ****

  After the evening came to an end Shal resisted the urge to storm the house and confront Jodie. He promised himself a fiery showdown in the morning.

  They’d shared something amazing together. He wouldn’t be leaving until they’d reached some sort of understanding.

  A vehicle roaring past his window wakened Shal. It wasn’t even light. He leapt out of bed, knowing instinctively whose car it was and cursing his inability to stop her.

  What was the matter with her? Well, he was going to find out. He paced across the small bedroom. It might have only lasted one night but being with Jodie had been incredible, beyond anything he’d ever experienced before.

  The setting may have helped create the mood, but the joy he’d felt being there with her was mind-boggling. He couldn’t let her escape, not when he suspected the feelings inside him were deep and lasting.

  He smiled grimly as he grabbed his towel and headed for the showers. She needn’t think this was over.

  ****

  A week later Shal’s blood had reached the boiling point. Uncertain whether the mobile number Doug had given him had the facility to block his calls, or if Jodie was just ignoring him, he punched out yet another text.

  Powerlessness was so foreign to him that he had trouble dealing with it. He tried to gloss over his mood during a visit from his father, but Peter could see their staff giving Shal a wide berth.

  “Something bothering you, Shal?”

  He stopped pacing and looked across to where his father sat behind Shal’s desk. A flash of guilt rushed through him as Peter drew some papers forward and flicked through them—papers Shal hadn’t even looked at.

  He frowned as Peter flicked on his intercom and instructed Shal’s secretary to summon Mazin.

  “This is my office, Dad.” He tried to keep his voice even as he pointed out this fact to his retired father.

  “Yes, well there’s a sad lack of productivity coming out of it at the moment.”

  Shal looked away from the accusation, his fists clenching in his pockets. He cringed as his brother appeared through the door in his normal muddled mess—jacket off, one shirtsleeve rolled up, the other unbuttoned, top of his shirt undone and his tie askew. Shal didn’t bother to smother his groan. This is a business office...

  Glancing down at his own immaculate suit, Shal didn’t get the opportunity to berate Mazin before his brother snarled at him. “What have I done wrong now?” A belligerent look accompanied his brother’s snapped words.

  Shal’s eyes narrowed. In his mind he began the list...

  “Nothing, son.” Peter had Shal’s papers in his hand. “Take a look at these and action them, would you?”

  “What are you doing?” Shal snapped as the papers transferred hands. “Maz isn’t capable—”

  “Maz is perfectly capable.” Peter stood up and stared his older son down. “Sit down, Shalah. There are a few things we need to get straight.”

  “‘Bout time the high and mighty Shal Gregory got taken down a peg or two.” Maz threw himself down onto a chair across from his brother, one leg hooked indolently over the armrest.

  Shal’s mouth dropped open.

  “I hoped you’d learn something from that team-building course, Shal, but it appears you haven’t.”

  Shock forcing him to sink onto a chair, Shal stared at his father.

  “The whole point of that exercise was for you to develop some sense of teamwork. To accept others have abilities, too. I don’t want a lone wolf running my firm—working all hours, assuming everyone else is incompetent. This is a family business, Shal.

  “You have a very resourceful partner”—Peter’s face darkened at Shal’s snort of disbelief. His voice hardened—“one who carried on very well while you were away. And who will continue to do so while you take a few days off to sort out whatever’s got in your craw.”

  “But—”

  “No buts,” his father interrupted. “When you’re ready to work, and stop yelling at the staff”—he continued with a slight smile—“we’ll develop some guidelines to determine how you and your brother can perform as a team.”

  Shal bristled at the less-than-subtle indication those guidelines would be directed toward him.

  “I warned you, Dad.” Maz got up from his seat and headed for the office door. “He’s never going to accept me working alongside him.”

  Shal jumped up and grabbed his brother’s arm. “Maz, where the hell is that coming from?” He shook his head, bewildered.

  “Granted, you made a few silly mistakes while you were learning. So did I. I made some clangers.” He caught his father’s nod of approval.

  “I’m sorry if I’ve given you the impression I didn’t want you around...didn’t trust you. You always seemed far more interested in playing than wanting to be part of the business.”

  The brothers stared at each other, both shocked at the other’s point of view. Shal didn’t realise he was holding his breath until his brother’s reply sent it whooshing from his lungs.

  “I want it bad enough.” Mazin’s back straightened. “And I’m good at what I do, bro. Real good.” Though he wasn’t quite as tall as Shal, he stared him in the eye nevertheless. “Maybe I’m even bet
ter than you.”

  Accepting his grip on the business had slipped in importance right now, Shal conceded. “Maybe you are.”

  An ominous silence hung over the office after Mazin left. Shal waited for his father to speak. When he didn’t, Shal finally broke the silence. “I never realised how much he resented me.” He turned bewildered eyes to his father. “He’s always been such a lazy, good-for-nothing—”

  “In your eyes, maybe,” Peter acknowledged. “He’s a good boy, with a quick brain. You might be surprised at just what he can achieve.”

  “As long as he doesn’t hang us...” Shal glared at his father, the impression of a gung-ho Mazin running rampant with their livelihood flashed into his mind.

  “He won’t hang us,” Peter said confidently. “Trust him. I do.”

  Shal shrugged, not yet convinced.

  “You’re a hard act to follow, Shal.” Peter’s voice was as soft as the hand he placed on Shal’s arm. “Mazin’s had you striding in front of him all his life, bettering everything he’s ever tried to do.”

  Peter moved his son toward the door. “Now get out of here. Go home...or wherever else you need to go to sort yourself out.” Peter patted his arm. “Shall I tell your mother you’ll be around for dinner?”

  Shal shrugged as he was escorted out the door. “I’ll ring her,” he said before the door was closed in his face.

  Ignoring the lift and stalking down the stairs, Shal muttered under his breath. His father knew him too well. That was the problem. The cunning blighter—organising that bloody course not for the staff, but primarily for him.

  He smiled, knowing how he’d get back at the old man. I’ll send everyone in the damned company on that course. That will take a chunk out of his annual dividends, and the staff can all learn the teamwork Doug and Lynette espouse.

  Despite the upheaval it had brought to his life, Shal knew he’d learnt from that week in the bush—so much more than his father could ever have envisaged.

  His cell phone chirped as he got into his car. Knowing it wouldn’t be her, he still felt his hopes rise as he flipped the lid. A mate inviting him for a few drinks didn’t even get a response as he threw the phone onto the seat beside him.

  Shal’s body slumped. It was all very well his father kicking him out of the office, but what good would that do if he couldn’t find Jodie? Hopelessness caused his fists to ball up and he thumped them against the steering wheel.

  He needed a plan. Staring through the windscreen at the concrete wall of the carpark building Shal tried to think of one. Nothing jumped to mind. There’s no point sitting here. Driving might help.

  He wasn’t going back to his little apartment. It had become too claustrophobic this last week. He craved a place where he could breathe, where the surroundings didn’t choke him.

  Without conscious thought, his car headed toward the bush-clad Waitakere Ranges lying on the western side of Auckland city.

  Twenty minutes later he turned into the carpark of the Arataki Visitor’s Centre.

  Striding across the road, he entered the bush via a wide, gravelled track. Finding a bench seat, he sank down onto it. His head dropped into his splayed hands.

  Sitting alone in the Waitakere bush until the sun had almost crossed the sky, he made some decisions. Once he’d looked deeply into his life, it had been so simple to prioritise.

  He scrubbed his hands across his face. Nothing he’d done this past week meant anything. The thrill and excitement of his job had gone. He couldn’t be bothered with the stock market figures...a financier with no interest in finance.

  His humourless laugh echoed back at him, accentuating his aloneness. The mere thought of flicking through his address book and calling one of his lady friends sent a cold shiver down his spine. He wasn’t interested in spending time with anyone but Jodie Mathieson.

  He would find her. She lived somewhere in the North Island, he reasoned, because she’d arrived at her parents’ place in a car too old to be a rental. She’d shown no more concern than him at the huge floods affecting most of the lower North Island, so he figured she didn’t have a home in those areas. Perhaps she lived in some of the bush blocks in Hawkes Bay or the Bay of Plenty.

  The Internet... His eyes flew open as he cursed his own stupidity. Lots of people’s names were on the Internet. If she was involved in any committees or groups—and he was sure she’d be heavily into “protect the forest” groups—her name might appear.

  Electoral rolls were another option. He could go to the library and look through all the electoral rolls. She’d be registered somewhere on them.

  Ignoring his stiffened joints, Shal jumped to his feet. A wide grin stretched his cheeks. Now he had a plan. He wasn’t going to rest until he found Jodie.

  Speeding back to his apartment, he flicked on his computer. Tapping his fingers on his desk as he waited, he reached for the phone. He’d give Doug and Lynette one more try...

  Hearing Doug’s actual voice, instead of the answerphone he’d previously encountered, surprised Shal into demanding Jodie’s address without any preamble.

  “Why do you need her address?”

  Too wound-up to hear the cautious restraint in Doug’s voice, Shal continued. “I’d like to see her.”

  “Just give her a ring.” Shal’s teeth ground at the offhandedness of Doug’s remark.

  “I’m glad you rang, Shal, it gives me a chance to thank you.”

  Thank me, for what? Shal shook his head in confusion.

  “We got back from Wellington to find a request for more of your staff to complete our training course. As your experience didn’t go as planned, I appreciate you giving the course a thumbs-up.”

  Even through his turmoil, Shal recognised the relief in Doug’s voice and wondered if their business could be in trouble. He remembered a flippant remark of Jodie’s. “Sending others from your firm to participate is a real bonus for us. We like to think word of mouth advertising is so much more beneficial—”

  “Doug?” Shal impatiently interrupted the other man’s thanks, his earlier plan to out-manoeuvre his own father long gone from his mind. “You run an excellent operation. We’ll profit from the gains our staff made during that week. I’m sure we can spread the word beyond our company as well.”

  “Thanks Shal, we appreciate that. I wouldn’t expect you to endorse us though, if you have any doubts—”

  “I have no doubts as to its benefits, Doug. Now Jodie’s—”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” Doug’s appreciative voice firmed. “Didn’t you get her number?”

  Shal’s mind raced. “Yes, but something seems wrong with her phone. I can’t get through.”

  “Her phone’s okay.” There was an edge in the other man’s voice. “We talked yesterday.”

  Swallowing the lump in his throat, Shal closed his eyes and massaged the pain shooting across his forehead. Hearing confirmation his calls were being blocked sent a wave of despair through him.

  “If you want to drop her a note here, we’ll see she gets it.”

  “No, I don’t want to drop her a note.” Shal’s fingers tightened on the phone. “I want to see her.”

  Shal heard Doug’s voice change. It dripped ice. “I’m sorry, Shal, but I can’t do that. I don’t know what’s happened, but Jodie specifically asked us not to give you her address.”

  Shal’s shaking legs collapsed him onto the sofa as he heard this link with Jodie fading away.

  “No. Please.” He discovered he wasn’t above begging. “Please don’t hang up.”

  He took a deep breath, trying to overcome his fear and uncertainty. “Doug, please help me. I just need to see her, talk to her. I’d never do anything to hurt Jodie, I promise.”

  “What’s really going on here, Shal?”

  His eyes roamed his spotless, empty lounge as he tried to think of an answer that might sway Jodie’s father.

  “We just need to talk, she ran off that last—”

  “Ran off? She went to see D
anny.”

  Shal’s jaw ached with the pressure he was exerting on his teeth.

  “I need to talk to her.” He calmed his voice.

  “Tell her whatever you want to in a letter.”

  “For God’s sake, Doug...” His good intentions of placating Doug had gone out the window in his frustration. “I can’t tell her I’m in love with her in a bloody letter.” Shal clasped the phone like the lifeline it was.

  Sweat gathered on his brow as he heard Doug relaying Shal’s comment to his wife and then Jodie’s parents arguing in the background. His mind in tumult, Shal tried to catch what was being said, but he couldn’t distinguish the quarrelling words.

  Verbalising those feelings out loud had strengthened his resolve. I love Jodie. There, I’ve said it again.

  Stiffening his slumped back, confidence returned. He had other means to find Jodie if Doug and Lynette wouldn’t help him.

  “Shal? You there?” Doug spoke abruptly. “I’ll give her a call, and tell her she should talk to you. That’s the best I’m willing...Lyn, no—”

  Lynette’s voice interrupted Doug’s words. “Shal, did you really mean that?” Her voice was soft and warm, a welcome change from her husband’s. “Do you truly love Jodie?”

  “Yes, I do, Lyn. I promise you I won’t do anything to hurt her. If she doesn’t want to see me again, I’ll respect that—but I have to talk to her once, to find out why she’s so screwed up about—”

  “She had a bad experience a few years ago.”

  “I know,” he murmured wondering if her mother knew how screwed up Jodie was about men. “Lynette, could I ask something?”

  “Of course, dear.”

  Shal’s heart warmed at the endearment. Surely that was a good sign. “Who is Rhys?”

  The shocked gasp from the other end of the phone indicated this wasn’t the type of question she’d been expecting.

  “Rhys was Jodie’s twin.”

  Twins! That explained so much. Shal was treading on egg shells. “What happened to him?”

  There was sadness in Lynette’s voice, but not the heartbreaking despair like Jodie felt. “He’s been gone eight years now.