In the sudden silence Gem felt his sadness. Her heart ached for him, for what he must have suffered growing up without a mother. At least she’d had the unwavering support of two loving parents until she reached adulthood. And she couldn’t bring herself to even imagine Drew’s future if anything happened to her.
She placed her small hand over his large, scarred one and squeezed. ‘I know how hard it is.’
* * *
Jamie nodded without speaking. Talking about his mother always affected him more than he liked to show, and Gem’s sympathy made the sadness almost too difficult to bear. This woman aroused so many conflicting emotions in him. One minute he couldn’t wait to get as far away from her as possible, the next he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless.
The warmth of her hand on his made him intensely aware of her. On impulse, he reached out to push the blonde hair back from the angel face he’d once loved so much. Recalling from all those years ago the taste of her, the touch of her, his body responded as it always had where she was concerned, instantly alive with longing.
Nostalgia proved too powerful.
He moved his hands to her slim shoulders, held her gently for a moment before wrapping his arms about her and pulling her to him. Her slender body felt shamelessly pliant against his, and beneath the violence of his heartbeat he could hear her quickened breathing. He pushed her away slightly. The anticipation in her eyes was more than he could stand and he lowered his face to seek the sweet taste of her.
The kiss was almost unbearably seductive, her mouth softly mobile against his. As her breath mingled with his, he cupped her face with his hands. Her lips parted and, with unspoken consent, his tongue slipped inside to savour the warmth and texture of her mouth. Through the thin fabric of her dress the lush contours of her body curved into him, the sensation so intense he found himself pushing the hardness of his body against the soft give of hers.
Beneath his hands a shiver went through her. She stiffened against him, breaking the spell. Her small hands, now balled into fists, pushed at his chest. Somehow he pulled himself back.
She wouldn’t look at him, instead gazing at the floor for several seconds. ‘You seem to have forgotten I’m married,’ she said at last.
The tone was one of censure but she spoke through lips still swollen from his kisses, and he sensed something not quite genuine going on. Before he could put his finger on it she reiterated, separating each word for emphasis, ‘I’m married.’
‘You are.’ She was. What the hell had he just done? ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.’ But married or not, she’d been into the kiss just as much as he had, and a woman happily wedded didn’t lock lips with another man that way. ‘Let’s put it down to nostalgia.’
‘That implies happy memories.’
‘My memories of us are happy,’ he insisted. ‘We had a lot of good times, Gem.’
The tightness in her face testified to her disagreement. ‘Had is the operative word. As you pointed out earlier, the girl you used to know doesn’t exist anymore.’
‘I’m not so sure about that now.’
‘Believe me, she doesn’t,’ Gem said with sad finality, before raising newly reproachful blue eyes to his. ‘You, on the other hand, are still a hopeless dreamer.’
‘Dreamer, yes,’ he agreed. ‘Hopeless, no.’ His hands caressed the glass case in which his treasure lay. ‘That’s part of the reason I wanted to show you Gracie, to show you dreams can come true.’
‘Then why are you going to destroy this beautiful creature? Why sell off your dream?’
The probing made him uncomfortable. While his reason for having to sell to the highest bidder was valid she’d never accept the fact without further explanation and he wasn’t willing to share that with her. Not yet, not until he found out for himself whether Gracie was worth as much as he hoped.
Helpless to answer, he shrugged and spread his hands. ‘It’s complicated. In a few more days—’
‘In a few more days, what?’ she interrupted coldly. ‘You’ll be rolling in money? Good for you. Of course the world will be a poorer place, having lost a unique treasure, but hey, what does that matter, right? The logic of greed isn’t complicated, Jamie.’
Despite her escalating anger he kept his cool. ‘Greed doesn’t come into this.’
She barked her disbelief. ‘I don’t know why you’re trying to justify your actions to me. It’s obviously not your conscience—you don’t have one!’
The resentment in her eyes before she turned and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind her, cut deep. And the thing was, he couldn’t blame her. At times he disliked himself for what needed to be done with Gracie, although he’d never admit that. To anyone. Everything came at a cost and if the price of his and Harry’s future included a nagging moral doubt then so be it. It was a burden he was prepared to shoulder alone.
He kicked at the floor in disgust. The impulsive urge to show off Gracie before she was dismantled, knowing how much it would mean to Gem to see such a treasure, had well and truly backfired on him. Nothing he did or said would make her understand. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
The simple, sad truth was that he couldn’t give Gem what she so desperately wanted without abandoning his dream, a dream tantalizingly close to fruition. He’d finally found a way to repay his father and, as much as he cared for Gem, his responsibility to Harry outweighed his personal yearnings.
With a regretful look at his prize possession, he removed the overhead bulb. ‘G’night, Gracie.’ He couldn’t tell if she was grimacing or smiling at him.
Chapter 6
The features of the distinguished-looking man behind reception creased into a smile as Gemma approached. Feeling about as far from calm as it was possible to get, she tried to keep her own expression devoid of any emotion while nausea tied knots in her stomach and goose bumps of anticipation shivered her skin. This had to be Jamie’s father.
Drew’s grandfather.
‘Welcome to the Underground, Miss ... ’ he glanced at the computer screen, ‘Stephens.’
There was only a little of his son recognisable around the thin-lipped mouth but they were definitely Jamie’s ocean-blue eyes twinkling down at her, and as she looked into those eyes a frantic melee of feelings assaulted her.
Apprehension. Curiosity. Sadness ... guilt. This man was family her little boy could never learn about.
For a moment her hand hovered at her throat. This encounter with her child’s only grandparent required slow breathing and concentration. If she could effectively cover her churning emotions with a veneer of composure, the inner strength she’d been working so hard to retrieve since separating from Roger would be well tested and hopefully not found wanting.
She made herself breathe deep and extended her fingers across the desk. ‘Please, call me Gemma.’
‘Gemma, I’m Harry. Harry Coltrane. Pleased to meet you.’
His handshake was warm, and he showed no recognition, in his voice or demeanour, at her name. But then, why should he? They’d never actually met and if Jamie hadn’t spoken to his father since she’d arrived then Harry would obviously have no idea who she was. Which might be the best way to play this, for the moment at least.
‘If there’s anything I can do to help you make the most of your stay, you only have to ask,’ Harry offered, interrupting her thoughts.
Anything he could do? Hmm. Feel like beating some sense into your pig-headed son?
She settled for something more achievable. ‘I’d like to get out and look around. I’ve never been to an opal-mining town. What do you suggest?’
Harry grinned. ‘Got just the thing.’
She returned his smile; she had no reason to resent this man. He was accommodating and open, and for all she knew he was merely an unwitting participant in the collapse of her fairy-tale romance—the excuse Jamie needed to escape the pressure he’d supposedly been under.
‘Great. What is it?’
‘Aeri
al tour in a Cessna. Takes an hour or so. Whaddya reckon?’
Her mind raced while she stared at him blankly. Small planes were notoriously dangerous. Too risky, too many unknowns. What if she got airsick? What if it crashed? Or got struck by lightning? ‘Mm, no. I don’t think so. Thanks anyway.’
Harry nodded his silvered head knowledgably, regarding her with a Jamie look, one that spoke of knowing exactly what she was thinking.
‘Haven’t lost a passenger yet,’ he said with good-humoured friendliness. ‘And the flight’s a great way to appreciate a spectacular landscape. I’m not trying to be pushy, I just hate to think of you kicking yourself for not grasping the opportunity. Take it from me, nothing worse than living with regrets.’
‘Amen to that,’ she replied with more vehemence than she intended.
‘Come on,’ he cajoled. ‘Give it a go.’
Harry’s enthusiasm completely disarmed her, and an uncharacteristic urge to throw caution to the wind took hold. Why not do something like this—something she’d never normally do—while out here in the sticks, so far from home and normality? Why not squeeze every drop of experience from the visit? It wasn’t like she’d ever be back here.
‘Okay,’ she said, surprised to hear herself laugh. The unaccustomed spontaneity of the decision left her a little breathless.
‘You’ll love every minute.’ Harry winked at her. ‘The pilot’s a good-looking fella too.’
Her breath cut back in. ‘Is it you?’ she countered with a grin.
He roared out loud, the same vibrant laugh as his son. ‘No.’ He stared past her. ‘But speak of the devil.’
The devil indeed.
She smelled him before she saw him, that unmistakable scent of sweat and spicy aftershave. On turning, she was hit again by that strange shock of recognition as Jamie closed the short distance between them on long, jeans-clad legs. A white muscle top stretched smooth across the muscular wall of his chest, contrasting with the inky black of his hair and bringing out the deep blue of his eyes.
Her heart skipped a couple of beats. He was so effortlessly handsome.
Dammit! Jamie was the last person she wanted to see—she still hadn’t worked out a conclusive plan to make him change his mind—and now she’d gone and arranged to spend the morning with him. If that’s what being spontaneous did for you, she made a mental note to pass next time.
Things hadn’t gone her way last night but, despite a sleep fractured by old memories and recent frustrations, she’d awoken this morning charged with renewed determination. From here on in she needed to take control over the whole unsettling situation. Her future, and the future of her son, rested on her getting her hands on that fossil. She and Jamie may not have parted on the best of terms last night but she needed him on her side.
She forced a smile. ‘Good morning.’
His gaze was like a physical touch—familiar, and much too knowing. What was going on behind those eyes?
‘Glad you think so,’ he said amiably.
Before she could react he leaned down and pecked her cheek. The brief contact left her scrambling for composure. She stepped back, knowing it was a mistake to give ground to him, but he stood way too close and her skin tingled where he’d touched her. Damn, damn, damn!
‘Geez, son, being a little over-familiar with our guest, aren’t you?’ asked a bemused-looking Harry.
Jamie chuckled. ‘Harry, this is Gem. Remember? Eastern Uni? My Gem.’
He said the words so matter-of-factly, as if she belonged to him. Still.
At the unexpected grin of delight on Harry’s face she bit back the denial that sprang to her lips, swallowing her resentment and coming up with yet another small smile. If Jamie wanted to pretend no dispute existed between them she’d play along. It made more sense to remain on speaking terms than to be constantly at loggerheads anyway. At least that way she could maybe find out what he was thinking.
‘You shoulda said something,’ Harry chided her affably.
Gemma lifted her shoulders in a helpless gesture.
‘Well son, seems you’ve inherited your old man’s eye for a top sort.’ Harry’s wink encompassed them both.
Heat rose in her cheeks and she reached up to tuck a stray hair into the roll at the back of her neck. ‘I don’t know about that, Harry. When was the last time you had your eyes checked?’
His father chuckled but Jamie continued to stare at her enigmatically. ‘I think there are a lot of things you don’t know about yourself,’ he said at last.
Strangely affected by his words, unsure how close he might be to the truth, she gazed silently back at him.
Harry broke the intimacy of the moment. ‘Gem’s just booked the aerial tour. You two should head off soon before it gets too bloody hot.’
‘I’m ready,’ said Jamie. ‘How about you?’
She dragged in a deep breath. ‘Ready as I’ll ever be.’
‘No loop the loops over the town today, son,’ Harry warned. ‘Your passenger is a little nervous.’
A little nervous? Loop the loops? Oh, crikey. What had she got herself into?
‘Don’t worry, Dad. Gem’ll be safe with me.’
All she could was hope so.
* * *
A faded signpost indicating the way to the airstrip pointed west out of town. They bounced over the dusty, rutted track in Jamie’s four-wheel-drive. The countryside was bare, almost treeless, with a few flat-topped hills on the heat-hazed horizon. So where was the spectacular scenery promised by Harry? And why on earth had she agreed to pay to view the uninspiring terrain from the air when its monotony was all too easy to see from here on the ground?
The airstrip comprised a single tarred runway, a huge shed and a fuel pump. She shivered involuntarily. Not one emergency vehicle in sight. Oh god.
‘Stay here in the cool while I do the safety checks,’ Jamie advised her, pulling the car to a halt on the concrete floor of the large grey-metal hangar. ‘Won’t be long.’
Out through the door, sunlight glinted off the shiny metal hull of the impossibly small aeroplane he headed for. Gemma narrowed her eyes against the glare to watch as he strolled with an air of authority around the plane, first fiddling with the wing-flaps then spinning the propeller. He spent another ten minutes inside the cockpit.
The Cessna looked way too tiny to lift them off the ground.
By the time Jamie returned to usher her from the car, her chest and middle had knotted themselves into a single tight ball. Outside, even though it was still early, the heat rose from the earth in waves, engulfing everything in its oppression. In the short time it took to reach the shade of the plane’s shadow, her cotton shift was clinging to her body and her breath coming in quick pants.
She’d never been this close to a small plane before. It was seriously unnerving. The heat radiating off the metal made her giddy; her palms were sweating and butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
‘You’ll be fine.’ His confident smile didn’t help, wasn’t even half as reassuring as he no doubt presumed it to be. He opened the door, helped her into the passenger seat and fastened the seatbelt around her. ‘You are gonna love this.’
She doubted that but there was no backing out now. The cockpit smelled of hot leather, scorched metal and exhaust fumes; the leather seat burned through her light clothing.
The trapped heat was stifling but had no effect on Jamie. The expression on his face was one she recalled well: a mixture of confidence and boyish excitement, the look he wore when doing something he loved. She’d never admit it to him, but it was difficult not to be swept along by his enthusiasm.
The engine thrummed into life and he taxied them onto the runway. As the plane gathered speed, vibrations pulsed up through her feet and into her body until she was nothing more than a quivering mass of jangled nerve endings.
‘Here we go,’ he yelled above the roar of the engine. She squeezed her eyelids tight.
Next minute they lifted off the ground. She couldn’t hel
p the squeal—part fear, part exhilaration—as her insides folded over. By the time she opened her eyes they were already high up and climbing higher into a cerulean-blue sky streaked with wisps of white cirrus. The perfection was breathtaking. She let go a slow sigh of relief. ‘So far, so good.’
Thud! She grabbed the seat with both hands. ‘What was that?’
‘Wheels,’ he shouted.
Terror gripped her. ‘Falling off?’
His eyes lit up with suppressed laughter. ‘Settling into place after take-off.’
She dared a peek out the side window. The earth shrunk away beneath them while above lay nothing but space. Infinite blue.
She was flying.
The feeling of being suspended, surrounded only by blue-white sky, was heady. And the knowledge that she’d confronted her fears and somehow overcome them by daring to take this flight was incredibly liberating. Her grin was uncontrollable.
‘Great, isn’t it?’
She gave an emphatic nod.
They levelled off. In the distance she spied a miniature town.
‘Rainbow Cliffs?’ she mouthed.
He nodded. ‘Trust me?’ he yelled back at her, taking her off-guard.
Trust him? About as far as she could kick him. Although, with her life in his hands, now was probably not the best time to hit him with a list of recriminations. How casually he was asking her to place her trust in him after he’d hurt her so badly; he obviously had no idea of what the request demanded of her. The time when she’d believed he was all there was to trust in the world was long past.
‘No,’ she played it straight. ‘But I get the feeling you’re going to do whatever you’re going to do anyway.’
With a huge grin he banked to the right. Dizzy fear at the abrupt alteration of angle gripped her for a second before she recovered enough to laugh at her own reaction. This must be what it’s like to be a bird. Lucky little suckers. Glancing across at Jamie she found his eyes on her, warm and approving.
As they swooped low over the town Jamie identified points of interest: the pub, the pioneer cemetery, a dirt golf course, the hill into which the Underground was built. Then something to the west caught her eye; a dazzling white mass of undulating mounds.
Falling In Love Again Page 6
