Carole Mortimer - A No Risk Affair

by Carole Mortimer

  'I wouldn't call four years ago recently, Mr Thornton,' she dismissed briskly. 'Now shall we go in to dinner before everything gets cold?'

  She was slightly ashamed of her waspish behaviour as he did everything he could through the meal to be interesting and interested in her children, effectively covering up any prolonged silence on her part. He had caught her off-guard with his question about Brad; having lived in Colton for so long she wasn't used to having to explain her single-parent state to anyone, everyone already knew! But of course this man couldn't be expected to know anything .about her past life, and after the trick she had played on him this morning he was entitled to be curious.

  He didn't even attempt to interfere in her nightly ritual of putting the twins to bed, as some other over-eager adults had done in the past, and because he didn't Kim and Andy made the request for him to go up to their bedroom and say good night to them, an honour few were granted.

  'You're very good with children,' Robyn turned to smile at him as they returned to the lounge.

  He shrugged his broad shoulders. 'I try to be.'

  That was the whole point, he didn't 'try' at all, and the children loved him for it. 'Coffee?' she offered.

  'Let me make it.' He followed her through to the kitchen, the four of them having already done the washing-up, a hilarious affair, with Sin pretending to drop things. 'You sit down and rest for a few minutes, you must have had a long day.'

  Robyn sat as he deftly prepared the coffee. It was nice to be waited on for a change.

  'That was a stupid thing for me to have said,' Sin realised as he poured their coffee. 'Every day must be a long one for you.'

  'A six-thirty start can be a bit tiring,' she admitted, 'But it has its compensations.'

  He nodded. 'I'm sure it does. I'm sorry about earlier,' he added gently. 'I didn't mean to pry.'

  'You didn't,' she shrugged, carrying the tray through to the lounge. 'It was just natural curiosity.'

  'Hm,' he grimaced acknowledgment. 'And I seem to have rather a lot of that.'

  'Surely that's only natural in your profession?' She sat across the room from him.

  'Some people don't like it.' He leant back in his chair, totally relaxed, having eaten the casserole with relish, and having had two helpings of apple pie, much to the twins' delight. 'It's a bit like being a doctor or a psychiatrist, people don't altogether trust your motives for talking to them, think you're analysing them, in my case for a character in one of my books,' he revealed dryly.

  She smiled. 'And don't you?'

  He grinned, the devilish twinkle back in his deep blue eyes. 'I suppose I do, sometimes. But it isn't done consciously,' he defended.

  'I'm sure most people consider it a compliment to recognise themselves in one of your books.'

  'That's the problem,' his humour deepened. 'Most people don't see themselves in the character I create for them, see, themselves entirely different to the way I do. Several of them have threatened to sue in the past.'

  'Oh dear,' she laughed. 'Then let's hope the Colonel isn't one of them!'

  'You know my reason for being here?' he seemed surprised.

  'I'm the Colonel's secretary,' she explained.

  'You're RDW,' he realised in amazement, referring to her initials that always appeared at the top of the letters he had received from the Colonel during their negotiations for him to come here and interview the older man.

  'It's a small place,' she shrugged.

  'I know,' he nodded. 'I took a look around this afternoon, talked to a few of the locals. The Colonel seems to be a well-liked man.'

  'I'm sure he is,' she replied noncommittally,

  unwilling to discuss anything concerning her employer.

  'What happened to your husband?' Sin suddenly asked in the silence of the room.

  Robyn blinked her surprise. 'Are you always this—forthright?' "

  'My reporter's instincts,' he apologised.

  'Of course,' she realised dryly. 'For a moment I forgot…' She sighed. 'Nothing "happened" to my husband.'

  'You mean he just died?'

  'Died?' she repeated incredulously.

  'Well he obviously isn't here now, and the Colonel told me you live here alone with your children…'

  'I see,' she frowned. 'He isn't dead either. Brad is still very much alive.'

  'Brad?' Sin repeated slowly. 'Are you saying Brad Warner is your husband?'

  She flushed at his incredulity, knowing herself now what an unlikely combination they must seem. 'Ex-husband,' she confirmed abruptly. 'We're divorced.'

  'I didn't even know he was married,' Sin seemed stunned by the revelation. 'Let alone that he had two children too.'

  Her mouth twisted. 'It isn't something he likes to broadcast,' she drawled.

  Sin looked disconcerted by what she had just told him. 'You must have been very young when you and he got married.'

  She shrugged. 'Age can be used as an excuse for many mistakes. And no, the twins were not conceived until after the wedding,' she added dryly, knowing that was the next question that would occur to most people.

  'But surely——-'

  'I don't like to talk about my marriage—Sin,' she at last managed to say his name, wondering if other women felt as she did when they said it, a thrill-of wicked delight shivering down her spine. 'It was all in the past, and life has to go on.'

  'Even that seems too cynical coming from such a young and beautiful woman,' he frowned.

  He wasn't flirting with her, she could tell that, he genuinely found it disconcerting that she should have found such cynicism in her life at such a young age. 'Do I seem bitter to you?' she cajoled.

  'No,' he acknowledged.

  'And you find that surprising,' she realised.

  'A little,' he nodded. 'I've known Brad on a casual basis for over ten years, and he never spoke of a wife and children. We've never been bosom buddies or anything, there isn't time for that in reporting, but even so most men talk about their wife and families at some time.'

  'Brad is totally dedicated to his job,' she dismissed without emotion.

  'So was I once, but——'

  'What made you make the change from reporting to writing novels?' she cut in interestedly.

  He looked at her for several minutes, her own gaze unflinching. 'You want to change the subject?' he grimaced ruefully.

  'I think it might be a good idea,' she said without rancour. She knew his interest in her marriage was mainly caused by the fact that he was surprised at who her husband had been more than a real need to pry. It hadn't occurred to her that Sin and Brad would know each other, although she had always known that the world of the press was a pretty closed one, so much so that even the spouses lost out to it.

  'It's a small world, isn't it?' Sin obviously echoed some of her thoughts,

  'Sometimes it would seem to be,' she agreed softly.

  'Do you ever see him now?'

  She didn't pretend to misunderstand. 'He comes down to see the twins.' Sin shook his head. 'I'm prying again,' he apologised. 'And I've also forgotten what you asked me.'

  She smiled her sympathy with his confusion. 'Why you became a writer instead of a reporter.'

  'It seemed a natural progression from what I was doing,' he shrugged. 'The type of reporting I was involved in is for the young; I would have been given a permanent desk job eventually, anyway.'

  'You make it sound as if you're ancient,' she teased.

  'Thirty-seven,' he supplied. 'I made the decision to get out of the rat-race five years ago.'

  And it had obviously been a wise decision. She would have put him at much younger than his years, younger than Brad when he was actually three years the other man's senior. 'It's obviously been a successful decision,' she said noncommittally.

  'Luckily,' he nodded. 'I could quite easily have disappeared into obscurity along with a million other would-be-writers. I never forget to be grateful I'm one of the lucky few who made it.'

  'Surely your
success is due to a lot more than just luck,' she chided.

  'Maybe you're right, if I couldn't write the public wouldn't still be buying my books. But at the same time a lot of it depends on whether your style of book is in fashion when you start out; tastes change all the time.'

  'I suppose so,' she agreed. 'And never having read one myself I have no idea whether you're talented or just lucky,' she teased. But she did know, knew that he would be extremely talented, that this man, with his quiet air of confidence, would be good at whatever he chose to do.

  'Shame on you,' he grinned, the mood of seriousness forgotten. 'Even my mother has read one or two of them, and she isn't interested in anything but gardening!'

  Robyn's mouth twisted. 'I'm sure she's interested in her son.'

  His smile deepened. 'I'm sure she is too,' he acknowledged ruefully. 'And all this time 1 thought she actually liked my books,' he added self-derisively.

  'Do you have any other family?' she asked interestedly.

  'A father and an older brother,' he nodded, the blue eyes twinkling merrily as her eyes widened at the latter. 'Don't I come over as the baby of the family?' he mocked.

  He 'came over' as a man so sure of himself arid his own capabilities that he had no need of the charm he had also been endowed with, although he could also use that to great advantage when he chose to. The twins had been fascinated by him, and not just because he had once done the same job as their Daddy. They had even solicited a promise from him that he would take them swimming some time. Kim and Andy loved to go

  to the pool at the Hall, but as the invitations to use the small indoor pool there, understandably with Caroline's aversion to them, weren't too plentiful, they had to make the trip into town to the public pool if they wanted to swim. Robyn knew that the twins' desire to spend more time with Sin Thornton didn't come just from the fact that their own trips to the pool were governed by finances; that they genuinely liked the man.

  And she wasn't so sure that was a good thing. With the lack of a permanent father figure in their life the twins were apt to find the company of any available male something to be prized above everything else. Sin Thornton could just find himself in the role of surrogate father for the time he was here.

  'Not particularly,' she answered his question in a preoccupied voice. 'What does your father do?'

  'Now? Nothing,' he shook his head. 'He's a retired newspaperman.'

  'I didn't think they did retire,' her voice had sharpened perceptively. 'I thought they just got old—or killed.'

  'Robyn——-' he broke off as the forlorn voice of her daughter called down to them, frowning his concern at the sound.

  'Don't worry,' Robyn dismissed lightly, rising slowly to her feet. 'This is a nightly ritual,' she mocked. 'I even know to take the glasses of water upstairs with me now to save myself a second trip.'

  'Oh, I see,' Sin grinned.

  'One of these days they're going to realise that I've caught on to their little game,' she drawled. 'I shouldn't be long,' she added before leaving the room.

  'Don't hurry on my account,' he called after her softly. 'I'm perfectly comfortable.'

  She was aware of that. In fact, he was slumped so comfortably in the chair she was beginning to wonder if he were ever going to leave. And she wanted him to. Already he had touched on subjects she would rather not discuss. If he didn't leave soon who knew what outrage he would come out with?

  The twins looked adorable in their adjoining twin beds, and she pushed aside the worrying thought of what she was going to do when they became old enough to require separate bedrooms. They would work that problem out when they came to it, as they had many others the last five years, and although it might not be the ideal solution Kim could always move in with her when the time came.

  She handed them each the wanted glass of water, sitting down on the edge of Kim's bed as they sat up to drink. The demand for a drink of water soon after they were in bed had started about six months ago, and although she didn't really like to encourage such tactics for attention, she knew that Kim and Andy would settle down to sleep within ten minutes of her leaving the room with the empty glasses. Maybe they really did want the water, or maybe like her, they just enjoyed the little chats they had as she waited for the glasses to empty. Whatever the reason she herself enjoyed these few minutes of quiet calm with her offspring at the end of a long day.

  'Is Sin still downstairs?' the more forthright of her children asked eagerly.

  Robyn gave him an indulgent smile. 'Yes.'

  'He's nice,' Kim put in shyly, her long hair secured neatly at her nape with a brown ribbon.

  'Yes, he is,' she agreed noncommittally. 'Now what would the two of you like to do this weekend?' The mention of their weekend outings was sure to divert their attention from their new neighbour.

  'Maybe we could all go swimming?' Kim suggested eagerly.

  Robyn had realised her mistake in mentioning going out on Saturday the moment identical brown eyes lit up excitedly. Too late she realised it. But she had no wish to spend any more time with Sinclair Thornton than she had to; being neighbourly was one thing, anything more than that she wasn't interested in. He was a pleasant enough man, a handsome one, she couldn't deny that, but she had enough problems already without causing the unnecessary jealousy of Caroline Masters. Caroline was going to be angry enough about Sin choosing to come here this evening without that! Robyn had no doubt she would have to suffer the sharp edge of the younger woman's tongue because of it.

  'I don't think so, Kim,' she smiled to take the disappointment out of her words. 'Mr Thornton is here to work, not to amuse us.'

  'But he said——'

  'You asked him, Andy,' she reprimanded her son gently. 'The poor man had no choice but to say yes.'

  The freckled face beneath her looked rebellious, and despite looking like her in every way Robyn could see Brad in her son in that moment. The wilful single-mindedness Andy occasionally displayed worried her at times, she had to admit that, and she was aware of the fact that he could become as unmanageable and unreasonable as his father when he was older if he didn't have the right handling now. But no one had ever told her that being a parent was easy, and if she occasionally wished she had someone she could rely on and ask for advice the feeling quickly passed. Brad had never given any indication that he regretted their divorce, but even if he had she knew that, not even for her children, could she go back to that life of mindless servitude being Brad's wife had been. And she didn't intend marrying any man just to give her children a father either.

  Andy pouted now. 'He said he likes to go swimming.'

  'His name is Mr Thornton,' she rebuked. 'Or Sin, if you prefer,' she added ruefully, amazed at the easy way her children had taken to using the author's first name; she still had difficulty with it. 'And liking to go swimming and taking us with him are two different things.'

  'But Sin said——-'

  'He was being polite, Andy,' she ruffled her son's hair affectionately, standing up. 'We could always pack a picnic and go down by the river, how would that be instead?'

  She could see Andy was still having difficulty handling his disappointment, although he joined in readily enough once she and Kim began to plan the outing. Poor Andy, he was already suffering from a case of hero-worship. The next few weeks could be very difficult indeed.

  'Robyn…?'

  She turned sharply at the softly spoken query, having been unaware of Sin Thornton's ascent up the stairs as she laughed arid joked with the children. 'Yes?' she frowned. Surely he wasn't the type of man-to be offended by the ten minutes or so she had spent with Kim and Andy?

  His hands rested on either side of the doorway as he filled the length and breadth of it. 'There's a telephone call for you,' he informed her softly.

  Robyn instantly felt contrite for her suspicion. Of course Sin Thornton wasn't petty enough to be insulted by being left downstairs on his own for a few minutes; their laughter must have drowned out the sound of the telephon
e ringing.

  'I'll take over here if you would like to go down and take the call,' Sin came further into the room, moving aside to let her exit.

  'The twins will be fine on their own now,' she assured him.

  'Nevertheless, I'll leave you to take the call in private.'

  Something about the way he said the word 'private' made her view him sharply, colour entering her cheeks as the identity of her caller slowly seeped into her brain. Brad! It had to be Brad. The first time he had telephoned in weeks and it had to be when Sin Thornton was here. She could also understand Sin's reluctance to reveal her caller in front of the children; the lateness of the hour made it obvious Brad hadn't called to talk to Kim and Andy, knowing they would be in bed by now.

  'I won't be long,' she assured him, knowing from experience that Brad's calls were never of long duration.

  Sin merely nodded, already taking up the position she had vacated on Kim's bed, Robyn hearing her children's giggles of enjoyment at this change in routine as she hurried down the stairs. What could Brad be calling about at this late hour? He never telephoned to speak to her personally, although they usually managed a few polite words to each other before he spoke to the twins.

  'Yes?' she spoke warily into the receiver as she stood in the hallway to take the call.

  'Who's the man, Robyn?' Brad's mocking voice taunted without preamble.

  Her mouth tightened, and she flushed resentfully. 'I don't think that's any of your business,' she snapped, finding it difficult to be polite to him even after all this time—and especially when he tried to pry into her personal life, something he had made it clear four years ago he had no interest in.

  'Of course it's my business,' he rasped, the charm gone from his voice; 'I like to know what sort of men you're introducing to my children.'

  Her breath caught in her throat. 'Meaning??she bit out between clenched teeth, knowing her knuckles showed white as she clutched the receiver.

  'Meaning they haven't mentioned to me yet having any "uncles",' he sneered. 'But I've been expecting it for some time.'

  'Really?'

  'Oh yes,' Brad scorned. 'You weren't always the cold little fish you are now.'