“Sure I can,” she said competently, shading her eyes against the heat.
“I may not be able to get back to you for some time, okay? He might be huddled up somewhere, camouflaged. I’ll have to fly low.”
“You’ll find him,” Toni said with confidence. “I just pray he’s alive.”
“You and me both.” Byrne took a harsh intake of breath. “I’ll come with you to the man’s side. Explain who you are.” My girl, he thought like some abrupt revelation. My woman. He damned near said, “I love you.”
“What about the small tarpaulin over the back,” she asked, unaware of the thoughts that electrified him.
He reached in to get it. “You know what to do with the water?”
“Of course. Little sips at first.” She stood at his shoulder.
“I’ll get away as soon as possible. There isn’t a moment to be lost.”
Attuned to him, she laid her hand on his arm, knowing how fragile life was. “Take care, Byrne.”
His eyes seemed to blaze in his dark face. He bent, dropped a brief kiss on her mouth that tingled to her toes. “I’ll be back for you. Never fear.”
It was better with the tarpaulin spread like a canopy across the small thicket. The man—he told her his name was John Courtney, “a foolish old academic”—lay more comfortably on his side, his head propped on a makeshift pillow. Toni held his hand. Clearly it gave him comfort. He had a daughter, he told her. Grandchildren. Water had revived him. Toni marvelled as always at its extraordinary effect. It was like the miracle of the living desert. Instant survival. The man’s body, thin but previously in good shape, was raw with sunburn, and there were multiple scratches all over the backs of his hands. He didn’t know how he got them.
Toni didn’t encourage him to talk but contented herself with quiet words of comfort and encouragement. The dog, Bluey, was their loyal companion, sitting beside Toni as though he had mysteriously chosen her as their leader. That or the intelligent animal was extremely grateful for the drink of water she had poured into a makeshift plastic container. The dog was in a lot better condition than his travelling companion. Toni suspected he had been getting moisture from the purple parakeelya, a succulent the cattle herds were able to feed on. Her long hair was soaked with sweat. It lay in a thick, heavy plait on her nape. Sweat ran between her breasts and trickled down her legs. She would have given anything for a breeze, but the next best thing was a wet washcloth and a controlled flow of water from the canteen. Once John Courtney mumbled, and his hand went slack, causing Toni’s stomach to lurch. She feared he could suffer a heart attack or stroke. She had no real idea of his condition. She put her head down and prayed for Byrne’s return.
He found the exhausted young man in a dry gully almost hidden from sight by the great rings of spinifex, each plant some ten feet across and nearly three feet high. It reminded him of how wallaroos, the large kangaroos, used the rings as windbreaks when they wanted to take a quiet nap. Maybe the young fellow had heard about it and thought to take shelter.
Like his uncle, though separated by a good thirty years, the nephew was badly sunburned, dehydrated and in a state of exhaustion. Byrne attended to him as best he could, then, when the patient had difficulty walking, carried the young man to the helicopter, where he bundled him in. In times like this, he blessed his strength and fitness. He had made radio contact with the Flying Doctor Service, giving an exact location for the rescue. Both men needed urgent medical attention. The service’s Cessna would make short work of getting to the site then to Base Hospital
He was worried about Toni. He knew in this heat the time would go very slowly while she waited for him to get back. He thought of her beautiful skin, protected by little more than a wide-brimmed hat and the edge of the tarpaulin. He threw himself into the pilot’s seat. The engine caught, the rotors whirred. They were lifting almost vertically through the exquisite silver lines of mirage into the cobalt air. He glanced at the young man who was already drooping in his seat and pushed him back.
“All right,” he urged himself sharply. “Let’s go.”
There was a doctor and a nurse on board the Cessna, a married couple Byrne knew well. The two men made short work of getting the badly dehydrated survivors into the plane.
“The young fellow will pull through, no question,” the doctor told them quietly. “The older man doesn’t look good. The sooner we get him to the hospital the better. It was a miracle you spotted them. As I see it they wouldn’t have survived another day.”
“I’ll call tonight, Bill. Check on their progress,” Byrne said.
“Fine. Where would they be but for you? How intelligent men can set out without sufficient food or water, without telling anyone where they’re going...”
“It happens all the time,” Byrne commented briefly.
“Well, it was close. Exceptionally close.”
They stood watching the aircraft take off with Bluey. left in their care, wagging his tail beside them, keeping the plane in sight until it disappeared over the larkspur range.
Byrne turned, took Toni by the shoulders and stared into her heat-flushed face. “You did very well, Antoinette.”
She’d have crawled on her hands and knees for the look in his eyes. “You were the real saviour. I didn’t do much at all. Just offered a bit of comfort.”
“Whatever you did, Courtney’s convinced you’re an angel. An angel come from heaven to lend aid.”
“It’s the blue eyes and blond hair.” She smiled.
“Sure.” He sounded impressed. “We can take that into account, but it doesn’t give credit to the depth of your soul. If one has to share a life-and-death experience it ought to be with an angel, don’t you think?” He spoke lightly, but there was intense feeling in his eyes.
“I’m mortal, Byrne, with all a mortal’s frailties.” Utterly absorbed, neither of them seemed conscious of the searing heat.
“Still, Courtney blessed you. So do L”
Silently he took her face between his hands, his gaze centring on her full, lovely mouth. There was such a burning inside him. He was growing accustomed to it. As much as he had tried to harden his heart against her, one glance from her violet eyes undermined the whole senseless process.
“You’re not what I expected, Antoinette,” he said softly. “In fact I’m losing day to day.”
She was totally rapt in his aura. “I’m just one woman, Byrne.”
He almost laughed. One woman who given so little time almost held him in the palm of her hand. God, what had befallen him? Did she know? “I’m glad you came.” Just watching her melted his heart.
“And this is where I’m staying.”
She might have meant within his arms. His smile dropped away. His breathing changed. He was craving to kiss her, crush her. Did she recognise it? In one swift, blinding motion he folded her against him, his desire soaring as her tender mouth parted while his bore downward. Her lips were ineffably soft, like rose petals, yet they brought his passion to a peak in a way he had never thought possible. He gripped her slender back, her narrow waist, his nostrils fitting with the fragrance of her wonderful satin skin. The kiss seemed to go on forever, but he knew it had to stop, and the sun’s rays were concentrated on them, so powerfully hot Byrne drew a deep, reluctant breath.
“Now you understand how weak you’ve made me.”
She was astonished by the little lick of self-derision, as though he was somehow violating his own codes. “You’re wrong,” she protested. “You’re so strong. You have no need to fear me.”
His beautiful mouth twisted. “Accept it, sweetheart. I do. A slip of a girl to breach my defenses.” He turned and whistled for Bluey, who had been looking at them in a bright, inquiring fashion, head cocked. “Come on, boy. It’s your turn to get a bit of attention.”
The survivors took several days to recover from their experience in the desert, and Byrne kept Toni informed of their progress. Later, John Courtney wrote her a wonderful letter that brought tears
to her eyes. Even in the hospital he had praised her to the heavens when Toni had thought in his sorry condition he had barely registered her presence. Not so.
“Take a pat on the back,” Kerry advised her. “You deserve it.”
Kerry’s stag party was coming up. A night in town, and afterward he arrived home with a crew cut.
Toni looked at him in dismay. “Oh, Kerry. What fool did that?”
Gone were the waves, the brown highlighted with golden streaks. In its place a style reminiscent of Bruce Willis at his toughest. “If you must know it was P.J., and a couple of his mates held me down.” Kerry gave her a carefree grin, apparently not disturbed at all.
“Idiots! Where was Byrne? He wouldn’t have let this happen. Cate wants a handsome bridegroom with a full head of hair.”
“It doesn’t look that bad, does it?” For the first time Kerry sounded shamed and anxious. In fact, he still looked very attractive. “Byrne wasn’t there at the time. I think he got tired of our antics. I know he gave Joel a blast later. Don’t worry, poppet, it will grow. It was too long, anyway. Even you said that. And I have to tell you it’s cool.” He took his sister in his arms and hugged her.
When Cate saw her beloved she wasn’t as upset as Toni had predicted. “It could have been worse,” she said laconically. “They could have shaved the whole lot off or do what they did to Andy Gilmore. When he passed out they put his leg in plaster and told him he broke it. Anyway, it makes him look rather macho. Shows off his good bones.”
Toni shook her head in wonderment.
Cate’s party was held in town, girls only. It turned out a far more commendable affair. Cate was a very popular young woman, and her friends came from all over to fete her and wish her well. Eight days to the wedding, and the presents had begun to arrive by the planeload, everything a young couple could possibly want, all of it set out in the library on long makeshift tables covered with green damask to show off the gifts. Kerry and Toni walked up and down admiring the highest quality silver, crystal, the dinner sets of various makes and designs, the vases and clocks, a vast array of ornaments, blankets, bedspreads and quilts, fine sheets and exquisite table linen. There were rugs, modern and antique, luggage, glasses galore. There was even some wonderful-looking garden furniture and a life-size statue of a woodland nymph.
“We won’t have to buy anything for a very long time,” Kerry said in amazement.
“If you even get around to unpacking it.” Toni smiled.
Toni’s present to them was a pair of sterling silver salts standing some three inches high, the sides decorated with sprigs of flowers and leaves and set with three gleaming opals, part of a collection her father had started for her when she was a child. She had commissioned the work in Paris, and the young designer, charmed by the idea, had put his heart and soul into the work, a decorative as well as functional object.
Cate had accepted the gift with tears in her eyes. “They’re absolutely beautiful, Toni. We’ll use them all the time.”
“Thanks, poppet.” Kerry bent to kiss her. “I know what those opals mean to you.”
It was Kerry who raised the subject of Byrne. Toni had been more or less expecting it when their every encounter, supposedly so casual, shook the air. Brother and sister were relaxing after dinner, coffee in hand, when Kerry suddenly demanded, “What’s with you and Byme? I don’t think I can take another day of suspense.”
“Same here.” Toni gave a deep, laconic sigh. “I’m madly in love with him.”
Kerry chortled. “I hate to tell you this, kiddo. You always were.”
. “Maybe it was the way he used to treat me. The young, lordly, knock em dead handsome Byrne Beresford, heir to the Beresford chain and fortune, used to make my thirteen-year-old heart melt. He told me I used to remind him of a Persian kitten.”
“I can see that,” Kerry said. “Even to your brother you were adorable.”
“Except he doesn’t want to love me, Kerry.”
Kerry considered, his brows coming together. “You mean he’s fighting the big attraction?”
“For all he’s worth,” Toni answered with feeling.
“He’s a complex character.” Kerry looked at her. “He plays his own game, if you know what I mean. He’s like a feudal baron. He almost can be, in our part of the world. He’s absolutely central to the whole Beresford clan’s interests. God, he’s not even thirty-two but he’s been running things four. years. It’s a big responsibility and it takes its toll. He can’t ever be free of problems, anxieties. As far as I’m concerned it’s too much to handle. Everything about him, his habits, his gestures, his movements, his speech. He’s so damned self-reliant. Maybe it’s reached painful and powerful proportions.”
“You mean he has to face he’s human after all?” Toni asked wryly. “He sees falling in love as a weakness?”
“More likely he can’t easily tolerate loss of control. His father was so tough on him, expected so much, it was kind of dehumanising. Maybe that’s a bit extreme.”
“No, I know what you mean. Byrne was the ideal son. The ultimate self-reliant man, as it should be if he was going to be given so much money and power. But no one, absolutely no one can alienate him from his passionate nature. And he does have one.”
“Hell, you think I don’t know that?” Kerry tossed a Belgian chocolate paper aside. “Byrne has a lot of emotion dammed up inside him. I’ve said all along. He’s passionate about everything he does. How he handles his responsibilities. They all simply leave everything to him. Beside him Joel’s a playboy.”
“He’ll learn,” Toni said equably. “Maybe Joel was the lucky one. He lived outside his father’s main sphere of interest. Cate, too. Even as a child I realised Byrne was everything. The chosen one.”
“And along came Antoinette Streeton.”
“The last thing I expected, Kerry, was for Byrne to look at me. I was a child when he was the young master of all he surveyed. I really believe he would have liked me to remain a child.”
“Hardly possible, kiddo.” Kerry laughed. “Give him time. This is a new kind of relationship for Byrne.”
“What about Andrea Benton?” Toni looked up to gauge Kerry’s reaction.
He paused to consider. “Andrea was doing all the running. Byrne’s no monk. Women fling themselves at him. You know that. He’s everyone’s hero. Dazzlingly handsome, and all that money. Come to that, the girls don’t leave Joel alone, either. Take Fern. She’s hanging in there for all she’s worth. Pushing it, if you ask me. A female’s instinct is to land a man from the cradle.”
“Without a doubt, but not a man. The man.” Toni sighed. “I think Byrne’s responses are tempered by the fact he’s known me since I was a baby. And I’m Zoe’s daughter.”
“You mean intrinsically flighty?” Kerry’s relaxed expression tightened.
“That’s too severe, but having such a mother might be a factor. Byrne has a set of requirements that might be very hard to live up to. Also, I think he’s feeling a bit guilty at having his old friendly feelings abruptly translated into desire. In addition to which we’re almost family.”
Kerry rocked back in his chair so impetuously he almost threw himself off balance. “Oh, hell, Toni, cut it out. Maybe falling so hard is just too difficult for Byrne to deal with. His self-image is keeping control and so forth. You may be younger, but you’re plenty mature. Think positive, girl.”
Toni had to smile. “Thanks, brother, I will.” She reached for the coffeepot and filled their cups. “There’s another thing we should discuss now the wedding is on us.”
“Nowra?” Kerry’s voice was anxious.
“You don’t think Cate should buy out my share?” Toni suggested.
“You think that’s a good idea?”
“She’s an heiress, Kerry. Nowra will be home. I don’t want Byrne to do it.”
“No. I can understand that It is a funny feeling knowing they can buy and sell us a hundred times over. But Cate...” Kerry shook his head. “I don�
�t want to use her money.”
“She’ll be your wife, Kerry.”
“I can’t feel exactly happy about it.”
“I don’t feel happy about selling, either. Dad is here at this place. I can get in touch with him just sitting in his study or riding through the bush, taking the trails we used to take together. I loved him so much.” Unexpectedly Toni burst into tears, and immediately Kerry shoved back his chair, going down on his haunches and cradling her head to his chest.
“Hey, don’t cry. Dad adored you, poppet. His little princess. He hated your going away, but he knew you wanted time with Zoe. Two females, I guess. Women stick together.”
Toni lifted her head, tried to smile. “What are you going to do when Zoe comes home?”
“If she comes home,” Kerry said. “When could I ever depend on Zoe?”
“Try not to condemn her, Kerry,” Toni begged. “You’re her only son. She loves you.”
Kerry rose to his feet. “I can do without that sort of love. I have Cate and you. I’m never going to be on my own again.”
Four days before the wedding Zoe arrived in Australia via Bangkok. Very generously Byrne flew brother and sister to meet her at the domestic terminal. Cate came along to lend her fiancé moral support. Toni felt, not for the first time, that Cate was going to make a very good mother. She loved mothering Kerry.
Zoe’s flight came in right on time. She had spent the night in Brisbane, the state capital, before continuing her journey. Because it was a country terminal, they were able to see her as she descended the gangplank, her beautiful blond hair catching all the rays of the sun. From a distance she looked like Toni’s sister.
“I can’t believe it,” Kerry moaned. “I’m so damned nervous.” He had been endlessly rearranging the collar of his shirt and rubbing the knees of his jeans all the time they had been waiting.
“No need, Kerry.” Cate took his hand for comfort. “This is your mother, and lordy, doesn’t she look glamorous.”
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