Blue Clouds

by Patricia Rice

  She exploded, right there and then, without waiting, without patient stroking, without any of the artifices it had taken in the past. She exploded around him, and still shuddering, took him deeper, faster, demanding even more.

  He obliged, flinging her over and driving into her until she screamed his name and his release drove them both over the precipice.

  He didn’t stop there. He suckled her breast until she caught his hair and dragged him upward. He kissed her senseless. He used her for every fantasy either of them might ever have had. And she let him. Couldn’t have stopped him if she’d tried. Didn’t want to.

  They slept the sleep of the exhausted, then woke and languorously returned to favored places, making certain they had it right before exploring in new directions.

  Pippa woke at dawn to the sound of Chad’s Nintendo shooting through the infant monitor. Recognizing the noise for what it was, she stretched, and her foot brushed Seth’s muscular leg. Naked muscular leg.

  My dear lord, she whispered to herself, what had she done this time?

  She didn’t know, but it felt frighteningly right, like all the dreams she’d ever had of waking up at a man’s side, sharing his days and nights, his hopes and dreams, as he would hers. Sheer panic tore through her as she turned her head and observed Seth’s harsh features in repose. This man couldn’t be that man of her dreams.

  In sleep, she saw none of the grim cynicism, the knowing in his eyes or in the lines of his mouth. She just saw a relaxed man, a contented one, as he damned well ought to be after last night. He’d finally gotten everything he’d wanted out of her. Now what?

  As if he could feel her stare, Seth opened his eyes cautiously. His wariness did the trick. He was as scared as she was. Pippa giggled at the thought.

  A smile tugged briefly at the corner of his mouth. “What? Do I have a feather on my nose?”

  “No, you just look as if you’d woken up in bed with Cruella DeVille. Your son is awake. I’d better go prepare myself for the day.” Self-conscious of her nudity now that they’d reverted to employer/employee status, she pulled the sheet around her. That didn’t disguise the heat of their bodies brushing beneath the covers. Without touching him, she knew he was aroused.

  “I’m sure it must be your day off,” he said with a straight face. “Let Nana handle him.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and eased her back against the pillows. “Maybe we both need a day off.”

  “This probably isn’t a good idea,” she whispered as Seth brushed his bristly jaw against her cheek and sought her mouth.

  “Probably isn’t. I’ve got a deadline and two tons of work.”

  He kissed her anyway, a deep, soul-satisfying kiss that reduced her to putty again. No spine at all, she thought resentfully; she had no spine at all.

  The sound of a wheelchair rolling across the floor from the monitor jerked them both apart.

  “Shit,” Seth said mildly, pulling back the covers. “He’s not supposed to be out of bed yet.”

  Pippa grinned. “I don’t think parents get days off. But I’m not his parent. Can I stay here?”

  He shot her one of his usual dark looks, and she felt right at home again. She scrambled for the edge of the bed. “Okay, you heave him back into bed, I’ll go get dressed. You’d just better be glad you didn’t have twins.”

  Seth caught her before she could flee across the room, nuzzling her nape with his bristly beard. Naked, she should feel cold, but flames danced along her skin.

  “That’s what I have you for. I’ll expect you on the job in half an hour.” He tweaked her breast for good measure.

  “Pig,” she muttered, shoving him away. “Greedy, greedy pig. I’ll be there when I get there.”

  He didn’t protest. He didn’t fire her. He merely grinned and watched her run for her clothes.

  Maybe she shouldn’t have resisted the doctors all these years if this was what was needed to soothe their savage tempers. But it had been easy to resist doctors. Seth was another story entirely.

  She hurriedly pulled on her clothes and escaped Seth’s suite before either of them changed their minds.

  ***

  “They ain’t got enough evidence to hold him on the mail bomb,” Doug reported. “He’s out on bail for violating the protective order. And Golding’s in town. Reports are he and your ex-wife had a knock-down-drag-out in their rooms last night. They’re doing the peaches-and-cream bit this morning though. You got enough bad guys in town to make it worth your time to hightail it outta here.”

  Seth didn’t look up as he scribbled his name at the bottom of a couple of documents and shoved them in an envelope. “I’m on deadline. I can’t leave.”

  Pippa chewed a fingernail worriedly. “What if I leave? Then Billy would follow, and there’d be one less person to worry about.”

  Seth shot her an impatient glance. “Over my dead body. Don’t you have a fax you’re working on?”

  Obviously, what they did behind closed doors had no effect on their combative relationship in the office. Or not on Seth’s side, anyway. He’d probably never change. Grouchy, egocentric, hardheaded... Pippa beamed at him. He blinked, almost smiled, and looked back at what he was doing. Stupid man.

  “I sent it. And I’ve cleaned up those chapters. You’ll have to accept that I’m better than you. Couldn’t you finish those chapters elsewhere? Alaska, maybe?”

  He didn’t look up again. “Get her out of here, Doug. Nail her to a chair.”

  Doug raised a quizzical brow, glanced from Pippa to Seth, and shrugged. “Right, boss, she’ll be real useful as a chair.” He made a shooing motion at Pippa with his massive hands.

  She couldn’t help it. Billy was out on bond. Crazies were loose all over. She was sleeping with her boss and falling in love with his son and she ought to shoot herself. But she felt like laughing out loud. She’d gone as mad as the rest of the inhabitants of this insane asylum.

  Helping herself to one of Seth’s toffees, Pippa strolled out of the office he’d set up in the living room. The furniture company had delivered the desk and credenza this morning, but his regular office wasn’t finished yet. He’d wanted the furniture carried up to his bedroom suite. She’d told him it was nuts to have them carried up there for a week and then have them brought down again when the construction was finished. He’d said it was his money. She’d told him it was other men’s backs. He’d given in. Not gracefully, but he’d given in.

  Maybe she should try the printing plant gambit again. Maybe she should stop while she was ahead. She just wasn’t certain if she was ahead. Every time she looked at that head of tousled curls, her stomach did flip-flops. She’d sure as hell never felt that way about Billy, and she’d planned on marrying him. Maybe it was nerves.

  She still hadn’t seen the new ending to Seth’s book. He’d handed her the printed changes of the first chapter, wiped out his work on her computer, and taken his disk back to the computer he’d set up in the living room. Secretiveness did not become him. He’d whetted her curiosity. Why had he changed his habits at this late date?

  The public line rang. Knowing Meg was the only person in town daring enough to call, Pippa grabbed it.

  “Billy’s taken a room at the hotel,” were the first words out of Meg’s mouth.

  Pippa grimaced at the phone. “Doug’s already told us he’s out. Maybe we could set fire to the hotel?”

  “Just to Billy,” Meg agreed grimly. She hesitated a moment, then asked almost breathlessly, “Listen, have you heard anything about Seth rebuilding the plant?”

  “Not a thing,” Pippa answered with a note of regret. “He avoids the subject at every turn.”

  Silence. Then with puzzled hesitancy, Meg tried again. “Well, Taylor is holding a big meeting in town to protest Seth’s new development on that land. He wants the city to buy it and take it out of Seth’s hands.”

  Pippa frowned. “What new development? Seth’s got his hands full with mad bombers and deadlines. He hasn’t had time to consider
getting his toenails clipped, much less new developments. What’s Taylor up to?”

  “I don’t know, but he’s asking the city to rezone and annex all that property out there. All the city’s bonds are through his bank. They don’t usually disagree with Taylor and his family.”

  Oh, shoot, just when she had some funny idea she could end this stupid war between Seth and the town.

  “Could we set fire to Taylor, too?” she asked hopefully.

  “Not if you want him to vote for the gym renovations.”

  Well, no one had ever said life was fair. Sighing, Pippa made herself a note. “Okay, I’ll call in the big guns. Seth can’t very well build a plant if he doesn’t have land to build it on. Remember to shoot Taylor for me.”

  She hung up the phone and glared at Seth’s macabre covers on the wall. How many fires could she put out at once? Maybe she’d go play with Chad first.

  Chapter 30

  “Phillippa Cochran, this is my husband, Darius Golding.”

  The distinguished-looking man with a Meerschaum clamped between his teeth offered his hand. Reluctantly, Pippa took it. Darius Golding had the look of a caricature of a college professor from the movies. He even wore leather patches on his jacket elbows. She couldn’t remember anyone telling her Golding was a professor, but she couldn’t think of any other excuse for a man to dress like that.

  Natalie clasped her gold-beringed fingers together anxiously. “Darius and I want to take Chad to the ocean. He told me he’s never been. Seth keeps him so isolated up there....” As if sensing that was the wrong tack, she shifted gears. “You’re a nurse, Phillippa. You’re the only person in that institution of Seth’s I can talk to. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but you must see I’m desperate. I want my son. I’ve filed with the court to get him back, but I already have visitation rights. I just can’t make Seth see...”

  Pippa glanced around at the other attendees of the town council meeting Taylor had called. Natalie had successfully walled her off from the crowd, but she could sense the curious glances thrown their way. Meg watched her worriedly but didn’t intrude. Doug had stayed outside. The meeting hall hadn’t filled up yet, but Pippa recognized several faces turned their way. Small towns were always eager for entertainment. She didn’t want to provide it.

  She returned her gaze to the tanned, sophisticated woman before her. “Chad is recovering from viral pneumonia. He can’t exert himself yet. A trip to the ocean is out of the question. You’ll have to consult his physician about when he’ll be ready and what he’s capable of doing in the meantime. If you have visitation rights, then I should imagine Seth will comply with the order. There’s very little I can do to help you.”

  Pippa wondered why Natalie hadn’t exercised any visitation rights in the weeks since she’d arrived, but she really didn’t need to ask. The deep tan spoke of days on the beach. The manicured fingers and polished coiffeur required hours of salon care. Chad would have only interfered with such narcissistic activities. She could only wonder what had inspired Natalie’s sudden desperation to see her son.

  “You’re an intelligent woman, Miss Cochran.” Golding’s mellifluous voice spilled over with warmth and understanding and the command of a professor over a classroom. “You can persuade Seth it’s beneficial to his son’s well-being to have regular visits with his mother. If the boy’s been ill, we won’t take him any farther than Garden Grove. We’re entirely in your hands on that matter. You may accompany the boy, if that will ease the way. We just don’t think it’s healthy for Chad to stay penned up in that house forever.”

  Pippa agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment, but she also knew Seth would take Chad anywhere he wanted and that Natalie had never offered before, as far as she was aware. She hadn’t been born yesterday. She didn’t trust this pair, no matter how sophisticated, literate, and elegant they appeared.

  “I’m sure you’re right.” Pippa smiled pleasantly at them. She’d had years of training at smiling and telling the families of patients that everything would be all right. That training paid off now. “I’ll be happy to accompany Chad if that becomes necessary. I’ll mention your suggestion to Seth. But I’m afraid I’m not a lawyer, and the details will have to be worked out with Seth. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe Meg is trying to catch my attention.”

  She pushed past the twin toads and strolled unhurriedly in Meg’s direction, all the while feeling as if she should run like hell. Poor Chad. As if he didn’t have enough to contend with, he had to endure warring parents and a mother with the soul of an amphibian.

  “Why were those creatures twisting your arm?” Meg demanded in a whisper as she guided them toward folding chairs at the front of the room.

  “Just the usual toadspit,” Pippa replied absently, checking the room to see who else had appeared. She’d warned Seth about the meeting. He’d thought it a good joke but had agreed to send his lawyer. She didn’t see anyone here who looked like a lawyer.

  When she caught his eye, Taylor Morgan nodded coldly in her direction but made no attempt to cross the room and greet her. So much for being seen as Seth’s representative in this crowd. In their eyes, she was probably no more than a glorified baby-sitter. Maybe that was all she was and she was kidding herself to think otherwise. She’d just spent too many years running her own show to play the part assigned her. Even the hospital had pretty much let her do her own thing as long as it was in their best interests. She was good at managing people. That sounded better than manipulating.

  The audience settled into a low murmur as the town council filed in and took seats facing them. They called the gathering an “open forum,” without all the formalities of an official meeting, but to Pippa, it looked as if they’d primed and loaded all the cannon. She glanced around again for Seth’s attorney but couldn’t see anyone who fit the description.

  Standing up, Taylor shot the opening volley. “As head of the local development agency and as a financial officer aware of the high unemployment rate in this area, I would like to bring before you a proposal to annex five hundred acres on the edge of town as an industrial park for the benefit and welfare of the citizens of our community.”

  A cheer rang out, and Pippa could see Seth’s case slide downhill before it even got started. As speaker after speaker stood up to promote the benefits of the city’s action, they almost convinced her. If Seth didn’t want to be bothered with the printing plant, why shouldn’t these people be allowed to develop their own? Only her antipathy for the town bullies who had turned their backs on a lonely boy held her firmly in position. To her knowledge, bullies never did anything for altruistic purposes.

  As fervent shouts built toward an excited climax, a mild voice spoke insistently from the rear of the room. Eventually, the mayor pounded his gavel and restored order so the speaker could be heard.

  “Ladies, gentlemen.”

  Pippa turned and caught sight of a short, rotund man in a camel blazer, his hand stuck in his trouser pocket as he regarded the audience with interest. The lawyer? He almost looked like one from back home. She’d expected pinstripes and a leather briefcase.

  “A moment of your attention, if I might. I’m Landrum Morris, Mr. Wyatt’s attorney. I would like to apprise you of Mr. Wyatt’s actions on the matter of the land in question.”

  A hush fell over the room. Seth Wyatt had never explained his actions before. Pippa caught a few curious glances thrown her way, but she knew no more than anyone else. She might sleep with the damned man, but that didn’t mean she read his mind.

  “Mr. Wyatt, on three separate occasions of which I’m personally aware, has offered to sell the property to the town for its assessed value. His offers have been ignored. He has inquired into the costs of rebuilding, but presses of the sort previously used are obsolete and he could not purchase new equipment, pay a decent wage, and still make a profit. Mr. Wyatt is not in the business of charitable manufacturing. He has asked the town to use its abilities to offer state-sponsored tax breaks and
deductions so he could offer competitive wages, but again, the town has ignored his requests.”

  Morris waited for the buzz of conversation to die down before continuing. Pippa admired his quiet style. No dramatics, no lectures, just clear facts. She could read the disbelief on faces around her—-not many of them trusted lawyers and no one trusted Seth—but they were listening.

  “Mr. Wyatt eventually concluded that the town of Garden Grove had no interest in returning to its industrial roots and began looking elsewhere. At the same time, aware that he possessed property valuable to the town, he has kept his ears open for other opportunities. Coincidentally, he learned of a new computerized printing process looking for a home at the same time as Mr. Morgan did.”

  He paused, and speculation shot through the room faster than bullets. Heads swiveled to watch Taylor Morgan. He sat stony-faced at the front of the room, acknowledging nothing.

  Morris didn’t break a smile. “Mr. Morgan and his bank have entered into an acquisition agreement with this company, using as collateral five hundred acres of property belonging to Mr. Wyatt. I’m certain that he believed the town would back up his offer once the land was acquired and that there is nothing fraudulent about this agreement....”

  Even Pippa knew better than that. The buzz around the room warned that others saw it, too.

  “But as it stands now, Mr. Wyatt is in the position to sue Mr. Morgan, and should the town of Garden Grove agree to the annexation and acquisition of the property, he will also be in the position of suing Garden Grove. I’m certain you ladies and gentlemen would not care to do anything illegal enough to bring a judgment from the courts against you.”

  Morris sat down. The audience erupted into a cacophony. Fascinated, Pippa watched Taylor Morgan, but he had returned to smiling affably, shaking his head to something the mayor said, and scribbling notes he passed around the table as the audience shouted for explanations. She could see why Seth didn’t bother coming into town. One way or another, he was the one who would get skewered, even when he was in the right. He simply didn’t have the political finesse to lie and manipulate to get what he wanted. She tugged Meg’s sleeve. “I’m leaving. That’s about all of this I can handle.”