Читать книгу Lady E - Jeanette Walker - Страница 9

FEELING utterly exhausted after her aunt’s departure, Jillian rummaged through the cupboard and found a can of spaghetti. While it heated on the stove, she took bread from the freezer and made toast for her lunch.

She walked around the outside of the house, where she unlocked and pulled apart the shutters covering her bedroom window. She left all the other shutters in place, intending to open them in a day or two, once the cyclone danger was over. The house cooled considerably once a breeze blew through the open windows.

Jillian moved into her room, flopped down on top of the cover and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Waking before dark, she stayed awake long enough to raid the linen cupboard for sheets and pillowslip, make her bed up and climb back in.

Before settling down for the night she remembered to unhook a mosquito net from the wall above the bedhead, spreading it over a large circular frame suspended above the bed draping it over the bed onto the floor. She usually thought of sleeping under a mosquito net as rather romantic, but tonight she grimaced at the thought of it being a bit like a wedding veil. The veil she was to have worn next Saturday!

-oOo-

Next morning, wearing a new bikini bought especially for her honeymoon, Jillian sat on a towel spread over the sand at the water’s edge. With one toe trailing in the water, she idly drew in the sand with a shell.

It was early, around 8am, but already the sun was warm and she knew she’d head indoors for the middle hours of the day. The clear blue tropical water was warm following several months of summer sunshine.

Although still a few hundred kilometers to the north, the approaching cyclone was starting to churn the water out to sea. Away from the shelter of the island, the wind strength was noticeably increasing.

A lazy feeling was flooding through Jillian, as it always did when she stayed on Lady Elliot. She knew she’d feel that way for her entire holiday.

This was to be her wedding week, and all the organized pre-wedding activities should have started.

Ohhh!” squealed Jillian suddenly jumping to her feet in fright.

Five meters in front of her, a man, looking just as startled as Jillian, was standing in waist deep water.

Quickly removing a snorkel from his mouth and pushing goggles back from his face, the man found his voice first.

“I’m sorry I made such a commotion and frightened you. I didn’t see you, or rather, I didn’t look for anyone as I always have this part of the island to myself. But believe me,” he said with a smug look on his face, “I don’t mind sharing it with you!”

His gaze slowly slid down Jillian’s body, pausing long enough to notice her nipples pushing against the material of her bikini top, before gliding appreciatively further down her body.

Relieved her ‘sea monster’ was mortal, Jillian ignored the once over he’d given her, and replied, “That’s okay. I was scribbling in the sand and didn’t notice you approach. I’m Jillian Baxter. You must be the man from the yacht. My Aunt Norma told me you were here studying wildlife or something.”

The man waded out of the water onto the beach, holding out a wet hand for Jillian to shake and said “Pleased to meet you Jillian. I’m Tony McLean, and yes, you have me tagged correctly,” then added as he wiped his wet hand on his wet chest, “sorry about the damp handshake.”

He sat on a rock while Jillian composed herself as she picked up her towel, flicking it to remove sand.

What a hunk! But that’s stupid. I must be mad thinking that at present. First Brad, now him.

“Would you like to dry off a bit,” she offered, holding the towel toward him.

“No, that’s okay thanks. In this heat I’ll be dry in no time.”

Jillian, enjoying their conversation, continued “Do you often swim on this side of the island?”

“No. I occasionally have a dip here but there are too many rocks compared to the other side. I was checking out the larger rocks around the ramp area.”

Looking out to sea, he added, “With this cyclone moving south I thought I’d better see if I could pull the yacht closer to shore. I now realize that at high tide I can move it right up onto the sand if needed,” he replied as he scanned the beach.

“Yes, I believe that area is still used by the supply boat, so should be quite clear,” she agreed.

While they were talking Jillian had time to notice Tony’s features, knowing from the moment he waded ashore wearing skin-tight speedo bathers that his tanned body was well muscled. His finely angled face was partly hidden by a short beard and moustache. His dark hair, cropped close around the back and sides, had possibly been shaven at one stage. Very long on the top, it was pulled back and carelessly held in place with an elastic band. Loose strands of hair that had escaped the elastic now formed into long curls as it dried in the sun.

As they talked Jillian had trouble dragging her eyes away from the rivulets of water running from his hair, across his shoulders then meandering down his torso.

Forcing her eyes away, and looking toward the yacht, Jillian now noticed it was a catamaran. With two hulls it didn’t require nearly as much depth of water to float as a monohull.

“Are you living on the boat?” Jillian enquired.

“No, although it’s large enough to live on board. When I’m working, I seem to spread my gear out too much. I have a small camp in some shipping containers down near the next group of casuarina trees. Now you know all about me, what about you?” he queried. “I thought Norma was going away to Brisbane for a few weeks.”

“Yes, that’s right. She left yesterday. I decided on the spur of the moment to come up and house-sit for her while she’s away. I’d better head on back now. I’ll probably see you again as we’re both living on the same side of the island.”

“Yes,” Tony agreed, looking toward his campsite. “And I’d better get back to the drawing-board, so to speak. Nice to meet you. See you again Jillian.”

Surprised she was sorry the conversation with this stranger was so short, she said goodbye and turned to stroll along the beach toward Norma’s house. More surprising was how she kept thinking of a pair of masculine brown eyes smiling at her beneath dark brows.

All the way her head was down watching for, but today not finding, interesting shells. She picked her way through the dry coral that covered a lot of the sand like stones. One good thing about a storm at sea, it often swept more shells onshore.

After washing sand from her feet at the garden tap, she entered the house and turned on the radio, listening for an update on the cyclone while preparing a light breakfast.

She had left on an impulse earlier, after noticing the inviting beach, but now knew she was hungry. Finding a box of long-life milk for her cereal, she decided she’d later buy fresh milk from the resort shop. As her aunt had planned to be away for several weeks the refrigerator was empty of any perishable items. She noted there were a few other things she could obtain at the shop.

It didn’t take long to wash and put away her few dishes and make her bed, before she realized she had nothing else to do. While she had often visited her aunt, she had never before stayed by herself. In fact, when she thought about it, she’d never before been anywhere by herself!

I’m not really feeling lonely, she told herself, it’s just that I should’ve been getting ready for my wedding this week and I’m feeling a little bit blue. A visit to the resort might brighten up my day.