Читать книгу The Maverick Millionaire - Алисон Робертс - Страница 11

CHAPTER FOUR

THE KEROSENE LAMP hissed and swayed gently in the draughts that were a soft echo of the fierce storm outside. The glow of light strengthened as day became night and shadows danced in the corners of the room as the light moved—a dark partner to the bright flicker of the flames in the open fireplace.

The room was warm enough for the wet clothing draped over the spindle-back chairs to be steaming gently and one end of the table was covered with a collection of items that had come from the pockets of Ellie’s flight suit, like a bunch of keys, ruined ballpoint pens and an equally wet and useless mobile phone. Most importantly, there was a two-way radio that had been securely enclosed in a waterproof pouch.

Jake had been disappointed that they couldn’t use it to listen and hear updates on the weather, but Ellie was more concerned about whether it was in working order. It didn’t seem to be transmitting.

‘Medic One to base—do you receive?’

A crackle of static and a beeping noise came from the device, but there was no answering voice. Ellie gave up after a few tries.

‘We may be out of range or it could be atmospheric conditions. I’ll turn it on in the morning and we might get communication about our rescue.’

The radio sat on the edge of the table now—a symbol of surviving this ordeal.

Except, for the moment, it didn’t seem to be that much of an ordeal. They were safe and finally warm. And Ellie had discovered a store of tinned food in the bottom of a cupboard.

‘Chilli baked beans, cheesy spaghetti, Irish stew, peas or tomatoes.’ She held up each can to show Jake. ‘As my guest, you get to choose. What do you fancy?’

‘They all sound good. I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry in my life.’

‘Hmm...’ Ellie had almost forgotten what it felt like to really smile. ‘That’s not a bad idea. I’ll see if I’ve got a pot that’s big enough.’

The result of mixing the contents of all the chosen cans together was remarkably tasty. Or maybe she was just as hungry as Jake. Whatever the reason, sitting cross-legged in front of the fire, spooning the food from a bowl, Ellie decided that it was probably one of the most memorable meals she would ever eat.

‘There’s more in the pot if you’re still hungry,’ she told Jake.

‘Maybe we should save it for tomorrow.’

‘There’s still more cans. My mother must have stocked up big time on their last trip.’

‘When was that?’

‘Six years ago. I didn’t come on that trip because I was in the middle of my helicopter training.’ Ellie stared into the fire. ‘Who knew it would save my life?’

‘How d’you mean?’

‘Their yacht ran into trouble on the way home. Both my parents drowned.’

‘Oh...I’m sorry.’

Ellie could see Jake put his plate down suddenly, as if his appetite had deserted him. She kicked herself mentally.

‘No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of...’ Her voice trailed into silence. He didn’t want to talk about Ben, did he? She didn’t need to glance sideways at his bent head to remind her of that walled-off private area. It was none of her business, anyway.

But she heard Jake take a deep breath a moment later. And then he shook his head as he got to his feet. He shoved his hair behind his ears.

‘You wouldn’t have a rubber band or a piece of string or something, would you? My hair’s going to drive me nuts if I don’t tie it back.’

Ellie blinked. ‘I can find something.’ She couldn’t help a personal question. ‘Why do you wear it so long if it annoys you?’

‘Not my choice. It’s temporary. You could say it’s a—a work thing.’

‘Ohh...’ Ellie was bemused. ‘What are you—a male model?’

Jake’s breath came out in a snort. ‘Something like that.’

Ellie could well believe it. She’d seen that body. The dark wavy hair that almost brushed his shoulders would probably be wildly exciting for a lot of women, too, but the beard? No...it wouldn’t do it for her.

She almost changed her mind as Jake used his fingers to rake his hair back properly from his face. Even with the beard hiding half his face, she had trouble dragging her gaze away from him.

‘What? Have I got spaghetti on my face or something?’

‘No...you just look...I don’t know...different.’

Different but oddly familiar. Or was that simply a warning signal that something unconscious was recognising the magnetic pull this man seemed to have? Ellie turned away with a decisive enough head movement to make her aware of the heavy weight of her own hair. The loose bits had long since dried, but the braid was still wet.

‘Here. Have this...’ She pulled the elastic band from the end of her braid. ‘I need to get my hair dry and it’ll take all night if I leave it tied up.’

So Jake bound his hair back in a ponytail and Ellie unravelled hers and let it fall over her back with the ends brushing the wooden boards of the floor. Now it was Jake’s turn to stare, apparently. She could feel the intensity of his gaze from where he was sitting on the sofa behind her.

Was it the hissing of the lamp or the crackle of the fire or was there some kind of other current in the air that Ellie could actually feel instead of hear? It had all the intensity of a bright light and the heat of a flame and something warned Ellie not to turn her head.

The current was coming from Jake.

She heard him clear his throat. As though he thought his speech might be hoarse if he didn’t?

‘Must have been tough, losing your parents like that. Have you got any brothers or sisters?’

‘Nope.’

‘Husband? Boyfriend? Significant other?’

‘Nope.’ Ellie felt her hackles rise. It was none of his business. He wasn’t about to let her into personal areas. Why would he think she was willing to share?

‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to pry.’ Jake’s voice was flat. ‘I just thought...it’s going to be a long night and it might be kind of nice to get to know each other.’

Did that mean that if she was prepared to share, he might too? That she might even find out the significance of that intriguing tattoo, even?

‘Fair enough.’ But Ellie got to her feet. ‘Let me find us some blankets and pillows first, if they’re useable. And I’ll boil some water. We don’t have milk, but there’s probably a tin of cocoa or something around. We need a drink.’

It was some time before Ellie was satisfied they had all they needed for a while. The fire was well banked up with wood. They both had a blanket and a pillow and, by tacit consent, Jake would have the couch to try and sleep on while Ellie curled up in the armchair. Neither of them wanted to move any further away from the fire.

Exhaustion was taking over now. Her body ached all over and her injured ankle was throbbing badly despite the hastily applied strapping with a damp bandage that she’d found in one of her suit pockets when changing her clothes.

It had been one of the longest days of Ellie’s life and the physical exertion had been draining enough without the added stress of the emotional side of it all. Not only the fear for her own safety but also the grief of knowing that the job was no longer enough to shield her from what she had run from.

Maybe part of it was renewed grief for the family she’d lost. Impossible for that not to be surfacing now that she’d finally come back to a place she’d been avoiding for that very reason.

And maybe that was what made her prepared to talk about it. About things she’d never had anyone to talk to about.

‘I haven’t been here since my parents died,’ she told Jake. ‘It was bad enough when we all came here after Grandpa died and I didn’t want to come back knowing that I had no family left.’ She sighed softly. ‘I didn’t have a boat anyway. I wasn’t sure I wanted anything more to do with the sea.’

‘Hard to get away from, I would think, when you live on an island.’

‘Well—it’s a big island, but you’re right. The home I grew up in is in Devonport in Auckland and it’s right on the beach. I still live there. There’s salt water in my family’s blood, I reckon. That’s why Grandpa took the job as the lighthouse-keeper on Half Moon Island.’

‘The moon... Yeah, I heard you say something about that on the radio.’

‘I recognised it from the air. I spent so much time there when I was little that it’s like part of the family. That’s a picture of it over there, on the wall.’

‘I thought most lighthouses were automatic now.’

‘They are. And Half Moon was automated long before I was born, but Grandpa couldn’t bear to leave it behind. That’s why he bought this patch of land and virtually lived here from when my dad was a teenager. I sailed up with them every school holiday until he died when I was seventeen. And then Mum, Dad and I still came at least a couple of times a year. Having Christmas here when all the pohutukawa trees are in full bloom is quite something. And we could still go over to Half Moon and explore. It’s got an amazing amount of birdlife. It should be a national reserve.’