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HER SECRET 14
Last Updated:
2023-03-19 17:03:15
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YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 15
‘Something happened to me, Matt. I’m not the same as I was.’‘You feel the same, taste just as sweet. Sweeter, I think. Like peppermint.’She took his face in both hands and pinned his head back. He cast her a bewildered look.‘There’s something inside me that doesn’t work right.’Now, he leaned back, folding his arms across his chest.‘I reckon you’d better be more specific.’She shot him a tentative look, then dropped her eyes.He reached for her hand, knit his big fingers through her slender ones. ‘What is it? Did something happen when you had Will?’‘No. I’m not sure when this happened. I can make love with you, Matt, I want to make love to you. But whatever happens I don’t want you to think it’s your fault. There’s nothing physically wrong. It’s in my head, some cold, hardened part of me.’When she looked up, she saw anger in his eyes. ‘What did he do to you?’She knew to whom he was referring. ‘Nothing. It’s me, not anybody else,’‘Why do you assume the failing was yours and not
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 16
‘I’m sure it’s hard for him. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. He wants to take care of Will and me, but in his way. He’s yet to accept I’m a grownwoman capable of standing on my own and making my own decisions.’‘You’re making excuses for him, darlin’. In truth, your background isn’t any more privileged than my own undistinguished upbringing.’‘Sometimes I think we become what we are despite our families rather than because of them.’‘Depends on who you are, I reckon.’She rested her head against his side. With all the ice outside, she felt as though they were encased inside a glass dome, where nothing else could get in or out.‘Let’s not talk about our families,’ she said. ‘Please. Not this morning.’He grinned down on her. ‘Are you hungry? The power’s back on, and I think there’s an egg or two in that itty-bitty refrigerator.’She shook her head. ‘No, I’m not hungry right now.’He shrugged. ‘Well, I can’t turn the horses out in this and I don’t have a television set here, so I
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 17
‘Sierra’s a gracious woman. She’s got no call to be unfriendly to you.’Leeann chewed her bottom lip. ‘I hope she’s not bein’ overly gracious. Matt. You never mentioned you’d be workin’ out there on the weekends too. Be careful, please. I know you’ve been away a long time, but things don’t change as fast in Winter as they do everywhere else. I don’t want to see you get hurt again, not by her.’‘I can take care of myself. You have enough to worry about, Leeann.’‘I’d worry about you less if you’d find some woman who was worth your time and marry her. One of Jerry’s friends has a sister who’s single, and I could invite . . .’‘Forget it. Turtle. I’m not getting married and I’m not staying in Winter. That’s what you want, isn’t it? You’d love for me to tie myself down here.’‘I ain’t denyin’ it, Matt. It’s good havin’ you back. But I’d sooner run you out of town myself than to think that she-devil was toyin’ with you again, like a cat playing with a ball of string.’‘You overestimate Sie
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 18
‘Aw, Mom.’‘And you and Luke were probably up most of the night too, weren’t you?’‘I’m not tired.’Overriding her son’s protests, she refused to let him go.‘That’s all right, William,’ his grandfather assured him. ‘How would you like to come to New York with me next weekend?’Sierra couldn’t help smiling as her son’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Will’s head whipped towards her.‘Can I?’ he asked.‘We’ll see.’ She turned to her father. ‘We need to discuss this more before I make a decision.’‘Fine,’ he agreed, rising. ‘I’ll call you.’She hugged her father. He received the gesture stiffly. Sierra smiled. Emotional displays had always made him uncomfortable. ‘Don’t be a stranger,’ she told him.She and Will stood watching by the window as William Ross walked to his car.‘What made Grandfather William come back today?’ Will asked. Even at his age, he understood that people didn’t get over being angry unless something happened to change that.She set one hand on her son’s shoulde
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 19
‘Thirty or I’m not going to mess with it. And you’ll have seventy five per cent of nothin’.’‘Thirty,’ she conceded. Getting into her pants hadn’t softened his bargaining savvy, she observed.In one quick motion his hand caught hers, hanging between them at her side, wrapping it warmly, squeezing it. Surprised and thrilled at the contact, she looked up into his eyes, smiling. His eyes were intense and compelling, and she glimpsed the tenderness, the lingering intimacy, the silent promise of more. She felt as though he’d reached out and put his hand on her heart.He leaned closer. ‘This is business, Sierra. Onething doesn’t have anything to do with the other. I can’t afford to let it.’His tactics reminded her disturbingly of her father’s, and a thread of trepidation coiled inside her as she wondered what might happened if these two strong men ever confronted one another. Father’s statement that he’d rather see her dead than with Matt Rollins echoed in her head. William Ross wasn’t pr
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 20
‘Scared as hell, but I ain’t got no other road to take. I’ve made my peace.’- - -The sound of hammering interspersed with the intermittent whine of the electric saw echoed across the open fields. Early winter darkness was stealing across the horizon. Peering through her back window, Sierra strained to see Matt. He appeared as a dark speck in the distance, tossing boards around in the corner of the corral.Her arms folded across her chest, she jutted her bottom lip and paced. Ever since he’d mentioned his intention of going to Sam’s, she’d worried over how he might take the news of Sam’s illness. Now, she knew Sam must have told him. Well aware of how Matt admired the grizzled old rancher, she sensed how deeply he must he hurting inside. She longed to comfort Matt, cushion the pain he must be feeling. But he hadn’t come to her with it, as she’d been hoping he would.Damn him. A tractor could run over him and he’d refuse an anesthetic. He held his pain inside, but then he’d been train
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 21
Matt would never forget the way Daddy stood there beaming down on Dylan, grinning at him as though he’d burst with pride.Suddenly, Leeann paused from hugging her new doll. ‘Where’s Matt’s present. Daddy?’ she asked.As Matt peered inside the truck and saw no more presents on the seat, a thick lump began forming in his throat. Time seemed frozen as Lester Rollins shifted his stance, shuffling in the mud and leveling his gaze on his second oldest. He cleared his throat. ‘Sorry, Matt. I couldn’t find nothin’ to suit ya, and I was pressed for time. I’ll make it up to you later.’Matt felt his brothers and sisters staring at him. He didn’t know what to say. He wished the earth would open up and swallow him. Not for a minute could he believe he’d been left out accidentally.‘It doesn’t matter,’ he sputtered, refusing to let the old man see he hurt so bad he wanted to cry, determined not to spoil this for the other kids. He knew as dead sure as tomorrow was Christmas Daddy had no intention
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 22
Cursing himself because his life was getting more complicated every minute and because he’d been remembering how good her lithe body had felt next to his without realizing the memory had him smiling like a damn fool, he headed for the ladder.‘I was just admiring how good you look, getting one last eyeful before you fall off that ladder and kill yourself,’ he called up to her. ‘Don’t you have a lick of common sense?’Each time he was around Sierra, his emotions heightened. Despite his expertise in blocking out disturbing feelings, when it came to her he always felt too much.Reaching the ladder’s base and bracing it, he called up to her again. ‘Sierra, what the blazes are you doing up there?’As she looked down, he saw the strand of multicolored lights in her hand, and he glanced briefly at the pile of boxes stacked on the front porch. At first he’d thought they contained trash, but now he noticed a plastic snowman peeping over the rim of one. Glory! Christmas decorations. More holida
Last Updated : 2023-03-19
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YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 23
‘G’day Kerrien, my darling girl, had a nice time?’ She was nodding and smiling encouragingly but Kerrien could say nothing. ‘Lovely day, thank you. It’s good of you to feed me again,’ she added. “Come on in. Make yourself at home,” she urged. ‘Must use the bathroom, if I may,’ Kerrien asked. Brett shoved his mother out of the room and Kerrien could hear the whispered voices rising and falling. ‘For heaven’s sake boy, do I get the champagne out or not?'*I don’t know Mum, she hasn’t given me an answer yet.” Kerrien listened in growing discomfort. She was beginning to feel coerced, trapped. If she said yes, it was going to be for all the wrong reasons. If she said no, she might just be acting foolishly out of some misplaced sense of romanticism. She went slowly back to the family room, where Brett was waiting for her. ‘Do I get my answer yet?’ he asked. The blue eyes were shuttered and she could read nothing from them. “Yes Brett, yes I will marry you.’ She wondered why she didn
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 22
Sleep was impossible and Kerrien paced her room for much of the night. Ashton was evidently going through some personal crisis which seemed to exclude both herself and the children. What was he talking about with her and Brett? News? Excited? He could only think that they were getting engaged. She wondered where he had got that idea. It was the very last thing she would have wanted him to think, when all the time she desperately wanted jum. She also wished that his future with Martine was less certain. Double wedding indeed! Ashton said little the next morning before rushing off to work. She caught him staring at her a couple of times, as if looking for some clue in her face. If he believed something special had recently happened to her, he did not voice his thoughts. ‘I won’t be home for lunch and don’t wait dinner for me tonight. I may be out. Have you decided when you’re going out at the weekend?’ he asked. ‘Saturday, if that’s OK,’ she replied. ‘I'll organize things before I go
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 21
‘I haven’t felt this way about anyone before,’ Brett said. She drew a quick gulp of air and her reeling senses came back to earth. ‘And you’ve had plenty to choose from, I suppose.’ The harsh words hit him like a slap across the face. “I’ve never tried to pretend anything different,” he defended, a hurt expression in his eyes. “Look, you may be innocent or try to give the impression of being innocent but I know a true response when I feel it. Yes, OK, call it experience. Tell me, do you intend going through your entire life celibate and end up a sour spinster?’ ‘I think I'd better go,’ she said, bristling at his accusation. ‘Kerrien, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it. I want you Kerrien, on whatever terms you insist on making. Think about it. I can offer you everything you’ve always wanted.’ His face looked almost child-like in its pleading, like Ben or Jodie begging for just a few minutes longer, before going to bed. She almost smiled at the thought. They may want to stay up longer, Br
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 20
‘I thought you had something vital to tell me,’ Ashton said at lunch. ‘Something that couldn’t wait a moment longer.’ ‘Perhaps I’ve got things in perspective a little better,’ Kerrien replied, twisting her fingers together in her anxiety. ‘What I have to talk about is important but something has come up that I must deal with and quickly. I have to see Brett and the sooner the better.’ He stared at her, peering into her eyes as if he could read something in them, as if he could somehow see into her mind to know what she was thinking. She was an enigma to him. One minute bursting with some news she needed to discuss urgently with him and the next, planning an evening out with her boy-friend. He had no doubt as to the reason for her sudden need to meet Brett. She had to give him an answer to the vital question and having made her decision, she obviously couldn’t wait to tell him. ‘Look, I know it isn’t really my evening off but things have been hectic lately and I am still owed some t
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 19
Kerrien sipped a cup of hot chocolate in the cafeteria, her hands wrapped round the comforting mug. She hoped that Kate and her friend didn’t have the same idea. Kerrien had no prejudices about people’s right to choose their sexual partners but somehow, Kate’s whole attitude to life suddenly seemed to have become clearer. All these nasty, sometimes spiteful . remarks were probably made because Kate didn’t know how to cope with the cards that life had dealt her. She did genuinely seem fond of the children but perhaps felt that Ashton would be less than understanding if he knew that his sister loved another woman. It took some getting used to but Kerrien was convinced that she was not mistaken. The way the two women had looked at and spoken to each other showed quite clearly that they shared a deep relationship. It may also explain why Kate was so resentful of Kerrien. Her easy going manner with people was something of a contrast with Kate’s own more restrained nature. She wondered if
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 18
“So what do you say Kerrien? Will you stay with us, for as long as you can?’ His deep, soft eyes were pleading with her. She felt again that urge to wrap her arms round him and hug him better but she knew that any physical contact with him would spell disaster to her own strength of purpose. ‘Think of the children,’ he added, knowing this was his trurmp card. She genuinely loved them and would never let them suffer. Besides, it would mean that she would still be around in his life and that meant a great deal more than he cared to admit. ‘I need to think about it. I’ll stay for a while, certainly. At least until you have made whatever arrangements you plan to make. Don’t worry.’ Her heart was near breaking as she spoke. She desperately wanted to be gone once Martine was living here. She couldn’t bear to see the other woman doing all the things she wanted to be doing, having the exclusive love of the wonderful man she herself loved so much. If he should ever find out how she felt, she
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 17
Once Ashton had left for work, Kerrien decided that she simply couldn’t face another evening staying at home. She dialled Brett’s number and swallowing her stubborn pride, asked if he was free that evening. She was taking a slight risk that she wouldn’t have to babysit but as she hadn’t taken any time off for ages, it was not unreasonable to expect a free evening. His response was very positive. If he had made other plans, it was not obvious. He suggested a movie and then a meal out. It sounded exactly what she needed to take her mind off things here. When Kate eventually turned up, sometime after eleven, Kerrien had started the lunch preparations. She made some coffee for them both. Kate seemed edgy and moody. Things were evidently not going as well as she would have liked. But, she obviously controlled her wandering thoughts and agreed to mind the children for the evening, if Ashton was out. The woman seemed subdued and uncommunicative, so Kerrien left her alone and went to play wi
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 16
The next few days were difficult. Kate bad only one topic of conversation — the wedding — and seemed totally unaware of the discomfort of those around her. The children were silent and withdrawn, reminiscent of the time when Kerrien had first arrived in Australia. Kerrien herself was thoroughly sick of hearing about the fabulous designer wedding dress Martine was planning, and whether Ben should be dressed in green or cream velvet. Either was equally revolting, or so Kerrien thought and she instinctively knew that Ben would agree! 'I think you should start looking around for another job,” Kate suggested brightly one morning. 'I see. Your idea or Ashton’s?’ Kerrien asked. ‘It must be obvious even to you that this situation can’t go on. Once they’re married, I expect they will be starting a new family and Martine is sure to want someone of her own choice, to look after the new baby as well as Ashton’s two. Besides, Ben will be at school and you surely wouldn’t want to be hanging arou
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 15
It was nearly lunch-time when Kerrien returned from her trip to drop Brett home. A quick hallo to Margaret and a coffee before she had left, made her later than she intended. She’d then taken a couple of wrong turnings, her mind pre-occupied. The journey took longer and longer, it seemed. There was strange feeling of unreality about everything, as if she was in the middle some sort of dream that would end when she awoke. The house was quiet and Ashton’s car was missing from its usual place. He must have gone to work, even though she’d thought he wasn’t on duty this weekend. Perhaps he had gone out — to be with his fiancée she thought miserably. She had to keep experimenting with the words, so that she would get used to it. How could he want to marry someone who was so negative towards those two lovely children? It was obvious to anyone with half a mind, that Martine couldn’t care less about them. It was equally clear that the children also felt the same way about their father’s fiancé
