Six Australian Heroes

‘I hope I haven’t said anything out of order,’ he said instead. ‘There’s no reason why I can’t like you, is there?’

To give her credit, she regathered her composure with astonishing speed. ‘Of course not,’ she said with her usual brusqueness. ‘You just took me by surprise, that’s all. And, for what it’s worth, I find I can’t continue to totally dislike a man who would give up his weekend to make my gran happy.’

He had to smile. ‘Careful. We don’t want to get too carried away with the mutual compliments, do we?’

‘You don’t want me to start lying to you, do you?’ she countered tartly.

‘Not till we get to our destination, at which point I think some judicious lying will be necessary, along with some judicious flattery and flirting.’

‘Flirting!’

He almost chuckled at the horror on her face.

‘Absolutely,’ he said with a brilliant poker face. ‘You do know how to flirt, don’t you, Laura?’

‘I’ve never been a flirter. Or a flatterer.’

No, he thought ruefully. You wouldn’t have been.

‘In that case, it’s time you learned. Or are you planning on spending the rest of your life as an old maid?’

She shot him a mutinous look. ‘How I spend the rest of my life is none of your business.’

‘For pity’s sake,’ he snapped, feeling angry with her now. ‘What is it with you? Okay, so some bastard hurt you way back when, obviously very badly. But he’s only one man, not the whole male race. We’re not all rotters. You have to move on, woman. Get back on the horse, so to speak.’

‘Thank you very much!’ she ground out sarcastically.

‘You will, if you do what I say. Look, this weekend is a perfect opportunity for you to learn how to flirt. You can practise on me to your heart’s content without having to put up with any awkward consequences.’

‘No kidding.’

‘You can cut the sarcasm for starters.’

Her sigh sounded … what—weary? Frustrated?

Suddenly he saw that he was being way too forceful. It was a bad habit of his, trying to fix things and to control things. A result maybe of his childhood where everything had been out of his control.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I’m being obnoxious, aren’t I?’

‘Very,’ she said.

‘You can tell me to shut up, if you like.’

‘Shut up, Ryan.’

He laughed. ‘I promise not be so bossy when we get to your family’s place.’

‘Don’t change too much,’ she advised him dryly. ‘Gran likes forceful men.’

‘But you don’t, Laura. I’m playing your Mr Right, not your gran’s.’

‘And you think you know what my Mr Right would be like?’ she scoffed.

‘I could hazard a guess.’

‘Do tell.’

‘He’d be a true gentleman, for starters. Slightly old-fashioned in a way. But there’d be no chauvinism in him. He’d treat you wonderfully, like a princess. He’d be passionate, but gentle at the same time. Gentle and protective.’

When he slanted a quick glance her way, he could see that he was right on the mark.

‘What are you?’ she asked with surprise in her voice. ‘A mind reader?’

‘No, but I’m a pretty good listener. I heard the way you described your father and I realised he was your ideal man. I dare say the man who hurt you so badly seemed like your ideal man, but it was only a façade. Underneath, he was anything but.’

Laura’s grim silence touched an empathetic chord inside him. Ryan understood full well that talking about some things did not help. All it did was dredge up old memories which were better left unvisited.

‘Sounds like he was a right bastard,’ he continued. ‘One best forgotten.’

Still, she didn’t say a word.

‘Time for some relaxing distraction, I think,’ he said, and put on the radio.

‘Now put your seat back a little and let some of that tension flow out of your body,’ he ordered. ‘And, before you tell me to shut up again, I think you should know that there’s a small part of every woman who wants a man to be forceful with her when the time is right—which is now. So swallow that sarcastic remark which I’m sure your tongue is itching to deliver and just do what I’m telling you. Okay?’

He was pleased when she didn’t object. In fact, she did exactly as he suggested—put her seat back, closed her eyes and let out a very long sigh. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on inside her head, but soon she began to look a lot more relaxed. In fact, if he wasn’t mistaken, she actually drifted off to sleep. It occurred to him that she might not have slept much the night before, worrying over the weekend ahead.

Still, it was as well that he knew the way north as far as the Hawkesbury river. Otherwise, he might have had to rouse her for directions. If he remembered rightly, the Hawkesbury was about a half-hour drive from where they were at the moment. That would give Laura enough time for a cat nap before he’d be forced to disturb her.

Five minutes later, he turned right onto the motorway where he accelerated up to a more enjoyable speed. The traffic thinned appreciably with the triple lanes and the powerful car ate up the miles. The suburban landscape quickly gave way to thick bushland on either side of the road which had been cut through the rocky hills. In considerably less than the half-hour he’d estimated, Ryan began the long incline which he recalled led down to the river and the small hamlet of Brooklyn.

He’d rented a houseboat there once, on a recommendation from a mate who said it was just the place for a romantic weekend getaway.

Ryan frowned as he struggled to remember the name of the girl he’d brought with him. Strange; that had only been about three years ago. Maybe not even that long. Yet he could not remember her name, or even her face. All that came to mind was his pleasure at being out in the open on the water. And the fact that he’d caught a fish.

He glanced over at Laura for a moment. This weekend would hardly qualify as a real romantic getaway. But Ryan rather suspected that he would never forget it, just as he would never forget Laura Ferrugia.

Ryan smiled wryly at this last thought. Impossible to forget the most irritating female he’d ever met!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

LAURA woke with a start, shocked to find that she’d been asleep for almost an hour and a half.

‘Why didn’t you wake me?’ she demanded to know when she realised the time.

Ryan’s shrug was nonchalant. ‘I figured you needed the rest.’

‘Where are we?’ she said, suddenly aware that they’d left the motorway and were on a single-lane road. Panic set in until she realised they were on the right road, heading for Cessnock. ‘I thought you said you didn’t know the way!’

‘I figured there would have to be signs. When I saw an exit which led to the vineyards, I took it.’

‘You should still have woken me.’

‘Will you stop fussing?’ he said, his voice showing some impatience. ‘We’re not lost.’

‘But we could have been,’ she muttered.

‘And if we had been? It wouldn’t have been the end of the world, Laura. We both have mobile phones. We could have called and explained that we would be a little late.’

‘Maybe, but I don’t want to give Aunt Cynthia any reason to criticise me.’

‘She won’t criticise you with me by your side. She’ll be putty in my hands in no time flat.’

Laura rolled her eyes. The arrogance of the man!

‘Believe it or not,’ he went on with a wry smile curling one corner of his mouth, ‘I have a good track record with the opposite sex. Most women—especially the older ones—find me totally charming.’

Laura didn’t doubt it. But no way could she let him get away with such self-praise without putting a small dent in his insufferable male ego, as well as reminding herself to be on her guard against him at the same time.

‘Which is exactly why I chose you as my Mr Right, Ryan,’ she said in droll tones. ‘Because you have all those superficial qualities which pulls the wool over the eyes of most women. It’s only the once-bitten, eyes-wide-open females like myself who recognise that charm like yours is just so much hogwash.’

He laughed a very dry laugh. ‘And there I was, thinking you were starting to truly warm to me.’

‘In your dreams, Ryan. Now concentrate on the road, please. We’re coming into Cessnock. I’ll direct you from here. It’s a bit tricky getting through the town and out onto the right road.’

He took her directions without a hitch, and they were soon through the old mining town and turning onto the road which would take them to their destination.

‘Not too fast along here,’ she warned him as he whizzed along what probably looked to him a very straight, very good road. ‘After all the rain we’ve had lately, there’ll be a lot of potholes.’

Ryan slowed appreciably, which allowed him to take his eyes off the road occasionally to study the countryside.

‘This is a very pretty area, Laura.’

It was pretty, she conceded, with lots of rolling hills and trees and well-looked-after properties, not all of which were vineyards. Tourism had spawned quite a few plush resorts to cater for holiday makers who enjoyed wine-tasting tours, plus five-star food and accommodation. It was also a popular place to retire to, with several new villages for the over-fifties who wanted to enjoy country living without the hassle of having to do too much work.

‘I guess my view is jaundiced by my not being happy living here.’

‘Just as your view of men is jaundiced by your not having been happy with one.’

Laura’s teeth clenched down hard in her jaw.

‘We all have jaundiced memories, Ryan,’ she countered coolly. ‘I dare say you have some of your own.’

How right you are, sweetheart, Ryan thought with a mixture of annoyance and admiration. She gave as good as she got. But shooting back poisoned darts must get exhausting. He couldn’t wait until they got to her place and she would be forced to behave herself. Maybe even be sweet to him. The mind boggled at how she would handle it when he put his arms around her. Maybe even kissed her. Just for appearance’s sake, of course. Even so, his heartbeat quickened at the thought.

‘How far to go now?’ he asked.

‘Less than a kilometre. Take the next road on your right.’

It was a wider road, recently tarred and with no rough edges or potholes, which he commented on.

‘There’s been a lot of development along this road,’ Laura explained. ‘Several new wineries and a brand-new golf resort built on the land Uncle Bill sold them. We’re just coming to that now on your right.’

‘Wow!’ Ryan exclaimed. ‘That’s some golf course.’

‘It’s not just a golf course, it’s an estate as well. If you buy a house there you get automatic membership to the golf club. But it’ll cost you at least a million. Crafty old Uncle Bill made sure a life membership to the club came with the land deal. He’s crazy about golf. I suppose you are, too. Most sporty men are.’

‘I wouldn’t say I’m crazy about the game, but I like it well enough. To be honest, you have to be able to play golf when you’re in the sport-management business. You’ve no idea how many deals I’ve negotiated on a golf course, especially at the nineteenth hole.’

Laura frowned over at him. ‘I thought there were only eighteen holes?’

Ryan smiled. ‘I see you don’t play golf. The nineteenth hole is the golf club.’

‘Oh, silly me. Slow down a bit; our driveway’s coming up. There …’ Laura pointed a finger to a spot just ahead. ‘Between those two gum trees. You won’t have to stop, the gates are always left open.’

‘I can’t see any house,’ Ryan said, glancing around as he turned into the driveway.

‘That’s because you’re not looking in the right place. That’s it on top of that hill over there.’

His eyes followed the direction of her finger to what was a large two-storey homestead sitting majestically on the crest of a very distant hill. It was rectangular and colonial in style, with a high-pitched roof, and verandahs all the way around, top and bottom. Several chimneys more evidence of real fireplaces, no doubt with elegant hearths to go with the elegant architecture of the building.

‘I thought you said your family wasn’t seriously rich,’ came his rueful remark.

‘They’re not,’ Laura replied.

‘Possibly you and I differ on what ‘seriously rich’ is.’

Unless this property was mortgaged to the hilt, then the owner, in Ryan’s opinion, was seriously rich. The fences around the paddocks were in excellent condition and the cattle grazing on the pastures were fat and healthy looking. Despite his knowledge of country living being confined to watching the occasional programme on TV, Ryan could already see he was looking at money.

‘I presume all the land leading up to the house belongs to your grandmother?’ he asked as they crunched over the gravelly surface.

‘No. The whole property actually belongs to Uncle Bill. My grandfather—dear, sweet man that he was—left everything to his son rather than his wife.’

Ryan frowned. ‘Why would he do that?’

When he glanced over at her, he saw Laura’s face crinkle up in disgust.

‘Because he was of the old school,’ she said sourly. ‘The one which believes that men should rule the world and own all the land.’

Mmm. Perhaps Laura’s man-hating ways started long before that client she slept with. Still, Ryan could understand that a girl of Laura’s intelligence would find it hard to accept her grandfather’s chauvinistic—and decidedly unloving—ways.

‘Was your grandmother very hurt at the time?’ he asked.

‘She was disappointed,’ Laura said. ‘But she didn’t make a fuss, though she should have. I certainly did when Uncle Bill gave her a pitiful allowance out of all the money he’d inherited.’

‘What did you do?’

‘Threatened the bastard that I’d persuade Gran to contest the will if he didn’t give her a decent amount each year. Which he did do, grudgingly.’

‘I’ll bet you weren’t too popular for a while.’

‘I’ve never been popular with the men on this side of my family,’ she replied.

Ryan laughed. ‘I wonder why?’

‘Why should I suck up to the opposite sex?’ she asserted with her usual stroppiness. ‘I’m as good as they are.’

‘Yes, well, just remember that for the next couple of days you’re playing the part of a woman in love.’

The expression on her face when he said this was worth all the money in China.

‘I knew this was a terrible idea,’ she muttered. ‘I don’t know what possessed me to do it.’

‘Pride possessed you.’

‘Yes, you’re right,’ she said with a deeply weary sigh. ‘Good old pride—one of the seven deadly sins.’

She looked so dispirited all of a sudden that Ryan felt genuinely sorry for her.

‘Not just pride, Laura,’ he said gently. ‘Kindness too. Let’s not forget that. We’re here to make your gran happy. What does it matter if you’re forced out of your comfort zone for a couple of days? It’s not like it will last for ever. Let me do most of the talking. You just smile and agree to everything I say. Which I know will be extremely difficult for you,’ he added before she could say a single word. ‘But it’s all in a good cause.’

She was quiet for a long moment, but then she nodded. ‘I’ll do my best.’

‘Good.’

Good!

Laura felt anything but good every time she looked at the man. She wanted to hit him for making her find him so darned attractive all of a sudden.

It wasn’t pride that was possessing her at this moment. It was another of the seven deadly sins, one that terrified the life out of her.

Laura was not intimately acquainted with lust, had never been held in its thrall before. Both Brad and Mario had seduced her into their beds, and she’d gone out of the need to be loved, not the need to have sex with them.

But she wanted to have sex with Ryan. It was a most disturbing thought. Her sigh carried regret that she’d ever thought of this charade in the first place. Regret too that she’d given in to Ryan’s suggestion and bought that sexy red dress.

Alison had spelled it out for her. That dress was the sort which would get an octogenarian’s hormones up and going. And Ryan was a lot younger and hornier than that. It worried her, what might happen if he did make a pass at her tonight?

‘Come now, Laura,’ Ryan said with a touch of exasperation in his voice. ‘Anyone would think you were going to your execution.’

An execution would be preferable to ending up in bed with you, Laura thought, keeping her eyes firmly off his corrupting body and on the road ahead. She tried thinking of what he’d just said, about this all being in a good cause, but nothing could unwind the knots of tension in her stomach. The niggling fear she’d had that this weekend would end in disaster became steadily magnified as they drew closer to the house. The sight of her Aunt Cynthia standing on the verandah waiting for them reminded her of that other fear she’d had earlier today—the fear that they’d be put in the same bedroom for the night!

CHAPTER TWELVE

ONE look at Aunt Cynthia gave Ryan a clue as to why Laura was so tense.

The woman was formidable looking to say the least, tall and solidly built, with a manner of the sergeant major about her as she stood there at the top of the front steps with her arms folded over her battleship bosom and her thick-ankled legs slightly apart. The skirt and top she was wearing was battleship grey as well. Possibly in her late fifties, she had very short, tightly curled blonde hair—probably permed and dyed—large facial features and the hint of a moustache above her thinly pressed lips. Her eyes were small and closely set, widening slightly as Ryan braked the convertible to a halt at the bottom on the front steps.

‘Don’t you dare get out of this car,’ Ryan muttered under his breath as Laura automatically reached for the door handle.

When her eyes jerked round to his he bestowed a one-thousand-kilowatt smile upon her, then bent over to graze her right cheek with his lips.

‘Just do as I say,’ he whispered at the same time. ‘And smile, for pity’s sake.’

She didn’t smile, he noted. But she did as he said, staying put while he exited the car and strode round to open the door for her like a gentleman of the old school. Ryan deliberately didn’t look up at Aunt Cynthia until Laura was standing up, her hand safely enclosed in his.

By then he was gratified to see true surprise on the woman’s face, along with an almost welcoming smile. She’d even unfolded her arms by the time he dragged Laura up onto the verandah with him. Thankfully, the woman was staring at him and not at her rather robotic niece.

‘You must be Aunt Cynthia,’ he said, beaming broadly. ‘What a lovely place you have here!’

When she stepped forward to extend her hand, her beady eyes, which turned out to be a faded blue, actually sparkled at him.

‘We think so. It’s so nice to meet you at last, Mr Armstrong.’

Ryan shook her hand with his right hand, at the same time keeping his left tightly clasped around Laura’s lest she bolt for it. Which she just might do, judging by the tension in her fingers.

‘Call me Ryan, please,’ he insisted warmly. ‘And perhaps you’d allow me to call you Cynthia? After all, you’re way too young to be my aunt.’

‘Oh, go on with you,’ she simpered in return, her cheeks going pink with pleasure as her free hand fluttered up to touch her hair.

Laura could not believe it—Aunt Cynthia, actually blushing. The man was a menace all right. But this was why she’d brought him with her today, wasn’t it? To see this kind of reaction from her family, and Aunt Cynthia most of all. It was worth taking the risk of making a fool of herself with him in private to experience this moment of public satisfaction.

When her aunt turned stunned eyes towards her, Laura found a slightly smug smile along with a surge of confidence.

‘He is gorgeous, isn’t he?’ she said.

Ryan was momentarily thrown, not only by Laura’s compliment but by the smoky voice she used.

Wow, he thought. A guy could get used to her talking to him like that. Of course, he knew it was just an act, but a very convincing one. It looked like he didn’t have to worry about her making a hash of their charade.

‘Thank you, darling,’ he said, giving her hand a little squeeze. ‘You’re so sweet.’

Laura almost laughed out loud at the look on her aunt’s face. Dear, but it was priceless! Like she had something stuck in her throat.

‘How’s Gran doing?’ Laura asked whilst her aunt was still floundering.

Cynthia blinked. ‘What? Oh … Er, not too badly.’

‘Can we go and see her straight away?’

‘Perhaps we should take our things in first,’ Ryan suggested. ‘I’d like to freshen up as well.’

‘Yes, yes, of course,’ Cynthia said, quickly recovering her composure to play the perfect hostess, gushing over the car whilst Ryan collected their luggage. He carried Laura’s bag as well as his own, though he left Laura with the coat-hangered dress to carry, along with his dinner suit, which was also underneath a plastic cover. Ryan was glad now that he’d brought a suit with him, rather than more casual clothes. It wasn’t a tux, just a dark grey, single-breasted number which looked good on him and fitted in with any occasion.

The house was as grand inside as out, Ryan noted, with a wide foyer covered in black-and-white tiles an elaborately carved hall-stand which had to be an antique, and an impressive curved staircase made of a rich red wood.

‘It’s cedar,’ Cynthia informed Ryan proudly when he asked about it. ‘There’s quite a lot of cedar in this house,’ she continued as she led the way upstairs. ‘The house was built back in the thirties before the war almost ruined everyone, the racing industry as well. Did Laura tell you this was once one of the most successful racehorse studs in Australia? No, of course she didn’t,’ the woman rattled on before Ryan could reply. ‘Laura’s not all that interested in this place or its traditions.

‘Now I didn’t put you in your usual room, Laura,’ she threw over her shoulder towards her niece who was trailing a little behind. ‘It’s way too small for two people. Shane and Lisa aren’t staying the night, so I made up the main guestroom for you,’

she said, opening a brass-handled door on their right with a flourish.

Ryan heard Laura make a small choking sound which, thank heavens, her aunt didn’t seem to notice, perhaps because she was busy bragging about the people who’d once slept in the very large four-poster bed which dominated the room. She mentioned a past prime minister, as well as a governor general, a couple of English aristocrats and a Hollywood star along with her very wealthy lover.

‘This house has a lot of history,’ she finished up by saying.

‘It’s a very beautiful house,’ Ryan complimented, having dropped both their bags by the door to wander across the room to the French doors which led out onto the verandah. ‘And a very beautiful room.’

He turned to see a pale-faced Laura still standing in the doorway, staring over at the bed. ‘But Gran won’t like us staying in the same bedroom,’ she suddenly blurted out.

Cynthia made a dismissive gesture with her hand. ‘Jane doesn’t need to know,’ she said airily. ‘She’s not allowed to walk up the stairs any more.’

‘So where’s she sleeping?’ Laura asked as she entered the room and draped the coathangers over the back of a chair.

‘We’ve refurbished the old servants’ quarters for her.’

‘The servants’ quarters!’ Laura exclaimed, her face flushing.

‘Before you blow a gasket, missy,’ her aunt said sharply, ‘Jane is very happy with the arrangements. So don’t you go making a fuss and making her unhappy.’

‘Laura would never do or say anything to make her gran unhappy,’ Ryan defended her, moving over to put a protective arm around Laura, warning her with a sharp squeeze not to lose her temper.

‘Yes, I do appreciate that, Ryan,’ Cynthia said through slightly pursed lips. ‘But Laura has the bad habit of opening her mouth before her brain is in gear.’