The Wayward Son

“Tough choices. It’s a shame they couldn’t do both.”

“Yeah.”

Judd lapsed into silence. Wondering, not for the first time, how different life might have been if the Masters family hadn’t been forced into that decision. It couldn’t have been easy for his mother and her brothers, starting over from scratch, seeing the life of ease and plenty they’d enjoyed vanishing in a flash. Was that why it had been so easy for Charles Wilson to sweep Cynthia off her feet? Was the life of wealth and luxury he offered truly impossible for a girl, who’d spent so long struggling, to resist?

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Anna asked, her voice artificially bright. “Last night you mentioned Hahndorf, right? Where and what is it?”

Judd flashed her a smile before transferring his attention back to the road in front of them.

“It was originally a German settlement, established in the early eighteen hundreds. Much of the original architecture still survives and is used today. It’s not far from here, but I thought I’d take you a couple of other places first and then we’ll head back into Hahndorf for lunch.”

“Sounds lovely, thanks. Really, I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule for me.”

Judd reached out and caught her hand in his, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze.

“I want to get to know you better, Anna. Can’t do that stuck in my office, now, can I?”

To his surprise, a flush of color spread across her cheeks. She blushed? The ingenuousness of the act was totally at odds with the wanton he’d held in his arms last night. Yeah, there was no doubt about it. Anna Garrick intrigued him, and he liked being intrigued—even if it was by someone with a hidden agenda.

Her fingers tingled beneath his touch and Anna felt heat surge through her body, staining her cheeks. God, this effect he had on her would be her undoing. She gently withdrew her hand, distracting herself by poking about in her handbag for a tissue. Her fingertips brushed against the envelope holding the letter from Charles and she pulled her hand out of the bag so rapidly she elicited another one of those piercing looks from Judd.

“So,” she said, forcing her heartbeat to resume a more normal rate with a few calming breaths, “where are you taking me first?”

He gestured to the highest peak ahead of them.

“Mount Lofty. From there you’ll see the whole of Adelaide spread out before you.”

Judd proved himself to be a very efficient tour guide. That he knew the area like the back of his hand was obvious, as was his love and appreciation of his surroundings. By the time they’d taken in the panoramic views of the city and beyond from the peak of Mount Lofty and then strolled through the exquisitely beautiful botanic gardens below, Anna was having a hard time reminding herself that this was no pleasure jaunt.

Judd’s fingers were loosely linked in hers as they walked, and every nerve in her body went on high alert, focusing intently on the scant physical connection they shared. Wishing against everything that the connection could be deepened and intensified.

She fought to regain control of her senses. She’d be crazy to embark on anything physical with Judd Wilson. Totally and utterly crazy. But no matter what her head told her, her body demanded something else entirely.

In her bag, she felt her cell phone discreetly vibrate. The only person who would be calling her would be Charles. Her stomach lurched. Was he okay? He hadn’t looked well when she’d left Auckland yesterday. Extracting her fingers from Judd’s light clasp, she reached into her bag.

“Excuse me, I need to take this,” she said, putting the phone to her ear and turning to walk a few steps away from him.

“Have you met him yet?” Charles’s voice sounded strong and healthy.

“Yes, I have,” she said guardedly, wishing she’d let the call go to her message service and then phoned Charles back when she had a little more privacy.

“Well, what’s he like? Have you given him the letter yet? What did he say?”

Charles’s questions fired at her with the less-than-subtle force of a battering ram and she created a little more distance between herself and the subject of those questions.

“It’s hard to say at the moment. No, and nothing yet,” she answered each question in turn.

“You’re with him now, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Look, it’s really not a good time to talk. Can I get back to you later?”

Please say “yes,” she silently begged. In response, Charles’s hearty chuckle filled her ear.

“Not a good time, eh? Okay, then, I’ll leave you to it. But make sure you call me back later today.”

“Yes, certainly. I’ll do that. Goodbye.”

“Anna, don’t hang up!”

She sighed. “Yes?”

“I’m counting on you. I need my son with me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you, darling girl.”

He disconnected the call and Anna felt her shoulders sag with the reminder of what he expected of her.

“Bad news?” Judd asked.

“No, not really,” Anna hedged.

“Anything I can help with?”

She fought back the strangled laugh that rose in her throat. If only he knew. But no, the last thing she could do was divulge the details of that phone call. Not yet, anyway. She shook her head and pushed her phone back in her bag.

“It was just work, I can deal with it later. I’m starving,” she said, trying to shift the conversation onto safer ground. “How about that lunch you promised me?”

“Your wish is my command,” Judd said, taking her hand again and lifting it to his lips.

His blue eyes gleamed, letting Anna know in no uncertain terms that he was definitely open to more than just lunch. Again that surge of heat swirled deep inside her, making her body tighten in anticipation. She fought to paint a smile on her lips. This was all going to be so much harder than she had ever imagined.

On the short drive to Hahndorf, Charles’s words kept echoing around in her head, I need my son with me. An unexpected flash of anger rose within her. Charles was so bent on reuniting with his long-lost son that he’d completely forgotten he had a daughter right by his side. A daughter who understood his wine importation and distribution business better, almost, than her own father. A daughter who’d spent her whole life stepping up in an attempt to fill the near insurmountable gap left when Cynthia had taken Judd to Australia.

Anna wondered again about the contents of the letter that weighed so heavily in her handbag. She knew Charles was planning on offering Judd an incentive to return, but he hadn’t shared the details with her. Whatever carrot he’d chosen to dangle, what would it mean to the sister who didn’t even remember Judd? The one who worked so hard to please her father, for no reward other than his love and hard-won approval? Anna adored Charles with every breath in her body. He’d been the only father figure she’d ever known, but she worried that he’d overstepped the mark with this obsession with Judd and that he’d damage his relationship with Nicole irrevocably.

“What sort of work do you do that they need to call you when you’re on vacation?”

Judd’s voice interrupted her thoughts and made her start. She’d been dreading this question and had already decided that a vague response would be her best bet.

“Oh, I’m a P.A.”

“You must be pretty important to your boss if he can’t keep from calling you.”

Anna forced her features to relax into a smile. “I’ve worked for him since I left school. We’re probably closer than most boss/employee relationships.”

She caught Judd’s piercing look before his eyes resumed their surveillance of the road in front of them. He began to slow the car as they approached a township, and Anna let out an involuntary exclamation of delight as they entered the main road. Lined with massive trees and with quaint tin-roofed buildings, she’d have thought she’d stepped back in time if it hadn’t been for the bustle of people and modern vehicles that lined the street.

Judd expertly backed the Aston Martin into a car space and came around to open Anna’s door.

“I’m surprised he let you out of his sight, if you’re so close,” he said, his words weighted with something that Anna couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“I’m my own woman,” she answered.

“I’m pleased to hear it,” Judd said in return, taking her hand and tucking it firmly in the crook of his elbow. “Because I don’t like to share.”

“I’ve heard that trait was reserved for only children,” Anna said with a soft laugh, trying to defuse the heady rush of excitement his words stimulated inside her.

“What makes you think I’m not an only child?”

Oh, Lord, she’d nearly stepped right in it. She scoured her memory quickly, although deep down she knew that no one here in Adelaide had mentioned his estranged family to her.

“Oh, I don’t know. I just assumed, since you grew up here surrounded by your cousins, that sharing was a natural part of your life.”

She held her breath, hoping he’d be satisfied with her reply. To her surprise, he let out a short laugh.

“Yeah, I suppose that’d be a natural assumption.”

“So, are you?” she probed, wanting some insight into how he might feel about the sister he hadn’t seen in years.

“An only child?” He shrugged. “It’s complicated. My parents divorced when I was young, and they split my sister and me up at the same time. I was six, she was just one year old.”

“Isn’t that unusual? That your father kept your sister?”

“He didn’t want me—my mother did.”

Judd’s words, so simply spoken, hinted strongly at the hurt that had to lie behind them. Anna wanted to protest. To tell him that his father wanted him very much indeed, but they weren’t her words to say.

“Have you ever wanted to see your sister? Get to know her?” she pressed, taking a different tack.

“Why the sudden interest?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that, as I told you last night, I am an only child and I always wanted siblings.”

“The human condition, huh? Always wanting what we can’t have.”

“I suppose so,” Anna admitted, sorry that he’d so deftly avoided answering her question.

They walked along the shady sidewalk, stopping every now and then to wander into one of the many galleries before they crossed the road to take an umbrella-covered table outside an obviously very popular inn. Anna pulled the pin from her hair and shook it loose from its temporary restraint. She didn’t miss the glow of pure male appreciation in Judd’s eyes as she did so and felt her body warm in response.

“Would you like a menu, or would you like me to choose for you?” Judd asked.

“Go ahead and order for me. I eat just about everything.”

“What would you like to drink? A glass of wine?”

Anna eyed a nearby patron swigging at a foam-topped beer. “One of those,” she said, pointing.

“Beer?”

“Sure. Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who don’t think women should drink beer.”

“Not at all.” He laughed. “In fact, I plan to join you.”

When the waitress came over he ordered their meals and two beers. They didn’t have to wait long before the food and drinks arrived. Anna gasped when she saw the size of the platter placed before them.

“It’s their Taste of Germany. You couldn’t come here without trying it,” Judd said.

“I’ll take your word for it. I sure hope you’re hungry, too,” Anna replied, taking a sip of her chilled beer. “Mmm, that’s good.”

She grew so engrossed in the meal and their surroundings that she didn’t notice when a family with several children raced by their table. One of the kids lost his balance when his foot hooked into the handle of her bag, which she’d placed on the ground by the table leg. Anna’s hands flew to stabilize the beer mugs on the table as it rocked under the impact of the youngster’s clumsiness.

“Oh, no! I’m so sorry,” his harried mother said, rushing to pick up the belongings that had scattered from Anna’s bag.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay,” Anna assured her, reaching for the items the woman had so far gathered and shoving them back in her bag. “Really, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left the strap hanging out like that.”

Judd had risen from his chair and was helping to collect Anna’s things. Too late she saw the stark-white envelope that had been ejected from its hiding place. His long-fingered hand hovered over it and her heart sank to the soles of her feet as she registered the exact moment he identified the name on the front.

He settled back in his chair, handing most of her things back to her, but holding the envelope between his fingers as if it contained something dangerous inside. The mother and her son moved on, rejoining the rest of their family, but Anna didn’t even notice. All she could do was stare at Judd and the flat packet in his hands.

“Care to explain this?” he said, his voice suddenly devoid of the warmth it had contained only moments ago.

Anna took a deep breath. “It’s a letter.”

“I can see that. It looks like a letter to me.”

She couldn’t maintain eye contact and instead dropped her gaze to her lap, where her fingers knotted in anxiety. This was all wrong. She’d wanted to give him the letter when she was ready, when she was in control and when she could better gauge what his reaction would be. Not in a public place like this, with no warning and no chance to prepare him for the letter’s contents.

“It is,” she said softly.

She flinched as she heard the envelope tear open. Her stomach tied in a knot of unbelievable proportions as the sound of a single sheet of paper being unfolded overwhelmed the noise of the diners and sightseers around them.

Anna finally lifted her gaze and watched as Judd read the letter his father had written. The letter that had the capacity to change all their lives. When he’d finished, he neatly refolded the sheet and put it back in the envelope. Still he said nothing. A shiver of fear danced down her spine. He was calm, too calm. She’d seen Charles get like this and she knew that it was only the quiet before the storm. What was coming could only be cataclysmic.

She reached across the table, touching his forearm. He shook off her touch as if she were nothing more than an annoying insect.

“Judd—” she started, but whatever she’d been about to say died in her throat when he met her eyes and she felt the full fury of the glacial fire reflected there.

“Who the hell are you and why are you really here?”

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