He sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Sophie. I’d give anything for it not to have happened.’ He reached for her, his hand lightly smoothing over the bare skin of her arm. His touch disarmed her, sending a trail of fire to course through her body and undermine all her carefully shored-up defences. Against all common sense she found herself desperately wanting more.
She couldn’t think clearly while he was touching her, holding her this way. She looked at him, absorbing his strong features, the proud way he tilted his head, and wished more than ever that things could be different between them. But it could never be. Not when his father was responsible for the accident that caused her father’s terrible injuries.
‘I know you’re sorry...but it’s too late for regrets now, isn’t it? If you’d known about his angina earlier, you might have stopped him from taking off that day. But you didn’t.’ The words came out on a breathless whisper as she gently eased herself away from him. A look of anguish briefly crossed his face and she said quietly, ‘I suppose Charlotte has been making sure you knew how your father was getting along?’
‘Yes—if it had been left to him I would never have known how serious his condition had turned out to be. He’s far too stubborn for that. But Charlotte has been keeping me up to date, especially after the newspaper stories came out about the investments failing and he took a turn for the worse. We all thought his angina was under control, but his condition has deteriorated and it’s become unstable of late.’
She nodded. ‘Charlotte’s always been more than just a housekeeper to you, hasn’t she—from when you were little?’
He smiled. ‘That’s right. She’s looked out for me ever since I was nine years old—from when my mother died. She was always there for me when I needed her. She always seemed to know what was going on in my head, the things that frustrated me or made me happy. Truthfully, she’s been like a second mother to me. I’ll always want to keep her close.’
She smiled. ‘I know. I’ve always liked Charlotte.’ She gazed up at him. From a very young age he’d had a number of pseudo-stepmothers foisted on him as his father brought home a succession of girlfriends, but Charlotte had stayed through it all, his salvation, the one fixed point in his young life that never wavered.
It had been hard for him back then. Going round and about the village with him and their friends as they grew up, Sophie had seen the effect the loss of his mother had on him. Perhaps seeing his vulnerability was what had drawn her to him in the first place. His father hadn’t known how to deal with such a young, bewildered and frustrated boy and simply lost himself in keeping up with his contacts in the business world, in the City. Gradually, Nate had built a shell around himself. No one was going to penetrate his armour...no one except Sophie. Her parents had been going through a difficult time in their marriage and she and Nate had been like kindred souls.
Nate shot her a quick glance. ‘She told me she hasn’t seen your father in a while. Usually she sees him around the village, at the post office or the grocery store at least once a week, but lately she’s missed him.’ His voice deepened with concern. ‘How is he? Is he still able to get about in the wheelchair?’
‘Yes—he’s not been out and about lately because he’s getting over a nasty chest infection but he manages very well, all things considered.’
‘I heard he was having specialist treatment?’
‘Yes, that’s right. He was in hospital for a long time, as you know, and we were afraid he might never walk again—but thankfully he’s making progress. His spinal cord wasn’t cut right through, but it has taken a long time to heal, along with the broken bones—he still has physiotherapy several times a week. It’s a struggle for him, but he’s not one to give up. He generally tries to take things one day at a time. We’re hoping that he’ll be able to walk with a frame before too long.’
‘I’m so sorry, Sophie. If there’s anything I can do—’ He tried to reach for her but she took a step backwards. It was far too unsettling to have him touch her. Frowning, he let his arms fall to his sides.
‘It’s all right; I know you would do anything you can to help.’
‘My father said he tried to make amends but your father won’t talk to him—all their communication is being carried out through lawyers.’
‘That’s right.’ She shot him a quick glance. ‘Do you blame him?’
‘I suppose not...but nothing’s ever going to be achieved by not talking to one another.’
Her back stiffened. ‘The accident changed everything. He should never have gone up in that plane with your father—Lord Branscombe seemed unwell from the first but he insisted he was perfectly fit and able to fly. We’d no idea he was suffering from a heart condition. He should have been stopped. It wasn’t even as though the journey was important. He just wanted to check out the site of a new golf course he was planning.’ She wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture. ‘It was totally Lord Branscombe’s fault, but afterwards he replaced my father as Estate Manager and didn’t even offer him a desk job overseeing things.’
Nate frowned. ‘My father said he and the lawyers were talking about compensation.’
She gave a short humourless laugh. ‘Compensation? What compensation? Your father had been having angina attacks for some time without telling the authorities. He knew it would affect his pilot licence if he said anything—and when the insurance company found out about that they wouldn’t pay out. My father lost everything—his job, his house. He had to sell up and go into rented property.’
‘I know—he’s in one of the houses on the estate.’ Nate’s eyes darkened. ‘It was me who made sure he had somewhere to go... As for the rest, my father said everything was being dealt with. I’m sorry if that wasn’t the case... I’ve been working away quite a bit in the States, so I couldn’t oversee things for myself. I wanted to, but...you didn’t seem to want me around and then this job came up... I thought, perhaps, you would find it easier if I wasn’t around...’
She turned her back to the sea and leaned against the railing, facing him. She wouldn’t be drawn into that conversation again, not now. It was too difficult. ‘Will you be going back there?’
‘No, this last stint was just a six-months contract in the paediatric intensive care unit in Boston. I have a job lined up here in Devon, so I’ll be able to keep an eye on things from now on. It’s what I’ve been working towards. This business with my father just moved things forward a bit.’ His gaze moved over her, gliding over her slender curves, outlined by the simple sheath dress she was wearing. ‘Better still,’ he said in a roughened voice, ‘it means I’ll be able to see more of you. Perhaps you and I could start over...?’
Her heartbeat quickened and her cheeks flushed with heat. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that,’ she countered in a low voice, her throat suddenly constricted. If Nate thought he could erase the last two years and swoop back into her life, he had another think coming.
‘Are you sure about that?’ He was looking at her in that devilish way that had her nervous system on red alert and he was moving closer, the glint in his green eyes full of promise...
It was a promise that never came to fruition. Shouts came from above them, shocking her system and acting like a dash of cold water to propel them away from one another.
‘Help, someone...come quickly—we need help here! Is Nate Branscombe still around? Is that his car in the car park?’
Startled, Sophie looked up to where the sound came from, up on the restaurant’s terrace. She saw people getting to their feet, rushing towards the corner table, barely visible from this angle.
A man came to lean over the balustrade, looking down at them, waving his arms urgently. ‘Nate, will you come up? It’s your father. He’s collapsed.’
‘Call for an