His face became a mask. ‘Verna is coming here?’
‘Of course. Didn’t her mother tell you? She’ll come to fetch Robin at the end of the school holidays. It’ll probably please you to learn that I was ordered to return to Christchurch almost at once.’
‘So I’m likely to have Verna here instead of yourself?’
She nodded. ‘Perhaps sooner than you expect.’ How did he feel about that? she wondered, covertly watching his face and hoping for a reaction to the thought of Verna’s arrival. But his expression remained unfathomable, and she then tried to tell herself that the question had no real interest for her. Or did it?
After that a silence hung between them, until she glanced at her watch and was amazed to see how the minutes had slipped by. A hunger pang told her it was time she ate, and hesitantly she said, ‘I’ve no wish to appear to be taking over your kitchen, but—would you like me to do something about the food Miss Coster has left in the fridge?’
Ryan took a hasty glance at his own watch. ‘Yes, it’s time we had supper. Let’s do things together. I’ll find cutlery and tablemats while you put whatever you wish into the microwave.’
She stood up and moved towards the kitchen. ‘Let’s do things together’, he’d said. It sounded pleasant, but of course she knew that he meant nothing of a familiar nature, and the sooner she controlled her wayward thoughts the better. Remember Alan Draper, she reminded herself. All men are the same.
As he took plates from kitchen cupboards he said, ‘While you’re here you’ll be attending to meals, so as far as the kitchen is concerned—it’s all yours.’
‘Thank you—I’ll take care of it’ She smiled while studying which elements to switch on beneath the previously prepared carrots, Brussels sprouts and potatoes—the latter to be mashed.
He came to her aid, standing close enough for his arm to brush her own as he pointed out the various heating areas on the shiny black ceramic stove-top. It caused her to catch her breath, but she gave no sign of her racing pulses as she murmured a faint, ‘Thank you.’
If he noticed that her colour had risen slightly he ignored it by saying casually, ‘I must say you’re very good with Robin. A real little mother, in fact.’
Praise from Ryan was unexpected. It caused her colour to deepen.
He went on, ‘I was impressed by your care in making sure his teeth were cleaned before bedtime.’
A shaky laugh escaped her. ‘That’s because I was a dental nurse. You could say I’m very tooth-conscious.’ She paused, then went on ruefully, ‘You’ll notice I said was a dental nurse.’
‘You were made redundant?’ he asked, while eyeing her sharply.
‘Not exactly.’ She spoke with quiet dignity. ‘Until recently I worked for a dentist who had a one-man practice. The poor man died from a brain haemorrhage. His death put me out of a job, and so far I haven’t found another.’
Judy sighed while recalling the morning she’d been phoned by a tearful newly widowed woman and given the sad news. She’d been told to cancel all appointments, then shut the door and go home. Later she’d assisted by settling accounts and making an inventory of all surgery equipment.
‘I don’t suppose dental nurse jobs are very thick on the ground,’ Ryan said, while watching the shadows of sadness linger on her face.
‘They’re not...that’s why I was free to bring Robin to you. But that’s enough about me. You can’t possibly be interested.’ Then, feeling a change of subject was indicated, she said with sincerity, ‘I’m sorry your holiday has been disrupted—although there’s nothing to stop you from keeping to your plans. Robin and I would be all right staying here, so long as you don’t object to us occupying your house while you’re away.’
He said nothing while opening red wine and placing it in a bottle-holder. Then his mouth tightened as he remarked in a mocking tone, ‘You sound as if my absence would be preferable to my presence.’
‘It wouldn’t matter to me one way or the other,’ she responded coolly, while knowing this to be a lie.
He met her blue-eyed gaze steadily. ‘Aren’t you forgetting the small matter of the boy being safe with me? While you’re both in Napier I intend to remain close.’
Judy’s smooth brow wrinkled as she put portions of the casserole into the microwave. ‘I’m still unable to understand what Mrs Simmons meant by that,’ she admitted.
‘Me too—but you can bet that the dragon had something in mind. She’s very astute.’
Judy did not pursue the subject. She knew Hilda Simmons well enough to realise that her neighbour was inclined to dramatise and exaggerate most situations. Nor did she wish to mentally dwell upon the older woman, and in an effort to clear her thoughts she found herself wishing that the present amicability between herself and this man could be a little deeper than the mere surface.
A short time later, while serving him with food at his own table, she began to enjoy herself. It was like being his hostess, and she became aware of a small, happy glow of excitement within her. Despite his initial antagonism there was something about him that appealed to her. The shaded lights gave an aura of inscrutability to his clean-cut features, and she wondered about the direction of his thoughts. Was it possible they’d ever rest upon herself with any degree of friendship? Or was he even now happily contemplating the thought of Verna’s arrival?
As if to confound her, he raised his wine glass and said, ‘Here’s to our better acquaintance.’
Automatically she raised her own glass while repeating his words. Did he mean them? she wondered. In an effort to clear the confusion from her mind she stared through the alcove window to where the full moon hung like a silver dollar over this tranquil corner of the South Pacific Ocean. Darkness had now fallen, and the curve of the bay was brilliantly outlined by house and streetlights situated round the shore. Close at hand, and below the window, cars sped along the seafront road, the muted swish of their passing making the room seem like a haven of peace.
He said, ‘You’ve become very quiet and thoughtful. What’s put you in this mood?’
She raked in her mind for a logical reply, but could only come up with, ‘You spoke of our better acquaintance—but you’re ahead of me. You know much more about me than I know about you. It’s hardly fair.’
His dark brows rose. ‘Didn’t the dragon give you a nmning commentary on my entire life?’
‘Why would she do that?’ Judy said carefully, knowing it would be unthinkable to tell him what Hilda Simmons had said concerning his land activities—or that she considered he should have married Verna years ago.
He helped himself to more mashed potatoes. ‘Well—if you’re really interested—I grow food for export.’
‘What sort of food? Unless you think I’m prying...?’
He paused, as though wondering where to begin, then, staring into his wine glass he said, ‘I grow apples for export to the UK. Buttercup squash to go to Japan. There are acres of sweetcorn, where the cobs will end up frozen or in cans, also green peas that’ll receive a similar fate. There’s a large area of grapes, which will go to this country’s wine-makers, and in a couple of months’ time the asparagus cutters will arrive at dawn each morning to harvest the spears coming through the ground.’
Judy’s mind boggled as Hilda’s words flashed into her memory. ‘You must be a...a positive land baron,’ she exclaimed, the words just slipping out.
He regarded her through narrowed lids. ‘Land baron? That’s what Hilda Simmons always says... Are you sure she didn’t discuss me?’
Judy brushed the veiled accusation aside by asking, ‘How do you manage all these areas?’
‘Each