‘Be beautiful, Ally,’ he whispered, his eyes glistening with a betraying dampness. Then he swung away quickly and strode through the doors of the departure lounge, leaving her without looking back.
She was prepared for his silence; she hadn’t expected him to ring her from Sydney. And she was prepared for the sense of desolation that swamped her. But what she hadn’t expected was the lassitude with which she returned to her work. She’d hoped that once back in the swing of things, the old enthusiasm for dealing with designs, textiles and market trends and the fascinating array of individuals associated with that world would rescue her from her misery.
It was with a growing sense of alarm that she faced each day at the office. She took her designs home to work on at night, hoping the soothing atmosphere of her own apartment would help inspiration to flow. With the spring and summer collection behind her, Ally had to plan for next year’s winter season and a juicy contract with the wool board was on offer. Normally she would have been thrilled. But she couldn’t concentrate and what was worse, much, much worse, she couldn’t bring herself to care.
Her mind and her emotions were totally absorbed with Fletcher. Where was he now? Had he gone back to North Queensland? Had he taken little Connor with him? Did he think about her the way she thought endlessly of him?
After three weeks of silence and despair, she could stand it no longer. She had to make some kind of contact with him. Her first step was to ring Lucette.
‘Have I heard from Fletcher, Ally?’ Lucette repeated, her voice squeaking with surprise at Ally’s first question once the greetings were over. ‘Why, yes, I have actually. He rang from North Queensland just yesterday.’
‘You see,’ Ally offered with a silly little laugh, ‘I ended up seeing quite a bit of him while he was down here, but then he was called away for the funeral...’ Her voice trailed away as her tightly strung nerves clenched a notch tighter.
The stunned silence on the other end of the line didn’t help her feel any more relaxed.
‘Really?’ Lucette managed at last.
‘Does he have the little boy with him?’
‘No, not yet Connor’s still in Sydney with his grandparents. But as a matter of fact that’s why Fletcher rang me. He’s guardian for Connor and he wants me to find a nanny to travel up to Wallaroo Downs and help take care of him there.’
Ally closed her eyes against the frightening wave of dizziness that swamped her as a host of different pictures crowded her mind: pictures of Fletcher, sun-tanned, astride a horse somewhere in North Queensland; of Fletcher and a little brown-haired, brown-eyed boy walking hand in hand along a shady creek bank; of a young attractive nanny living with them both day in, day out.
‘Ally, are you still there?’
‘Yes, Lucette. I’m here. Listen, would you mind terribly much if I came and visited you? I need to talk.’
‘That’s fine,’ replied Lucette, unable to disguise her surprise. ‘I’ll be home all evening. You have my address?’
‘But, Ally, this is impossible!’ Lucette exclaimed an hour later as the two women sat opposite each other at the kitchen table in her tiny bed-sit apartment. ‘For starters you underestimate the stubbornness of the Hardy male. There’s no way Fletcher would have someone like you as a nanny on Wallaroo Downs.’
Ally’s chest tightened painfully at Lucette’s words.
‘I think Fletcher came to care for me. In fact I know he did.’
Something in her expression seemed to capture Lucette’s attention. She stared at Ally for several silent moments and then she reached over and took Ally’s hand.
‘I’m sure he does feel very strongly about you,’ she said gently. ‘Fletcher’s usually very wary about getting entangled with women, because of where he lives. He believes only women who grow up in the bush can take the harsh life of the outback. So if he allowed you to understand he cared...’ Lucette paused and smiled ruefully. ‘Then I’d say chances are he was totally smitten.’
‘I’m prepared to take a gamble on it.’
‘But your career!’ Lucette cried. ‘How could you possibly turn your back on everything you’ve achieved?’
‘I don’t know,’ admitted Ally. ‘A month ago I would have said it was totally impossible, but...’ She paused, taking in a deep shuddering breath. ‘Have you ever been in love, Lucette?’
‘Of course,’ the girl laughed, ‘hundreds of times.’
‘No. I’m talking the real thing. I can’t go on without him. I can’t work. I can’t eat or sleep.’ She paused and shook her head at Lucette’s wide-eyed response. ‘I can’t believe I’m saying all this. I used to be the first person to condemn girls who went all drippy over males. I mean, I used to think that all it took to resist falling into that kind of trap was a modicum of intelligence. But honestly, Lucette, I’ve no choice. I’ve got to go to him.’
Lucette sighed and refilled Ally’s coffee cup. ‘Ally, I really feel for you, believe me. But I don’t think Fletcher would have a bar of it. And it wouldn’t be because he doesn’t care for you. It’s simply that he couldn’t imagine how you could possibly be happy out there. He’d worry about taking you away from everything you’ve achieved.’ Lucette eyed her crestfallen friend with concern. ‘This is all my fault!’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, if I hadn’t been so jolly eager to show off my set designs when he was in Melbourne for that conference, he would never have come to the show and fallen for the lovely Alexandra Fraser.’
Ally closed her stinging, tear-filled eyes as she remembered that moment when a tall, dark grazier marched into the models’ dressing room! She stared into her coffee cup. ‘I think I’ve got to do it, Lucette. I’m prepared for everyone telling me I’m mad. I’m prepared for Fletcher to be a little angry at first, but I think he’ll get over it. It’s just that I’ve found someone I love more than my career and I think I can convince him of that, too. I’ve fallen in love and I can’t just sit here and do absolutely zilch about it!’
‘Well, apart from anything else we’ve covered, there might still be one major hitch,’ said Lucette tentatively.
‘Which is?’ asked Ally, lifting her chin in a brave effort at defiance.
‘What experience have you had as a nanny?’
‘Aha! I can answer that,’ cried Ally triumphantly. ‘All the time I was at college, I worked as a nanny for the Johnstons. You know Dr. James Johnston and his wife Helen—the paediatricians? Nights, weekends, holidays. I looked after their four children on and off for three and a half years.’
Lucette raised her fair eyebrows and looked back at Ally with eyes the same sky blue as Fletcher’s. She took a long, deep swig of her coffee. ‘Then perhaps we’d better take a closer look at this,’ she said with a solemnity which was totally spoiled when her face broke into a cheeky grin, again alarmingly like her cousin’s. ‘But we’re going to have to plan it all very carefully.’
CHAPTER THREE
THE best laid plans of mice and men... The unwelcome quotation flashed through Ally’s mind again as it had on repeated occasions over recent weeks. But now, with Connor’s little hand clinging to hers as she crossed the steamy car park at Townsville airport,