What had happened eight weeks ago proved her point. What if the next time he did kill himself? The thought made his mouth dry and his gut churn. His body was recovering but his mind... There were days when he was a maelstrom of confusion, questioning the choices he was making. He gritted his teeth. It’d pass. After such a close brush with mortality it had to be normal to question one’s life. Needless to say, he wasn’t bringing anyone into that mess at the moment, especially not one who was his best friend’s little sister.
‘If she had more sense she’d have not fallen for Farquhar.’
Finn’s hands fisted. ‘Tell me the guy is toast.’
‘I’m working on it.’
Good.
‘I’ve tried to shield her from the worst of the media furore, but...’
‘But she has eyes in her head. She can read the headlines for herself.’ And those headlines had been everywhere. It’d been smart of Rupert to pack Audra off to the island.
‘Exactly.’ Rupert paused again. ‘None of the Russels have any sense when it comes to love. If we did, Audra wouldn’t have been taken in like she was.’
And she was paying for it now. He recalled her pallor, the dark circles beneath her eyes...the effort it’d taken her to lift his backpack. He could help with some of that—get her out into the sun, challenge her to swimming contests...and maybe even get her to run with him. He could make sure she ate three square meals a day.
‘If I’d had more sense I’d have not fallen for Brooke Manning.’
‘Everyone makes a bad romantic decision at least once in their lives, Rupe.’
He realised he sounded as if he were downplaying what had happened to his friend, and he didn’t want to do that. Rupert hadn’t looked at women in the same way after Brooke. Finn wasn’t sure what had happened between them. He’d been certain they were heading for matrimony, babies and white picket fences. But it had all imploded, and Rupert hadn’t been the same since. ‘But you’re right—not everyone gets their heart shredded.’ He rubbed a hand across his chest. ‘Has Farquhar shredded her heart?’
‘I don’t know.’
Even if he hadn’t, he’d stolen company secrets from the Russel Corporation while posing as her attentive and very loving boyfriend. That wasn’t something a woman like Audra would be able to shrug off as just a bad experience.
Poor Squirt.
He only realised he’d said that out loud when Rupert said with a voice as dry as a good single malt, ‘Take a look, Finn. I think you’ll find Squirt is all grown up.’
He didn’t need to look. The less looking he did, the better. A girl like Audra deserved more than what a guy like him could give her—things like stability, peace of mind, and someone she could depend on.
‘It’d be great if you could take her mind off things—make her laugh and have some fun. I just don’t want her falling for you. She’s bruised and battered enough.’
‘You’ve nothing to worry about on that score, Rupe, I promise you. I’ve no intention of hurting Audra. Ever.’
‘She’s special, Finn.’
That made him smile. ‘All of the Russel siblings are special.’
‘She’s more selfless than the rest of us put together.’
Finn blinked. ‘That’s a big call.’
‘It’s the truth.’
He hauled in a breath and let it out slowly. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘Thanks, Finn, I knew I could count on you.’
* * *
Audra pressed her ringing phone to her ear at exactly eight twenty-three the next morning. She knew the exact time because she was wondering when Finn would emerge. She’d started clock-watching—a sure sign of worry. Not that she had any intention of letting Rupert know she was worried. ‘Hey, Rupe.’
He called to check on her every couple of days, which only fed her guilt. Last night’s false alarm sent an extra surge of guilt slugging through her now. ‘Sorry about last night’s fuss. I take it the police rang to let you know what happened.’
‘They did. And you’ve nothing to apologise for. Wasn’t your fault. In fact, I’m proud of the way you handled the situation.’
He was? Her shoulders went back.
‘Not everyone would’ve thought that quickly on their feet. You did good.’
‘Thanks, I... I’m relieved it was just Finn.’ She flashed to the lines of strain that had bracketed Finn’s mouth last night. ‘Do you know how long he plans to stay?’
‘No idea. Do you mind him being there? I can ask him to leave.’
‘No, no—don’t do that.’ She already owed Rupert and the rest of her family too much. She didn’t want to cause any further fuss. ‘He wasn’t looking too crash hot last night. I think he needs to take it easy for a bit.’
‘You could be right, Squirt, and I hate to ask this of you...’
‘Ask away.’ She marvelled how her brother’s Squirt could sound so different from Finn’s. When Finn called her Squirt it made her tingle all over.
‘No, forget about it. It doesn’t matter. You’ve enough on your plate.’
She had nothing on her plate at the moment and they both knew it. ‘Tell me what you were going to say,’ she ordered in her best boardroom voice. ‘I insist. You know you’ll get no peace now until you do.’
His low chuckle was her reward. Good. She wanted him to stop worrying about her.
‘Okay, it’s just... I’m a bit worried about him.’
She sat back. ‘About Finn?’ It made a change from Rupert worrying about her.
‘He’s never had to take it easy in his life. Going slow is an alien concept to him.’
He could say that again.
‘He nearly died up there on that mountain.’
Her heart clenched. ‘Died? I mean, I knew he’d banged himself up pretty bad, but... I had no idea.’
‘Typical Finn, he’s tried to downplay it. While the medical team could patch the broken arm and ribs easily enough, along with the dislocated shoulder and wrenched knee, his ruptured spleen and the internal bleeding nearly did him in.’
She closed her eyes and swallowed. ‘You want me to make sure he takes it easy while he’s here?’
‘That’s probably an impossible task.’
‘Nothing’s impossible,’ she said with a confidence she had no right to. After all her brother’s support these last few weeks—his lack of blame—she could certainly do this one thing for him. ‘Consider it done.’
‘And, Audra...?’
‘Yes?’
‘Don’t go falling in love with him.’
She shot to her feet, her back ramrod straight. ‘I make one mistake and—’
‘This has nothing to do with what happened with Farquhar. It’s just that women seem to like Finn. A lot. They fall at his feet in embarrassing numbers.’
She snorted and took her seat again. ‘That’s because he’s pretty.’ She preferred a man with a bit more substance.
You thought Thomas had substance.