Burning with Passion Read online

  ‘Mum rang me, Dad.’

  He grimaced and turned away. ‘I suppose you got an earful.’

  ‘She was upset.’

  He sat on the side of the bed, elbows on his knees, head down, a picture of dejection. ‘I didn’t want to go home after we’d put Dobbin down, Caitlin. Your mother wants everything her way. Won’t listen to anything else. Doesn’t care what I feel!’

  Caitlin felt a strong sense of empathy with her father. It was precisely what David Hartley had made her feel. Only his needs were important.

  She sat down on a chair close to him and stroked his arm. ‘Tell me about it, Dad,’ she invited sympathetically.

  He shook his head but the words spilled out. ‘She nags and nags...’ Her father’s list of grievances ran a mile long but essentially they came back to one thing. He was bored out of his mind. He didn’t fit into the kind of life her mother was set on leading. ‘So I rang her from here,’ he concluded, ‘and told her the good or bad news, as the case may be.’

  ‘It’s bad news,’ Caitlin assured him. ‘Mum couldn’t stop crying on the phone.’

  Her father’s face set in stubborn lines. ‘She’ll get over it soon enough. I’m only a nuisance to her. I’m in the way.’

  Caitlin didn’t plead her mother’s case. Her father was in no mood to hear it. For all she knew, the marriage might have reached irretrievable breakdown, and she had no solution to the problem. However, it seemed to her that after thirty years there should be some foundation left for her parents to talk over their differences and come to a better understanding.

  Providing, of course, that the party went ahead tonight.

  That was critical. If her father refused to budge, and her mother felt humiliated in front of all her friends and acquaintances, the unforgivable would have been committed.

  ‘What do you want, Dad?’

  ‘The way it was. I would go up the street without twenty cents in my pocket and get anything I wanted. Then your mother would go and pay for it next week. I’ll say that for your mother. She could manage money. She never, in all our lives, spent more than I earned.’

  ‘Why can’t you do that now?’ Caitlin asked with some perplexity.

  ‘No one knows anyone any more. It’s all shopping malls, and no one’s got time to talk to you, and your mother wants to impress people with what we’ve got. I say we haven’t got anything. Lost the lot.’

  ‘We can’t put the clock back, Dad. Change is inevitable. We all have to adapt. You. Me. Mum. All of us.’

  ‘Your mother’s taken one path. I’ve taken another. In the diamond of life, our routes have diverged.’

  Caitlin knew her rescue mission was in deep trouble. When her father started applying his ‘diamond of life’ philosophy to his own marriage, divorce was definitely on his mind.

  For years now he had been shaking his head over the increasing divorce-rate, particularly among the younger generation. He likened the bottom point of the diamond to the day of the marriage. The lines leading outwards from that point represented the growing apart process that had to be stopped and turned upwards to a point of togetherness again. Young people, he had declared, weren’t prepared to work at turning the corner.

  Maybe some corners were unturnable, Caitlin had argued.

  From the set look of resignation on her father’s face, Caitlin had little doubt he was applying her argument to his situation.

  There was a knock on the door. Probably someone from the housekeeping staff, Caitlin thought, and was relieved when her father got up to answer it. She had to do some fast thinking, approach the problem from a different angle. That was what David always did when he ran into a brick wall. It usually worked for him.

  Perhaps if she pointed out the possibility of the division of family loyalties, it might give her father pause for reconsideration. He did love Michelle and his grandchildren. He might not have thought of consequences like that. There was so much to be weighed in the balance before diving off the deep end.

  Caitlin recollected that she hadn’t exactly done a profit and loss sheet before parting from David this morning. But that was a serious matter of personal priorities, she firmly assured herself, with no family involved. Besides, four months hardly measured up against thirty years.

  She was vaguely aware of the door being opened. She glanced at her watch. Two-thirty. By three o’clock she would need some grounds for a truce if she was to talk her mother around in time to save tonight’s party.

  ‘Mr Ross?’

  Caitlin’s heart stopped dead. There was no mistaking that voice...the deep, penetrating timbre, the confident authority in it. But what was the owner of the voice doing outside her father’s room at The Last Retreat?

  ‘Yes,’ her father responded automatically.

  ‘I’m David Hartley...’

  No possible mistake!

  ‘...Caitlin’s employer.’

  Caitlin clenched her teeth. Not any more!

  ‘Ex-employer,’ he self-corrected.

  Exactly!

  ‘And friend.’

  Since when?

  ‘Caitlin is very deeply distressed.’

  With good reason!

  ‘I wish to do everything I can do to sort the problem out!’

  As a statement of intention, it sounded good. Her father would probably be taken in by it.

  ‘That’s very good of you, Mr Hartley.’

  Her father was taken in by it.

  Caitlin wasn’t.

  She started to burn. There could be only one reason David Hartley was here. He wanted to get his own way, and he would leave her quite breathless with the sheer pace and audacity with which he attacked.

  CHAPTER SIX

  CAITLIN’S mind whirled. What had happened to the German delegation? Why had David rushed after her like this? He couldn’t be burning up all that badly. There was more to this than met the eye. She tried to think of some plan of action which would put David firmly in the place where he belonged. In hell!

  ‘I’m sorry I’m causing so much commotion, Mr Hartley,’ her father was saying. ‘I was simply doing what I thought best.’

  Caitlin’s mind whirled again. Her father had no idea what David was talking about and had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Similarly, David had no idea what her father was talking about. Therefore, to Caitlin’s way of thinking, the situation could only get worse.

  ‘We need to get together,’ David asserted vigorously. ‘Get our synchronisation right. Going separate paths leads to nowhere. Or worse.’

  ‘It’s good of you to come all this way to tell me that,’ her father responded, ‘but I’m not sure I agree.’

  ‘Mr Ross, there are times in every man’s life when he is not on the same wavelength as his...er...partner. Both are not in step to the same tune. When this happens, we have to find the underlying cause and get solutions. I want a solution. Right now.’

  Spoken with forceful resolution and followed by silence. Her father was undoubtedly impressed. It wasn’t surprising. David was impressive when he unleashed the dynamo of his personality. The fact that he and her father were talking about two entirely different things left something to be desired as far as mutual understanding went.

  ‘I don’t know, I’m sure,’ her father said, uncertainly. ‘I’ll see what Caitlin says.’

  ‘She’s here, isn’t she?’

  ‘Oh, yes, she’s here.’

  ‘May I speak with her, please?’

  ‘Not before I do.’ Her father turned toward her. ‘Caitlin, your Mr Hartley has come all the way from Sydney to tell me I should go back home. What do you think?’

  Caitlin wished she could toss David Hartley to the furthermost reaches of the world. She didn’t want to see him again. Yet for some extraordinary reason he appeared to be having more effect on her father than she had managed so far. It would be stupid of her to look a gift horse in the mouth at this juncture. She rose to her feet to add her weight to David’s opinion.

  ‘I t
hink he could be right, Dad. There has to be a better solution than this.’

  ‘Your mother has certainly been a wonderful woman,’ her father mused, ‘except when she’s in a temper.’

  Caitlin had never seen her father in such a state of nervous vacillation in his life. She knew he hated heated arguments. Did anything to avoid them. When he was forced to endure them, he did so in stoic silence. He never raised his voice to anyone. Quite clearly the prospect of facing her mother, who was bound to give him a terrible tongue-lashing, had little appeal.

  ‘Maybe I should go home,’ he said, wavering over the idea.

  ‘Would you like me to talk to Mum first?’ Caitlin suggested. ‘Smooth things over. After all, she won’t want to cancel the party.’

  Caitlin crossed her fingers behind her back, desperately hoping the party wasn’t already cancelled.

  Her father’s face reflected quiet rebellion. ‘I’m not going to say I’m sorry!’

  ‘I don’t have the same reluctance,’ David said. ‘I want to tell Caitlin I’m sorry for everything that’s happened.’

  Caitlin couldn’t hold back her surprise. She wasn’t at all confident how sincere David was, but it was the first time he had ever so much as inferred that he could be fallible. ‘David...’ His name tripped off her tongue, directly acknowledging his presence for the first time.

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ her father told him, somewhat surprised.

  ‘Wouldn’t you agree we need to get together?’ David asked, equally surprised.

  Caitlin was astounded. Had she somehow jolted David into a reappraisal of himself and his attitudes? Not only had he dropped his precious business to follow her, he was now proposing to get thoroughly mixed up with her family.

  On the other hand, he had no idea of what was really happening, so the proposed need for togetherness could be the product of a very confused mind.

  ‘That could be very noisy,’ her father warned, ‘and messy. I like Caitlin’s idea better. Her mother might listen to what she says. Settle down a bit.’

  ‘I’ll go with Caitlin,’ David said decisively. ‘That will give us time to talk over the essentials. Form a new deal. Whatever support Caitlin needs, I’ll be at her side.’

  Caitlin almost choked. David might not have fully grasped what was going on, but he was seizing an advantage for himself with his usual breathtaking speed.

  ‘Decent of you,’ her father said reflectively. He eyed David up and down. ‘I’m glad my daughter works for you, Mr Hartley.’

  ‘Dad, I don’t work for him any longer,’ Caitlin was driven to protest. ‘In fact I don’t like him one little...’

  ‘Caitlin and I have had a little misunderstanding,’ David cut in. ‘It’s all my fault. I intend to change some of my ways, adopt new attitudes.’

  ‘Well, I’ll be blowed,’ her father remarked.

  ‘It’s too late,’ Caitlin cried. ‘I don’t believe him!’ she added wildly, but it was a tantalising thought, a seductive thought. She found herself weaken-ing fast.

  ‘Well, you’ll have time to talk on your way in to Wyong,’ her father said obligingly to David, then turned back to Caitlin. ‘I’ll wait here until you let me know how your mother feels. That’s pretty crucial!’

  Caitlin reined in the spate of turbulent emotion. Why confuse the issue for her father? If David was playing games, she might as well stay on the team, at least until she had reached her goal.

  ‘I’ll see you later, Dad,’ she said, moving forward to press a kiss on her father’s cheek.

  She gave David a don’t-touch-me glare as she stepped outside the room. He fell into step beside her as the door of the unit clicked shut behind them.

  ‘What happened to the Germans?’ she asked, keeping her gaze trained on the car park. David’s eyes could be dynamite when he wanted her.

  ‘I used the same pretext you did. Sales, sales, sales. I told them I was too busy to deal with them today and to get back to me if and when they made up their minds.’

  ‘How did you know where to come?’

  ‘I saw you write down the address.’

  Caitlin felt hopelessly mashed up inside. If she was only a convenience to him, why had he put himself out to follow her? Or was he simply prepared to put in some effort to save himself the inconvenience of finding another convenience?

  ‘What is this supposed to mean?’ she demanded.

  ‘It means that when you walked out of the office, Caitlin,’ he answered quietly, ‘I went cold all over!’

  He hadn’t been burning for her at all. She’d got that wrong. Somehow she felt she was between the devil and the deep blue sea. Then she remembered she didn’t have time for either dancing or swimming in uncharted waters.

  ‘Did you really mean what you said to my father? About standing by me and giving me your support?’

  ‘It’s obvious you’re in the midst of some family crisis. I’ll help in any way I can.’

  He had helped with her father, unwittingly perhaps, but it had been very timely. He could be of assistance in bringing her mother around to wanting the party more than she wanted to kill her husband. David, in this situation, was a wild card. The unexpected might bring forth responses that could not be drawn by more conventional means.

  ‘I’m not promising anything in return, David.’ She glared a sharp warning at him. ‘Particularly sex.’

  ‘The thought never crossed my mind.’

  ‘Liar!’

  ‘When it did cross my mind, I instantly discarded it.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I felt it was unworthy of you. There’s more to you than sex!’

  Caitlin wanted a lot of reassurance on that point. ‘Give me a list, David,’ she demanded sceptically. ‘A long list.’

  ‘I can do it. If you come back to work for me, I’ll put it on the dictaphone and you can type it up. A really long list.’

  The carrot, she thought. He’d probably make it all up between now and then. ‘No,’ she said firmly. She had been easy for him once. She wasn’t going to be easy for him again.

  ‘Give me a chance.’

  ‘You had a chance this morning. A number of them.’

  ‘Caitlin, I did have other things on my mind.’

  ‘So I noticed, David.’

  ‘I’ll make it up to you.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Tomorrow I intend to take you with me and buy your St Valentine’s Day gift.’

  ‘In case it’s escaped your notice, David, it’s St Valentine’s Day today.’

  ‘I always intended to do it. After we’d finished with the German delegation,’ he hastily added.

  And pigs might fly! ‘What did you intend to buy me?’ she enquired sweetly.

  ‘Whatever you wanted.’

  She was right. He didn’t have an answer. ‘You’re inventing this as you go along, David.’

  ‘What do you want most in the world at the present moment, Caitlin?’

  ‘A horse!’ The words flew out of her mouth before she had time to think.

  ‘You’d rather have a horse than me?’

  ‘More rewarding,’ she asserted.

  ‘Fine. A horse it will be.’

  ‘No, it won’t.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because the first thing you’ll want to do after we buy a horse is jump into bed.’

  ‘No, I won’t.’

  She had to acknowledge he was working harder to get her back than she had ever imagined he would. It gave her pause for thought. ‘David, how long can you go without sex?’ she asked him seriously.

  ‘A fair while.’

  ‘A year.’

  ‘Caitlin, a year is a very, very, very, very, very long time.’ His face depicted horror.

  ‘Six months?’

  He looked dazed.

  ‘One month?’

  ‘I would try,’ he said dubiously.

  ‘A week?’

  ‘I think I could handle a week. Exercising grim discipline and ab
solute control, I feel that a week is probably not beyond my capacity.’

  Caitlin wondered how much she could alter David’s thinking in a week. It could be a measure of how important, how special she was to him, how much he wanted her. Not sex. David was the kind of man who could get sex any time he wanted it, but she was the woman he wanted. A warm glow of purely female pride took the chill off Caitlin’s heart.

  They arrived beside their cars. Her little Mazda looked like a child’s toy next to David’s powerful Ferrari. He had made her feel like a child this morning. He probably thought she could be manipulated as easily as one, too. He was about to learn differently.

  Caitlin took her car-keys out of her bag.

  David produced his out of his pocket. ‘I’ll drive you,’ he said. ‘We can come back for your car later.’

  ‘No, thank you. That would put me under an obligation to you and I don’t care for that position, David.’ She proceeded to unlock her door. ‘You can come with me in my car, if you like. Or do as you please,’ she added with studied carelessness.

  He hesitated. Caitlin could feel his tension as he decided on what move to make. She was well aware of the dilemma she had pushed him into. He wanted her with him. He hated not being in control.

  ‘Will you drive me back here after we’ve done what needs doing?’ he asked.

  His voice was smooth but Caitlin could read the calculations in his mind. If he performed well with her parents, she would be in a more mellow mood and they could use the room her father had vacated. After that, he expected her to come back to work for him and then everything would be rosy again. The pain of being a passenger in a Mazda 121 was relatively trivial. To David, the end result would be worth it.

  ‘Yes,’ she said, silently vowing she would put him through so many revolutions he wouldn’t know if he was coming or going.

  He rounded the bubble car and climbed into the passenger-seat with some difficulty. It was a little car. He was a big man. He settled himself without complaint, proving he was a very big man.

  Caitlin smiled to herself as she set off on the road to Wyong.

  Not everything his way, she thought with satisfaction.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  FOR the first time, Caitlin found a problem with her darling little feminine car. She felt crowded in it with David sitting beside her. His presence was highly distracting. It generated a sense of intimacy, or memories of intimacy that she could well do without at the moment. It was paramount that she keep her head, protect her heart, and glue her eyes to the road. She was quite certain of the order of priorities, so she attempted all three at once.