Chapter 6
A t Neamh, Pauley inspected the bunkhouse some of the men stayed in from time to time when the weather was bad, or when they worked so late it wasn’t prudent to head home. It was especially helpful during shearing season when they hired outside workers to come in. It would actually hold ten men at any given time, but during the summer months, it was largely empty.
“Dal stays here a lot because he’s young and single and doesn’t have a wife or bairns to go home to. Unless he has a hot date,” Angus teased the young man.
Dal’s ears turned red but he grinned. “Come on, I’ll show ye around,” he said to Luca, motioning him with a hand towards the bunks. “Ye can have yer pick of beds at the moment. The only one-man bedroom is Angus’s, since he’s the station manager. He gets his own loo and corner shower; we use the loo just out the door by the kitchen area.”
Pauley watched Luca’s eyebrows creep towards the sky when he realized Dal was referring to an outhouse. The look of distaste made her hide a smile behind her hand.
“Modernizing the bunkhouse is on my list of improvements,” Darro drawled, trying to hide the quirk of his lips as he watched Luca. “It’s just not a top priority since no one actually lives here all the time.”
“We can use Angus’s shower if we have to though,” Dal added cheerfully to Luca as the young men disappeared into the bedroom.
“I’m afraid my son is spoiled, as are so many kids these days,” she replied with a smirk. “It won’t hurt him to rough it a bit. Thank ye again for taking him in, Mr. MacCandish.”
“It’s Darro. And don’t ye be worrying, Pauley. We’ll take care of Luca for a while,” he replied with a bow of his head towards her.
Desperately, she tried to smother down the yawn that threatened to split her face. Suddenly, she was exhausted, and glad that she wouldn’t be driving back to the city.
“Ye are very tired,” Lucerne murmured, leaning into Darro’s hard chest where his arm was secured around her shoulders.
“I apologize, I’m not bored, really,” Pauley replied, not sure if the tears she was wiping away were just from yawning, or from the strain of the horrible events of the evening. Even Angus was holding Poppy’s hand, and she was snuggling into his warm hold. It made her feel lonely.
“Looks like I need to get ye home,” Jamie added, his blue eyes studying her carefully. “Ye have had a long day, lass.”
The kindness in the eyes of the people surrounding her, coupled with Jamie’s protective words, was almost her undoing. Cripes! When did she get so emotional? Her feelings and reactions were usually kept well in check. It wouldn’t do to look weak, not in front of her ex, her co-workers, or even her family. She had a reputation to uphold as the hard-arse of the family. She cleared the gruffness from her throat.
“Aye, I am at that,” she agreed, her fingers trembling where she tucked her hair behind one ear.
“There is one thing, Pauley,” Darro added in his low, deep tones. “I’ll expect to be kept up to date with Mica’s investigation. Especially if ye discover anything I need to know about with regard to keeping yer son safe here. That is nae negotiable.”
Pauley’s first instinct was to tell him she couldn’t reveal police business, but she bit it back down. The man was doing her a favor. And so far, he had treated her with nothing but respect, even though his tones were censorious. It was obvious he was used to being in charge of his world, and all of those in it.
She wondered if Lucerne ever defied her husband? And just what would he do about it if she did? Her eyes flicked to Angus. He was just as confident in himself, but not quite as arrogant as his boss. Both men had very protective attitudes towards their wives.
“Aye, I can do that,” she replied with a stiff nod.
“Are ye leaving now, Mum?”
She turned to see Luca coming up beside her looking a bit apprehensive and lost.
“Aye. I want ye to give these people yer full cooperation, Luca. Tonight was too close a call for comfort.” She shuddered involuntarily.
His face fell, and then he finally nodded. “Aye, I’ll do that.”
“Take it easy for a few days, and let those ribs heal.”
“Dinna ye worry, lass. I’ll see to it that his jobs aren’t too physical until he’s healed up properly,” Angus inserted.
“And I can bring Doc in by helicopter, if need be,” Darro added.
Pauley nodded and blinked, trying to make sure traitorous tears didn’t threaten her tough image again. It wasn’t just his physical state she was worried about. What if he had nightmares? “Thank ye.” She leaned over and gently hugged Luca. “Goodnight then, honey.”
As the adults all left, Pauley glanced back to see Luca staring after her, indecision on his face. What was going through his mind? At times he seemed so grown up, and other times he was still her baby. What the heck was he mixed up in?
“He’ll be in good hands here, lass,” Jamie murmured in her ear as he put his arm round her shoulders.
“I-I know that. It’s just that...well...he never took a life before,” she said, stiffening under Jamie’s arm. “I worry about how it will affect him,” she confessed, not used to putting her feelings out there for others to inspect.
They all nodded soberly. Lucerne touched her arm. “We’ll watch for that too, Pauley. He may need counseling later on, as I’m sure ye know. But we are all aware of the effect it can have on a person.”
Pauley nodded but didn’t say anything else. They all walked with her and Jamie to his car where he opened the door for her. She got in and started buckling her seatbelt. Then he closed her door and shook hands with Darro and Angus. Once again, she felt taken care of in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. It felt good, but strange.
As they pulled away from Neamh, she smiled up at the other two couples and then waved at Luca who was coming around the corner of the house. He stared back at her, a strange look on his face. Something like regret tinged with determination, as if he wished he could talk to her but something was holding him back.
With a sigh she turned her head away and faced the front, waiting for the heater to start blowing some warm air for her feet. She shivered in trepidation when a cold chill shimmied down her spine. Her grandmother had always described that as feeling like someone was walking over her grave.
Gramma Caulfield had definite Celtic origins and she’d sworn she had the second sight. Pauley had found her fascinating, especially when she told her once that she could have it too if she would just dial in. Dial in? How daft was that?
Pauley’s mother denounced it all as hogwash and an old woman’s imagination after she’d married her father, who was a prim and respectable minister. But Pauley had always found Gramma Caulfield a warm and loving person. She missed her greatly since she died a few years ago.
“Are ye alright, lass?” Jamie asked gently, reaching over and covering her hand in her lap. “Ye just did a full body shiver.”
She looked over and smiled. “Do ye believe in the second sight, Jamie?”
He shot her a side eye. “Why do ye ask?” He braked suddenly as a rabbit flashed across the road in front of them.
Pauley gasped and reached for the dashboard. “Why do animals do that?” she complained, her stomach swirling. She groaned and leaned forward with her head close to her knees.
Jamie quickly pulled over towards the side of the road. “Do ye need to open the door?” He pulled her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear.
Pauley shook her head, waiting for the nausea to settle. “Nay,” she finally gasped. “I-I’ll be fine. It was just the sudden movement.
“When is the last time ye ate something?”
That was a reproving tone if she ever heard one. “Probably this morning,” she snapped. “I had my usual cop donut we’re so famous for.”
Jamie tsked. “No need to be snarky, firebrand. Sit back a minute.”
When Pauley sat back, Jamie opened the glove box and took out a package of Jacobs Crackers. “Here, nibble on a few of these.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Ye carry crackers in yer glove box? Are ye a secret food hoarder or something?”
He shot her a sizing up glance, the likes of which had her stomach swirling for a different reason. “Nay, I have a pregnant daughter who gets carsick when she rides with me.”
Pauley smirked. “Mayhap it’s just yer driving.” She bit half a cracker in two and chewed it down, then popped the rest in her mouth. It was a little dry, but the salt on it tasted really good.
Jamie stared at her while she chewed a second one and she stared back. She could see the thoughts flickering through his expressive eyes. Calculating. Considering.
“Are ye trying to provoke me?” he asked at last, a warning gleam in his eye.
The pink flush crept up Pauley’s throat as he somehow hit the nail right on the head and rammed it home. She was poking him like the proverbial bear. She did it with every man she met, and she was intuitive enough to realize she was unconsciously testing their strength and reactions. She was looking for a reaction she wanted, but just hadn’t found the right man with right response yet. Her chin lifted; a decision made. For the second time that day, she threw out a little test. “And if I am?”
His smile was almost evil as it slowly lifted the corners of his mouth like the grinch at Christmas. His eyes glinted in the moonlight streaming into the vehicle. “Then let me tell ye a little about myself. I can be as kind, patient, and tolerant as ye could possibly want, but when ye push beyond my boundaries, ye’ll find yerself over my knee and getting yer disagreeable little bottom spanked. If ye’d like to push and find my boundaries, then by all means, feel free to do so. Just don’t say ye weren’t warned.”
Every nerve ending in Pauley’s body lit up like an electrical charge had buzzed through her. Merciful heavens! Jamie MacNamara was simply too good to be true. With the luck she’d had with men, how could she trust him to be the real thing? She wanted to, but it was way too soon. They had only met this morning.
Her Gramma Caulfield’s words marched across her brain with a soldier’s precision. “ Pauley, my darlin’ lass, why did ye ever marry Peter MacBride? That man isna strong enough fer the likes of a woman like ye. It will never last, mark my words, child. Ye need a strong man, a man to watch over ye with kindness, love, and above all, a firm hand.”
Gramma Caulfield had been sad and her head shaking as if Pauley had lost her mind. She hadn’t believed her Gramma all those years ago, but now she wasn’t so sure. Gramma had been right about Peter. But was Jamie the man she needed today?
She swallowed over the lump in her throat, washing down the rest of the cracker she’d been chewing on. Twisting the cracker sleeve closed again, she broke their staring contest as she put the crackers away. “I-I’m sorry, Jamie, ye are right. I guess I’m a little more snarly than usual tonight.” Now was not the right time or place to challenge his words, and he certainly didn’t deserve her temper after all he’d done to help her.
Jamie’s invisible hackles laid down and he finally smiled that delicious killer smile. “Why don’t ye lay yer seat back and close yer eyes, lass? Relax until we get home. I’ll fix ye a sandwich or something and ye can try to get some rest.”
Pauley nodded and followed his directions as he pulled back onto the road. With the soft sounds of a popular artist whose name she couldn’t remember crooning in her ear, and the warmth flowing from the heater, she drifted into a fitful doze.
***
J AMIE GLANCED OCCASIONALLY at Pauley as he carefully made his way down through the hills and winding roads. She dozed lightly, as if the slightest bounce in the road would startle her awake. The lass defied being categorized with her mercurial nature. Every attribute she’d shown him had an opposite side. It was as if there was another Pauley inside the hard-bitten, determined-to-rise-in-the-ranks detective that was begging for attention and needed to be released.
In some ways, she reminded him of Rhonda. He supposed he had a type just like everyone else seemed to, so that shouldn’t surprise him. It was that same mercurial nature that had attracted him to his first wife. Rhonda had been driven, successful in her father’s company, independent, and passionate. They had butted heads at times, almost as if she were purposely goading him.
If he couldn’t get to the bottom of what was bothering her, then he’d put her over his lap until she relented and apologized. Sometimes she would tell him what was bothering her and sometimes she wouldn’t. But she was always sweetly submissive and sorry afterwards. And her passionate nature certainly went into overdrive after getting her bottom warmed. He really enjoyed that.
Jamie was a very private person. Even though he didn’t have many close friends, his wife was a subject he would never have been comfortable discussing with another man. Sometimes he envied the closeness of Darro and Angus. They squabbled like a father and son, but the evidence of deep respect was clear in the bonds they shared regarding Neamh and family. Not having a son was one thing he regretted, but it wasn’t meant to be. Rhonda had barely survived Lucerne’s difficult birth, and he wouldn’t risk her life to produce another child. He sighed silently as he navigated the streets of Inverness.
Every time Luca looked at him, he saw suspicion and doubt. Natalie had made it plain that he would be poaching on her father’s territory if he was interested in her mother. He hadn’t met Pauley’s oldest son yet, but would he feel the same? Trying to blend families was difficult at the best of times, but with full grown children, it could be even more difficult.
Peter was also a surprise. He didn’t know what attributes the man had in the past that had won Pauley’s heart the first time, but there wasn’t much he could see that would attract a lass like her. To be fair, though, life had a way of changing people. And some people were never meant to be together from the start.
The only thing he was certain of was that a woman like Pauley didn’t come along every day. He’d never again expected to meet someone who fired his libido with an instant attraction. She was like a flickering flame in the midst of a woodpile that refused to burn out no matter how hard it was to catch the stubborn logs with no tinder available. He wanted to be the tinder in her life, the help she needed to keep fighting for the things she believed in, and the protective shield that believed in her capabilities. Then he snorted at himself at the idealistic lines that just ran through his head.
Jamie’s mother, God rest her soul, had been the dreamy, poetic, reading type who loved descriptive prose. She’d loved reading to her kids. He supposed there was a part of her inside him too, not just his practical, down to earth, farmer father.
As he pulled into the driveway of the detached garage that he’d built next to his two-story home, he hit the door opener on his sun visor.
“I guess we’re here?”
He looked over at Pauley and noted the shadows beneath her eyes and the fatigue around her mouth. “Aye, lass.”
She yawned and nodded. “I’m ready for that sandwich ye promised,” she replied, her stomach growling in the stillness of the garage as she opened the car door.
Jamie was already around the front of the car when she stepped out and he frowned. “I was coming to get the door for ye.”
Her lips quirked. “Do men still do that these days?”
He came to stop in front of her. “This man does,” he growled. Then he took her forearm, turned her around, and landed a quick spank on her jean clad backside. “Ye’d best remember that.”
She yelped and glared at him, but Jamie was an old hand at the staring contest. He folded his arms and stared right back without blinking. As usual, his opponent gave in first. With a huff, Pauley turned away without an argument, which surprised him. The pout that dropped her bottom lip had to be completely foreign to her, and he wondered if she was even aware of it? He found it adorable.
“I’ll get yer bag,” he said, opening the back door and taking out her pack. Then he followed her around to the side door that led to the covered walkway between the house and the garage. He was pleased when she actually stopped there.
“Does that include building doors too?” she mocked, glancing up at him.
He chuckled with satisfaction. “Not always, but since this is my house, ye might want me to show ye where to go the first time around.”
He grabbed the doorknob, flicked the switch for the outer light, and ushered her through to the concrete sidewalk and up the steps of the side door into the house.
***
P AULEY LOOKED CURIOUSLY around as she proceeded Jamie through the kitchen doorway and into the house. She wanted to rub her right butt cheek but refused to give him the satisfaction. It smarted and tingled though, and lord save her, she savored that like a drink of water from an oasis.
The two-story older home was a simple layout with a large kitchen which was separate from the dining room, a style dating back to the earlier eras of the 19 th century architecture. It was surprisingly similar to hers as far as what she could see from the front when they’d pulled in.
Most likely it would be two bedrooms upstairs with a bath. Downstairs there would be a living room, a bedroom that could be turned to a family room or study, a formal dining room, a guest bath, and then a laundry room and deck off the dining area. And probably a basement or partial basement, since the front and back doors had steps leading up to them.
She noticed the kitchen appeared fairly up-to-date with mini blinds on the window to her left where the round table sat, serviceable oak cabinets, and a doorway on the other side of the room with a set of French windows just beyond the formal table in the dining room. The floor was variegated cream tile, the counter tops were seafoam green marble, a popular decorating color during the 80’s, and the appliances were white. She wondered if the rest of the house would be in similar colors?
Jamie stepped in behind her. “Do ye want to see yer room or eat first?” he asked, setting her bag on the floor.
“A visit to the loo, food, and then sleep,” she replied.
“I have some leftover sausage rolls from Lucerne I can heat up, or a turkey and cheese sandwich with crisps.”
“The sausage rolls sound heavenly.”
He nodded and pointed towards the doorway to her left. “Guest bath is on yer right just through there.” Taking his sweater and muffler off, he hung them on a standing rack to the inside right of the entry door. “I’ll start some tea and heat up yer snack.”
“Thank ye,” Pauley answered as she hung up her jacket and then made her way to the bathroom. The door to her left was ajar, and in the low light she could see a big bed with dark wood posters on the four corners.
Once inside the bathroom, she made short work of her bodily needs, then stood up to look at her bum in the mirror. There was a large palm print there, covering a good portion of her right butt cheek. She wrinkled her nose. How had she turned out so weird?
Her weirdness was one of the reasons she’d married Peter. In their dating days, he’d heartily slapped her bum now and then, and she’d taken that to mean he enjoyed being dominant.
Peter had been handsome, arrogant, and had his pick of women in those early days, and she’d been too wrapped up in his promises to realize he was spoiled by women’s attentions, and by his family’s money. Pauley’s reticence fascinated him. When other girls were falling all over themselves for the attention of the rugby captain, Pauley had been elusive. He was obsessed with winning her hand.
They’d married too quickly, though.
If only she’d realized the chase was worth more to Peter than the prize, she might have saved herself the heartache of their failed marriage.
Shaking herself out of her morose thoughts, she headed back to the kitchen where the smell of the sausage rolls made her stomach rumble even more. As she walked into the room, Jamie gestured towards the table.
“Have a seat, lass.”
“Ye don’t have to wait on me,” she said, watching his quick efficient movements as he dipped hot sausage rolls out of the glassware and onto a plate, then buttered a yeasty bap. “I can help with that.”
“I’ve got it,” he replied, taking the plate to the table and grabbing her hand on the way. “Just get started on yer meal and I’ll bring us a cup of fresh tea,” he ordered in a no-nonsense voice as he sat the plate down and pulled out the chair for her to sit on.
“Wow, I’ve never had this kind of service before,” she taunted lightly, “except in a restaurant. Yer going to spoil me if ye are not careful.”
“Mayhap ye deserve to be spoiled.”
His rich, smooth tones were like buttery caramel sliding over her senses. She could definitely get used to this treatment, but she didn’t figure it would last long. The only time Peter ever waited on her was when he wanted something. The rest of the time, he expected her to fix all the meals and wait on him.
Snarkism was a language she knew well. It served several purposes, like getting bullies to back off with their red, apoplectic faces, as well as hiding her true feelings. Her chosen profession placed her in the world of men, and she’d learned early on to protect herself.
She picked up her fork and shot him a look through half-lidded eyelashes. “Deserving and getting are usually two very different things in my world,” she snarked, unable to help herself.
Jamie looked as if he wanted to say something, then returned to the counter to get two cups of steaming tea. He sat one cup in front of her and the other one in front of him as he sat down. He reached over and lifted her chin. “In my world, a lass will get all she deserves,” he promised, his eyes glittering. “Ye can count on that.”
Pauley shivered, his gaze holding hers steady as if willing her to say what she wanted. She couldn’t though—it was too soon. Fear of rejection was like a brick wall slamming into place and her tongue wouldn’t respond. She shifted her eyes down to her plate and lifted her fork.
Jamie shifted back in his chair and she could feel him watching her as she tried to eat. Refusing to look up and face him, she felt like an utter coward.
So much for her boast that she was going to take what she wanted when she found a man she liked.