Elusive Lover Read online

  Josh frowned. ‘Maybe, maybe not. Depends if I get the time.’

  ‘Erin would like to go to Stampede,’ Dave smiled conspiratorially at her.

  Deep green eyes levelled on her, her hand still firmly held in his. ‘Would you?’ Josh asked.

  ‘Well. . .’

  ‘Everyone should go to the Calgary Stampede once in their life,’ Dave encouraged.

  ‘I’ll take you,’ Josh told Erin huskily.

  ‘You don’t have to.’ She was embarrassed about Dave mentioning it. Josh might not want to take her out, to possibly be seen with her by other of his friends.

  ‘I said I’ll take you.’ He raised his eyes heavenwards at Dave. ‘You give a woman what she wants and then she says she doesn’t want it! I’ll never understand them!’

  ‘And you’re such a novice,’ his friend mocked.

  ‘Oh, I know he isn’t that, Dave,’ Erin said confidently. ‘Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.’ She looked at Josh defiantly. If he could taunt her in front of the other man then she could do the same. She might have agreed to go with him, but that didn’t mean he had the right to mock her any time he felt like it.

  His hand moved to caress her throat, the light of revenge in his eyes. ‘So sharp-tongued now, but you didn’t feel that way this morning in my bed.’

  Erin gasped, first blushing, and then paling. She should have known he would get back at her two-fold! He had already shown her that he was by far the quicker-witted of the two of them—would she ever learn?

  She couldn’t even look at Dave as they said their goodbyes; she was too embarrassed. She struggled to get into the pick-up, surprised at how high it was off the ground.

  ‘Need a leg up?’ Josh taunted.

  ‘Certainly not!’ she flashed, climbing agilely up into the cab. It seemed even higher once she was sitting inside, towering over the cars travelling down the road.

  Josh swung in beside her, grinning down at Dave. ‘She’s an independent little miss.’

  ‘I gathered,’ the other man laughed. ‘Good luck in England.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Josh accepted, serious now, as he started the pick-up and moved out into the traffic.

  Erin stared woodenly in front of her. ‘I would say independent is the last thing I’m being by going with you.’

  ‘Don’t be bitter,’ he said lightly.

  ‘I’m not bitter,’ she sighed, turning to look at him, easily sitting three feet away from him on the length of the seat. ‘But I wish you hadn’t told Dave—implied that——’

  ‘Just staking ownership, Erin,’ he drawled.

  ‘Ownership——!’

  ‘What else would you call it?’ He quirked one black eyebrow beneath the rim of his hat, his eyes narrowed against the sun.

  He looked like a marauding cowboy, rugged and virile, his face weathered and lined beyond his thirty-four years, and in a way it was flattering to think such a handsome man had chosen her, Erin Richards, to share his life, his bed, for two weeks. Better than a false offer of a lifetime! she thought bitterly.

  ‘It’s as good a description as any, I suppose,’ she shrugged.

  Josh chuckled. ‘Complacency I never expected.’

  ‘Complacency you aren’t getting,’ her eyes flashed. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you enjoy it,’ she snapped.

  His face tautened, the skin stretching tightly over his high cheekbones. ‘Not if I bed a shrew,’ he rasped.

  Erin shook her head mockingly. ‘You don’t want complacency, and now you don’t want reaction either——’

  ‘Oh, I want reaction, but not the verbal kind.’

  Colour flooded her cheeks, and she turned to look out of the window. They were leaving town, heading west towards the mountains on Highway I. The Canadian Rockies looked regal in the evening sunshine, some of them still snow-capped. It was soothing to look at such timeless beauty, and Erin felt some of the tension leaving her.

  ‘Where exactly do you live?’ she asked interestedly after several minutes of silent awe; the mountainous peaks seemed to go on for ever. But surely there weren’t any other towns out here? She remembered looking on the map before coming to Canada, and the nearest town in this direction was Banff. Did Josh live there?

  ‘About twenty miles from town,’ he instantly shot the idea down.

  She frowned. ‘Twenty miles . . .? But if you live that close why did you stay at the motel last night?’ Last night? Was it only last night? It seemed much longer, so much had happened in that short time.

  He overtook a cruising car with ease. ‘You forget, Dave was servicing the pick-up. Besides, after a night on the town, a deserved one I might add, I was over the limit for driving.’

  ‘I—Mind the little animal!’ she cried, clutching at Josh’s arm as a little animal like an English grey squirrel stood in the middle of the road in front of them, making no move to avoid their death-giving wheels.

  Josh shook off her hand, swerving, easily missing the little furry creature. ‘Don’t ever grab my arm like that again when I’m driving!’ he ground out, shooting her a furious look from angry green eyes.

  ‘I—Sorry.’ Erin turned in her seat to see if the tiny creature had moved, seeing it running to the side of the road, breathing her relief as she turned back to Josh. ‘What was it?’

  ‘Richardson’s ground squirrel,’ he said tersely, obviously still angry with her.

  ‘Oh, how cute!’

  ‘Very,’ he agreed dryly. ‘Unless you happen to be a rancher.’

  ‘Oh?’ she asked interestedly, sensing his anger was lessening.

  ‘Being ground squirrels they live in the ground,’ he explained patiently.

  ‘Well, obviously,’ Erin said crossly. ‘Don’t be patronising!’

  ‘Sorry,’ he smiled. ‘But the holes those “cute” little creatures dig as burrows can do a lot of damage to a horse or cow.’

  ‘Of course. What a shame! They—they don’t shoot them, do they?’ she looked at him with wide eyes.

  ‘Some of them do,’ Josh confirmed callously. ‘Some poison them.’

  ‘How cruel!’

  His mouth twisted. ‘And that from a girl who lived in a country where they send about twenty hounds out after one little fox, and sit and watch as they rip it to shreds.’

  Erin shuddered. ‘I don’t approve of foxhunting either.’

  Josh shrugged. ‘It may be cruel to kill those squirrels, but it’s even crueller if your livestock breaks a leg in one of their holes. It could be in agony for hours before you discovered its fate.’

  Erin looked at him closely. ‘You sound as if you speak from experience.’

  ‘I do. And believe me, it isn’t pretty.’

  ‘No, I—Oh look, there’s another one!’

  ‘Calm down,’ Josh sighed, again avoiding the small animal. ‘You almost give me a heart attack every time you shout like that.’

  ‘Sorry,’ she gave a rueful smile. ‘But why do they come out on to the road like that? They could get killed.’

  ‘They often do. It’s the heat of the road that attracts them. It’s dark and retains the heat of the sun, and they like that. And if one of them happens to get killed ... his little friends will come along and eat him!’ Josh told her with relish, laughing at her shocked expression.

  ‘Ugh!’ she groaned, pulling a face.

  Josh grinned at her. ‘Still think they’re cute?’

  She gave him an angry frown. ‘I don’t believe you, you’re just saying that to shock me.’

  He shook his head. ‘They eat mainly vegetation, but if a little dead meat comes their way they aren’t going to complain.’

  She grimaced. ‘They really eat each other?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘That’s disgusting!’

  ‘That’s survival,’ he corrected.

  ‘It somehow doesn’t seem right that they should live off each other in that way.’

  ‘I don’t see why—human beings do it all the time,’ he said dryly. />
  Erin paled. ‘That—that was cruel!’ she choked.

  He gave a puzzled frown, glancing at her. ‘What the hell——? I didn’t mean you, for God’s sake! Don’t be so damned sensitive,’ he scowled. ‘You won’t be living off me, you’ll be working for me.’

  ‘If you say so,’ she said moodily, staring out of the window.

  Josh raised one eyebrow. ‘You don’t believe me?’

  ‘I suppose it could be called work——’

  ‘Let’s forget that aspect of it for the moment,’ he sighed. ‘For some reason it seems to upset you.’

  Forget it? How could she forget it? As the time neared evening sharing Josh’s bed became more and more of a reality—and it terrified her, not upset her! She must have been mad to agree to this, mad!

  ‘Maybe this will help cheer you up.’ Josh reached into the breast pocket of his denim jacket and handed her an envelope. ‘Look inside,’ he invited.

  ‘Inside . . .?’

  ‘Go ahead,’ he nodded.

  She couldn’t imagine what could be inside the envelope that would ‘cheer her up’. When she saw the airline folder inside she knew, as she took out two Air Canada tickets, from Calgary to London.

  ‘To show you that I mean to keep my side of the bargain,’ he drawled.

  Erin pushed the tickets back into the envelope, thrusting them at him. ‘Then you’d better hang on to these until I’ve kept my side.’

  ‘Maybe,’ he agreed grimly, anger flaring in his eyes as he put the envelope back in his pocket.

  She stared moodily out of the side window for several minutes, blind to the change in their surroundings; the flat, almost treeless countryside was now giving way to a hillier terrain, dark green pine trees starting to edge the road in parts, the mountains coming even closer.

  She licked her lips, forcing the words out. ‘Your friend Dave, does he know—Did you tell him——’

  ‘About our deal?’ Josh finished dryly. ‘Did you think I might?’

  ‘How should I know?’ she snapped. ‘The two of you seem—close.’

  ‘We are. But my private life remains just that, private. Why, wouldn’t you have liked him to know?’ His eyes were narrowed.

  ‘Well, I—Surely it’s just between the two of us?’

  He nodded. ‘I think so. Did you like Dave?’

  She shrugged. ‘He seemed very nice, but sort of sad.’

  ‘Sad?’ Josh echoed sharply. ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Because of his girl-friend. It must have been awful for him.’

  Josh was very tense, a white line of tension about his mouth. ‘Dave told you about Sharon?’

  Erin swallowed hard. What had she said? Josh was suddenly furiously angry, and it seemed to be because she had mentioned Dave’s girl-friend.

  ‘Shouldn’t he have done?’ she asked nervously.

  ‘It depends what he told you,’ he said tautly.

  ‘Just that she died a month before their wedding,’ Erin frowned.

  ‘Sharon didn’t die,’ he told her harshly. ‘She committed suicide.’

  Erin gulped. ‘She—she what?’

  ‘She killed herself!’ Josh rasped.

  ‘I—That’s terrible!’ Erin gasped, unable to believe that beautiful girl had taken her own life.

  ‘It’s worse than terrible. She was beautiful, Erin, both inside and out. And I still miss her like hell.’

  ‘You—you miss her?’ her eyes were wide.

  ‘Shouldn’t I?’ he said bitterly.

  It seemed that he should. Had Dave known that Josh, his best friend, also loved Sharon? No wonder Josh had reacted so violently when she had scorned his concern that she might commit suicide!

  CHAPTER FOUR

  They drove on in silence, Erin shocked by what Josh had just told her. She was so deep in thought she didn’t even notice that they had turned off the highway and were now driving down a narrow road into thick pine trees. But she did notice when they took a right-hand turn on to what amounted to nothing more than a gravel dirt-track, the suspension on the pick-up such that she bounced across the seat, almost landing up on the floor, such had been her relaxed state.

  Josh burst out laughing at the spectacle she made sprawled out on the seat next to him.

  ‘Very funny,’ she scowled, as she picked herself up, brushing dust off her denims.

  He still smiled. ‘Maybe I should have warned you about that.’

  Erin gave him a look of disgust, looking around her as they seemed to be going deeper into the trees, tall pines towering either side of the narrow dirt-track. ‘Where on earth are we?’ she demanded to know.

  ‘On our way to my home,’ he answered infuriatingly.

  ‘I know that!’ she sighed. ‘But where are we?’

  He laughed softly. ‘Not in the wilderness, I can assure you.’

  Erin’s apprehension deepened. ‘You didn’t tell me you lived all the way out here!’ There was just nothing here except trees, and presumably Josh’s home!

  ‘Does it make any difference?’ he mocked.

  ‘I—No, I suppose not,’ but her voice lacked conviction.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he taunted softly, ‘I’ll help you with the more menial tasks, like chopping wood and carrying in the water.’

  ‘Chopping wood . . .? And carrying in water? From a river or a well?’ she squeaked.

  ‘A well.’

  She looked at him closely, sure that he must be teasing her. ‘You really have a well?’

  ‘I really do,’ he confirmed with a sincerity that couldn’t be doubted.

  ‘God!’ she breathed. ‘But surely you won’t need logs this time of year?’ After all, it was June!

  ‘It can get cold at night out here without central heating,’ he shrugged. ‘Even in summer. Besides, now is the time to stock up for winter.’

  ‘You’re coming back here for winter?’ Her eyes widened.

  ‘It’s the best time of year,’ Josh nodded. ‘Fewer people in town, and plenty of snow for skiing. Do you ski?’

  ‘No,’ she laughed. ‘There isn’t a lot of opportunity for it in South London.’

  ‘Someone should teach you, you would enjoy it.’

  Once again Erin frowned. ‘Aren’t the conditions out here a little—primitive?’ She hesitated over the word, but really there was no other description for the life he was mapping out for her.

  ‘I suppose so,’ he accepted. ‘But I like it. Especially now that you’ll be doing most of the work,’ he added happily.

  Her heart sank. She had envisaged doing his cooking and washing, keeping the house clean, but she hadn’t imagined it would be so lacking in modern conveniences.

  A sudden thought struck her. ‘Do you have a washing machine?’

  Josh shook his head, much to her dismay. ‘No electricity.’

  ‘No elec . . .?’ She gulped. That meant no lighting, no dishwasher, and worst of all, no stove. ‘How do you cook?’ ‘I have an old range,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Another reason we need the logs.’

  This was getting worse! These were things she should have found out before agreeing to come with him. She wasn’t equipped to manage under these conditions. And after all the work he was expecting her to do how did he expect her to have enough energy to share his bed at night?

  She gave Josh a suspicious look, sure that he must be teasing her. He met her gaze with steady green eyes, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

  ‘Nothing,’ she muttered, wondering just what she had let herself in for the next two weeks. At the time Josh had made the offer she had thought he was overpaying her, now she wasn’t so sure.

  Suddenly there was a clearing in the trees, revealing a huge farmhouse and the accompanying stables and barns that went to make up a small ranch. Horses grazed in the meadow, so many Erin couldn’t count them.

  She turned hopefully to Josh. ‘Is this . . .?’

  ‘Nope,’ he laughed, bringing the pick-up to a halt in front of the house. ‘Some f
riends of mine live here.’ He swung easily to the ground. ‘Come on,’ he invited before slamming the door.

  Erin got reluctantly to the ground, going round to the other side of the vehicle to join Josh. ‘Are you sure you wouldn’t rather I waited here?’

  He shook his head. ‘You’ll like Jim and Martha. Martha will be in the house—come on.’ He took hold of her arm, giving a brief knock on the door before entering the house.

  Erin hung back. ‘What if——’

  ‘Josh!’

  Erin looked up in time to see a young blonde-haired woman launching herself into Josh’s waiting arms, kissing him warmly, a gesture Josh seemed only too happy to return, his arm still about the other woman’s shoulders as he turned to face Erin.

  Martha looked to be in her mid-twenties, gaminely pretty rather than beautiful, her blonde wavy hair medium length, her figure slender in denim shorts and a light blue sun-top held up solely by her uptilted breasts, her skin tanned a deep, golden brown.

  ‘Martha, this is Erin Richards. Erin, Martha Halliday,’ Josh introduced, smiling and relaxed. ‘Martha is my cousin.’

  ‘Second cousin,’ she laughingly corrected, extending a hand to Erin. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ she said warmly. Erin shyly took the proffered hand. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I hope you can both stay to dinner,’ Martha invited. ‘Jim’s going to barbecue a couple of steaks, so there’s plenty of food.’

  ‘ ’Fraid not,’Josh refused. ‘Where is Jim?’

  ‘He thought Sabre seemed a little lame, so he’s just gone out to check on him. Sheba’s with him, so she probably didn’t hear you arrive.’

  Erin had no idea who Sabre or Sheba were, all that she was aware of was that Josh had refused dinner for them both. It would have been nice to have left getting to know the range until tomorrow. She couldn’t understand why Josh chose to live so primitively, when Martha Halliday obviously had electricity and running water. In fact this house was very luxurious, both inside and out. Although she couldn’t honestly say she had seen a house in Canada that she didn’t like, they were so much nicer than the lookalike boxes they seemed to build in England.

  Josh nodded. ‘Are they in the top field?’

  ‘Mm,’ Martha nodded. ‘Jim’s going to bring Sabre down to the stable. He shouldn’t be long.’