Blazing Fear Read online

  She stood on the back porch, watching all the activity, smiling at Carter, her little rocket man, as he sped around the side of the house with Aaron and Tilly, his arms full of a patchwork of ginger and white and tabby fluff.

  Machiavelli had obviously stopped tormenting Cherry and found the boy he had laid claim to as his own the moment they’d stepped in the door. Carter was equally besotted. She wasn’t particularly a cat person—she’d always liked dogs more, although, her aunt had never let her have one—but she couldn’t tell Carter he couldn’t keep Machiavelli. Not that she thought she had much of a say about it. Machiavelli was determined to be a part of their family, pushing his way in the door the first time they came here and following them back to their car, jumping inside and refusing to get out. They’d had to take him back to their rental with them and hide him—pets were not allowed at the old place. At this place though, the one she’d bought with the money she’d inherited from her mother, she could do whatever she liked. In fact, maybe she would buy a dog as well. Machiavelli didn’t seem to mind other animals and he wasn’t fazed at all by the people here.

  But one thing at a time. First, she had to go and circulate. Nat Stratton, one of the CoalCliff mob and the mother of Tilly, one of Carter’s best friends, met her at the bottom of the stairs, two glasses of wine in her hands. She offered one to Prita then swept her up to chat to a group of ladies who worked at CoalCliff who had questions and ideas about subjects they wanted her to cover in her monthly talks. More people arrived, and she went to greet them. A while later, she noticed a lone man arrive. It was Max Smith, another new shop owner in Wilson’s Bend who she’d met for the first time yesterday when he came down to get treatment for a burn. He made his own candles to sell in his new business and had spilled hot beeswax on himself. She’d treated him, even though they weren’t officially open and invited him to the party. He’d seemed quite shy so she was glad to see he’d made the effort. Although, he was standing back watching, rather than joining in, so she excused herself from the group she was talking to and went over to him.

  ‘Max, hi. Nice to see you.’

  He smiled nervously at her, ducking his head down so his hair flopped over his face and pushed his glasses up his nose. ‘Thanks for inviting me.’

  ‘Come and I’ll introduce you to some of your neighbours.’ He hesitated and she smiled at him. ‘They don’t bite. I promise.’ She gestured towards a group including Ben, Lisa and Barb and knew they’d have him feeling at ease in no time. They were standing next to the drinks table and after she introduced him, Ben handed him a beer and immediately engaged him in talk about his business and what he planned to do. Someone called her name and she excused herself, confident that the CoalCliff crew wouldn’t let Max feel out of place.

  After that, the time passed quickly as she moved from one group to the next, chatting to all the people who’d come down to help her celebrate the opening of her practice.

  ‘Don’t you like your wine?’

  She clamped down on the buzz that fizzed through her system at the sound of that voice so close to her ear. Flynn. ‘What?’

  ‘Your wine. You’ve not drunk any. Don’t you like it?’

  She looked at the still full glass and chuckled. ‘I’ve been talking too much.’ She took a sip. Bleugh. It was warm.

  ‘I’ll get you another.’ He reached for the drink, his fingers brushing against hers, causing a frisson of awareness to chase goosepimples up her arm and across her breasts.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket just then, making her jump and let go of the drink suddenly. Thankfully, Flynn had a firm grip of it, so it didn’t drop, but wine spilled all over his hand. Shooting him an apologetic smile, she dug in her pocket for her phone. She couldn’t ignore her phone, even though sometimes she wished she could, as it had been the only point of contact for patients until she opened her practice, but she was particularly grateful for the interruption now.

  This time it wasn’t for business though. Her papa’s face flashed on the screen. ‘Sorry,’ she said to Flynn. ‘It’s my papa.’

  He smiled softly at her. ‘Go chat. I’ll get you a fresh one.’

  She nodded and after excusing herself from the group, hurried up the driveway to the front of the house, away from them, from the noise, from Flynn, and answered the phone. ‘Hi, Papa.’

  ‘Hello, my aingeal.’ Diarmuid Brennan’s lyrical voice wrapped around her like it always did. ‘What’s that noise in the background?’

  ‘A house warming party the folks at CoalCliff put on for me.’

  ‘So you’re ready to open?’

  ‘Yes.’ She couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. ‘I’m still waiting on some things for the treatment room and a few things for the house, but the CoalCliff mob have been amazing, painting and fixing things to how I need them. I couldn’t have done it without them.’

  ‘I’m so glad you’ve found such wonderful friends.’

  They were her friends. She hadn’t had many in her life. Lots of acquaintances, but not many really good friends. The kind you could count on for anything. She’d thought maybe she just wasn’t someone who made those kinds of friends, her life too hectic, never settling in one place for long, but Barb and her CoalCliff mob had moved into her life so stealthily, she hadn’t even realised they were truly in her life until now. ‘So am I,’ she said softly.

  ‘You okay, aingeal?’

  ‘Yep. Fine.’ She made her voice bright again and changed the topic. ‘I’ve ordered furniture for the spare bedroom too, so if you ever wanted to come and visit, you’ll have a room to yourself.’

  ‘Sounds wonderful. Although, I’m not sure how soon I’ll be able to get away. The tour dates have been extended.’

  She swallowed her disappointment, used to it after so many years of being the daughter of a musician. ‘It’s doing well?’

  ‘So far. It seems people are still willing to pay to see an old rocker like me.’

  ‘You’re not so old, Papa.’

  He snorted down the phone. ‘I am in this industry. Positively ancient.’

  ‘Are you enjoying it though?’

  ‘I am, aingeal. Although, I miss seeing your pretty dimples.’

  ‘I miss you too. I don’t see you enough.’

  ‘I know. I’m sorry about that. But I promise next time I take a break I’ll come and spend some time with you and that gorgeous grandson of mine. Is he there by the way? I wanted to have a chat with him.’

  ‘He is here, but I’m not sure where. He was running around with his friends from CoalCliff.’

  ‘Did he like the t-shirt I sent him? And the hat? And the game?’

  ‘He loved them.’ Diarmuid Brennan might be an absent grandfather, but he was a thoughtful absent grandfather. It seemed things didn’t change. Although, if Carter was anything like her, he’d prefer to have his Grumpy here with him than get all the gifts Diarmuid sent from his tours around the world. But like she’d had to when she was younger and could no longer tour with him after her mother died, Carter just had to deal with his absence.

  ‘It’s fine, aingeal, don’t disturb him if he’s having fun, but when everyone’s gone, give me a call. I’d like to have a good chat with my little man. Also, I need to chat with you about a letter I got from Samantha’s lawyer. Apparently, the aunt she went to live with after the accident has died and left her some money and because Carter is her son and lone survivor of her estate, the money will now go to him.’

  ‘That’s great news.’

  ‘Yes. Although, it would have been good if the money had come two years ago. Maybe Samantha would still be alive if that was the case.’

  ‘You know that’s not true, Papa. She would have just used it on drugs for herself and her friends.’

  ‘You don’t know that. She could have used it to get clean.’

  She shook her head, unable to argue with him about this. What had happened to his goddaughter had broken a part of him, especially given he’d b
een the one who had sent her away after he could no longer deal with looking after his own daughter let alone an extra. The life of a touring musician was a tough one, and too complicated to be dragging two young girls along on the ride when he was suddenly a single dad and dealing with losing his wife and best friend in the same horrible plane accident. It had taken her years to understand why he’d sent her away, but she had come to an understanding of it and rebuilt her relationship with her father in the last few years. Something Carter had definitely helped them both with. Samantha never had come to terms with it, holding onto the bitterness of not only losing her parents, but her second family as well. She’d made a mess of her life, and Samantha’s son, Carter, was still dealing with the upshot of his dead mother’s problematic life choices.

  But going over all that with her father again was pointless, so she simply said, ‘What do you need me to do?’

  He sighed, then said, ‘There’s a bit to it, and an issue with a stepson who’s making some waves about her will, but I don’t want to worry you with all that now. Just give me a call when you’re done for the day, okay?’

  ‘I’ll call you when everyone’s gone.’

  ‘Good. Great. Hang on.’ There was a muffled sound as he spoke with someone on the other end of the phone. ‘Sorry, aingeal, but I have to go. Sebastien’s calling for me. We have to get back into the studio.’

  Swallowing her disappointment once again, she nodded. ‘Okay. Talk to you later.’

  She shoved her phone in her pocket and stared into the bush on the other side of the road from her house as she willed away the burn in her chest she got every time she spoke to her papa. She missed him so much. She always had. Even when she’d hated him for sending her away to her mother’s strictly religious Hindi family who’d shunned her mother when she’d married Diarmuid. She’d felt like an unwelcome outsider—a fact she’d blamed her father for as much as them when growing up. She tamped down on that old flicker of anger and resentment. Nothing could change the past. Nothing could change Diarmuid Brennan. Nothing could change her relationship with her mother’s family. But she could change how she dealt with it, and she was sick of holding onto the past. She’d made an effort to patch things up with Diarmuid since Carter had come into their lives and she was glad she had. She wasn’t ready to patch things up with her mother’s family though, especially after the carry on over what had happened when she took on the guardianship of Carter and became his mother.

  She wasn’t ready to forgive them or Chandra for that.

  But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was here. She turned and looked at her house. This was a new start, a new beginning, for her and for Carter. She looked up at the sky, imagining her mother, the dimples creasing around her mouth as she smiled down at her daughter, her dark eyes and dusky skin shining in the late afternoon sunlight in that way that had always made Prita think she was like an angel, glowing from within. ‘I promise to make the most of it. I promise to stop being so impulsive and to be more in charge of what comes next. I promise to make it a success.’

  Having said the words out loud, a vow to her mother, to herself, to Carter, to the universe, she turned with a smile on her face to go back to her party.

  A hand clamped on her arm, fingers squeezing hard. ‘Not so fast, girly. You and I need to chat about this mistake you’re making.’

  Chapter 2

  Why the hell had he gone over to talk to her?

  Flynn cursed himself as he watched Prita walk away from him, his hand sticky from the wine that had spilled all over his hand when he’d taken her cup from her. He should have stayed away. He’d done his best to do just that. But there was something about her laugh that had drawn him in—the way her amber-flecked brown eyes lit up, the laugh that bubbled out of her, those dimples he wanted to touch every time they peeked out when something made her smile—and before he knew it, he was standing beside her, offering to get her another drink. Practically whispering it in her ear. Close. Too close. Then their fingers had touched and his head had spun and he felt himself leaning in.

  Thank god her phone had rung because he really wasn’t sure what he would have done next.

  Stupid, blasted attraction he didn’t want. Even now, he couldn’t help but watch her as she walked up the side of her house, talking to her dad. Honestly, that strappy top she wore should be banned. It showed way too much of her incredible tawny skin. Skin that seemed to glow from within and made him want to stroke to see if it was as warm and soft as it looked. And her hair. How could a ponytail look so sexy? And yet it did on her, with that thick fall swinging glossily in the sun, deep colours of red and mahogany in its depths. He wanted to wrap that ponytail around his fist, feel the silken weight of it as he tugged her head back gently, oh so gently, and cover that smiling mouth with his.

  His cock twitched in his shorts. Damn it! He took a deep steadying breath, trying to think of anything else. Gelding. Yes. Some of the new colts would need to be gelded soon. He kept the visual of that full in his mind as he tore his gaze away and stared blankly into the garden.

  Why had he gone over to talk to her? Stupid. Stupid. Now he had to go and get her wine and seek her out again when he really should have just stayed away. Maybe he could get Reid or Nat to take the fresh drink to her. Yes, maybe he could just—

  ‘Dad, when are we going to have the cricket match?’

  ‘What?’ he asked, startled out of his preoccupation with Prita. He turned to see his son standing there behind him, his usual posse of Tilly and Carter on either side of him. ‘Hey, kiddos.’ He turned fully to face them so he couldn’t see Prita out of the corner of his eye. ‘What are you doing? Are you having a good time?’

  Aaron crossed his arms and sighed. ‘We’d be having a better time if we knew when the cricket match was going to be.’

  Flynn had to smother a laugh as he asked, ‘Cricket match?’

  Aaron gave him that look, the look of the beleaguered pre-teen who thought their parent some alien being with little understanding of how life really worked. ‘You know. The cricket game. The one we always have at every party.’

  ‘This isn’t our party, A-man.’

  Aaron shrugged. ‘Doctor Prita won’t mind. And Carts wants to play.’ He gestured at Prita’s adopted son, who nodded enthusiastically.

  ‘Perhaps we should ask Prita.’

  ‘Okay.’ Aaron looked at him in expectation.

  Damn. Foot meet mouth. So much for making an excuse to get Reid or Nat to take the drink to her. ‘I’ll ask her later, okay?’

  ‘We’re bored,’ Aaron said. ‘Aren’t we?’ He turned to get support from his partners in crime.

  They nodded and as if something had cued them to speak in chorus, they all said, ‘We’re bored. Please ask her now. Please?’ Their voices were a perfect harmony of a whine that rose on the end in such a way he was certain it held notes that only dogs could hear. Then they all looked at him. Although, ‘looked’ was too normal a word to explain what was going on with the puppy-dog-forlorn-pleading nature of the gazes that focused on him in guilt-making solidarity.

  He held up his hands. ‘Fine. Fine. I’m going.’ He pointed his finger at them. ‘Although, the match can’t happen until later, after the food is put away, okay?’

  ‘Woohoo!’ they yelled, jumping up and down and gaining looks of amusement from the people around them.

  ‘Calm down, or I won’t ask.’

  They sobered immediately, returning to the puppy-dog looks he was helpless against. He shook his head, wondering why he couldn’t stay strong in the face of such pathetic attempts to manipulate him, but he never could. Just another thing he was horrible at. He was afraid since Anna’s death, he’d become the kind of parent he’d always abhorred and that they’d promised they would never become. He let Aaron get away with too much. He really needed to put his foot down, but guilt always got in the way.

  ‘Dad?’

  Aaron’s pleading voice tugged him out of his reverie an
d he pulled his shoulders back with a jerk. ‘Off you go and don’t get into any trouble between now and when we play the game.’ There, that was better.

  ‘Okay.’ They scurried off, Carter turning to Aaron and asking, ‘Can I be on your team?’

  ‘Sure,’ Aaron said. ‘Tilly too.’

  ‘Yay!’ Tilly high fived them both. ‘We’re going to beat the hell out of the other team.’

  Their cheers rang back to him, but soon they were lost in the crowd and he was left to turn and beard the dragon in its den.

  Prita.

  Not that she was a dragon. Far from it. His attraction to her was, though. An attraction that was as unwanted as it was impossible to ignore. He’d tried. Christ knew how he’d tried, but despite everything he’d done to put an end to it, to deny it, to ignore it, it had just grown, making a mockery of his vow to Anna.

  He sighed. He better get her a fresh drink and then go find her. Best to get this over with as quickly as possible.

  As he walked to the drinks table, the smoke from the BBQs wafted in his path.

  He jerked to a halt.

  Bile filled his mouth and his chest tightened.

  Damn it. Not now. Not here. When would this stop? It was just a gas BBQ for crap’s sake. The smell of charred meat was beautiful grass-fed beef, not animals who hadn’t got out of the fire’s path in time. The smoke that caused that harsh, dry tightening at the back of his throat was not from the smouldering ruins of the bush. It was totally different. Not the same. Not the same.

  Then why couldn’t he breathe? Why did he feel like he needed to run and throw up all at the same time?

  Laughter sounded, loud and bright, to his left, startling him, making him take a gasping breath, half expecting to gag on the scent of smoke. But the air had cleared, the breeze shifting, taking the smoke from the BBQs away from where he was standing, frozen.

  Shit. Shit.

  Sweat prickled on his neck, his brow. He swiped a hand across his forehead, under his nose and wiped the damp evidence on his dark coloured shorts. Had anyone noticed? He glanced around. No. They were all too busy chatting and drinking and having a good time. And he was just standing there. What had he been going to do?