TOO WIRED TO SLEEP, she forced herself to concentrate on paperwork until she had finally relaxed enough to consider going to bed. She had just closed her briefcase when the telephone rang. Since it was nearly ten o’clock, the sound startled her. She snatched up the receiver before it could ring again and disturb Jeffrey. “Hello?”
“Hi.” Scott’s voice sounded a bit muffled. Far away. “Did you get my message?”
She took a deep breath and counted to ten before answering. “I got it.”
“Good. Tell Jeff I’ll come by and see him as soon as I get back in town, okay? I’ll bring him some souvenirs from Hawaii. Maybe a grass skirt for you, if you’ll promise to model it for me,” he added with a chuckle she didn’t respond to. He continued before she could speak. “I want the two of you to make yourselves at home at the ranch tomorrow. Don’t hesitate to ask for anything you need. Everyone there will be available to—”
She finally managed to cut in. “Jeffrey and I won’t be going to your ranch tomorrow. We’re making other plans for the weekend.”
There was a pause, and then he said, “But I thought the kid was looking forward to the visit.”
Could he really be this dense? “He was looking forward to seeing you, Scott. Not a collection of buildings and animals. I don’t blame you, I suppose, for leaving this weekend. After all, you don’t owe us anything. But couldn’t you at least have called Jeffrey to explain the change of plans? You certainly talked to him plenty of times when you were making them with him.”
“You’re angry with me.”
“Let’s just say I’m getting tired of being the one who has to dry his tears every time a man he counts on disappoints him.”
“You’re comparing me to your brother? Blair, that’s hardly fair.”
What was unfair was the devastated look in Jeffrey’s eyes when he had gazed at her from his pillow, Blair thought. “Look, there’s really no need for us to argue. Jeffrey was disappointed, but he’ll get over it.” Just as she would, eventually. “Thank you very much for everything you’ve done for us. I’m sure neither of us will ever forget the time we spent with you.”
It was a jumbled and breathless goodbye speech, but the best she could do at the moment.
Scott sounded startled. “You’re giving me a brush-off? Now? Damn it, Blair—”
“Let’s face it, this is better for everyone involved. Jeffrey and I lead a quiet life here—much too quiet and structured for you. Your life is filled with spur-of-the-moment adventures that don’t—that can’t—include us. It’s better for us to simply say goodbye now.”
“I can’t accept that.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to. Jeffrey has to be my priority now. He needs me. I’m all he has. I won’t let him be hurt again.”
“Surely you know I would never hurt that boy—or you.”
“Don’t you understand, Scott?” she whispered sadly. “You already have.”
“By postponing one outing?”
“No. By making us care about you. You said you never wanted to leave anyone behind to miss you or worry about you, but that wasn’t something you could control. Your staff loves you and misses you very deeply when you’re gone. I can’t live that way—and I won’t accept it for Jeffrey, either. He gets enough of that from his father.”
“Blair, this isn’t the time to talk about this. When I get back—”
“Nothing will have changed. You know I’m right. You simply haven’t given it enough thought. Goodbye—and good luck with your surfing competition. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it immensely.”
She hung up before he could argue further. And then she buried her face in her hands, wondering if she’d just done something very logical—or incredibly stupid. She had asked Scott not to call again, and there was a good chance he would accept her request. It was possible that she would never see him again.
And that thought broke her heart—just as she had known it would when this happened.
She had to think of Jeffrey first. He was so young, so vulnerable. He didn’t deserve to be hurt time after time by men who placed their own pleasures before his feelings. It was up to her to protect him as much as possible. Which didn’t mean she wouldn’t grieve for the only grand romance she had experienced in her entire thirty years.
Her eyes were watering again. As disappointed as Jeffrey had been, Blair was even more so. She’d been completely unprepared for this. She hadn’t believed that Scott would string Jeffrey along until the very last minute and then figuratively pull the rug out from under him.
To give him credit, he had seemed surprised by her anger. Maybe he simply hadn’t understood how much his presence would have meant to Jeffrey—and to her. But wasn’t that very lack of understanding only further proof of how wrong he was for them?
Gripped in the throes of her sadness, she wasn’t aware at first that someone had joined her on the couch. And then a tentative meow made her lift her head. Belle, the little gray cat, sat on the cushion beside her, looking at her as if asking if there was anything she could do to help. Blair took the cat onto her lap, obligingly scratching her ears when she butted gently against her.
The cat began to purr, snuggling against Blair as if offering comfort. Blair sniffed and rested her wet cheek against Belle’s soft head, thinking that perhaps there was something to the theory that pets were therapeutic. Cuddling the affectionate kitty didn’t make her heart ache any less, but it sure beat grieving alone.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN