He shook his dark head angrily. ‘What a naive and gullible little fool you are, Shelley! If that were the case, then why the hell do you think I didn’t loan him the money myself?’
‘Bloody-mindedness?’ she challenged.
‘You know, I feel sorely tempted to throw you over my knee and wallop the living daylights out of you—’
‘You wouldn’t dare!’
‘No, you’re right—I wouldn’t!’ He sucked in a breath. ‘Don’t you think I know my sister’s partner a little better than you do after—what—three meetings?’
‘I—’
‘And the reason I’ve never loaned Jamie so much as a bar of soap is because he seems unable to do anything other than fritter it away—like a student determined to blow his grant in one evening! As he has demonstrated once again.’
Something in his voice was beginning to alarm her. ‘Wh-what do you mean?’
‘I’ll tell you exactly what I mean! I mean that the boat is sitting in the boatyard in the same place as it was yesterday and the day before. And that Jamie seems to have disappeared with all the money you loaned him. No one’s seen him—not his mother, not the boatyard and not, most importantly of all, Jennie and his daughter.’
‘Oh, no,’ she whispered.
‘Oh, yes,’ he contradicted darkly.
‘So what do we do?’
‘We?’ he mocked. ‘Shouldn’t that be I? I should leave you to sort out the whole bloody mess you’ve created for yourself!’
‘Go on, then!’
‘Oh, no!’ He shook his head. ‘I’m going out to find him and I’m going to bring every single penny back. For Ellie’s sake more than anything.’ He scowled. ‘Having a father in jail for obtaining money by deception is not what I’d call the best start in life. But I’ll tell you another thing, Shelley Turner—’
She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, sensing trouble. ‘What?’
‘That I don’t believe you were simply motivated by a need to help Jennie and Ellie. I don’t think you’re that good a person!’
‘Oh, don’t you?’
‘Not right now, no! I happen to think that your action was driven by a need to strike out and hurt me—’
‘No!’
‘Yes!’ he snarled. ‘You knew that I was opposed to the loan, but you went right ahead with it anyway. As an act of revenge it was pretty spectacular!’
‘And why would I want to do that?’
‘Think about it, kitten,’ he said, as he fished a gleaming shoal of car keys from the pocket of his jeans. ‘Just think about it!’
Shelley would have plenty of time to think about it in the next twenty-four hours, but first she knew that she had to go next door to see Jennie.
Jennie was red-eyed from weeping.
‘I’m so sorry,’ breathed Shelley.
Jennie shook her head and sniffed. ‘It’s my fault,’ she moaned. ‘I made out that Drew was just being tight, when really it was more to do with the fact that I couldn’t face up to Jamie’s spendthrift ways. If only you’d told me what you were intending to do, Shelley!’
But she hadn’t known herself—and if she admitted to impulse that would make it a hundred times worse. ‘Jamie made… No, someone can’t make you do anything,’ she amended. ‘He asked me not to tell you. Said he wanted to buy the boat and wrap a big ribbon round it for you. And he also said he wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for long. That’s why I drew the money out in cash.’
‘Cash!’ echoed Jennie, going positively pea-green. ‘Oh, my word! What if he’s spent it all by the time Drew catches up with him?’
‘If Drew catches up with him,’ said Shelley grimly.
‘Oh, he will. You can be very sure of that.’
‘Well, in that case—’ she swallowed down her guilt as she thought about how her stupidity and her stubbornness might have reduced her savings by a third ‘—I’ll just have to put it down to experience.’
The hours ticked by with agonising slowness, but she didn’t dare leave the house in case there was any news. She was unenthusiastically thinking about preparing herself some supper when the doorbell rang and she rose to her feet, hardly daring to hope.
Her heart leapt at the sight of the broad-shouldered shadow standing outside, but her face was cautious as she opened the door to him. He had been seething with rage earlier, and although he might have felt that his anger was justified she wasn’t sure if she would care to repeat the experience.
She drew a deep breath. ‘Hello, Drew,’ she said quietly.