“Perhaps we should keep this”—he waved his hand to include the room—“to ourselves as best we can. However, tomorrow I shall harness the brawn of a few Taggerts to move the cabinet to see what’s behind it.”
“And I’ll find the box that hit me on the head.”
“And I’ll see what Cale has found out.”
“But please remember that Jamie is in on this too,” Hallie said. “He’s to be told everything.”
For a moment Kit looked at her as though trying to figure out something. “What do you like most about my damaged nephew?”
“Among other things, he makes me laugh.”
For the second time, there was a look of astonishment on Kit’s handsome face. “That is an excellent answer, and certainly one I wouldn’t have predicted.”
Chapter Eleven
By four that afternoon, Hallie was ready to lock the garden gate and put up a no trespassing sign. An endless stream of male wedding guests had come to her asking for appointments for treatments, advice about injuries, and massages. They had each paid her asking price and tipped her generously. But as far as Hallie could tell, they really just wanted to meet her.
Why?! she wondered. It wasn’t as though she was ever going to be part of their family. Not that she’d mind that. All the men were very nice, good to look at, intelligent, educated, and very courteous. Except for Todd. She didn’t like him at all.
She knew that some of the animosity between them was her fault. By the afternoon, her arms and shoulders were aching from one massage after another. At one point there were three young men sitting under the arbor, each one wearing nothing but a towel. They’d rinsed off in the outdoor shower, but rather than get dressed, they’d tied towels around their waists and waited for their turn on Hallie’s table.
They were all so very polite that when she got to Todd, she was shocked by his attitude.
As soon as he stretched his nude body out on the table on his stomach, he said, “What are your intentions toward my brother?”
It was late
in the day and she was tired. “To kidnap him and steal his jet,” she said before she thought.
Hallie knew Jamie would have laughed at that. But Todd didn’t. When she felt his muscles tighten under her hands, she sighed. “I have no ‘intentions’ of anything except rehabilitating his knee. He has now missed several sessions, plus his breathing exercises. He needs them!”
“What does that mean?”
Hallie frowned. Maybe his animosity came from jealousy. Todd wasn’t as handsome as his brother or as well built, and she was beginning to think that he didn’t have a whole lot of brains. She spoke slowly and distinctly. “Jamie hurt his knee skiing, he’s had surgery, and he needs to get his knee working again. I was hired to help with that.”
“I mean the breathing exercises,” Todd snapped. “What are they for?”
Hallie rolled her eyes. “To help him breathe.”
“Why were you in bed with him?” Todd asked, his tone that of the law enforcement officer she knew he was.
She had no doubt that he wanted to know about Jamie’s nightmares. Last night she’d realized that his family knew of them, but there was something in her that didn’t want to report on them. “Fabulous sex,” she said. “All night long.”
Clutching the single towel, Todd turned over on the bench, sat up, and glared at her. “I don’t appreciate being lied to.”
“And I don’t appreciate your attempt to use me as a spy. We’re done here.” She grabbed a towel, wiped her hands, and walked away. One of the men asked her if she was okay, but she just kept going.
When she got to the house she went around to the side, to the tea room. Maybe it would be quiet in there.
Somehow, she wasn’t surprised to see Jamie standing by a table that had one of the lavish teas on it. Had Edith come by in her little cart?
“Where have you been?” she shot at him, anger in her voice.
“You’ve had a bad day, haven’t you?” When he saw tears come to her eyes, he leaned his crutches against the wall, opened his arms to her, and she went to him. He held her, her face against his chest, and she could hear his heart pounding. His big, hard body was like an island of calm in the turmoil of the last two days.
Much too soon, he held her away from him and looked at her as though trying to read her mind. “Come on,” he said softly. “Edith brought us tea, so sit down and tell me what you’ve been doing.” She didn’t move and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her.
But he didn’t kiss her. “You look exhausted.”