Christmas Present Part 11

"Then I'll come to you."

She held up her hand, stopping him halfway to her. "Kells, I'm going to ask you to do something for me, and it's not going to make any sense to you, but I'm hoping you'll do it anyway."

His gaze turned thoughtful. "I can't imagine I wouldn't. In case you haven't noticed, you've become very important to me."

She nodded, hard-pressed to keep the despondency from her voice. "I know. You said we are a combustible combination."

"Yes, and that's part of it, but only part."

Her head jerked up and her heart skipped a beat. It was the first time she had received even a hint of what he was thinking or feeling about her. Under any other circ.u.mstances she would have rejoiced and pushed for clarification. And even taking the circ.u.mstances into account, her mind raced. Was it possible that he could fall in love with her? No. She brought herself up short. She couldn't allow herself to think about his loving her, couldn't because it would make what she needed to do doubly hard. She was about to attempt a tightrope act, and she couldn't allow her concentration to be broken. "Kells... I want you to leave Killara. Today. Within the next few hours if possible." He sucked in his breath. He felt as if she had hit him in the stomach with a baseball bat. "What?" The utter incredulity on his face caused a faint pounding to start at her temples. "I'm sure you heard. I want you to leave Killara." "I did hear, but I don't even come close to understanding." "I told you it wouldn't make sense to you, but please, Kells, do it anyway. I'll have someone fly you into Tucson, and you can catch a flight to Dallas or New York or San Francisco, and then to Australia. Or anywhere..."

"You mean, it doesn't matter where I go as long as I leave here?"

"That's right."

His brow pleated as he fought to find reason in something that seemed so insane. "Did Burke ask you to-"

"No, no. Dad doesn't know anything about this. I'm asking you because it's what I want." She had blindsided him without warning, without explanation. His expression slowly hardened until hisface was a mask of anger. "Sony, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere."

She clasped her trembling hands together. "If it's about the business deal you have with my father, don'tworry. It won't fall through." "To h.e.l.l with the deal." She had known getting him to leave wouldn't be easy, but she hadn't known how much asking him would hurt her. "I'm trying to negotiate myself some time so that I can sort some things out, find some answers-" "Well, that's certainly a master statement of vagueness. Would you care to be more specific?" "It's as specific as I can get. I want you to leave." "Because I'm in your way?" His eyes held dark lights.

She hesitated. "Yes." "Tough. I'm not leaving." He felt as if he were bleeding inside, and it was a strange, unique sensation for him. He had known the odds were against him with her. She was a d.a.m.ned Delaney, for G.o.d's sake. But for the first time in his life he had allowed himself thoughts, hopes, of inviting someone else into his world to share it with him and to banish his aloneness.

She linked her hands together, tightly entwining her fingers. "Isn't there anything I can do or say to change your mind?"

"Yes, dammit. You can explain in detail why you're asking me to leave. Have you gotten tired of sharing my bed? Is that it?"

"No-"

"Because if it is, I can a.s.sure you I won't be bothering you again."

Tears threatened, and she almost faltered. But a picture came to her, a picture of her father lying on the ground, his life's blood seeping out of him. This madness had to be stopped. She couldn't let her father's or Kells's life be destroyed. "I can't explain this to you, at least not now. You wouldn't understand."

"You're not playing fair, Bria. Somehow I thought better of you."

His stare was ice cold and froze her to the bone. What was there left for her to say? "I'm sorry, Kells. I really am."

"Save your apologies. They don't help."

No, she thought they didn't. But then, when you were trying to change fate, there wasn't too much that did help.

"Dad? Have you got a minute?"

Burke looked up from his desk and smiled. "For you, two minutes. Come on in. I've been wanting a chance to talk to you alone."

She closed the door to his study and crossed the room to one of the chairs that stood in front of his desk. She sank down into it, angling her body so that she could hang her long legs over the arm. It was a position she had taken more times than she could count in her life. Her dad had always put everything aside to listen to her confidences. He had given her his complete attention and addressed her problems with a seriousness he reserved for major business decisions and a special love he reserved for his children. It wasn't until she was older that she realized how strenuous the demands of his empire were on him and how great a gift he had given her all her life. "What have you been wanting to talk to me about, Dad?"

"Kells. Your mother tells me you're in love with him, but I have to say you don't look too happy."

She sighed, knowing she had never in her life been so unhappy. But she wasn't dismayed that he was privy to her secret. She knew her parents never kept anything from each other. "I am in love with him, but it's not simple."

Burke chuckled. "Unfortunately love never is. I wasn't completely happy until I had made your mother unconditionally and unequivocally mine."

His phraseology drew a small smile from her. The wonderful thing was, he was still head over heels in love with her mother. Her hope that she would know that kind of love was growing dimmer and dimmer. "Dad, how much do you know about Kells?"

"I know enough to trust him with my money, and enough that I can easily say I admire him very much. The things that he has accomplished, he has accomplished on his own, and there aren't too many people who can say that."

"No," she said with thoughtful agreement. "By the way, he has said that he admires you too."

Burke chuckled. "He's still wary of me, but the wanness has lessened since he's been here."

There wasn't much her dad missed. She swung one leg, thinking. "When is the signing set for?"

"Day after tomorrow."

"And then Kells is scheduled to leave?"

"Yes..."

Her logic told her the day after tomorrow wasn't soon enough. Her emotions told her it was too soon.

"Unless you'd like to ask him to stay. The whole family will be here, and you know they're all going to

want to meet the man you're going to marry."

Her eyes widened with shock. "No one's mentioned marriage. Dad. We're not even close to marriage."

Smiling, Burke leaned back in his chair. "It'll happen if you want it to."

"You sound just like Mom."

"That's because we understand how turbulent love can be when it's in its first tender stages."

Turbulent didn't even begin to describe what she was going through, Bria thought sadly.

The attic was cold, and, in the old part, completely dark. Bria flashed the battery-packed lantern she

had brought up with her around the section. Everything was just as she had left it several days before, but maybe this time she could find a diary, a letter, something that would explain the mirror and its powers. Not only would it make everyone believe her, it might enable her to deal with and stop the scene in the mirror from happening.

She set the lantern on one large travel trunk and aimed its beam at another. As she knelt to open the second trunk's lid, she thought about Kells. He and her parents should be starting dinner right about now. She had called her mother on the internal telephone system, pleaded a headache, and told her she was going to sleep. Her mother had been understanding, bid her good night, and said she would make sure no one bothered her.

Kells was probably still furious with her, and she didn't blame him. But asking him to leave had been the only way she could think of to protect both her father and him. Now she had to come up with another way, and she was hoping more knowledge of the mirror would provide that way.

She set to work. Hours later she was tired, dirty, had a real headache, and had not found a thing.

"What in the h.e.l.l are you doing?"

She jumped at the sound of Kells's voice and peered through the darkness. He stood there, pointing a strong beam of light directly at her.

Startled by his sudden appearance, she instinctively went on the offensive. "What are you doing up here? How did you find me? Why are you yelling?"

"I asked a maid where your room was. She told me, but she also told me she had seen you heading up here several hours ago. And I'm not yelling."

No, he wasn't, she thought, nibbing her head. "Why did you want to know where my room was? I didn't want to be disturbed tonight. I told Mom I was going to sleep."

He walked closer to her. "You lie well. She bought it. Now tell me what you're doing up here and leave out the lies."

She began to fold articles of clothing back into the trunk she had been searching. "I'm looking for some information. I thought it might be up here." "Why?"

"Because it isn't anywhere else." She slammed the lid down and then coughed as dust flew into her face.

"I gather you didn't find it."

"No. And will you please get that light out of my eyes?"

The light swept away to scan the area. "This stuff looks pretty old."

She had been trying to fight off the weariness and the headache, but suddenly she was overcome by both. She placed both hands on the top of the trunk and pushed herself to her feet. "Very perceptive."

She started to brush past him, but he caught her arm. "What information?"

His face was in shadows and his hand was only lightly circling her arm, but his tone was unyielding. "It's none of your concern, Kells. It's family business, that's all."

"I thought I told you to leave out the lies. If it was family business, you wouldn't have told your mother you have a headache."

"I do have a headache."

"That you got after you came up here, right?"

He was perceptive. "Let go of me. I'm tired, and I want to go downstairs and try to sleep this headache away."

His hand chopped from her arm, but for a moment he stayed where he was, blocking her path. "What you're doing up here does concern me, doesn't it? This morning you asked me to leave. You said you needed time to find some answers. I have no choice but to figure that the two are connected. What I can't figure out is why you'd be searching in the d.a.m.ned attic for something about me."

"I'm not searching for information about you." It was true as far as it went; she was searching for information about the mirror. "Please, Kells, my head is pounding. Leave it alone. You didn't agree to go; you got your way. Now-"

"I didn't get my way, Bria, not by a long shot. But I will let it chop. For now." He took her hand and led the way back out of the attic.

With a distant part of her mind Bria had to admire the fact that although this was the first time Kells had negotiated the twists and turns of the attic, he never once lost his way. With another part she realized she was enjoying the feel of her hand in his too much. As soon as she could, she drew it away.

When they reached the second floor and her room, she said, "Good night, Kells."

"Do you have any aspirin in your room?" She looked at him blankly. "Yes, why?"

"Because you obviously need a couple." He took her elbow and steered her inside.

She jerked away from him as soon as she crossed the threshold "What are you doing?"

His stance was so tense that for a minute she thought he was about to do something violent. Instead, much to her surprise, she saw his eyes soften, and when he spoke his voice was very gentle. "Helping you, Bria. You look like your head is hinting so badly it's about to come off, and all I want to do is make sure you take some aspirin and go to bed. Okay? Will you let me help you?"

She exhaled a long breath and nodded. "The aspirin is in the medicine cabinet."

He left her where she was standing, and a minute later was back with two tablets and a gla.s.s of water.

"Do you want to take a shower before you get into bed?"

She put a hand to her head. "I'd like to, but I don't know if I can-"

"I'll help you." Before she could protest, he went on. "No strings, Bria. No pressure. No hidden agenda.

All I want to do is help."

She nodded wearily, unable, unwilling, to object any longer. "All right."

The next minutes flew by. With his a.s.sistance she undressed, and before she knew it she was standing beneath a hot, steaming shower. Fortunately for her peace of mind, he didn't get into the shower with her, and he also kept to his word and didn't touch her unless she needed help with something.

She was extremely grateful. Tired and with a headache, she still wanted him. But loving him as she did, she had to keep an emotional distance from him until she could unravel the mystery she was trying to solve and avert tragedy.

When she stepped out of the shower, he was there, holding a large, fluffy towel for her to wrap herself in.

"What do you want to put on?" he asked, his voice without emotion.

She gestured vaguely toward a closet door. "There are nightgowns hanging in there."

His expression remained stony as he found a lace and be-ribboned silk nightgown and slipped it over her head. In the bedroom she saw that he had already turned back the covers. She climbed in.

He stared down at her, his hands on his hips. "Has the aspirin taken effect yet?"

"No." She sat up and frowned at her pillow before lying back down again. "And I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep until it does." If then, she thought. Weariness pulled at her, but there were so many things going on in her mind. She felt as if she needed to stay awake around the clock. In fact, she needed more than twenty-four hours in the day, because what she needed to accomplish seemed, at this point, so impossible. And then there was Kells...

He seemed to hesitate, then without a word he lay down beside her and drew her into his arms.

"What are-"

"Shhh. Close your eyes, relax..." He nestled her head into his shoulders and began to lightly ma.s.sage her temple, exerting a soothing pressure with his fingers. "Tomorrow you can start again with whatever it is that you're doing."

She should protest, she thought. She really should. But already his nearness and touch were beginning to work their magic. "What about you? You can't hold me all night."