MisplacedLessons (12 page)

“I’m worried about Harper.” She hadn’t meant to blurt it out
so abruptly, but something told her Andrew needed to know what was going on.
Maybe he could shed some light on the demons Harper alluded to, so Amy would
know if she needed to call Keith.

Several times today she’d considered texting him to see what
the hell was going on, but something held her back.

Andrew scowled. “Why?”

“She was a little upset this morning when she called.”

She’d never seen such a dark expression on Andrew’s face.
Not even during his confrontation with Schuster at the club the previous night.
“What the fuck did she say? What happened?”

Andrew rose from the dinner table, pacing to the counter. He
slapped his hand on the smooth surface and she jumped. “Goddamn it. You swore
to me she was safe. That she was happy.”

“She is. Or was. I don’t know what happened. She wouldn’t
say.”

Andrew stopped listening. He pulled his cell out of his
pocket and dialed. No doubt he was calling his sister. Amy’s gut told him she
wouldn’t answer.

Pure anger radiated when he spoke. She’d been right. He’d
gotten Harper’s voice mail. “Call me. Now.”

He slammed the phone down and started pacing. Amy wasn’t
sure what to say to calm him. His response seemed so over-the-top.

Amy was too tired to even try to figure out what time it was
on the other side of the planet. Most likely Harper was teaching class and
didn’t have her phone turned on.

“What happened between Harper and her stepdad?” she asked
after several minutes proved his sister wasn’t going to return his call.

Andrew froze, his gaze capturing hers. “She told you?”

Amy shook her head. “Nothing in detail. She just said he
wasn’t a nice man.”

Andrew snorted, the sound malicious, cold. “That’s a fucking
understatement.”

“He hurt her?”

Andrew’s chest rose and fell, his breathing coming harder
now. She’d never seen him out of control. Her dominant lover never lost his
cool. He didn’t speak and the silence grew unbearably long.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I shouldn’t have pried.
Shouldn’t have agreed to this life swap. I didn’t know…”

What? She didn’t know what?

“It’s okay, Amy. Harper needs someone like you in her life.
God knows you’re probably better for her than I am.”

She shook her head, hating the sudden desolation in his
eyes. “No. You’re wrong. Your sister loves you.”

“I have no idea why. She should hate me.”

Amy frowned. “Why? Why would you say that?”

“Because I left her alone with that man. She called me and
asked for help and I brushed her off.”

Amy walked to him and took his hands, led him back to the
table, to his chair. “Sit down. Start at the beginning.”

He followed her command, his head bent. Amy’s heart ached
for him.

“I’ve never told anyone about this. I was too…” He paused.
“I was too fucking ashamed of myself.”

She returned to her own chair then clasped his hands in
hers. “Tell me.”

“Remember how I said Harper went to live with her mother
after our parents divorced?”

She nodded.

“Her mom remarried pretty soon after that. The guy, Ross,
was a slimeball. Harper hated him almost instantly, but I figured she was at
that age where she resented having a new father. After all, I’d had those same
feelings when my dad married her mom.”

“That makes sense. She must’ve been what? Eleven, twelve?”

“Ten. Anyway, Harper lived with them for nearly a year. She
sort of started withdrawing, getting quieter, more sullen. Like a dumbass, I
chalked it all up to early puberty.”

Amy gave him a sympathetic smile. “That’s a rational
assumption.”

Andrew’s grip on her hand tightened. She sensed he was
trying to draw strength from her. She was happy to give it. “I was wrong. She
called me one night. I’d just turned twenty-one a few months earlier and I was
enjoying the newfound privileges, getting ripped with my friends every weekend.
I’d planned to do some serious club-hopping that night. Harper asked if I would
come get her. If she could spend the weekend with me and Dad.”

Andrew swallowed heavily and Amy suspected this was where
the story would get tougher. She gave him an encouraging smile.

“I guess you said no.”

He nodded.

“You were young with fun plans. I don’t think there’s an
older brother on the planet who would have given those up willingly just so he
could babysit his kid sister. Where was your dad?”

“He was out of town on a business trip. I should have gone
to get her right then. I could hear in her voice she was scared. She said her
mom was out for the night and she didn’t like to be alone with Ross. I told her
to just go to her room and watch TV.”

He closed his eyes, but not before she caught the flash of
pain there.

“I went out, hit a couple of clubs, but I couldn’t shake the
idea that something was wrong. Really wrong. I ditched my friends, grabbed a
cab and headed over to check on Harper. No one answered the door when I got
there, but I could see Ross’ car in the driveway. Then I heard Harper call
out.”

Amy tried not to cry. Her tears wouldn’t help Andrew, but
his story was tearing her apart. “What did you do?”

“I kicked the door down.”

Jesus. She’d seen snatches of his incredible strength over
the past few days, but she could only imagine the force he’d produced to break
down a door.

“I ran down the hall to Harper’s room just as Ross was
rushing out. The son of a bitch was zipping up his pants.”

“Bloody hell,” Amy whispered. “Did he…had he…?”

“No. I got there before he could…” Andrew took a deep
breath, steadying himself before he was able to say, “Rape her.”

Amy closed her eyes. “Thank God.”

“I punched the motherfucker hard enough to knock him out.
Then I grabbed a suitcase and started shoving a bunch of shit in it. I picked
Harper up and I carried her out of there.”

Amy couldn’t stand the distance between them any longer or
the pain etched on every line in his face. She left her chair and knelt before
him. “You saved her, Andrew. Where’s the shame in that?”

“I should have gone when she called. Should have taken her
away from there before it got that far. I let her down, Amy. I didn’t protect
her.”

Andrew was a strong, proud man. Those attributes had likely
been there since birth. She couldn’t imagine how many nights he’d suffered,
thinking of how he’d failed his sister. The pain he carried for so many years
must have been unbearable.

“You’re a good man, Andrew. You took your sister out of
hell. You brought her here and provided a safe, loving home. Even when your dad
passed away, you stuck around and raised her. You’re amazing. Loving.
Wonderful.”

He started to shake his head, but she refused to let him
deny the truth. “Bloody hell, Shaw. Stop beating yourself up over this. It’s
time to let the past go. You and Harper are both alive, healthy, together.
Start facing forward, looking toward your future. The past can’t hurt either of
you anymore. Besides, Harper clearly doesn’t blame you.”

“How do you know?”

“I know because she misses you. She may have called
me
this morning, but I guarantee it was your voice she really needed to hear.”

He gestured to his cell. “Yeah. I can tell. She ran off to
Australia without telling me and she’s been ringing my phone off the hook since
then.”

“She’s in class right now.”

He frowned. “Class?”

Amy nodded. “She’s teaching my students at Farpoint Creek
Cattle Station. It’s just outside Cobar.”

Andrew’s eyes softened, though the sadness still lingered.
“You really are a cowgirl, living on a ranch.”

She laughed. “No. I live on a station and there’s no cowgirl
about it.”

“Come to bed with me?” His request was hesitant, uncertain.
Spoken by a broken man.

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “There’s nowhere on
earth I’d rather be.”

They held hands as they climbed the stairs together.
Kissing, they took turns slowly undressing each other. Neither of them seemed
inclined to stop touching, to break the connection.

He lifted her, placing her gently on the mattress before
crawling over her body. She loved being sheltered beneath his large, strong
form. Andrew continued to kiss her as he pressed his cock inside, the path a
familiar one to him now. He understood where to press, appreciated how fast,
how hard she liked it. He knew her body.

He knew
her
.

And now, she felt like she knew him. It made the moment so
much more precious. And painful.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him to
her tightly as they rocked together. Time stood still as they clung to each
other. For so many years, she’d felt lost, just a little out of step with
everyone else around her.

With Andrew, she was the true Amy. It was a precious gift he
offered.

When they came, it was together. Bittersweet and beautiful
as the clock continued to count down.

Tomorrow he’d say goodbye. Fly away on other adventures,
traveling off the beaten paths, while she returned to one that was way too
familiar in Australia.

Funny how Farpoint didn’t feel like home anymore.

She wondered if it ever would again.

Chapter Seven

Amy looked at the blue mountains in the distance and knew
she’d come home. After a tearful farewell to Andrew in Chicago two days
earlier, it had taken her all of five minutes to decide she wanted to return to
Farpoint. America held no fascination for her without him in it.

She sniffed the light scent of eucalyptus from the gum trees
and remembered Andrew’s complaint about the way her country smelled like
medicine. Now she wasn’t sure she could ever inhale the faint odor without
thinking of him.

She was home. Back in the land of brown eggs covered in
feathers and poo, spiders on the loo, no tipping and super-short showers that
turned cold too quickly.

As much as she’d wanted to escape Chicago and its memories
of Andrew, Farpoint didn’t seem very welcoming either. Bloody hell. What had
she done? Lived a lifetime in ignorant bliss, moving from moment to moment
without a care in the world. In one week, Andrew had made her care too much.
About him.

Surely this feeling would fade with time.

Wouldn’t it?

She hoped so. Right now, her heart ached and she felt like a
teenage girl suffering her first lost love. She was considering holing herself
up in her cottage with Harper for a week, eating ice cream from the carton and
belting out one sad song after another. She was the cliché of a broken-hearted
woman. Marc and Keith would have a field day with this, but she didn’t give a
shit.

She’d thought coming home would help. Wandering around an
empty house in Chicago for a week felt too unbearable so she’d decided to come
home to be with the people she loved. She also consoled herself over cutting
her vacation short with the thought that, this way, she’d have a chance to hang
out with Harper.

Of course, that was going to have to start after she crawled
out of bed approximately three days from now. She’d never felt so exhausted.
One week of sleep-deprived, sex-filled nights followed by two days on nonstop
travel had zapped every ounce of energy left in her body. She suspected she
could close her eyes and not open them again for days, maybe years.

Even then, she still wouldn’t want to wake up. Her dreams of
Andrew would have to sustain her from now on and she could only have those
while asleep.

She stepped out of the ute she’d rented at the Cobar airport
and was promptly greeted by Jett, Keith’s black Kelpie. The dog wasn’t too far
ahead of his master and soon she found herself wrapped up in hugs and greetings
and questions of “What the hell are you doing home already?” from her two best
mates.

Only after Keith, then Marc released her, did Amy spy
Harper. Her friend’s familiar features and crystal blue eyes reminded her too
much of the man she’d just lost. Amy took two steps and fell into Harper’s embrace,
tears escaping despite her best efforts to hold them at bay.

“Hey,” Harper said consolingly. “Please tell me you didn’t
come home early because of me and that stupid phone call.”

Amy shook her head. “No. Andrew…” It was all she could say
before her throat seized up again.

“Oh my God. What the hell did he do? I’ll kill him.”

Amy laughed through her tears. “He didn’t do anything.”

Harper looked perplexed. “Then why are you crying?”

“Because I fell in love with the stupid man. And now he’s
back at work and I’m here and, God, I’m such an idiot.”

If Amy hadn’t been so upset, she would have laughed at
Harper’s slack-jawed expression. “You fell in love? With my brother?”

Amy nodded.

Harper’s shoulders drooped. “I’m so sorry, Amy. I should
have warned you. It’s just… I mean my brother may be a bit of a player, but
he’s never led a woman on or toyed with her emotions. I had no idea he would
use you and then—”

“He didn’t use me,” Amy interrupted. “I think he might have
fallen in love with me too.” Neither of them had said the words, both cursed
with too much self-preservation. She couldn’t tell him how she felt knowing she
had to leave and that nothing could come of her feelings. And besides, who the
bloody hell fell in love with someone after only a week?

“Amy! You’re home!”

Amy glanced behind Harper and saw Annie emerging from the
big house. The sight of her friend caught her off-guard.
Annie did.
Her
friend had fallen in love with Hunter Sullivan after a weeklong visit to
Australia. In fact, she’d fallen so deeply for the boss at Farpoint, she’d
uprooted her life in New York and moved halfway around the world to be with
him.

Annie offered Amy a warm welcome-home hug. “We weren’t
expecting you until next weekend.”

Amy shrugged, hoping her tears had dried enough to go
unnoticed. “I got a little homesick.” It was a lie and Annie was too shrewd to
be fooled. Even so, she let it go.

“Hazel will be thrilled to see you. She’s mentioned several
times how much she’s missed your spirit around this place.”

Amy smiled, but didn’t have a chance to respond.

Harper was still looking at her. In fact, her gaze hadn’t
moved since Amy had dropped her “love” bomb. “Andrew is in love with you?”

Amy lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know that for sure. He
never said he did. I just—”

“Of course he fell in love with you,” Marc interjected. “I
figure an American boy didn’t stand a fighting chance against our Amy.”

She laughed, the heaviness in her chest lifting. She was
home, surrounded by people who loved her. She’d been right to cut the trip
short and return. She needed their support, their strength to keep her going
for the next few weeks…months.

Harper frowned. “But Andrew never—”

“He never falls in love,” Amy finished. “Yeah. I know. Maybe
it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I’m okay with that. After all,” her voice
cracked slightly, “I’m most likely never going to see him again. It’s just nice
to believe my feelings were returned and it’s not like it’s going to hurt
anyone for me to hold on to that idea.”

Her hands trembled slightly, so she shoved them in the front
pockets of her jeans.

“I hope you’re right, Amy. I’ve always worried about my
brother’s inability to let any woman into his heart. I should have known if
anyone could do it, it would be you.” Harper gave Amy another quick squeeze.

Annie reached for Amy’s hand. “Come on into the house.
You’re going to have to tell Hazel and me all about this man.”

Harper stepped over to say something to Keith and Amy
wondered about Harper’s sudden blush. It looked as if Harper and Keith had made
their own love connection. Then Marc stepped closer and wrapped his arm around
Harper in a way that seemed a touch more than friendly. Harper and Keith
and
Marc?

Harper gave her a shy shrug and Amy grinned. Her friend
looked incredibly happy. Amy was relieved. She’d expected to find her friend
still upset considering the sadness in Harper’s voice the last time they’d
spoken.

Annie grinned. “Those three have been inseparable since your
friend arrived.”

“Really?”

Annie winked at her then opened the front screen door. “I
think I’ll let Thomo and Blue fill you in on the details.”

Keith took off his akubra, running his fingers through his
sweat-matted hair, thanks to the hot day. It was a familiar gesture and just
one more tiny insignificant thing that helped convince her she’d left heaven
and landed smack-dab in the middle of reality.

This sucked.

“There’s my girl.” Hazel wiped her hands on her apron as she
walked from the kitchen. Then she threw her arms out, capturing Amy in a tight
squeeze. Hazel gave the best hugs on earth.

The tears Amy had just managed to stem began to flow once
more, harder this time. Hazel’s grip never slackened as Amy’s cries turned to
sobs.

“There, there, sweet lass. I’m sure it’s not all as bad as
that.” Hazel continued to murmur soothing words while Amy cried out all the
emotions she’d fought so hard to keep in for the past two days.

She led Amy to the couch where the two of them sat down.
Annie claimed a nearby chair.

“I’m sorry.” Amy reached for a tissue from the box on an end
table, wiping her eyes and nose.

Hazel brushed Amy’s hair away from her face. “It sounds like
you’ve been holding those tears in for a while. What happened in Chicago, Amy?”

“I met a man.”

Hazel glanced at Annie and rolled her eyes. “Dear God. What
is it with you young people and these international romances?”

Amy laughed. Leave it to Hazel to find a way to ease the
pain. “I didn’t fall in love with him on purpose.”

Annie leaned forward. “None of us ever do. The heart wants
what the heart wants and practical things like jobs and geography rarely win
out.”

“So who is this man?” Hazel asked.

“Harper’s brother, Andrew.” Amy’s throat squeezed when she
spoke his name and she fought down a fresh round of tears. She was a mess.

Hazel pressed back against the cushions and studied Amy’s
face. “This is the man with the cable show, right? The one who lives your dream
job, traveling all over the world?”

Amy nodded. She’d often related to Hazel the stories Harper
had told her about Andrew’s adventures. Many times, the two of them would pop
online to look up the latest place he’d been just to see pictures and clips of
the program. While Hazel had rarely left Farpoint—and never expressed the
slightest bit of interest in seeing the world—Amy suspected there was a tiny
kernel of wanderlust in her boss as well.

“Well, that makes things interesting. I assume he’s out
jet-setting again?”

“He was in Chicago while I was there. We spent the week
together and it was—”

“Magical.” Annie supplied the word and Amy knew it was one
she’d used to describe her first week on Farpoint with Hunter.

“Exactly.” Amy didn’t bother to deny it. “And stupid. I
should never have let things go so far. I knew how they were going to end.”

Hazel took her hands, tugging until Amy faced her more
fully. “You didn’t do a bloody thing wrong. Your willingness to open yourself
up to life, to even risk heartbreak, is one of the things I admire about you,
Amy. Ask yourself this. If you had it all to do over again, knowing what you
know now, would you do it?”

“Hell yeah.” Amy didn’t even need to think about the
response.

“Then it wasn’t wrong, Amelia Wesson. You’ll take some time,
lick your wounds and you’ll find a way to move on because you’re smart, strong
and brave.”

A tear escaped before Amy could hold it back. She blinked
rapidly, letting Hazel’s words soothe her.

“I’m smart, strong and brave.” Amy repeated the words,
hoping that by speaking them aloud, they would take root.

“Just keep saying that.”

“And if you want to fall apart or need a friendly ear, we’ll
be right here,” Annie offered.

Amy smiled through her tears, grateful for her friends. No,
the Sullivans had become family to her somewhere over the years. And despite
that, she couldn’t shake the emptiness looming inside her.

Smart, strong, brave. She wanted to believe that, but one
word rang out louder.

Alone.

* * * * *

Andrew stepped out of the helicopter and took a deep breath.
Yep. Australia still smelled like fucking Vicks VapoRub. Funny thing was he
didn’t mind as much this time. It made him think of Amy.

He smiled. Amy. He was so close to her now. Finally.

He saw a dust cloud coming down the road, kicked up by a
truck. Obviously his arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed. Not that he’d expected it
to. Sort of hard to sneak onto a ranch by way of helicopter.

He still couldn’t quite believe he was here. He’d gone back
to work four days ago, meeting with the producers of
Off the Beaten Path
.
As his paradise isle was still recovering from the monsoon, they’d needed to
come up with an alternate location to shoot next.

For two days, Andrew pushed hard for Australia, using every
ounce of persuasion in his body. Then, just when it looked like he was going to
lose, the show’s executive producer, Georgia Drake, asked to speak to him
privately. She’d tilted her head and asked him what the hell was in Australia.

Like a lovesick fool, he’d confessed. And, to his surprise,
he’d discovered that his ball-busting producer was a hopeless romantic at
heart. She’d gone to bat for him and now he was here—on the cable company’s
dime—facing an even harder battle.

The truck pulled up to the tarmac and two men emerged. He
recognized Amy’s two best friends, Marc and Keith, as they walked toward him.
She’d shown him pictures of the men one night over dinner, cracking him up with
stories about their childhood pranks. He nodded when they came to a stop in
front of him.

The taller of the two men spoke first. “I’m Keith Munroe and
this is Marc Thompson.”

Andrew stuck out his hand. “I’m Andrew Shaw. Harper’s
brother.”

“Yeah. We kinda figured that,” Marc said, accepting his
handshake.

“I understand my sister has been visiting here.”

Keith crossed his arms. “Listen. While we respect a guy
looking out for his sister, Harper’s a woman now and more than capable of
taking care of herself.”

Andrew was surprised by Keith’s defense of Harper. His
initial thought was that they were the first line in keeping him away from Amy.
“I know Harper can take care of herself.”

“Is that right?” Marc asked.

Andrew struggled to understand what the fuck was going on.
The men appeared to be as protective of his sister as he was. He wasn’t sure
whether he should be grateful they’d looked after her or insulted that they
seemed to consider him a threat.

“I didn’t come for Harper.” Andrew wasn’t sure why he was
explaining himself to these two jackaroos or stockmen or whatever the hell they
were.

Keith’s entire body relaxed and a grin emerged. “Then you
must be here for our Amy.”