Obsession Down Under (10 page)

Chapter 13

As Brenda plodded back to the big house, mouth bowed down and shoulders slumped, her concentration focused on trying to engineer a plan to send Jessica packing. Whip was loyal to a fault, and if he cared about Ms. USA the way Mark and Drew implied, then her plan had to be foolproof and believable to keep him out of her clutches.

Back in the barn she tended to Misty and then headed for the homestead. It wasn’t fair. Why oh why would Whip fall for an American? With dragging feet and drooping shoulders, she left the barn and made her way across the yard to the homestead and onto the veranda. The front door was open so she ambled into the cool foyer and then stopped. The door to Whip’s office was ajar, and a woman who could only be Jessica was seated at the computer.

On impulse, she stepped behind the potted Golden Cane palm and with stealthy fingers, parted the fronds to better study the interloper hell-bent on breaking up her happy family.

Long, shiny, dark hair, and kind of chubby, first glance revealed she was nothing special. Not glamorous or elegant like Donna. So what was the attraction?

Brenda was still lost in thought when the telephone trilled, making her almost jump out of her skin.

The shrill made Jessica turn from the computer and peer out the door. Their eyes connected as Brenda popped out from behind the plant. Jessica smiled, but Brenda didn’t return the greeting and instead ran down the hall to answer the call.

“Highland Glen, this is Brenda speaking.” Her voice was breathy from running.

“Good morning young lady, this is Reverend Butler-Reid. I’m trying to contact my daughter, Jessica. We’ve had a bit of a family emergency and I need to speak with her. I believe she is staying at your establishment.”

“Establishment?”

“Guesthouse, motel, whatever you call them down there. She’s there on a business trip with Book Browsers scouting for possible locations for new stores.”

The penny dropped with an almighty clang. Business. Yeah, right, monkey business more like it. So Jessica had her own secrets. “Oh, right, just hold Reverend while I check the guest list.”

She made a pretense of rustling some papers and smirked. Perhaps this was something that could be used to her advantage. “Yes, she is here. I do hope it isn’t bad news, Reverend.”

“Well yes and no. Her mother had a health scare, but she’s recovering thank the Lord, and I felt Jessica needed to know.”

“If you’d don’t mind holding, Reverend, I’ll see if she’s in.”

“No, I don’t mind at all.”

She rested the phone on the table and went to get Jessica.

On entering Whip’s office she exclaimed, “I take it you’re Jessica.”

“Yes and you . . .”

“Your father is on the phone, there’s been some kind of family emergency or something. He wanted to know if you were staying at our . . .” Her voice drifted away, and she did the air quotes thing with her fingers. “Guesthouse. You can take it in the kitchen.” She made no apology for the blunt delivery or for her rudeness. Even when Jessica sprang up, her face ashen, the brief pang of guilt Brenda did feel left the room along with Jessica.

Brenda wasted no time slotting into the vacated chair to check out what the other girl had been up to. She assumed she’d been on the Net, and her assumption was right. Jessica had been in the middle of answering her e-mails, and like manna from Heaven her account was still open. Sweet.

A semi-composed e-mail to someone called Trish was in progress, and she had no qualms in reading it.

Whip is nothing like we discussed, and Highland Glen is no two-bit ranch. I definitely struck the jackpot with this one!! Can’t wait to tell you . . .

Gold digger. She’d read enough to get the drift so didn’t bother to read on. Instead, she rifled the inbox and found an e-mail from the Reverend. Quick as a wink it was forwarded to her e-mail account, his contact details might come in handy. Then she spotted a folder called ‘Whip’ and her heart gave a little lurch.

There were scores of e-mails inside. They must have been carrying on for months. One that caught her immediate attention as she scrolled through the subject lines was
All expenses paid trip to the land Down Under
.

She sat up straight and pulled back her shoulders. So, the skanky ho made him pay for her trip, did she?
That e-mail too was sent to her account before continuing.

The list seemed endless. Conscious that Jessica could come back at any moment she skimmed the titles with haste, but then,
Dirty Talk and Scandalous Thoughts
jumped out at her. Intriguing.
Will I or won’t I?
Whip would be furious if he found out, but she was doing it for the family. Her fingers flew over the keys, taking the decision out of her hands, and hey presto - that e-mail too was dispatched to her own inbox.

That should give her plenty of ammunition to play with, she thought, deleting her sent items with a guiltless heart.

“Hi, you must be Brenda.”

She flinched and shot to her feet as Jessica caught her unawares.

Awkward eyes summed up Whip’s friend. Not model material like Donna, but her smile was friendly and she had nice sleek hair, but that didn’t make her a nice person. And she for one was not going to be taken in by the American interloper like the rest of the family. “Well, you don’t have to be Einstein to figure that out.”

“Pardon me?”

“So, what was the big emergency? Nothing major I’ll bet.” She couldn’t be so lucky as to have some catastrophe occur that required Jessica to board the next plane back home.

“As a matter of fact yes. My mother’s had a heart attack, but she’s out of danger and doing well. My father’s taking her to convalesce with my Aunt Lucy. He assured me there’s no need to rush home.”

A plan began to take shape in Brenda’s mind. If Jessica wasn’t going to leave of her own free will then perhaps she could give her a helping hand.

“Heart attack hey, that’s too bad.”

“Yes, a bit of a shock really, but Dad said as long as she doesn’t have any stress and takes it easy she should be fine.”

“Then I guess you wouldn’t want Mom or the Reverend reading
Dirty Talk and Scandalous Thoughts
now, would you?”

“What?”

“Oh, you heard right.” She moved away from the computer. Her eyes never wavered as she watched Jessica look to the screen. First her brows drew together, then her face turned red. Brenda knew she’d hit a home run. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

“You’ve been in my e-mails?” It was incredulous, Jessica could hardly believe the nerve, but the evidence was right before her eyes. The folder entitled
Whip
was open and it hadn’t been when she’d left the room.

The smirk on Brenda’s face confirmed Jessica’s suspicions, and she seethed with an anger she’d not experienced before. What on earth did this child think she was playing at? They’d only just met, hadn’t even been introduced properly, and yet Jessica could feel the antagonism radiating off the teenager in waves.

Nothing would be achieved by hostility, so she tamped down her anger with hard-found willpower. Brenda was Whip’s sister and she, as a guest in their house, owed the girl the chance to explain.

Jessica fiddled with her blouse. “Brenda, I don’t understand. Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot, so how about we start over? Shall we?”

“What for? I know what you’re about.”

“Then please fill me in, since I have no idea where you’re coming from.” Jessica tapped her foot as she waited for the explanation, the adrenaline coursing through her veins. If anyone had a right to be angry it was
she
, not Brenda, who was in a snit over something and wanted to get it off her chest. Why the teenager had been so rude and ill-mannered though as to rifle through private e-mails was anyone’s guess.

Jessica folded her arms and willed her toes to stop tapping and her fingers not to drum as she waited to be enlightened, but the teenager swept a glance over her from head to toe as if she was nothing more than a spec of dirt, further angering her.

She was determined then to give the girl a good dressing down when Brenda confounded her.

“I want you out of my house and out of my brother’s life today. Is that plain enough for you?”

Jessica’s mouth fell open. Of the many things Brenda could have said, that one was out of left field. “Why on earth would you say that? You don’t even know me!”

“You’re mistaken. I know my brother paid for you to come here, and I know if you don’t leave today then the Reverend and Mrs. Butler-Reid are going to receive a very colorful e-mail entitled
Dirty Talk and Scandalous Thoughts
.”

“You wouldn’t dare. I just told you my mother is unwell.” Her words were hissed as she struggled to keep her rising temper in check, not wanting the situation with Whip’s only sister to deteriorate any further.

“No? Just see if I don’t. I hope your mother’s heart holds out when she learns you’re nothing more than a gold-digging Internet whore. And say one word to Whip about this, and I’ll send it anyway, along with a detailed account of exactly what you’re doing here, and it’s got nothing to do with books.”

“Why you little witch, you’re blackmailing me!” Sadly, though, Jessica believed the threats weren’t idle. Her relationship with Whip was deepening, he’d captured her heart as no other could, but her happiness was not worth risking her mother’s life.

“Call it what you like, but trust me, I mean what I say.”

“You thoughtless little brat, this is someone’s life you’re playing with, not a game.” The girl needed pulling down a peg or two, and Jessica was in the right frame of mind to do it. “What sort of a girl are you? Do you have any morals at all? And where do you get off going through my personal correspondence? That e-mail was private, sent from your brother to me—for our eyes only. And where do you get the audacity to read it, let alone threaten to forward it to my parents whom you’ve never met? They’ve done nothing to harm you! They’re good people and don’t deserve a little upstart like you causing them grief.” Her chest heaved with temper and she glared at Brenda, who shuffled and chewed her bottom lip. But when Jessica stopped talking, Brenda straightened her back and jutted her chin.

“You should have thought about that before you tricked my brother into bringing you here.”

“You know nothing about it.”

“I know you’re nothing more than a skanky gold digging prostitute, and my brother deserves better than you. So go home where you belong and leave us alone.”

“And you are a spoilt little manipulative brat, and if you were my sister I’d paddle your ass.”

“What the hell is going on in here?” Whip blew into the room like a hurricane, glancing from one female to the other.

The instant Brenda heard her brother’s voice she dissolved into tears and catapulted into his arms.

“Whip, she’s been so awful, accusing me of reading her personal e-mails. You know I’d never do that.” She sobbed. “It’s not my fault she left her account open when she went to the phone. I just wanted to search the Web, but when I tried to explain that to her, she called me a liar and threatened to hit me. I’m sorry, Whip, I know she’s your friend, but I don’t deserve . . .” Brenda broke off, dropping her face into her cupped palms, her shoulders rising and falling as she cried again with renewed energy.

Give the girl an Oscar. “I think it’s best if I leave, Whip.” Jessica’s voice was flat and without emotion. She knew when she was beat. Still, it was hard to credit this vicious young girl was related to the McGregor clan. They were the epitome of hospitality and kindness wrapped up in perfect packaging, each one of them. Annie, too, had bent over backward to make her feel welcome. Even Gladys and Cyril had done their bit to make her feel at home.

“No one’s leaving and no one’s paddling anyone’s arse.” Whip put his sister aside and turned to face Jessica. “This has to be some kind of misunderstanding. Brenda would never deliberately go through your personal stuff. If she said she didn’t do it, then you can believe her.”

Jessica caught the glee that lit Brenda’s eyes, but they also narrowed with warning, and if that wasn’t enough to convince Jessica, the index finger placed on her lips was.

Even if her mother’s well-being wasn’t at stake, she couldn’t have made Whip choose between his sister and her. That wouldn’t be right. But for some unfathomable reason, Brenda had taken an instant dislike to her and was deadly in her quest to get her out of the picture.

“I think it’s best if I go to a motel.” Jessica’s shoulders sloped and her pitch lowered as she spoke.

At the taste of victory, Brenda stemmed the flow of crocodile tears.

“Jessie Rose, for God’s sake, don’t leave. This is crazy, we can work it out.” Whip’s bewilderment came through in the tone of his words.

Well, that made two of them.

She shook her head from side-to-side. “No, Whip, I don’t want to cause any trouble. It’s best if I leave. I’ll go up and pack now.”

“Brenda,” Whip snapped, and reeled around to face his sister.

Her chin came up, and she sniffed. “Don’t feel you have to leave on my account, Jessica.” Her mouth compressed into a mutinous line.

Jessica could not dignify that with an answer. The little witch was the only reason she was leaving. With her back straight and head held high, she turned and climbed the stairs. Knowing Whip was right behind, she kept it together with a mighty effort.

“Babe, what is going on here?” he asked, shadowing her into his room. “This is all a crazy mix-up.”

“Whip, leave it. I’ve made my decision. I’ll stay in town tonight, and tomorrow I’ll travel to Sydney. My dad called earlier. Mom’s had a slight heart attack. She’s okay but heading home now might be for the best.”