envisaged her a thousand times, burning with utter commitment to getting everything right at the resort, shutting out everything else from her mind. Including him. Especially him. Though he didnât believe she could be any more successful than he was at setting aside the strong attraction theyâd experienced. All the same, the need to know wouldnât wait much longer.
âDonât you have some impression, Nathan?â his mother asked, frowning at him.
âWhy should I? I donât stick my nose into Tommyâs business any more than I stick it into Jaredâs.â
His motherâs gaze sharpened on him. âYou did take Miranda on a sight-seeing trip, didnât you?â
âSix weeks ago,â he answered with a shrug. âI havenât seen her since.â
His mother sighed, looking extremely vexed.
âIâm sure Tommy will fill you in when he arrives this afternoon.â Nathan smiled at her, seeing a way to use her frustration. âYou can grill him to your heartâs content,â he added casually.
It earned an exasperated glare. âI wanted another point of view.â
âThen why not ask Miranda over to dinner tonight, satisfy yourself about her? Satisfy Jaredâs curiosity, too. You could ask Sam, as well. Get her opinion. Make a party of it.â
âYes,â his mother snapped, looking at him as though she wanted to box his ears. âI shall do that, Nathan. Iâll get some answers for myself since I canât count on either you or Tommy to be sensible about women.â
Her eyes glittered bitter disapproval.
He thought fleetingly of Susan, aware his mother had considered her a waste of his time. But mothers didnât know everything. All the same, he was glad that door was shut now because another door had opened and it had a stronger lure than any he had ever known.
âWell, itâs lucky you can count on Jared to be sensible,â he tossed out, then slanted a teasing grin at his brother. âBeen a good boy, have you?â
He laughed and they moved onto a lighter vein of conversation, which suited Nathan just fine since he only had to give half his mind to it.
Tonight, he thought with deep satisfaction.
Tonight he would find out more about the woman he wanted.
As was her custom, Miranda was ready to welcome back the homestead guests as they returned from their dayâs activities. She waited on the verandah, watching the fishing party unload themselves from the Jeep Sam always commandeered, and thinking they looked well satisfied with what they had chosen to do.
âLook at these great barramundi!â John Trumbell crowed, holding up his catch for her to admire as he led the others up the path.
Miranda laughed at his glee. âBiggest Iâve seen this season, John.â
Robyn, his wife, asked. âCan we give them to the chef to cook for our dinner tonight?â
âOf course. Should make a great feast for you.â
âIt was a marvellous day,â Robyn enthused. âIâve never gone fishing in a helicopter before.â She swung around to Sam who was trailing after them. âThanks for the ride.â
âCouldnât get you to that part of the river any other way,â Sam informed her.
Robyn sighed happily, turning to the other couple who had accompanied her and her husband. âDonât you just love the outback? It was like fishing in a world of our own.â
The others made equally enthusiastic comments as they passed Miranda. Sam sidled up to her and remarked sotto voce, âWonderful, when youâve got money to burn.â
She grinned. It was true the guests who took homestead suites never seemed to count the cost of anything. Nevertheless, in the month since the resort opened, sheâd found that even the campers loved being here, just exploring the gorges, swimming in waterholes, enjoying the unique wildlife.
âSo whatâs on for
Gillian Doyle, Susan Leslie Liepitz