“That’s not true. You’re the first person in a long time to—” He took her hand helping her up a steep incline. “No, let me rephrase that. Aside from my brother, Blake, you’re the only person in like forever to treat me like a normal human being.”
Rivers of warmth shot up her hand and into her arm as Dawn gazed at him. “Now you’re making fun of me.”
Gabe stopped and turned to face her. “No, I’m not. I would never do anything like that.” He looked nervous, his eyes flickering. “People always expect so much of me for one reason or another, and I can’t be myself around them. But you…”
Dawn tilted her head. “For an actor, you’re not very good at this.”
Gabe laughed. “Maybe because I have to make up my own words this time and not rely on a script.”
“Maybe.”
He gripped her hand tighter. “What I’m trying to say, very badly as it turns out, is that since I met you, you have monopolized my thoughts like no other woman ever has.”
Surprise filled her. That was the last thing she was expecting to hear. “I have?” she managed. As he nodded, she stood there unsure how to respond. In the end, she plumped for directness as he seemed to like that. “You keep invading my thoughts as well.”
“I do?” His eyes widened.
“Yeah.” She paused. “Are you really a lord? When I rang that first time, some bloke answered the phone and told me, in a very refined and clipped tone of voice, that ‘Lord Tyler wasn’t available right now.’”
“That would be Hardy, the butler. For my sins, I’m Lord Gabriel Frederick Kinlan Tyler, Eighth Earl of Elton. I’ve been the Earl since Dad died six months ago.”
“Wow.”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
They started walking again as Dawn tried to put her thoughts into words. “Why for your sins?”
“Huh?”
“You said for your sins, your full name is… Don’t you like it?”
“My mother’s favorite expression and no, I didn’t want the title. At least not yet. Dad was only fifty-five. I wasn’t expecting this for, oh I don’t know, another thirty years or so. Actually I kind of hoped it’d miss me completely and pass either to these hypothetical children my mother keeps harping on about or to my younger brother, Blake.”
“And he probably loves you for that.”
“Probably. The thing is my mother wants me to give up acting and stay home all day long bossing the servants and running the estate.”
“And you don’t want to?”
“Not really.” Gabe pushed his hand through his hair. “Yes, it needs doing, but I can do both. I have a really good estate manager who copes with the mundane day to day stuff. If he needs me, then he calls me, and we have regular meetings. I just prefer acting to being lord of the manor.”
The wind picked up, and rain began to fall from the now total cloud cover. Thunder rolled in the distance. Dawn pulled her jacket collar around her neck and zipped it up as far as it would go. “But you’re both, whether you want to be or not.”
And both the actor and the lord of the manor were way beyond her reach even if she could have them.
She tilted her head. “Kinlan is an unusual name.”
“It’s Mother’s maiden name. She had no brothers and didn’t want the name to die out with her marriage.”
Lightning flashed across the sky, and the rain fell harder. Gabe grabbed her hand. “We need to find shelter.”
“Might be an idea.”
He pulled her across the field to the clump of trees. “It should be drier here.”
The storm grew closer, and rain tipped down around them.
“Is this safe?” Dawn asked. “My mother always said never stand under a tree in a thunderstorm.”
Lightning flashed again, sizzling filled the air, and a tree across the field burst into flames. Gabe grabbed her hand. “On reflection, I’d say your mother was right, and this wasn’t at all safe.” He glanced around and pointed with his free hand. “There’s a cabin over there. Perhaps we can shelter on their porch or something until the storm passes.”
She ran with him and dashed up the steps to the cabin. Even to her untrained eye, the sagging tiles and peeling paintwork made it pretty run down and dilapidated. They stood on the porch, and Dawn ran her hands through her hair trying to shake out some of the water. “It doesn’t look lived in.”
Gabe knocked on the door. “Hello?” No one answered, so after a moment, he tried the door. It swung open with a creak. He stuck his head inside. “Hello? Is anyone home?”
Still no answer came. “I guess no one is home.” He took her hand again guiding her inside.
He swung his torch around. The small one room cabin was devoid of furniture, and a thick layer of dust covered the floor. “This will do,” he said. He rubbed his hair with his hands showering water everywhere.
“I feel like a drowned rat,” Dawn said.
“You look like one, too.”
“Thanks. You can take this directness too far, you know,” she said raising an eyebrow.
Gabe grinned. “You’re welcome.”
The storm grew closer, and Dawn stripped off her wet jacket. She found a nail on the wall and hung the jacket there to drip dry.
Gabe came up behind her, his strong hands running over her damp arms. “You’re soaked.”
She turned to face him. “So are you.”
His face was inches from hers, his gaze captivating her. What was it about his eyes that drew her in and swallowed her whole? Something flickered deep in his eyes again.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“You must have.”
“No.” He leaned closer, his forehead touching hers.
The storm outside mirrored the one consuming her. Lightning illuminated the whole room; thunder echoed a reply almost immediately as Gabe’s lips brushed against hers. Sparks shot through her, rivers of electricity making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
Gabe pulled back, not saying anything.
“Think we got here just in time,” she said. She turned easing from his grasp and moved to the window, for an instant thinking she saw someone outside in the rain. “I used to hate storms. They have so much power and can cause so much harm…”
Lightning lit the room again, and Dawn jumped seeing Gabe right behind her. She hadn’t even heard him cross the room, the drumming of the rain drowning out his footsteps.
His hands ran down her arms. “Not still scared of storms, are you?” He pulled her against him, sliding his hands round her waist, holding her securely, his head leaning against hers.
“Not now.” She leaned back; his scent mixed with the dust and dampness. Her heart pounded in time with the rain, the storm’s intensity increasing. His breath was warm on the back of her neck, and she half hoped he’d kiss her again. Although after her non-reaction he probably never would again. He’d just taken her by surprise, and she didn’t know how to respond.
For now though, he seemed content just to stand there, holding her, watching with her as the intense storm raged outside.
She blinked hard. For a moment, it looked as if there was definitely someone outside, watching the cabin, but when the next flash of lightning came, there was no one there.
“So why teach?” he asked. “And not study volcanoes?”
She sucked in a deep breath. “A friend from uni went on a field trip to Iceland to study the lava domes. She got caught up in an eruption there. She and the others never made it out.”
“I’m sorry.” His grip tightened for an instant as he hugged her.
“After that, I decided teaching would be easier, but some days…” She broke off. “Anyway, that’s why I teach.”
Finally, the rain eased, and the storm ended.
“I should get you back,” Gabe said. “It’ll be dawn soon, and I was meant to get you back by midnight.”
“Yeah.” She winked at him. “I don’t want a detention for missing curfew.”
He helped her back into her damp jacket and walked her swiftly back to the center. “Goodnight.” He raised a hand and vanished into the darkness.
Dawn crept inside and sneaked down the silent hallway to the room she shared with Liz. She stripped off her damp things and slid into bed. The cold sheets had never been more inviting than they were now.
Liz turned over. “You OK?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“It’s fine. I assumed you’d been up and down checking on the kids. That was some storm.”
“Yeah, yeah it was.” Dawn stared at the ceiling. She wasn’t going to explain until pressed. It was better no one knew how long she’d been gone. She laid there, her mind full of Gabe.
The storm might be over, but the one inside her was still going full blast.
~*~
Dawn was still tired seven hours later at the kayaking center. The kids had been most confused at breakfast wondering what kayaking had to do with geography. She’d merely grinned and told them geography or just plain fun, it was their choice.
She and Jonathan stood watching as the kids paddled and learned how to handle the kayaks on the fast flowing river, made all the more swift after the storm the night before.
He sighed as the film crew arrived and started setting up on the side of the bank. “They seem to be following us.”
“It looks that way.” She pushed down the flush of excitement. Did that mean Gabe was going to be here as well? Would he say anything? “I shall double check the rest of the visits to make sure they don’t clash with filming and if so, I’ll rearrange them. I think the kids have had their heads turned by a certain Mr. Tyler enough this week.”
“It might be an idea. And I don’t think the kids are the only ones enamored with him.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said her cheeks burning.
“You can’t hide that blush, Dawn, I know you too well. Just remember that you are working. Your priority right now are those forty kids and not your private life. If you want to date the bloke on your own time, then go ahead. But don’t do it on mine or the school’s time.” He sucked in a deep breath. “So, are you sure I can’t persuade you to come on the water?”
“Quite sure. Someone has to count them at the other end.” She headed off to the end of the course, hands shoved in her pockets. She stood there watching the kids come down and insist on going back again.
“Good morning,” came a voice from behind her. “We seem to be making a habit of this.”
Dawn shivered. She’d recognize that voice anywhere. She turned and glanced at Gabe. No one had a right to be that good looking on so little sleep. “Yeah, we do.”
He frowned, almost as if he were picking up the vibe she was sending out. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No.” The word lay heavy upon her, but he was the last person she wanted to speak to right now.
If Jonathan saw her with him, he’d be less than pleased.
“You just seem a little off this morning.”
“It’s just…” She turned her attention back to the river and waved at the kids.
“Ah,” Gabe voiced. “You’re working. That’s fine. Will it be all right if I give you a call? At the weekend maybe, when you’re
not
working.”
“Sure. We get back on Friday evening. I should give you my number…”
“I have it. I’ll call you.”
She frowned. “How?”
“You gave it to me, well gave it to Hardy, when you rang about the careers fayre.”
“Oh, right. Umm… I should…” She tilted her head towards the kids.
“Right, yes, and I should…” Gabe glanced over his shoulder at the director and film crew.
“OK.” Dawn angled herself so she could watch the kids and keep Gabe in her field of vision as he crossed over to the director. Then after a moment or two of conversation, Gabe climbed into the kayak. He rolled it twice before paddling up stream.
Jonathan touched her arm. “Dawn, are you with us?”
“Yes. I’m just—” She turned to look at him.
“Star struck?” he finished.
“He approached me, and I asked him to leave.” She took a deep breath as several kids ran over.
“Can we stay and watch the filming, miss?”
“Not today, Henry. We need to keep to the schedule, otherwise you’ll miss out on what we have planned this afternoon.”
“Like what?”
“Like what we have planned,” she repeated evasively.
“More walking?” Henry sighed.
Dawn grinned and looked at Jonathan. “Shall we tell them, Mr. Brooks?”
He returned her grin. “What, tell them we’re going bowling with burger and chips first? Nah, they’ll only be upset when we take them somewhere boring and geography related instead.”
“Seriously?” Henry asked.
Jonathan nodded. “Seriously. We’ve got to have some fun on this trip.”
Dawn glanced at the film crew and caught sight of Gabe coming over the rapids like a pro. Would he really call? And if he did, what on earth would she say?
Weren’t all actors, all men come to that, only after the one thing? And did she want to get involved with someone like that? Someone with a girl in every city?
Before she did anything, she needed to know where he stood before the Lord, because if they didn’t both stand in the same place, then there was no point even considering the possibility of going out with him.
7
The rest of the week flew by in a hectic filming schedule. Gabe dropped into bed exhausted each night, and it was Monday before he realized he hadn’t rung Dawn as he’d promised. Mind you, she’d been less than pleased to see him that last time. Had he overstepped the mark during the storm when he’d kissed her?
She hadn’t kissed him back. In fact she’d backed away as soon as he’d ended the kiss. But she’d let him hold her until the storm ended. Talk about sending out mixed signals. He had no idea where he stood and praying about it wasn’t really helping either. Or at least he hadn’t gotten the really clear answer he’d wanted.
Gabe took advantage of the five minute break while they blocked the next scene and pulled out his phone. He turned it on and dialed.
Dawn answered almost at once. “Hello?”
“Hi, Dawn, it’s Gabe. How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
He paused. She still sounded stilted and odd. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No, it’s lunchtime. I’m just sitting in the staff room doing a pile of marking.”
“OK. Umm, I was wondering… I’m in town on Thursday and Friday for a film premiere, and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me. As you haven’t seen any of my work, this would be a perfect opportunity for you to do so.”