THE WANDERING MINSTREL

Ann Patrick

ISBN 1-891020-98-6
Rocket eBook ISBN 1-58608-108-x
© copyright September 1999 Pat Snellgrove
Cover art by Eliza Black
New Concepts Publishing
4729 Humphreys Rd.
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com

CHAPTER ONE

He was standing on the edge of town, one thumb hooked into the strap of his knapsack the other extended in the univer-sal sign of a hitchhiker.

At first glance he looked like a typi-cal freeloader. With her second glance, the woman behind the wheel of the low slung sports car revised her opinion. Against all she had been taught about picking up strangers, Jody pulled to a halt a short distance ahead of the man.

Tilting the inside mirror slightly, she was able to see all of him. As the man strolled slowly towards the car, it gave Jody a chance to study him more closely.

A large battered Stetson, pulled low on his brow, covered most of his face, large mirror sunglasses hid the rest.

Panic started to set in. He could be dangerous, a rapist or even a hardened criminal. Silently she cursed her im-pulsiveness. Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. Should she leave and let him continue walking? Before she had time to make a move she caught another glimpse of the man.

Tight, faded, well-worn jeans molded his long muscular thighs and legs, the blue denim emphasizing every masculine curve. Jody’s heart began to beat unevenly, and she quickly looked away from the tantalizing sight. But as if it had a mind of its own her gaze returned to the contemplation of the man who was moving towards her car.

Her eyes slid upward away from the very maleness of him, and in that upward slide she noticed other things about him - things that for her peace of mind she would rather have not discovered.

From his narrow hips, to his chest and the wide expanse of mahogany colored hair-sprinkled skin that was revealed beneath the well used but obviously expensive sheepskin jacket and faded checked shirt. The thickness of the jacket not detracting from the ripple of muscles beneath it.

Strong sinewy wrists peeped out from beneath the jacket sleeves and long slim fingers curled around the strap slung over his shoulder. Fingers that belied the rest of his appearance. Fingers that seemed almost fragile compared to the rest of him.

Abruptly the picture faded from her view. Puzzled, she flicked the mirror this way and that in an attempt to find her quarry again, but to no avail. He simply wasn’t there.

Jody glanced around the car, trying to locate the stranger. Then suddenly she realized why he had disappeared. He was now standing by the passenger side, his hand on the door handle struggling to lever it open. For a full minute Jody watched him struggle, a puzzled frown marring her face. A light tap on the window pane made her realize his dilemma.

Coloring with embarrassment, Jody leaned over and flicked up the lock.

Swinging open the door, the stranger’s bulk filled the small space but only briefly. Slipping off his knapsack and jacket, he flung them into the rear of the car, following them with the battered hat, before easing his long body into the con-fines of the low slung seat. Clicking the seat belt into place, he half turned to face Jody and with a smile that did strange things to her pulse, murmured, "Thanks."

Stunned by that casual smile and the effect it had had on her, Jody moved a little closer to her door. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel as she fought to still her quivering nerves.

The man’s presence seemed to fill the car, and again Jody wondered at her stupidity in stopping for this large good looking stranger. But it was done now, and she wasn’t going to back out.

Now that he had removed his hat, she was afforded a full view of his features. Covertly she stole a look at him and was somewhat reassured by what she saw in his face. He didn’t look dangerous, in fact, just the opposite. A sigh of relief shuddered through Jody, and, slowly, her tense body began to relax, just as her companion appeared to have done.

Completely at ease. He was lying back against the seat, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his eyes closed and totally unaware of the doubts running through his companion’s head.

Reassured by what she saw, Jody pushed the car into gear and swung it back into the stream of traffic.

But although she began to feel more at ease with her male passenger, she was conscious of the change in atmosphere within the car, since he had joined her. It wasn’t something she could put her finger on, but nevertheless it was there - like a supercharged electrical current, vibrating like waves through the still air and sending strange feelings coursing through Jody’s body.

Scared by what she was feeling and more than a little perplexed by it, Jody stole another glance at the man sitting be-side her. What was it about him that was causing the unusual vibrations? This total awareness of another person?

Confused, Jody tried to analyze it. It wasn’t just be-cause he was good looking. She’d dated and been around other, far more spectacular looking guys before; and not one of them had affected her in this way. Why did this man, this complete stranger, have to be so different?

You’ve imagining it, she chided herself silently. But although she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew that it was a fact. This man did affect her and in the most basic way. A ripple of apprehension scudded through her body. He could turn out to be trouble with a capital "T."

"You do this all the time?" The question came out of the blue and startled Jody from her reverie. Momentarily her eyes left the road and slid to her companion. Immediately she wished she hadn’t looked at him.

Gone was the sleepy, relaxed man. In his place was an alert, faintly disapproving male. Turned slightly towards her, his eyes still shuttered behind the mirror sunglasses, he appeared to be assessing her.

"Well? Do you always pick up hitchhikers?"

Jody swallowed convulsively in an effort to clear the lump that seemed to have settled around her voice box. In a thin squeaky voice she finally managed to croak out, "No, not normally."

"Very wise." Slipping his glasses off his nose, he folded them and shoved them into his shirt pocket before continu-ing in the same disapproving tone. "It’s highly dangerous to pick up strange men off the side of the road, especially for a young beautiful woman like yourself."

Jody blushed at the unexpected compliment coming from her companion, but didn’t acknowledge it. Deep down she wasn’t actually sure that it had been a compliment, he hadn’t sounded entirely sincere.

In an effort to take the heat off herself she changed the subject.

"As we’re traveling together, perhaps we should intro-duce ourselves. I’m Jody Allen."

"James."

"Just James?"

"Yes!" The man’s abrupt answer forbade further ques-tions. But Jody had never been one to back off and chose to ignore the warning. They couldn’t, she reasoned, travel any distance together and not learn more about one another.

"Where are you headed?" she questioned, fully expecting a rebuff. To her surprise, none was forthcoming.

"My final destination is Auckland. For tonight I had hoped to reach Taupo."

"Me too. As we’re both going the same way you’re wel-come to travel all the way with me."

"Thanks." Once again the abruptness of his answer seemed to suggest that as far as he was concerned conversation was at an end.

Jody glanced quickly across at him to see if anything else was going to be forthcoming. To her disbelief he appeared to have switched off completely - once more stretched out and with his eyes closed. Anger rose within her. How dare he be so rude?

She opened her mouth to voice her thoughts, but closed it again when she realized the futility of it. He appeared to be a man of few words and in a war of words, she’d probably come out worse and humiliate herself in the end.

Sighing, she returned her full concentra-tion to the road, vowing to keep attention to that task until they reached their destina-tion.

But vowing it and doing it were two different things. Like a moth to a flame, Jody couldn’t stop herself from stealing glances at James. Secretly at first, then, when he didn’t appear to notice, more openly.

Without his all-concealing hat and sunglasses, she was able to see all of his features, and there was plenty to see.

Big, dark, tanned and handsome. In a rugged man of the earth kind of way - with none of the pretty boy looks that handsome men often had - he invited inspec-tion. No doubt most women would turn and give him a second look, Jody pondered. But even without those looks, he seemed to exude a sexual aura that would be hard to resist. As each mile unfolded, Jody was finding it harder and harder to withstand that aura that surrounded him.

In an effort to push those thoughts from her, she turned her attention to his fea-tures.

The dark tanned planes of his face, although now relaxed, showed a world of experience and an in-built cynicism that seemed to say, "I’ve been there, done that, seen everything, so what is there left to see!"

Jody remembered from her brief glimpse of his eyes that the same cynicism seemed reflected in their depths, marring their unusual green-gold color. Briefly her thoughts dwelt on who or what had made him so cynical, but with the lack of conversation so far, she doubted that she’d ever find out the answer.

Pushing it to the back of her mind, she did another quick survey. This time she focused her attention on his hair. Sleek and shiny as a lion’s mane and similar in color, it’s tawny gold tresses rose away from a high tanned forehead. It’s unruliness sending out an invitation to exploring fingers. To Jody’s dis-may she found herself actually wanting to reach out and run her fingers through that unruly mane. With a shake of her head she tried to clear it of such thoughts.

"Cut it out you fool," she muttered under her breath. "You’re acting like a sex-crazy lunatic."

Shaken by the feelings she had been subject to since James had gotten into the car, Jody made another determined effort to concentrate on the road. But all too soon she found her eyes darting sideways again.

Relaxed in sleep, his mouth looked soft and sensual. This was almost immediately belied by the firm upper lip - above which rested a smooth, neatly trimmed mustache - which gave just a hint of the vein of steel that undoubtedly ran through him. But it was the full lower lip that Jody’s eyes rested on the longest. It looked so kissable...so sensual...so enticing...so...

Unknow-ingly she flicked the tip of her tongue along her own bottom lip, almost as if she could feel and taste James’ lips on hers.

"Finished?" The softly spoken word brought Jody’s head around and color flooded her face. Despite the closed eyes it appeared he hadn’t been asleep after all.

Knowing she deserved the censure she could hear in his voice, but unable to apologize for fear of making a bigger fool of herself, Jody tried to hide under a blank mask of nonchalance. But the mask barely had time to slip into place, before she found herself on the receiving end of an intense scrutiny.

Far from impersonal as his first glance had been, this one was very personal and all encompassing. With a slow sensual look, his gaze raked her body mercilessly, his eyes sliding up and down it with an intensity that sent the color rushing back into Jody’s face.

A light mocking smile tugged at his lips as he saw the color and it seemed to make him increase the look. His eyes took on a caressing quality, shifting from the top of her silver-blonde head to the tips of her toes, and sending out a suggestive message Jody couldn’t fail to interpret.

Shivers of apprehension and excitement rippled through Jody’s body. Desperately she fought both emotions but with little success. Even though she had her eyes on the road she could feel him mentally stripping the clothes from her back. Every tingling inch.

Choking anger rose up in her throat, and the color of her eyes took on a deep green as the emo-tion took hold. She opened her mouth to insist that he stop looking at her in such a way, but before she could utter a word, James spoke.

"Mm, not bad! Not bad at all." He murmured in a voice loaded with sensuality. "A little young and inexperienced for my liking. But still not bad."

"Why you...!" His taunting words had Jody’s anger exploding forth... How dare he look at her like a piece of meat and then ac-cuse her of being too young.

"I’ll have you know," she grated, through clenched teeth, "that I’m 21, quite old enough!"

"For what?" James made no effort to hide his sarcasm and this angered Jody even more. Again she made an attempt to answer, and again James managed to get in first. "My goodness you’re old!" he taunted.

This was too much for Jody. With a sarcasm that matched his, she snapped, "And I suppose you’re not?"

"Well I guess in your eyes I might seem that way. Al-though, I can’t say I feel particularly old. Still," he added, giving her a hard cynical smile, "my 30 must seem ancient to you, in more ways than one."

Still stinging from his attack on her age, Jody snapped, "It shows!"

But her cynicism was lost on James. With an amused chuckle, he let his gaze wander over her flushed face, then to Jody’s embarrassment he murmured, "As does your innocence, little one."

Pain and anger erupted through Jody once more. Little Miss In-nocence was not the image that she wanted to project and espe-cially not to the man sitting beside her.

She had to get rid of this aggravating human being. For her own peace of mind. With that in mind, she moved her foot off the accelerator and began to raise it to stamp on the brake and bring the car to a halt. But she never completed the ac-tion. Something, deep down inside her, said that she didn’t really want to lose her traveling companion.

As if it had a mind of it’s own, her foot moved back onto the accelerator, and the car surged forward once more.

Resolutely, Jody trained her eyes on the road ahead. She’d show him that she wasn’t amused by his comments.

But to her chagrin her silence and refusal to look at him didn’t appear to worry James at all. With a husky laugh that told her he knew exactly what she was thinking, he settled back in his seat and promptly closed his eyes again.

To Jody’s relief the silence continued as mile after mile of desolate partially barren countryside slipped by. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Jody saw in the distance the outskirts of the small army-occupied township of Waiouru.

Soon she would be able to stop for a few minutes and get away from the deadly quiet she had endured for the last hour.

"I’m stopping for petrol in about five minutes, do you feel like a cup of coffee?" Briefly Jody turned her head to speak to the still recumbent man.

"Sure." Instantly James was awake and alert, as if for the last few miles he hadn’t been asleep at all. For some unexplainable reason this ability to instant wakefulness angered Jody, and she made no attempt to hide it.

"Something the matter, honey?" The quiet drawling voice tinged with amusement did little for Jody’s peace of mind.

"No, nothing!" she snapped, then realizing how rude she must have sounded, she added, "Thank you."

Swinging off the main highway, Jody pulled into the nearest petrol station, driving through until she came to the first vacant pump. Extracting the key from the ignition she wound down her side window and sat waiting for the attendant to come and serve her.

Watching her actions, a frown slashed its way across James’ face, before with a muttered, "Typical woman!" he bashed open his seat belt and thrust himself out of the car. A few seconds later he appeared at the driver’s window, his hand ex-tended through it for the key.

Hot color swept up under Jody’s skin as she reluc-tantly handed them to him, before flicking open her seat belt and levering herself out of the car.

"I’ll do it," she muttered, walking around to where James had just inserted the pump nozzle into the tank.

"Too late now. Get back into the car before you freeze."

"But..." Jody began, only to be interrupted by a growling, "For God’s sake you’re shivering. Do as you’re told."

Slowly Jody returned to her seat. The warmth inside reached out and engulfed her, making her realize just how right James was, she was freezing. Thankful to him for being so considerate of her feelings, she snuggled down into her sheepskin covered seat to wait for him.

A blast of cold air swept into the interior as James flung open the door. Thinking he was looking for the money for the petrol, Jody reached over the back for her handbag. But before she could take her wallet from it, a slim hand covered hers, stopping her action midstream.

"Put that away, it’s all taken care of."

"But I can’t let you pay for my petrol," Jody protested, finally managing to extract her wallet from her hand-bag and flicking it open.

"You can and will!" James drawled, banging the door and slipping on his seat belt. "Find us somewhere to have coffee. I’m parched."

With a sigh, Jody closed her wallet and returned it to her handbag. This man had to be the rudest member of his sex she’d ever come across.

Swinging the car out onto the highway, she drove a short distance down it, before once more turning into a lay-by, this time opposite a small roadside café. Switching off the engine, she pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned to reach into the rear of the car for her warm jacket.

Sliding her arms into it, she watched as James followed suit. To her surprise he also slid his sunglasses onto his nose and rammed his Stetson onto his head, pulling it well down over his brow.

Once out of the car, James stepped to her side and slipped a hand under her elbow. As soon as a break came in the traffic, he hurried her across the road and into the warm interior of the café.

Waiting only long enough to see her seated, he headed for the counter.

But Jody had no intention of letting him pay for her coffee as well as the petrol, and, getting to her feet, she hurried after him.

"My shout." she murmured quietly, staying his hand as it slid into the deep pockets at the front of his jeans.

To her surprise he didn’t argue. "Okay. I have my coffee black with no sugar." Stepping back, he waited until the assistant filled their order before moving forward to pick up the cups and carry them back to the table.

Sliding into her seat, Jody shrugged out of her jacket and slung it over the back of her chair, watching as James did the same, but noting that he kept his hat and glasses firmly in place. Again she wondered why he needed it, but she didn’t dare question him. She’d had all the rebuffs she wanted for today.

Reaching for her cup, she took a tentative sip of the hot steaming liquid. Immediately the warmth began to penetrate her cold body, warming it right through and reviving her fighting spirit.

"How much was the petrol?" she asked, then as his face darkened in anger, immediately wished she’d kept her mouth shut.

"Hell! You’re persistent aren’t you," he muttered angrily. "I told you that it was taken care of, and I meant it."

"But..."

"For Gods sake Jody, don’t you ever do as you’re told. The money won’t break me, I’m not that impoverished."

"Then why are you hitchhiking?"

"Because it’s the only way to see the country properly." Like his previous answers to her questions, this was abrupt and terse. It was almost as if he resented her asking him anything.

A puzzled frown furrowed Jody’s brow. Why the hell should he resent such a straightforward simple query? Then, like a lightning bolt, an answer flashed into her mind. Perhaps he thought she was trying to probe into his financial status. Eager to clear herself she took a deep breath and said, "I wasn’t trying to pry."

A smile lit up James’ face. "I never thought you were," he reassured her. "I’m sorry if my answer gave that impression. Put it down to the fact that I don’t like talking about my private affairs." With another smile that left Jody somewhat breathless by its sheer magnetism and charm, James picked up his coffee mug and took a long draft of the steaming liquid.

For several minutes an amicable silence existed between the couple as they sipped their coffee. Finishing hers, Jody lay her cup down and sat back in her chair, her eyes scanning the diner and coming to rest on the other people in the room. To her surprise they all seemed to be looking her way.

Puzzled, she brushed a hand across her face and hair, thinking something wasn’t quite right with the way she looked.

Wondering if James had noticed anything amiss, she stole a look his way. Then it all fell into place. It wasn’t her that they were looking at. But him. A smile flitted across her face. So she hadn’t been wrong about him, he did attract atten-tion wherever he went.

Suddenly everything in Jody’s world seemed perfect. Despite the fact that she hardly knew the man, and they hadn’t exactly been get-ting on like a house on fire, she had his exclusive company for the next hundred or so miles. Something she was sure, by the looks he was getting, that the rest of the women in the café longed to have.

"Ready to go?" James’ deep voice brought her back to the present. With a smile, Jody nodded and got to her feet. Reach-ing behind her, she picked up her jacket and slid her arms into it waiting while James did the same before turning and leading the way out of the café.

As before, his hand slid under her elbow as they reached the edge of the footpath, and he guided her across the road to the car.

Swinging open the door, he waited until she was seated before banging it shut and strolling around to climb into the passenger’s seat. Throwing his hat and jacket into the back seat, he slipped on his seat belt and settled down into his seat. Again, as Jody saw him remove his headwear, she wondered why he had made a point of putting it on before going out in public. But this time she didn’t make the mistake of asking.

****

It was almost dusk when they entered the outskirts of Taupo. As was her normal practice when traveling home, Jody swung the car into her favorite motel and pulled to a stop in one of the many vacant car parks.

Leaning forward, she flicked off the ignition and as the engine died she stretched tiredly. How her body ached after being cooped up in the confines of the car for what seemed like hours.

Climbing from the car, she reached into the back for her handbag and jacket, waiting while James collected his jacket, knapsack and hat before locking the doors. Moving toward the back of the car, she flicked open the boot and reached inside for her overnight bag.

Suddenly, as she stood up to bang the boot shut, a thought hit her.

The motel she had stopped at was one of the more expen-sive ones available in Taupo, and could quite easily be out of the range of her companion’s wallet. Quickly she glanced at James, but to her surprise he didn’t appear at all worried. Despite this Jody had to voice an apology.

"I’m sorry," she murmured, highly embarrassed. "Would you prefer that we go to one of the other motels in town?"

"No, this will do fine." Turning on his heel he moved toward the motel entrance, leaving Jody staring open-mouthed after him.

Again he’d left her at a loss for words.

In contemplation she watched him walk away. What a complex man he was turning out to be.

First she’d found him hitchhiking. Which she’d normally as-sociate with someone who couldn’t afford to travel any other way. Then he’d proved lack of money wasn’t a problem when he’d paid for her petrol, and now he’d not blinked an eyelid when she’d stopped at one of the most expensive motels in Taupo.

A thousand questions crowded Jody’s mind. Who was he? Where did he come from? What did he do? Could he be someone rich and famous? Someone she’d not recognized, but should have? And most importantly, why was he traveling on foot? Was it just as he said, that it was the best way to see the country.

"Oh to hell with it!" Jody mumbled. "I’m never going to find out anything about him standing around out here."

Swing-ing her overnight bag up over one shoulder, she hurried towards the motel.

The lobby was crowded. People spilling out everywhere, as they jostled for attention, and by the time Jody managed to reach the desk, James was already striding away down one of the long corridors that led to the motel units.

"Can I help you miss?" The polite voice of the receptionist warned Jody that she was holding other people up. Fixing an apologetic smile on her face she turned to make her request.

Half an hour later she was unpacked and luxuriating un-der a hot shower, determined to forget her rude, uncooperative traveling companion and enjoy the soothing qualities of the hot mineral water.

But that proved to be an impossibility. The minute she began to relax questions began to pound their way back into her brain. Thoughts that had leapt into her mind when she had first seen him, but that had been over-ridden by his powerful physical presence.

Why did he look so familiar? Where had she seen those striking features before? Could it have been in the paper, or on the television, or both? But no, she pondered, that couldn’t have been it, for nowadays she hardly had time to read a paper, or watch television. So where had it been?

But the more she thought about it the more confused she became. Finally she had to give up trying to solve the mystery. She wasn’t going to find out the answers unless she asked the man himself, and that was something she wasn’t intending to do. She’d had enough rebuffs from him today to last a lifetime. Instead she began to think about the man himself.

From the first he hadn’t looked like the usual run of the mill hitchhiker one normally saw on the side of the road. This had been borne out by several subtle differences.

Things like the way he spoke - his voice was too cul-tured and smooth to be that of a free-loader. His age - he was a lot older than most of the people who opted to hitchhike. His clothes - although they were old and faded, they had a cut about them that suggested that at one time they had been very expensive and perhaps even exclusively made. Other things were different as well. Things that Jody only now began to recall.

His worldly experienced air...his reticence about dis-cussing his private affairs...where he came from...his "couldn’t care less attitude" about whether he got a ride or not...the way he insisted on putting on dark glasses and a hat whenever he appeared in public.

He was definitely a mystery. A man hiding something or from someone. A very private person. But at the same time a very handsome, charismatic person.

Turning off the shower, Jody grabbed a towel and, wrap-ping it around her body, made her way out of the bathroom into the bedroom. Rubbing her body briskly until it glowed, she dropped the towel in a heap by the bathroom door, then moved across the room to the wardrobe where she had earlier hung the only dress she had put into her overnight bag. Her reflection in the mirror on the wardrobe door caught her eye. Curious she stopped and looked closer.

Twisting this way and that she stared clinically at her naked form. Not bad, she mused, but not very good either. Average curves. Too thin. No bust to speak of. Oh what the hell. Who cares? Dissatisfied, Jody spun away from the reflective glass.

"Yuck!" Jody caught another glimpse of her naked body, as she turned from the mirror. Quickly she moved away and began to pull on her underclothes. Slipping into her dress, she crossed the room and sat down at the dressing table to apply her make-up. But the minute she sat down a loud, impatient knocking drew her attention.

Startled, she leapt to her feet and hurried across to answer it. To her surprise James stood outside...

"May I come in?" Without waiting for an answer, he pushed the door open wider and strode into the room, leaving Jody stunned and staring after him.

"Something wrong?" The crisp authoritative tone brought her out of her trance.

"No, nothing. You wanted something?"

"Mmm." His answer was inadequate and vague and im-mediately drew Jody’s eyes to his face. Almost immediately she wished she hadn’t looked up at him, as she saw the way he was looking at her.

With no emotion at all showing on his face, his green-gold gaze slid up and down her silk clad body, taking in every delecta-ble curve in minute detail.

Embarrassed, Jody hugged her arms around her body. "Stop it," she demanded angrily, although his look evoked some-thing more than anger within her.

"Stop what?" The query was soft and full of pretended innocence. The look that accompanied it was far from innocent.

"The way you were..." Jody began only to falter to a halt as she saw the mocking grin spread across James’ face. "Oh forget it," she mumbled impatiently. "Tell me why you’re here?"

"Chicken!"

The pitch of his voice sent shivers up and down Jody’s spine as well as making her bristle with anger. But before she had time to react to it, James continued in a more normal tone.

"You said earlier that you were going right through to Auckland tomorrow. If I pay for all the petrol is it possible for me to ride with you?"

"P-pay for the petrol. But…"

"Well?" James demanded abruptly, seeming not to hear her confused words.

"Sure you can have a ride, that’s no problem. But I’ll pay for any petrol used."

"We’ll see about that!"

Again, as it had in the earlier incident at Waiouru, James’ voice brooked no argument. But Jody was determined that this time he wasn’t going to win, although for the moment she let the matter rest.

"What time do you plan on leaving?"

"You’re in a great hurry all of a sudden, aren’t you?"

"I guess I am. Something important has come up and I’ve got to get to Auckland as soon as I can."

"Business?"

"Of a kind." The subject was closed even before it had opened. "What time?"

"About nine if that’s all right."

"Sure fine. Now that’s settled how about coming to dinner with me?"

"I’d like that."

"Great. Are you ready to go?"

"Just give me a minute and I’ll be right with you." Gathering up her make-up bag, Jody hurried through to the bathroom. There was no way she could concentrate on applying makeup with him watching. Five minutes later she was back in the bedroom, feeling a little more composed.

"I’m ready."

"Good, then let’s go and eat."

CHAPTER TWO

The motel restaurant was crowded and very busy, but the minute Jody and James walked into the room, they were shown straight to a table even though there were several other couples waiting.

"Preferential treatment? Or did you book this ahead of time?"

"The latter, when I signed in."

"You were so sure that I’d have dinner with you?’

"No, hopeful."

A hovering waiter brought a halt to further con-versation. Quickly, Jody gave her order, then while James was occupied with doing the same, Jody took the chance to study him unobserved.

Gone were the faded jeans and shirt. In their place were dark brown, very expen-sive-looking suede trousers and a cream silk body shirt. Both fitted him like a second skin, emphasizing his masculinity.

Her eyes slid to his face and the unruly cap of hair, which kept falling over his forehead. Again she was conscious of a desire to run her fingers through it, and once more it took all her willpower not to lean across the table and do just that.

"Don’t stop!" As he had done in the car James glanced up in time to catch Jody staring at him.

Embarrassed she looked away, muttering, "Sorry."

"For what? I don’t mind you looking, just as I hope you don’t mind me looking at you." A charming smile spread across James’ well-defined lips.

Picking up her glass, which the waiter had just filled with wine, Jody lifted it to her lips and took a gulp of the ef-fervescent liquid.

"You’ll break it!" The deep husky tone did little to help Jody’s equilibrium, a fact which James seemed to notice as he quickly changed the subject. "Tell me about yourself?"

"I’m at University in Wellington. Studying sociology."

"For what purpose?"

"I don’t know." Self-consciously Jody admitted her lack of purpose in her studies.

"No career in mind?" James made no attempt to hide his disgust. "Daddy worth plenty is he?"

"Is that a crime?"

"Of course not. The only crime is if you use his money so that you don’t have to work. That’s sheer self-indulgence and laziness. Something I have no time for."

Jody’s temper flared at his implied criticism of her life-style. With more sarcasm than she really intended, she snapped a reply. "And what about you? You don’t appear to work very hard either, wandering around the country like a tramp and sponging rides off other people."

But James seemed impervious to her sarcasm. With an amused smile hovering around his lips he drawled, "Oh, honey, I work all right. Very hard most of the time. This wandering, as you so nicely call it, is in the nature of a holiday."

"From what?" Jody prompted, hoping he’d enlighten her a little about his life. But to her disappointment all he said was, "From my work," before continuing, "Tell me what else you do with your life? What your hobbies are, that sort of thing."

With a sigh Jody began to tell him about her interests. The people she associated with at University. The other subjects she was studying. The music she enjoyed. The music group she sang with. The active part she took in the University dance group.

Chin propped on one hand, James listened attentively, his eyes watching her every movement, a passive look on his face as he absorbed everything she was telling him.

The arrival of the waiter with their first course brought Jody’s narrative to a close, at least for a short while. But the minute they finished eating, things changed.

Leaning back in his chair, completely relaxed, his wine glass balanced between his long slender fingers, James continued the conversation where they had left off as if there had been no break at all.

"Sounds like you have a very busy social life. When do you have time to study?"

"During the day and well into the night sometimes." Jody replied, then because it had been bothering her right from the first moment he had spoken, she asked, "Your accent intrigues me. Which part of America do you come from?"

A roar of laughter erupted from James throat, causing many heads to turn their way. A puzzled frown furrowed Jody’s forehead. She didn’t think what she’d said was that funny.

"That bad is it?"

"Pardon?"

"My accent."

"Your accent. I don’t understand."

"No, you wouldn’t." Sobering quickly, but with laughter still crinkling his eyes, James went on to explain. "I’m as Kiwi as you are!"

"You’re kidding?"

"No way! I was born and bred in Auckland and spent most of my formative years there. In fact, my parents and the rest of my family still live in Helensville."

"But..." Jody faltered to a halt.

"I know. I sound American. But that’s understandable really. I’ve lived in the States for the last ten years. Even your cute cultured accent would change if you’d lived there that long."

"I don’t have a cultured accent!"

"Oh yes you do, honey." Reaching across the table, James clasped her hands between his and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Don’t be defensive about it. I like it. It’s you."

"Thanks."

Abruptly Jody pulled her hands free. His touch had a strange effect on her, and she couldn’t prolong the con-tact and stay in control of her emotions. Pushing back her chair, she stood up.

"Can we leave, please?"

Before James had time to answer, Jody was on her feet and moving to the door. He caught up with her just as she entered the reception area. Sliding an arm around her waist he pulled her to a halt.

"How about we take a walk along the lake front. The view’s been tantalizing me all evening, and I’d like to see it first hand."

"If you want to," she agreed but with little enthusiasm.

"You don’t have to come if you don’t want to."

"No, I’d like to. Truly."

"Will you be warm enough without a jacket?"

"I’ll be fine, this dress my look thin but it’s actually quite warm."

"Okay, let’s go."

Tightening his hold, James guided her out through the sliding doors to the steps that led down to the lake edge.

The minute the glass doors slid closed behind them the stillness seemed to reach out and enclose them in its mantle. For Jody, it was just what her taut nerves needed.

As if entranced, the pair gazed wordlessly at the beauty before their eyes. Dark sparkling waters shimmered in the moon-light like ghostly sprites, and every now and then the oc-casional plop of a trout jumping from the water could be heard. Shadowed trees cast eerie shapes on the white pumice sand, adding to the mysterious feeling. Crickets sounded out their loud song in the trees, as the moonlight streaked across the sky and lit up patches of the lake in a ghostly aura.

Far away in the distance more shadows flitted across the sand, as other people took in the night air and the view. It was an awesome sight and one that Jody knew she would remember for a long time to come.

"Beautiful isn’t it?" James whispered, his mouth very close to Jody’s ear, as he stood behind her, his hands spanning her waist. "I’d forgotten how truly fantastic our scenery in New Zealand really is."

"Mmm, fantastic is right," Jody answered dreamily. The setting and James’ closeness were both beginning to weave a romantic spell around her senses.

Involuntarily, her body began to relax back against James’. A low groan emitted from between his lips, and his arms tightened around her, drawing her even closer.

But that sound made Jody realize what she was doing and with a start she tried to pull free. But James refused to allow- her to escape.

Spinning her around, he slid his arms down to encircle her waist. Holding her way from his body for a second, he whispered, "Don’t struggle, honey, please. I want to kiss you, something I’ve been longing to do ever since we met this morning."

Before Jody had time to register his intention, he drew her fully into his arms and lowered his head towards hers.

Hard sensual lips pressed down onto Jody’s. Lips that evoked such a tumultuous explosion of feeling within her, she felt like she was floating on a faraway cloud. Subtly the pressure increased and became both more demanding, more passionate.

Suddenly Jody tensed. These kisses could lead to something she wasn’t sure she was ready for. Panic overtook her, and she struggled to be free. Pushing against James’ chest with all her strength, she tried to lever some space between their bodies and to end the kiss that was wreaking havoc with her emotions.

"No!" she moaned, wrenching her mouth free. "No, James."

"Oh yes, baby. Yes." The soft seductive words were whispered against the side of her neck as James’ lips began a downward exploration. "Don’t be frightened. I promise I won’t hurt you."

Soft nibbling kisses followed his words and were almost Jody’s undoing, but, with superhuman strength, she managed to twist her head away from that questing mouth.

But instead of stopping James, this seemed to incite him further. Leaving his exploration of her neck, his lips returned to the softly parted ones above him and with an inten-sity that left Jody gasping, he began to ravage it with hard, burning kisses.

Out of her depth, by the emotions piercing through her body, Jody was barely in control. Still she did manage to find enough to pull her mouth free and bury her head against James’ chest.

But instead of an escape, it was almost her undoing as she felt his hard warm skin under her cheek. Valiantly she tried to fight her emotions.

This was a man she hardly knew. A stranger. A wan-derer. A man with no purpose in life. A sponger. She couldn’t allow him liberties that she’d never before allowed anyone. More than a little frightened, she pulled back and succeeded in putting some distance between their bodies.

"Relax, honey. I’m not going to hurt you." The husky whisper was only inches from Jody’s ear, and the warm wine-tinted breath just a little too disturbing for her to do as he asked. "This goes only as far as you want it to."

"I want to be free."

"Do you really? Give me one more kiss and then see if you still say that." Without giving her a chance to answer, James pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers, his hand sliding up to tunnel under her hair and hold her head still.

Jody knew the fight was lost the minute his lips touched hers again. He was right. Despite the fact that he was a stranger. A man she had only just met. This seemed so right. She didn’t want to be free. With a moan of surrender she relaxed against the hard virile body. Feeling that surrender, James’ kiss deepened, his tongue gently probing her mouth open and penetrating deeply within the soft pink cavity.

Tongue against tongue, they drank from each other. Each demanding more of the other, until they were almost as one. Their bodies locked tightly together.

His, to do with what he wanted, as his hands began a gentle exploration of her body, Jody longed to reciprocate. Temptation finally won. Sliding her hands between them, she pulled his shirt completely open and began to run her fingertips up and down the hair-sprinkled surface in a gentle caress. With a groan James pressed her closer, trapping her hands between them. He pressed her closer and immediately she was made very aware of just what her caresses had done to him as his full hard arousal nudged her stomach.

For a long time they stood tightly clasped together, absorbing each other’s warmth and drawing strength from their closeness. Then, as if his emotions were taking over and he couldn’t hold back any longer, James’ hands moved to the buttons at the front of Jody’s dress.

Slowly, one by one, he released them from their buttonholes, until the last one parted, and he was able to gaze unheeded down at the body he held so close to his own.

Cool night air hit overheated skin, causing shivers to run up and down Jody’s spine. She gasped out loud, as if in pain. But James gave her little time to reflect on what was happening. With a whispered, "Don’t stop me honey, please!" his hand slid inside the silky material.

Long slim fingers slid upwards to cup burgeoning full-ness. Hard-tipped crests hardened, until Jody felt as though her breasts would burst.

A tawny gold head dipped lower. Lips replacing the hand. Slowly the burgeoning crest was taken fully into James’ mouth and ever so gently he began to suckle it.

Completely out of control, Jody’s body arched against that suckling mouth, silently begging him for more. His hand slid upward to surround her other breast, gently squeezing it before sliding his lips across the pulsing skin to give it the same loving treatment he had given its mate.

For Jody the emotional turmoil was too much, she had to tell him what she wanted.

"Oh James, please, please," she begged, hoarsely. "Love me, love me!"

The minute the words were out, a strange stillness came over James and he seemed to withdraw, although he still held Jody tightly in his arms. For several seconds he stared down into her love-flushed face, his eyes dark and intense with an emotion Jody in her emotional state had no way of interpreting. Then, with an angry expletive, he thrust her away from him.

"We’d better go in," he snapped. "It’s getting cold."

Before Jody could do anything she was standing alone, and James was striding toward the motel complex.

As if glued to the spot, Jody stared after him, unable to believe that he had rejected her after what they had just shared.

Pain and humiliation began to flood her body. A sob welled it’s way up and out of her mouth, but she choked back the sound that went with it. Minutes ticked by and still she stared in the direction James had gone, hoping against hope that he would come back to her.

But as the minutes passed, and he didn’t reappear, she knew it was a forlorn hope. He wasn’t going to be returning.

Another sob shook her body. Turning on her heels, she fled further down the lake front, until she was well clear of the motel complex. Then, as if her legs wouldn’t carry her any fur-ther, she sank down onto the white sand. Sob after sob shook her hunched shoulders. The tears pouring unheeded down her pale, gaunt cheeks.

Sinking further down onto her gritty bed, Jody buried her head in her hands, willing the tears to stop. And eventually they did, but not before she was drained completely of emotion. Totally exhausted.

Tears dried up and sobs diminishing, Jody began to wonder what had happened and why.

Had she done something to annoy James? But no. She couldn’t think of a thing he hadn’t seemed to enjoy. But what could it have been, she pondered. Then a horrible thought struck her.

Had he been just using her? No, she didn’t believe that of him not when she had been almost begging him to make love to her and he had refused.

"Oh no! What must he think of me?" Renewed sobbing began to shake her body, but before it was fol-lowed by another bout of crying, she jumped to her feet and fled for the sanctuary of her motel room.

Hours later, lying still fully dressed atop the bed -covers, Jody roused herself from the deep depression James’ actions had pushed her into and began to undress. Going through her usual evening rituals, she prepared for bed.

But although she was totally worn out and needed sleep badly, it was a long time coming. Finally sheer exhaustion took over and her weary body gave in.

But though she slept, it was not a deep, satisfying sleep. Rather it was restless and punctuated with dreams of the man who had come so unexpectedly into her life and from that moment had caused untold havoc with her emotions.

****

It was still dark outside when Jody woke. For a moment she lay staring into the darkness, an arm flung over her face as memories of the night before flooded back to haunt and torture her. Even as they had done in her dreams.

Wallowing deeply in self-pity, she contemplated the day ahead and how she was going to face James again after the humiliation of the night before. Suddenly an idea came to her. She sat bolt upright in bed. If she hurried she wouldn’t have to face him at all.

Flinging back the covers, she slipped out of bed and hurried into the bathroom. Several minutes later she was dressed, her bag packed and ready to leave. Quietly, so as not to disturb the other motel occupants, Jody opened her door and hurried to the reception area.

The girl behind the desk, just starting her shift, looked up in surprise as Jody appeared before her. Guests didn’t usually appear this early, her face said. But her surprise was quickly replaced by a polite professional smile.

"I’d like to settle my account. My name’s Allen."

"Of course Miss Allen. Cash or charge?"

"Charge please." Jody handed over her credit card and waited impatiently while the receptionist filled in the necessary forms.

"If you’ll sign here." A form was thrust towards Jody.

Laying down her bag, Jody scrawled her signature on the bottom of the proffered slip, then with a smile of thanks picked up her bag and hurried out to the car park.

Flinging her over-night bag in the boot, she unlocked the driver’s door and quickly slid behind the wheel. Inserting the key in the ignition, she started the car before closing the door and slipping on her seat belt.

Ten minutes after she had left her room she was headed out of town on the main road north, towards Auckland. Only then did she allow herself to relax, a smile of satisfaction playing around her mouth as she realized what she had accomplished.

"Now, Mr. oh-so-smart James whoever, you’ll have to find some other way to get to Auckland. And serve you right!" she muttered angrily. "You deserve to get left behind."

But hard on that stab of satisfaction came one of dis-may. James would be livid and out for her blood when he dis-covered what she had done.

"Hell!" she murmured. "I hope I never run into him again. I don’t think I want to be on the receiving end of his anger."

Then with a shrug, Jody dismissed the thought from her mind. She wasn’t likely to see the man again. A part of her was sad about that. But perhaps it was for the better. He was older and more experienced than her, and could have spelled disaster for her if they’d continued what they’d started last night.

Only now, as she put things into perspective, could she appreciate James backing away. Last night she had been ruled by her emotions, but this morning in the cold light of day, she realized that she had had a lucky escape.

****

Leaving the outskirts of Taupo, Jody turned her car west and headed up the center of the island, and through some of the more densely forested areas of New Zealand. For a while she enjoyed the quietness, the cool crisp morning air, and the sounds of the awakening countryside. But soon that began to pale. Loneliness began to wash over her. Her companion of the day before might not have talked very much, but at least it had been another person in the car.

Idly she reached across and flicked on the radio, fid-dling with the dial until she found a station that suited both her mood and her state of mind.

A love song, soft and seductive, and with potent words, beautifully sung by a husky male voice floated out of the radio and filled the small car.

For a start, Jody didn’t take much notice of the song or it’s words, but then as the music swelled upward she reached across and turned the volume up.

This was one of her favorite songs, the words never failing to move her. And now, for some reason, they seemed particularly apt.

They told the story of a young girl and her love for an older man, who didn’t even know she was around until one day he had cause to meet her again under unusual circumstances.

Tears sprung to Jody’s eyes as she listened and angrily she brushed them aside. There was no comparison between the words of this song and what had happened last night. None at all.

But deep down Jody knew that that wasn’t really true. She and James had met under unusual circumstances, and it now ap-peared as they were destined to part in the same way. It ran a good parallel with the song.

"Stop it, Jody chided herself. You’re better off away from him, he would have only brought you more pain." Idly she flicked the radio dial again and this time found a more up-beat, cheerful song, but one nevertheless sung by the same singer.

Anxious to forget James, Jody began to think about the man whose voice crooned out at her.

Known simply as "Cat," he had sprung to stardom some eight years previously. His career had gone from strength to strength. Now he was in great demand throughout America, Australia and New Zealand. Loved by young and old alike, he seemed capable of singing any type of song and making it a hit. Fast tempo songs, to slow seductive ballads. Loud rock n’ roll to soft country ballads, his deep husky voice suited them all.

Just recently, she remembered, his career had taken a new turn when he had started to sing duets with some of the top female stars in the States. Like his own songs, those recordings had rocketed to No 1 on the Top 40.

Personally Jody considered the duets weren’t as good as his singles. Cat had such a unique voice, to combine it with someone else spoiled it for her. But the public seemed to like them and in the long run for Cat’s career that was the important thing.

Jody’s thoughts shifted to the singer’s private life. Very little was known about him. Popular as he was, he seemed to have almost a fetish about keeping his private life, private. Jody couldn’t blame him for that. Who in their right mind would want their personal affairs bandied about by the press?

But despite admiring him for this stand, Jody still was curious about what he was like behind the professional mask. What would it be like to meet him in person? Someone with such a great voice just had to have a terrific personality.

Without warning James’ face intruded into her thoughts. But just as quickly Jody pushed them away. She wasn’t interested in a wanderer, like him!

"Damn you James," she muttered angrily. "I’m going to forget you if it’s the last thing I do." Reaching across, she turned up the radio in an endeavor to block out the man to whom her thoughts kept returning.

Mile after mile slipped by until the forested areas and small townships were left behind, and Jody began traveling across the wide-open spaces of the Hauraki Plains. As always when she traveled this way, the sheer beauty of her surroundings caught at her emotions.

Acre of acre of flat, green, fertile farmland, stretched into the distance. Tall beautiful architecturally designed homes with equally beautiful landscaped gardens and sur-roundings dotted these acres and in the distance the high roll-ing hills that finally broke the flatness.

Bounding the road at widely spaced intervals, other houses dotted the landscape. Although these were just as beautiful, they were obviously more utilitarian, in that they were farm houses. Interspersed between these houses and at irregular intervals were small country schools, a petrol station, a hotel, several roadside stalls selling vegetables, or a grocery - cum drapery - cum dairy - cum - whatever store.

It was at one of these latter that Jody made her first stop of the day as hunger and thirst made themselves known.

The heat of the early morning sun hit her as she pushed open the car door and stepped out. For several seconds she stood enjoying the warmth and stretching tired abused muscles before picking up her handbag and making her way towards the store.

Pushing the door open, she stepped across its threshold. As she let it bang shut she heard a loud shushing noise and turned to see a large, long-haul truck pull to a halt behind her small car. Not interested enough to give it more than a cursory glance, once she had identified the noise, Jody turned from the doorway and hurried across the store to the upright fridge set against one wall.

A variety of cans, bottles and cartons greeted her eyes. Unsure of what she really felt like, she gazed at them, trying to decide which to choose. Finally thirst got the upper hand and reaching out she began to swing open the door, when sud-denly it was taken out of her hand.

"Allow me!" A well remembered voice drawled.

"James! But how?" Color leaving her face, and a startled look replacing it, Jody swung around to confront the man she had thought still safely in Taupo.

"Easily honey. You didn’t think you’d lose me that way did you?" he grinned. "I was right behind you when you left the motel, but I wasn’t quite quick enough to stop you from leaving," James explained. "Lucky for me a truck came along a couple of minutes after you left, and I was able to pick up a ride with him."

"I’m sorry." Jody mumbled apologetically. The paleness had now been replaced with a deep red tinge. She felt really awful now, about leaving him behind.

"Forget it." Reaching around her James took out two small cartons of orange juice then moved towards the counter.

Forgetting her purpose for being by the fridge, Jody turned and hurried after him, clutching his arm to attract his at-tention as he made no effort to talk to her.

"Do you still want that ride?"

Looking down at her, a hard implacable look on his face, James shrugged off her hand and snapped, "No thanks. I’ve got one."

"Oh!" Hurt, Jody stepped back. She felt as though she had been dealt a body blow. One that she hadn’t been prepared for, or for that matter, expected.

A strange look passed over James face as he realized how his words had effected her. He moved closer, and a slim hand curled itself around her waist. "Come on."

Gently he guided her toward the door. Still dazed by his refusal of her offer, Jody allowed him to escort her outside.

"Do you want me to come with you?" James halted beside her car, and turned her around to face him. "It’s your decision."

"I...I..." Jody stuttered, unable to make up her mind now that she had been given the choice. Then finally she let her pride fly to the wind. "Yes, I guess I do want you along."

"Right, I’ll get my things."

Depositing the drinks and the paper bag he had been holding on the bonnet of the car, James strode across to the large truck parked just behind. Flinging open the door, he levered himself up onto the top step.

As Jody watched and listened, she heard loud gales of laughter echoing from within the cab of the truck and angrily she turned away, certain she was the object of their amusement. Determined not to let it get to her, she gritted her teeth and returned her attention to the truck and its occupants. Even as she turned back, she noticed James ram his hat on his head, ex-change a few words with the driver, then swing down from the truck; his pack slung over his shoulder.

The roar of the truck’s engine, the insistent blast of its air horn, a derisive mocking wave from the driver, and the vehicle was eased back onto the busy highway. Briefly James turned and raised his hand in an answering salute, then, pivoting back toward the car, he pulled open the door and threw his pack and coat into the back before asking, "Are we going?"

"Sure."

Jody began to slide into her seat, when she suddenly remembered why she had stopped. Glancing across at James, she opened her mouth to tell him what she was going to do, when something about his stance caught her eye.

She stopped.

Whether it was the way he was standing, with the sun reflecting on his golden head, or the look in his eyes, Jody would never know, but suddenly she realized where she had seen him before.

"Can you give me a minute," she asked closing the car door and moving around the other side. "There’s something I forgot."

"I’ve got food and drink."

"So you have. But I need to get some other things. Back in a tick." Before he could stop her, she raced away towards the shop.

Once inside, she quickly picked up a couple packets of biscuits, and placed them on the counter before hur-rying across to a music cassette stand that stood to one side of the shop. Hurriedly she scanned the display, searching for one particular artist.

"Can I help you?" The young dark haired shop assistant approached Jody, a welcoming smile on her face.

"Thank you. I’d like those biscuits on the counter and this cassette of ‘Cat.’"

"He’s a fantastic singer, isn’t he? I wish he’d come out here. I’d love to go and see him perform."

"Me too." Jody admitted, a secret smile playing around her mouth. If things went as she planned she’d be doing that before too long.

The girl hurried away to get the key for the rack and while she was gone, Jody took the opportunity to try more details about the singer called "Cat."

But only one thing stuck in her mind. "Cat" was American. Perhaps she was wrong to think that she’d guessed James’ secret.

"Oh well, she thought, it’s worth a try. I’ll soon know if I’m right or wrong by his reaction to the cassette when I play it."

Before she could dwell further on the man the shop assistant arrived back with the key and after extracting the cassette from the rack handed it to Jody, and moved around the other side of the counter to take the payment.

"Thanks," Jody murmured as she was handed her change. Picking up her purchases, she hurried back to the car.

James, his sunglasses and hat firmly in place was still standing outside the car, leaning against the vehicle, his foot tapping impatiently.

"Ready now?"

"Sure, let’s go." Jody grinned at his impatience. He really was eager to be gone.

Sliding into her seat she slipped on her seat belt and clicked it into place before reaching across to switch on the ignition. A quick flick of the wrist and the car burst into life, but instead of sliding it immediately into gear, she took out the new cassette and pushed it into the tape deck. Adjusting the controls, she waited for it to begin, then engaged first gear and pulled out onto the highway.

The music grew louder, and, cautiously, Jody stole a glance at her companion. She was astounded by what she saw. His face was drawn and angry, a scowl marring its handsome features.

"So you know!" he snapped through clenched teeth.

"Know what?" Jody asked innocently, a small secretive small hovering around her lips.

"Don’t pretend innocence with me, Jody. That damn tape says it all, although it was a lousy way to tell me."

"Then you are ‘Cat’?"

"As if you didn’t know!"

"I didn’t for sure."

"Well now you do. Hell!" he exploded. "Do you have to play that thing?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I like it."

"Well I don’t!" Stretching across James flicked off the tape and switched on the radio. At once a husky male voice echoed around the car, filling it with the same song that the tape had been playing. With an oath James slammed the radio OFF button.

"Got you everywhere haven’t they," Jody teased, loving this advantage she had over him.

"They’re as old as the hills," he grated uncomfortably, a flush tinging his face.

"Not to us New Zealander’s they’re not. May I call you ‘Cat’ now or do you still want to remain James?"

"Now that you know, you might as well," he allowed ungra-ciously.

"Thanks. Tell me why you’re here," Jody pushed home her small advantage.

"To see my family. It’s ten years since I’ve been home."

"That’s a long time. They must be really looking for-ward to seeing you again. Don’t you miss them?"

"Yes. But they’ve visited me in the States several times and one of my brothers is my manager, so I’ve kept pretty much in touch."

"Are you doing any concerts while you’re here?" Now that she’d gotten him talking, Jody wasn’t going to allow him to cut her off as he had done before.

"Sure, a couple." Then abruptly, as if sick of the subject, Cat thrust one of the cartons of drink towards her. "Here!" Then silence.

As it had the day before, mile on mile was passed in si-lence. Several times Jody glanced Cat’s way thinking that he’d gone to sleep, but each time she looked, she noticed that he seemed to be looking her way, a frown on his face.

Finally, after this had happened several times, Jody broke the silence. "Is something the matter?"

"No not really. I was just wondering how far I can trust you."

"Trust me. With what?"

"My identity." Then as she frowned he added, "Only my family are aware that I’m in the country, and that’s the way I’d prefer it to stay for the moment. Can I trust you not to mention our meeting to anyone?"

"Of course you can. But I don’t understand the neces-sity for secrecy."

"No I guess you don’t." Cat gave a tired smile. "It’s for my family’s benefit. If no one knows I’m here, I can spend a few hours alone with them without the press badgering me. Both Mum and Dad have been so good to me that I feel I owe them this at least."

Now Jody truly understood. "You can trust me. I won’t mention to anyone that we’ve met."

"Thanks honey, I’m grateful."

"No thanks needed. I guess privacy isn’t something you have a lot of."

"No, not a lot. Sometimes finding time just to be by yourself can be virtually impossible." A dark frown shadowed Cat’s face as if he was remembering a particular time when he had needed privacy and hadn’t got it. "Pure hell!" he muttered, more to himself than to Jody.

****

All too soon they were approaching the outskirts of the Auckland Metropolitan area.

"Are you going anywhere near the center of the city, Jody?"

"I can. Why?"

"I’m booked into the Travelodge."

"But you said you were going to see your family. Won’t they expect you to stay with them?"

"Sure! And later on tonight that’s where I’ll go, but first I want to shower and change and attend to some business that’s come up. Don’t worry," he added, as he saw her frown of disapproval, "my mother understands."

"I see."

"Like hell you do!" Cat erupted into anger. "Look honey I know that we haven’t exactly had a smooth ride since we met. But please let this go. My family is important to me, and I would never do anything that would hurt them. They know that I am in the country and that I will be out to see them as soon as I can. You’ll have to trust me, just as my family does."

"You’re right I don’t understand. If I had been away from my family for ten years, the first people I would want to see would be them. It must be pretty important business to keep you away from them."

A deep sigh shuddered through Cat. "Look, honey, I’d tell you if I could, but I can’t. Perhaps later."

"Later. Who says there’s going to be any later?" His evasiveness was really starting to bug Jody and finally she let it show.

"Stop the car!"

Surprised by his sudden order, Jody did just that, stopped the car--pulling onto the side of the road and switch-ing off the engine before she realized what she was doing.

"Look at me, Jody." When she complied Cat continued, "Now tell me what’s got you so uptight and anti?"

"I’m not!"

"Like hell you’re not. Ever since I mentioned being dropped at a hotel. What is with you? Do you like arguing with me? Getting off side with me? Oh what the hell..." With a savage exclamation that shocked Jody, Cat flung himself out of the car.

Shocked by his violence and his sudden departure, Jody could only stare after him. Then unable to sit still any longer, she pushed open the door and followed him.

Cat was standing several feet away, his hands thrust deep into his jeans pockets, his shoulders hunched, his head bent. Quietly Jody moved closer.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like a fish-wife. What you do and when you do it is absolutely none of my business. Please forgive me?"

Turning slowly, Cat thrust his hands through his al-ready tousled golden locks before moving to her side. A slow heart-rendering smile spread across his handsome face.

"Of course I forgive you. Can we con-tinue with our trip now?"

"Sure." Amazed by his quick change of mood and not understanding what had caused either change, Jody moved back to the car and slid into her seat. But before she could pull out onto the road, Cat slipped a hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I’m sorry for being such a grouch. I’ve got a lot on my mind. Oh I know," he added, as he saw her frown, "that’s no excuse, but it’s all I can offer you at the moment. Friends?"

Another charming smile lit up his face.

Jody wasn’t immune to such charm and with a nod she murmured, "Yes, friends."

"Good." Removing his hand Cat sank back into his seat and fastened his belt. Then with a cheeky grin, he saluted her and said, "Okay, drive on MacDuff."

CHAPTER THREE

Gathering up his luggage, Cat laid it on the pavement beside the car before leaning back in the door and saying, "Thanks for the ride honey and the pleasant company."

"My pleasure," Jody murmured, wishing, now that Cat was leaving that she had made more of the opportunities offered.

"And mine. I’ll call you."

"You will?"

"Of course."

"But..."

"You thought I was going to forget you once we’d reached our destination, didn’t you?"

"Yes."

"No way. I plan to keep in touch. Is your phone num-ber in the book under your name?"

"Yes."

"Good." Leaning across the seat, Cat pressed a kiss on Jody’s slightly parted lips, then whispered huskily, "See you, honey."

Before Jody could react, he had rammed his Stetson on his head and was striding away to the hotel.

In a world of her own, Jody stared after him, her hand pressed to her still throbbing lips. That kiss had been so unex-pected and so enjoyable she would have liked to prolong it, but Cat hadn’t given her the chance.

The hotel’s automatic doors slid open and closed, and Jody watched as Cat disappeared inside. For several seconds she stared at the empty space. What a complex man he was, and how lucky she had been to spend time with him.

I wonder if he will call me or whether that was just an easy way out for him? Oh well, I guess time will tell.

With a sigh Jody started her car, and pulled out into the fast flowing traffic heading toward the flat she shared with another couple when she was in town.

As she drove, Jody thought about this small sign of independence that she had gained. It had taken her quite a long time to achieve. Both her father and stepmother had wanted her to live with them. But as nicely as she could, Jody had declined - citing the need for personal privacy and their own need for privacy as the reason.

At first her father had not liked the idea. Even accusing her of not wanting to accept his remarriage. But Jody had managed to convince him this was not the case. She adored her step-mother, especially for the way she made her father so happy and content.

With a sigh of thankfulness that she was finally home, she pulled into the carpark at the rear of her flat and gathering up her bag, headed up the stairs.

"Welcome home, Jody."

"Thanks, Michael. It’s great to be back. Where’s Clare?"

"At work. She’s got a part-time job, as a waitress."

"Great. What about you, found anything yet?"

"Yep. I start Monday. Your dad’s personnel manager offered me a job at one of his garages. For a start I’ll be just pumping gas, but later I’m going into the sales side of the business."

"That’s great."

"Speaking of fathers, yours rang a little while ago and wants you to ring him as soon as you can."

"Thanks, Michael. I’ll go and do it now."

Slipping out of her jacket and flinging it over the sofa back, Jody crossed to the counter and picked up the phone. Perching herself on a high stool, she punched out her father’s number then sat waiting for someone to answer. She didn’t have to wait long.

"Hello. Sandy Allen speaking."

"Hi Sandy. Jody here."

"Jody! You’re home. I’ll get your father." Dropping the phone, Sandy raced away to get her husband. A few seconds later Jason Allen’s voice echoed along the line.

"Hello, love. It’s good to have you home."

"And it’s good to be here. How are things with you?"

"Fine, just fine. When are you coming around to see us?"

"Not today, if you don’t mind. I’m a little weary, and I’ve got heaps to do. How about tomorrow?"

"Sure tomorrow will be great. Sandy and I have some news for you."

"Then tell me?"

"Oh no. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear it."

"Dad, don’t be mean. Tell me now. Please!" Jody begged, using all her persuasive powers on her father as she had been doing most of her life.

But this time Mr. Allen wasn’t giving an inch. "Tomorrow!"

"Meanie!" Jody taunted affectionately. "Okay, I guess I’ll have to wait until then."

"You sure will. Make it early, okay?"

"Okay, I’ll see you then. Bye."

"Bye."

"How’s Uni." Michael came back into the room as Jody replaced the telephone.

"Great. The social life’s good too."

"It always was. Did you get any studying done?"

"Of course. Didn’t Clare tell you. I passed my exams."

"She said you scraped through." Michael’s eyes lit up in amusement as Jody fired a pillow at him. "What happened to the brilliant start you made?"

"Who knows! I guess I got bored." Picking up her jacket and bags, Jody headed for her room. "I’d better get un-packed. Catch you later."

****

The sound of voices roused Jody from the deep sleep that had finally claimed her in the early hours of the morning. Sliding out of bed and slipping on her robe, she pulled open her door. Standing outside their own bedroom door, arguing over the morning paper were Michael and Jody’s other flat mate, Clare.

"What’s up, you two?"

"Oh Jody, hi." Both people turned at the sound of Jody’s voice, but it was the dark-haired woman who spoke. "Sorry about disturbing you, but this beast took off with the morning paper, and won’t give it back."

"Don’t worry about waking me. It was time I was up." Moving toward the couple, Jody deftly plucked the paper out of Michael’s hands while he was busy trying to ward off Clare’s at-tacks.

"Two against one isn’t fair."

"Who says?" Clare teased, then turning her back on him she began to talk to Jody. "Welcome home. It’s good to have you here to help me with this male chauvinist."

"Huh!" With a disgusted look at them both, Michael headed for the bathroom.

Jody and Clare burst into laughter at his indignant exit, and it was several minutes before either of them could speak. "He hasn’t improved has he. Still the same old Michael."

"That’s for real. Still we wouldn’t really want to change him would we?" Clare defended. She was very much in love with Michael and their affectionate bickering was part and parcel of that love.

"No we wouldn’t. Here, do you want this?" Jody held out the paper to her friend.

"No you read it first. I’m going to make the bed and finish dressing."

Pulling the cord of her robe tighter around her body, Jody headed for the kitchen. Slipping onto a stool, she spread the paper out on the breakfast bar. Flicking it open, she smoothed the surface out and immediately found herself staring at a photograph of Cat.

For a long time she stared and stared at the now familiar face, absorbing every detail. The sound of a door opening and closing and loud voices brought her back to earth with a thud.

With a shake of her head to clear it, she took her eyes from the photo and only then began to realize that he wasn’t alone. The caption below read -

EXPATRIATE SINGER ARRIVES UNANNOUNCED IN NEW

ZEALAND

Millionaire James Grant known publicly as the Superstar "Cat" arrived in Auckland, earlier today without the usual fanfare that heralds his ar-rival in any country. He is shown at Auckland Interna-tional Airport with his daughter Trina, his brother Kane, and a "friend" of long-standing, Sharna. Although he wouldn’t agree to an interview, Cat did confirm that he was here not only to visit his family but to do a couple of concerts later in the month.

So this was the important business that he had to attend to before he saw his parents. Now she understood.

Jody glanced again at the photo and this time took note of everyone in the picture.

The tall man on Cat’s right had to be his brother. The likeness was uncanny. Although his hair appeared darker, and he didn’t have the hard cynical look, he was even more good looking than his famous brother.

The woman in the photo received only a cursory glance from Jody, but in that brief look she noticed that she was incredibly beautiful.

Briefly she wondered what the expression "long-standing" friend meant, but she didn’t dwell on it. Her interest was caught and held by the young girl standing beside Cat.

The publicity that had surrounded Cat from time to time had mentioned that he’d been married but had not alluded to children. Petite and very pretty, the young girl was clinging tightly to her father’s hand, gazing up at him with adoration, that told everyone he meant the world to her.

From the flat black and white photo it was hard to tell exactly what color her hair and eyes were - but from the little Jody could see it was obvious that both were lighter than Cat’s. But although there was this difference between them, physically she was a female version of her father.

Jody’s heart went out to the little girl. It couldn’t be easy having a father who was a superstar and adored by mil-lions of women the world over.

Her eyes strayed back to the man she had come to like too much in the short time she had known him. For a long time she stared at his face, noting with delight, the look of love reflected there, and captured by the camera, as he looked down at the small form nestled against his side.

Jody’s heart gladdened at the sight. It was obvious that he adored his daughter, and he didn’t mind who knew it. A warm glow settled over her. This was just another facet to this com-plex man and one of which she heartily approved.

The loud reverberating ring of the doorbell brought Jody’s head up, and her thoughts back to something other than Cat and his family. Quickly she got to her feet and crossed to the front door. At the same time, Michael, a towel his only covering, came out of the bathroom and headed for the front door. Waving him aside, Jody swung open the door. But the minute she did, she received the surprise of her life.

Standing outside, his hands thrust into the front pock-ets of dark blue suit trousers, was Cat. Taken aback, Jody stared open-mouthed at him.

"Hello Jody," he murmured, his eyes darkening apprecia-tively as he took in her state of dress. "How are you?"

"I’m fine, but..." she began only to be interrupted by Michael, who had crossed the hall to investigate the caller.

"Is it for me, Jody?" he questioned, stopping by her side and tucking the towel more firmly around his waist.

"No Michael, for me."

Momentarily Jody turned to speak to the Michael and thus missed the look of disgust that flitted across Cat’s face as he saw Michael outlined behind her.

But though she missed his expression, his angry ex-clamation did not escape her. Quickly she swiveled back to face him, only to find he was no longer standing by the door. Instead, he was striding away down the long corridor, his back ramrod straight, his hands clenched tightly by his side.

"Oh no! Cat, please don’t go?" Jody called anxiously, her face blanching at his abrupt angry departure.

But her pleas fell on deaf ears as he was already out of hearing range.

Quickly, knowing she had to catch him and find out what had caused his abrupt about face, Jody ran after him, but as she reached the end of the passageway she saw him push open the front doors, and step outside.

Devastated by what had just occurred and not understanding any of it she slowly turned and made her way back to the flat, her eyes and face reflecting her dejection.

Closing the door, she leaned back against its solidity, her body sagging in dis-appointment.

"What happened, Jody? You look terrible."

"He left, Michael."

"He? You mean the guy at the door. Who was he? Someone special?"

Slowly Jody pushed herself upright, rubbing her hands across her face as if to clear it, before answering. "Special? Sure I guess he is. In many ways. But why did he..."

"Hell Jody. I’ve just realized who he is. Wasn’t that Cat Grant?" Michael’s excited voice broke into Jody’s speech.

"That’s right."

"And he came to see you?"

"I guess so."

"Then why did he leave so suddenly." Michael ques-tioned, determined to get to the bottom of what had just happened.

Exasperated, Jody looked up at him. "How the hell do I know? Something...Oh no! Now I know why he left!"

"Why?" Michael moved across to Jody’s side and slipped an arm around her shoulders as she appeared to sway on her feet.

Leading her into the lounge he pushed her down onto the sofa and sank down beside her. "Tell me why you think he left?"

Suddenly everything that had happened over the last few days, caught up with Jody and with more anger than she intended she jumped to her feet and snapped, "For God’s sake, go and look in the mirror! That’ll tell you."

Before Michael could react in any way, she spun on her heel and ran from the room, tears streaming down her face.

Michael stared after the departing figure. What was the matter with Jody? She wasn’t normally so incoherent. Then he remembered what she’d said to him. Getting to his feet he crossed to the ornate mirror above the fireplace. Suddenly, as it had with Jody, everything clicked into place.

"Oh hell, so that’s why? Poor Jody. Poor Cat and stupid me." With a groan of self-disgust he turned from the mirror and hurried into his bedroom to dress. He’d put it right if it was the last thing he did.

Jody was still feeling depressed when later in the day she made her way across town to her father’s home in the elite suburb of Remuera.

Nothing had managed to make her feel better. Not even Michael’s abject apology, al-though for his sake she had tried to pretend that it did. He was obviously very upset about his part in Cat’s abrupt departure and had suggested that he go to Cat and explain everything to the man.

But Jody had not wanted that. If Cat had jumped to the wrong conclusion from something so simple as Michael standing in the hall with a towel around him, then it would probably be a waste of time and energy to convince him of his mistake.

Swinging into the long drive that led to the tall modern house below, Jody drove down it and pulled to a halt in front of large glass doors.

Reaching across, she picked up her handbag and slid out from behind the wheel, just as the one of the glass doors swung open and a diminu-tive woman came running out. Without waiting for preliminary greetings, she threw her arms around Jody and hugged her warmly.

"Welcome home. You don’t know how good it is to have you back. How are you? Come on, let’s go inside. Jason isn’t home yet but he shouldn’t be long." Words bubbled out of the Sandy’s mouth as if she was afraid that if she didn’t get it said, she’d forget it all.

Jody returned the hug and found her spirits immediately lifting. Sandy always had this effect on her. First impressions always made people think Sandy Allen was silly and feather-brained, but she was far from either.

Before her marriage, Sandy had been a brilliant accoun-tant, but her bubbling personality sometimes over-shadowed that brilliance, a fact that she played on under certain cir-cumstances.

"Great to see you too, Sandy." Jody freed herself from her stepmother’s arms and slipped an affectionate arm around her shoulders. "Slow down will you, you’re exhausting me."

"Sorry. I guess I’m just so glad to see you. It seems like an age since you were last here."

"Four months."

"I knew it was a long time. Would you like a drink or a cup of coffee while we wait for Jason?"

"No thanks. But don’t let that stop you."

"I’m not drinking at present." Sandy answered with a small secretive smile, which drew a curious look from her step-daughter. "Oh it’s nothing to worry about. You’ll find out why as soon as Jason gets here."

"You’re going to keep me in suspense too, aren’t you?" Jody reprimanded affectionately. "You and dad are both mean."

"Yep, that we are. When Jason gets here you’ll know every-thing. Till then I’m not going to say one word."

"That’d be a first." Jody teased knowing it was nigh on impossible for her stepmother to be quiet for any length of time, especially when she was excited.

"Tease. Okay, so we’ll talk, but about other things. Tell me about University and how your studies are going?"

"Yuck!" Jody gave a mock shudder.

"That bad? I thought you were enjoying it."

"I do. But it all seems so pointless. What am I ever going to use my degree for - if I ever get it. I think I might quit."

"Quit! Oh no you can’t do that. After all the work you’ve put into it. Have you talked it over with your father?"

"No, I’ve only just come to this conclusion myself."

"Promise me you’ll discuss it with him first, before you do anything definite."

"Sure. But really it’s no big deal." Jody tried to brush over the whole subject, but she could see that Sandy was still concerned, so she added, "Don’t worry, I won’t do anything without consulting Dad."

"Good. Just as a matter of interest, have you given any thought to what you might do, if you do decide to leave Univer-sity?"

"No, and I guess that’s half my trouble. I’m dis-satisfied with what I’m doing, but I haven’t any ideas about what I really want to do instead. It would be so much easier to drop out if I had a career change in mind. Perhaps over the holidays, something will come up."

"You could be right. Meantime enjoy your break."

"I intend to." A sound caught Jody’s attention. Jump-ing to her feet she crossed to the window and peered out. "Here’s Dad. Mind if I go and meet him?"

"Of course not, go ahead."

Not needing a second bidding, Jody hurried out into the hall, arriving just as the front door swung inward and her father stepped over the threshold. Seeing the young woman hurry-ing towards him, he dropped his briefcase at his feet and held out his arms. As she had done all her life, Jody ran straight into them, her face alight with the love she felt for this man.

"Gee it’s good to see you sweetheart. It seems like an age."

"That’s what Sandy said."

"And she’s right." Dropping his arms, her father bent and picked up his briefcase in one hand, before slipping the other through Jody’s and moving with her toward the lounge.

But the minute they entered the room, Mr. Allen dropped her hand and crossed to where his wife was just getting up off the sofa. Lovingly, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a warm hug and kiss. Not at all embarrassed by this display of af-fection between these two people she loved most in the world, Jody looked on warmly. It was so good to see her father in love and happy after so many years of being alone.

But finally came the time to break up the embrace. "Come on you two love-birds, you promised me some exciting news, and I’m getting tired of waiting. Just when do you plan to tell me?"

Slipping an arm around his wife’s waist, Mr. Allen drew her down onto the sofa. "I guess now is as good a time as any. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable, and we’ll put you out of your misery."

"Okay, I’m sitting, so tell me."

"Well it’s a bit awkward," her father began, seeming, to his impatient listener, just a little nervous and uncomfortable.

"Come on Dad. It’s not like you to stall. Out with it."

"No it isn’t. Well the simple truth is, Sandy’s pregnant."

"Pregnant!" Jumping to her feet, Jody stared down at the couple in utter disbelief.

"I hope you’re pleased." Pulling herself out of her husband’s arms, Sandy got to her feet.

"Pleased! I’m ecstatic! That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time. Congratulations to you both."

"Thanks. It makes me so happy to know that you approve." Her father heaved an audible sigh.

"Did you think I wouldn’t?"

"Well it did cross our minds. At my age..."

"What age? Hell Dad, you’re not old." Jody pulled her father upright and gave him a quick hug. "You’re pleased, aren’t you?"

"Oh yes, very! It’s what Sandy and I have been hoping for ever since day we got married."

"Then that’s all that matters." Jody dismissed his worries with a shrug. "When is it due?"

"In five months." Sandy supplied the answer, then as the emotion of the occasion got to her, she reached out and drew Jody into her arms and hugged her warmly.

"Thank you," she whispered emotionally, "Thank you, so very much."

Equally overcome, Jody hugged her back, tears pricking the backs of her eyes as she saw the look of pure unadulterated joy on her father’s face. A new baby was going to cause a big upheaval in all their lives, but it would also bring with it plenty of joy.

****

For Jody the next few days seemed to pass in a state of limbo. Although she tried to keep herself busy, visiting old school friends, and revisiting favorite haunts, she was really only filling in time so that she didn’t think about Cat and the effect he had had on her life. She might have known him for only a short space of time, but in that time he had created quite an impact.

When she was out and about in Auckland, she found herself looking out for him on the streets, but when she remembered what he had told her about his privacy, she realized that it was a foolish hope that she might catch sight of him. He wouldn’t be anywhere too public.

Then, just as suddenly as he had left her, he came back into her life.

Alone, curled up with a book she wasn’t really sure she wanted to read, her isolation was interrupted by the phone.

Listlessly she picked up the receiver. "Jody Allen speaking, can I help you."

"Sure can pretty lady. Cat here."

"Cat!" Jody’s spirits took an upward climb, and it showed in her voice.

"You sound surprised. Did you think I’d gone for good?"

"It sure looked that way."

"I guess it did. Sorry about that. I thought you’d be alone." Cat took a deep breath, which echoed down the line. "Seeing you standing at the door in your nightwear, and that guy behind you with only a towel draped around him, really got to me. Stupid I know, but it wasn’t something I could handle."

"It wasn’t like you thought. Michael is my flatmate."

"I should have known. Forgive me."

"Yes, I forgive you."

A sigh of relief echoed across the line. "Thank good-ness for that. I had visions of you saying no."

"I wouldn’t do that. Not when you’ve rung back and explained."

"Then how about showing me that I’m really forgiven and have dinner with me."

"When?" Jody tried not to sound too eager, but it was difficult. She wanted to see him again.

"How about tomorrow night? I’ve got a recording session all day, but I should be finished by six. I can pick you up about seven-thirty, if that’s okay."

"Seven-thirty’s fine."

"Great. Till then." In the background Jody heard the sound of voices and a woman calling Cat’s name. "I’ve got to go honey, Mother’s calling me for dinner. Till tomorrow."

"Sure. Bye."

In a daze, Jody replaced the phone and sank back against her chair. Had she been a fool to agree to see Cat again? Was she asking for more heartache, when he left - as he must even-tually - and why was he asking her out in the first place? Was she just a convenient fill-in until he found someone else to take out?

Questions, questions, questions, and all of them un-answered.

Oh to hell with it. She was going round and round in circles and it was getting her nowhere.

Jumping to her feet, she crossed to the stereo and began rummaging through her pile of CD’s Without too much trouble she soon found the one she wanted, slipped it into the deck and curled back in her chair to listen.

Cat’s deep voice drifted out of the speakers, soothing her confused mind and lifting her spirits higher than they had been for a long time.

With a sigh she relaxed. Cat had rung her. At last! Who was she to deny how much she had wanted that to happen?

****

"Wow, Jody, you’re going to knock the poor guy for a six!"

"You think so?" Turning this way and that in front of the mirror, Jody tried to see what Michael was making all the fuss about.

"I know so. Why couldn’t I be the one taking you out?"

A chuckle erupted from between Jody’s lips. "Cut it out you big bad wolf. Clare will kill you if she hears you talking like that."

"Mmm, she probably would. Still," he added conspiratorially, "you’re not going to tell are you?"

"I should," she teased, then seeing the dismayed look on Michael’s face relented. "Of course I’m not, silly."

Jody turned back to the mirror to check that she really did look all right. She had been unsure that the dress she had chosen was suitable, but Michael’s comments made it seem ideal.

Black, a color she didn’t wear very often, it was a very simple design but the material made it. Clinging lovingly to every curve, it emphasized every part of her body. It was a beautiful dress, from it’s off the shoulder neckline, down to its short mini skirt. With it Jody wore sheer cobweb tights and high-heeled black shoes. A gold chain necklace and earrings com-pleted a very sophisticated, sexy outfit.

The doorbell pealed out its strident call, at once sending Jody into a frenzy of panic. "Oh hell, that’ll be Cat."

"Hey, calm down. He’s not going to eat you." Michael gave Jody’s shoulders a quick reassuring squeeze. "You go and get your jacket, I’ll answer the door."

Jody gave him a grateful smile and hurried away to get her coat. When she came back a few seconds later, Michael and Cat were standing in the center of the lounge, talking like old buddies.

But the minute Jody came into the room, both stopped talking and turned around to face her. A different but equally admiring look flashed across their faces.

But Jody had eyes only for Cat. A shy smile pulled at the corner of her lips as he stepped to her side and took her hands between his, giving them a gentle reassuring squeeze.

"Hello, honey," he murmured, his gaze sliding up and down her body. "You look fantastic."

Color flooded up under Jody’s skin. "Thank you," she murmured.

Sensing she was feeling uncomfortable with his compli-ments, Cat dropped her hands and stepped away. "Are you ready to leave?" he asked in a more normal tone.

"Mmm," Jody murmured abstractly. From behind she heard Michael’s quiet chuckle and added in a more down to earth voice. "Of course."

"Good, then let’s go. We’ll see you later, Michael. It was nice meeting you."

"And you, Cat. Bye Jody. Have a good time."

Swinging open the door, Cat allowed Jody to proceed him through it before escorting her downstairs to where his car was parked. After making sure she was comfortable, he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

The journey into the center of Auckland was ac-complished in an uneasy silence, which continued until they were seated at their table in a quiet but expensive restaurant.

Moving his chair closer to Jody’s, Cat picked up her hand and gently ran his fingers over it. "Are we going to spend the entire evening in silence?"

A smile tugged at Jody’s lips. "I hope not," she mur-mured. "It would be hopelessly boring."

"So shall we start again, with a truce."

"Definitely."

"Great." Reaching across the table, Cat picked up the menus and handed one to Jody. "So let’s get what we’re going to eat out of the way, then we can talk."

For a short time silence surrounded the couple while they studied the menu.

"How about a pre-dinner drink." Cat asked laying down his menu.

"I’d like that."

"Any preference, or will you let me choose for you?"

"You choose."

"Right, won’t be a minute." Getting to his feet, Cat crossed the room to the bar, situated in one corner of the large room.

His absence gave Jody the opportunity to study him without the embarrassment of being caught. As always he looked truly magnificent, his more formal attire enhancing the image that his casual clothes only hinted at - that he was a man of the world, successful, talented, good-looking, and knowing exactly where he was going in his chosen field.

Heads turned to look at him as he crossed the room and from her vantage point Jody could see and sense the interest he aroused. An interest that Cat seemed totally unaware of.

Quickly before he turned back to face her, she allowed herself another long look. Noticing with pleasure the way his clothes fitted his well proportioned body. The snugly fitting, beautifully cut camel-colored trousers and matching suit jacket, coordinated with a black silk shirt and shiny black shoes, made Jody think of a large untamed cat. She began to understand where his stage-name had originated.

"Your drink, honey." With a start Jody came back to the present.

"Thanks." Picking up the glass she took a tentative sip.

"Okay?"

"Fine, thank you."

Settling back in his seat, Cat loosened his jacket buttons, then picked up his drink and took a long slow draught.

"Tell me what you’ve been doing with yourself, since I saw you last."

"Not a lot. Visiting friends, doing a little shopping and sightseeing. Nothing very exciting. What about you?"

"I haven’t stopped since you dropped me in town. Today, as I told you on the phone, I had a record taping. Before that I had to meet my brother and daughter at the airport and run them out to my parent’s house and get them settled. Then there were interviews, practice with the band. The list goes on and on."

"I saw the press photograph of you and your daughter at the airport. How old is she?"

"Nine."

"She’s very pretty."

"Very, and an absolute darling."

"You get on well together?" Jody questioned, taking advantage of Cat’s expansive mood to find out more about his family.

"Yes we do, although we don’t see a lot of each other. I’m away on tour a lot, and she has to stay at home so that she can go to school."

"Your wife doesn’t travel with you?"

"My wife is dead!" Cat’s tone was abrupt and im-mediately Jody sensed this wasn’t a subject that she should pursue. Before she could ask another question, Cat continued. "There’s only Trina and I, and that’s the way it’s going to stay."

A feeling of dismay settled over Jody. Cat’s attitude to her question had almost bordered on rudeness. Had he and his wife had problems even before her death? Jody wished she was bold enough to ask him. To find out what had given him such a bad attitude, and did his answer mean that he never intended to get married again?

But the questions that swarmed through her mind never got a chance to form as pushing to his feet, Cat held out his hand. "Let’s dance."

Taking the outstretched hand, Jody allowed him to tug her to her feet and lead her onto the minute dance floor. Swing-ing her into his arms, Cat pulled her close, his hands sliding down her back to rest low on her spine.

Finding herself trapped tightly within the circle of his arms, Jody slid her hands up his chest and pushed, hoping to widen the gap between them. She couldn’t think straight when she was this close to him.

But as had happened in Taupo, Cat wouldn’t allow a space between them. In fact his arms tightened around her body and he lowered his head until his lips were only inches from her ear.

"Please don’t fight, honey. I can do without any aggro tonight."

"But..."

"No arguments please. I promise I won’t hurt you. I just want to hold you close to me. Relax and enjoy."

Moving his head a fraction, Cat pressed a light kiss on Jody’s partially opened lips, effectively silencing her. With a sigh, Jody relaxed and let herself be overtaken by the soft subtle music and the presence of the man with whom she was dancing.

"Mmm, that’s better," Cat murmured, relaxing his hold a little. "We don’t need to fight, do we?"

For Jody the rest of the evening passed in a dream. Cat seemed to go out of his way to be charming, adhering to most of her wishes and treating her like she was someone very special to him. Jody lapped it up. Falling further and further under his spell as the evening progressed.

When he suggested leaving the restaurant and going back to his hotel, she didn’t protest. Caught up in his aura, she would have agreed to almost anything he’d suggested.

But for Jody the feeling didn’t last.

Once away from the quiet intimacy of the restaurant, with its soft lights and subtle music, Jody’s sensible side began to reassert itself. By the time they arrived at Cat’s hotel room she had lost her initial euphoria.

Noticing her withdrawal, Cat set about trying to recreate the mood that had carried them through the evening. Closing the door behind them, he flicked on the softly dimmed side-lights, then taking her by the hand led her across the room. Without speaking he reached out and slid her jacket off her shoulders, then gently pushed her down into the depths of the plush sofa. Unbuttoning and removing his own jacket, he sank down beside her.

Without haste, he settled himself into the soft depths, his arm sliding around Jody’s shoulders and pulling her close. For a short while they sat in complete silence, enjoying each other’s company, without words getting in the way.

Then as if he had been bottling it up all night, Cat suddenly asked. "Why didn’t you tell me that you flatted with a male?"

Jody tensed. He sounded angry, as if what she did with her life mattered to him. With a puzzled frown she sat up and turned to face him. "What difference would it have made?"

"Lots! I had you tapped as an innocent young woman. Obviously I got it wrong." There was just a hint of sarcasm in Cat’s voice and Jody picked it up.

"How? Having Michael as a flatmate doesn’t change what I am."

"Of course it does! Males and females living together usually mean that they are sleeping together as well."

"Like hell!" Jody’s former mood of relaxation and hap-piness dissipated, to be quickly replaced with hurt and disgust. Hurt that Cat could think that about her, and disgust at the way his mind worked.

"Why protest so much? It’s nothing to be ashamed of, and I don’t condemn you for it."

"Thanks." She muttered sarcastically, then with a need to clarify the situation, she continued. "Look, Mr. Grant, Michael, and I have not, nor will we ever sleep together. He and my other flatmate are too involved with each other for that."

"Your other flatmate."

"Yes, Clare Jones. She and Michael have been a couple ever since I can remember." With difficulty, Jody was managing to hold her temper. Cat’s next words, nearly pushed her over the edge.

"So you and Michael aren’t involved, in any way?"

"No we are not! Don’t you listen to anything I say?" Jumping to her feet, Jody put much needed space between them. "I could never go to bed with someone I don’t love. Not like some people I know," she added, wanting to hurt him as he had hurt her with his words.

Immediately Cat tensed, his whole body as still as his namesake when it was about to pounce on its prey. "Are you implying that’s what I do?" he questioned in a deadly quiet voice.

Too incensed to heed the warning in that quiet tone, Jody retorted, "If the cap fits, wear it." Then unable to bear the tension between them any longer, she picked up her jacket and shrugged into it, before turning toward the door. But a low angry growl from the vicinity of the sofa had her turning back in that direction.

"You bitch! Sure it fits, as you damn well knew it would!"

Levering himself upright, Cat advanced slowly towards the cringing woman, his eyes and face a mask of calm control. This calmness frightened Jody more than his anger would have done.

With a gasp she took a step backwards. To her surprise, Cat didn’t come any closer. Still in that same calm voice he continued. "So what if I go to bed with women I don’t love? Is there any crime against it? We both go into it with our eyes open and know exactly what we’re getting out of it."

"But it’s so cold...so..." Jody began, only to give up in disgust. What was the use, she decided. He’d never see her point of view.

"Cold-blooded! Perhaps! But why not? I’m a red-blooded male who needs that sort of satisfaction from time to time. Why, if it’s offered on a plate, shouldn’t I take it? Others don’t refuse!"

Convulsively Jody clenched her teeth against the retort that hovered on her lips. If she blurted out what she was think-ing, he’d know exactly how she was beginning to feel about him, and that would have him scurrying for cover as fast as he could.

"Answer me, damn you." With two strides Cat was across the short space between them and gripped her around the upper arms. "Should I deny myself what’s offered?" he repeated, "Especially when I have no commitments."

Frightened by his anger, it took all Jody’s courage for her to murmur. "N-no I guess not." Then as the pain her arms became too intense to bear she cried, "Please, you’re hurting me."

Abruptly, Cat dropped his hands and took a step back-wards. "Sorry," he murmured. "I didn’t mean to hurt you." Spinning on his heels, he crossed to where he had flung his jacket. "I’ll take you home," he snapped, as he shrugged into it.

Jody moved toward the door, but before she could open it, Cat’s voice halted her progress.

"Before we go, there’s something I want to give you."

Swinging around, Jody was in time to see Cat lean forward and pick up a long cellophane cylinder off the side table. With lack of warmth and little ceremony he thrust it into her hands.

"Thanks for a lovely evening," he murmured in a voice that could only be described as icy. Without further ado, he crossed to the door, flung it open, and stood waiting for Jody to move through it.

CHAPTER FOUR

Later, alone in her bedroom and devastated by the terrible end to such a delightful evening, Jody studied the package that had been thrust unceremoniously into her hands.

A rose. It was one of the most beautiful specimens that Jody had ever seen. Small and perfectly formed, its color was so deep red it was almost black. Gently she lifted it out of its container and held it up to her face, stroking the velvet petals against her cheek and inhaling its unique perfume.

Tears began to wend their way down her face. How had such a fantastic evening deteriorated so quickly? Why had it mattered to Cat that she and Michael might have been living together?

She stroked the petals of the rose again. How she wished that this tiny symbol of perfection had been given to her under different circumstances. It could have meant so much, to them both.

****

"How did the evening go? As terrific as you hoped?"

Michael, already seated at the breakfast bar, got to his feet as Jody came into the room, but she waved him back into his seat.

Pulling forward the coffee percolator she poured herself a cup and sank onto the nearest stool.

"Fine, just fine." she murmured, trying hard to keep the dejection out of her voice, but failing miserably.

"Just fine? I thought you’d be on top of the world. What went wrong?"

"Nothing." Angrily, Jody tried to bring the subject to a close before it even got started.

"Now that I don’t believe. You have a date with Cat Grant and it’s just fine. Come on, pull the other leg." Clare came in just in time to hear both Michael’s question and Jody’s answer, staring in disbelief at her friend. "What happened? Didn’t things go well?"

"Things went horribly wrong!"

"I’m sorry." Clare gave her friend a quick hug. "Perhaps next time will be different."

"I don’t think there will be a next time," Jody mur-mured, quietly, then in a stronger voice, she added, "Can we change the subject please?"

"Sure. Actually as we’re all here, Michael and I have something to tell you."

"You have? What?"

"Brace yourself, Jody," Michael said, slightly embar-rassed.

"Behave, Michael." Gently Clare reprimanded the man. Then turning to Jody she said, "Michael and I are getting married."

"Married! You two! When?"

Jody was genuinely surprised and made no effort to hide it. For as long as she could remember Michael and Clare had denied wanting to marry, saying they were quite happy with the arrangement they had.

"Two weeks time."

A knowing smile flitted across Jody’s face. "Uhuh," she teased.

"No that isn’t the reason at all. I’m not pregnant."

"Sorry."

"Don’t be." Michael reassured. "I guess it’s what everyone’s going to think when we announce it. No," he added, "the reason behind our sudden decision is that we’ve both been ac-cepted for Volunteer Service Abroad and feel that in order to be sent to the same place, it would be far better for us to be married."

"That’s not a very good excuse for marrying." Jody reproved.

"That’s not the only reason why. You know we love each other and want to be together. This way we can have it both ways."

"I’m relieved to hear that. When do you leave for your assignments, and what happens about your other jobs?"

"We leave in three weeks time, that’s why we have to rush to get married. As for our jobs, our bosses have been ter-rific about it. Both have said we can have them back or some-thing similar when we come home." Michael took a deep breath, then continued. "What’s really worrying Clare and I is leaving you in the lurch with the flat. Unfortunately we won’t be able to retain our interest in it while we’re away, as we really only get what amounts to spending money, and even that’s not much."

"Don’t worry about that. I’m sure I’ll have no trouble finding someone else to share with me. If I decide I want someone. For the moment I don’t think I’ll bother."

"But that’ll be terrifically expensive, especially as you’re still at University and don’t live here all the time."

"No it won’t. Dad pays the rent for me. It’s his way of making sure that I have somewhere to live, or so he told me when I first went flatting. Anyway I’m thinking of quitting University and getting a job."

"Giving up? But I thought you enjoyed it." Clare ex-claimed, gazing anxiously at her friend’s tightly closed face.

"I do. But suddenly I can’t see any future in what I’m studying. I feel as though I’m just filling in time."

Again Clare stared in concern at her friend. Something was definitely wrong in Jody’s life. She was acting so unlike herself.

"Think very carefully before you do anything so rash, Jody. It could change your whole life."

A harsh laugh erupted from Jody’s lips, the sound of which chilled Clare’s blood.

"You and Sandy must be on the same wavelength, she gave me the same advice. What the hell does it matter?" she added cynically.

"Coming from Sandy, heaps. She’s been through the whole scene, so she knows what she is talking about."

"I’ve got to go." Glancing up at the clock, Clare jumped to her feet and gathered up the dishes. But before she left the room, she turned back with one final word of advice. "Think carefully, Jody, and don’t let anything that’s happened over the last few days in-fluence you one way or the other."

Left alone, Jody poured herself another cup of coffee and sat back to ponder her friend’s words. It was good advice. She should think carefully about it. But the more she tried to concentrate on the problem, the more thoughts of Cat began to intrude. Finally she gave up, and hurried through to her bedroom to dress.

For the rest of the morning she kept herself super busy. She spring-cleaned the flat until it shone like a bright new pin, until there was nothing else for her to do. No other job to keep her occupied.

Plugging in the coffee percolator, she waited until it gave the final plop to signal it was ready, then poured herself a cup and settled down on the sofa with a new magazine she hadn’t yet read. But although it was one of her favorites, it failed to hold her interest and with an angry exclamation she tossed it aside.

In desperation she got to her feet and crossed to the stereo, but the minute she picked up a CD she was reminded of Cat, and she thrust it back into the cabinet. Finally she gave up trying to find things to do. Diving into her bedroom, she grabbed her handbag and headed out of the flat.

On impulse, once she was seated behind the wheel of her small compact sports car, she turned towards Remuera and her father’s house. With a bit of luck, she thought, Sandy might like to join her in a shopping spree.

Sandy welcomed the suggestion with open arms. "If you can wait until I’ve had a shower, then I’d love to join you."

"Take your time, I’ve got all day." Pushing open the sliding doors, Jody added, "I’ll just go and inspect the garden while you’re showering."

"Okay, have a look down the bottom, we’ve had a new rockery built."

Pushing aside the filmy draperies, Jody stepped through the sliding doors onto the terrace, then down the three steps to the lawn below. Following the wide green expanse, she soon came to the new area.

Built against the high brick wall that surrounded the property, the rockery was a mastery of design and beauty. It was built on two levels, a pool on each, the top draining into the bottom, then being re-cycled with the aid of pumps, back up to the top.

Large gold-colored fish swam lazily around and around in the bottom pool, which was surrounded by small succulent plants and pretty flowering shrubs, together with large reddish brown rocks.

"Like it?" Sandy appeared by Jody’s side and with a start the girl realized she had been staring blindly at the pool for quite some time.

"Oh yes, it’s beautiful. It must have taken a lot of hard work."

"It sure did. Jason had the basic heavy work done by a contractor, but I’ve done all the rest."

"I wish I had your gift. There must be something in-tensely satisfying about seeing the fruits of all your hard work."

"There is. You should try it." Sandy suggested, some-what tongue in cheek. She didn’t like the intense look of strain that was present on her stepdaughter-’s face.

"And how would I do that?"

"Get married and buy a house."

"First I have to find the right man. We’re not all as lucky as you, you know."

"Don’t I know it. But don’t worry," she added, reas-suringly, "some day Mr. Right will come along."

"Perhaps he already has!" Jody murmured, then aghast at what she had let slip, she quickly glanced Sandy’s way, hoping that she hadn’t heard. But she had.

"He has?" she questioned, her gaze settling on Jody’s un-usually pale face.

"I’m not sure. Forget I said anything. Please, Sandy."

"Okay. But don’t give up hope Jody. If you’ve found the one man for you, stick like glue to him and don’t let any-thing or anyone take him away from you."

"If only it were that easy," Jody murmured. Then with a forced laugh she assumed a gaiety she didn’t feel. "Are we going shopping, or aren’t we?"

"We’re going. Let’s move."

****

"Come on Jody, try it on. If it fits, I’ll buy it for you."

"No Sandy, I couldn’t possibly let you. It’s far too expensive."

But Sandy wasn’t listening to her stepdaughter’s protests. Giving her a shove, she sent her off to try on the beautiful outfit.

"Well?" Jody stood outlined against the curtains, her body swathed in the blue-green silk trouser suit.

"Terrific! I knew it’d suit you. Do you like it?"

"Who wouldn’t? But I can’t afford it."

Slowly Jody ran her hands down over her silk clad body. It felt so good to be dressed up like this, but it was way out of her price range. She sighed with disappointment.

Noting the sigh, Sandy gave Jody a push back into the changing room. Turning to the shop assistant, she said. "We’ll take it."

Jody tried to argue, but finally had to give in. To argue with Sandy when she was in a generous mood was useless. But although she accepted the gift, she vowed to herself, that as soon as she had a well paying job, she’d repay every penny the dress cost.

"Now let’s go and hunt Jason out of his office and get him to take us to lunch. It’s nearly one o’clock, so he should be ready to eat." Slipping her arm through Jody’s, Sandy led the way from the store and down the street to her husband’s workplace.

"But you haven’t bought anything for yourself." Jody protested.

"Later. Just now I’m dying for lunch."

****

As Jody had given in under Sandy’s persuasion, so did Jason Allen find himself giving in. Several minutes later after they had burst into his office, he found himself seated in his favorite restaurant, ordering lunch for three.

"Did you buy anything exciting?" Mr. Allen laid aside the large menu and addressed his question to both women.

"Jody did, but I’m going to have my splurge after lunch." Sandy supplied the answer for both of them.

"My poor pocket!" A grimace of mock horror spread it’s way across Jason Allen’s face. "Bread and scrape for the next year."

Playfully Sandy punched his arm. "Don’t tease," she reproved. "Since when have I over spent?" Then before he could answer, she continued, an excited lilt in her voice. "Hey, Jody, isn’t that Cat Grant?"

Slowly, her heart pounding out of control, Jody turned around but could see no sign of Cat. Puzzled, she turned back to Sandy. "Where?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.

"Over to your left, with that auburn-haired woman."

Again Jody swung her head sideways. Sure enough, there was Cat, being shown to a secluded table in the far corner of the restaurant. With him was the lady she had last seen standing next to him and Trina in the newspaper photo.

Quickly, in case he should see her looking at him, she turned away.

But she couldn’t stop looking for long.

As if of their own violation her eyes strayed back towards him, and as they did she was in time to see the woman smile up into Cat’s face. The intimacy of that smile made Jody’s heart sink. That smile said it all.

"Well?" Sandy’s impatient voice snapped Jody’s attention back. "Is that him?"

"Yes that’s Cat Grant." Jody snapped abruptly.

A strange expression flitted across Sandy’s face. "I thought you liked him. Haven’t you got heaps of his recordings?"

"You know I have, and yes I do like his singing. But from what I’ve heard about his private life, I doubt that I’d like him in person. He’s reputed to be an out and out rake."

"I see." To Jody’s dismay, Sandy no longer sounded puzzled by her step daughter’s attitude, in fact, she sounded downright complacent.

"Where did you meet him, honey?" she asked curiously, noting with interest the stunned look that crossed Jody’s face at the question.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I asked where you’d met him."

"And I’d like to know, too." Mr. Allen interrupted. "If his reputation’s as bad as you say, I’m not sure I like the idea of my daughter knowing him."

Jody gulped convulsively. What would her father say if he knew she had picked him up and that she had been alone with him in his hotel room? She gulped again.

"Well Jody, I’m waiting."

"Sorry, Dad." Taking a deep breath she decided to tell him the truth.

"He was hitchhiking, and I picked him up."

A roar of anger erupted from Mr. Allen and his face suf-fused with color. "You what?" he demanded, angrily. "My God, you little fool. You picked up a strange man?"

Quickly Sandy tried to soothe her husband’s badly ruffled protective feathers. "Jason, you’re yelling and everyone’s looking."

But Jason Allen refused to be calmed. "So I’ll yell louder, too, if I don’t get a straight answer from Jody. Well?" he demanded, ignoring the warning look his wife cast him.

"Yes, Dad, I did."

"How could you?" Gradually his anger was subsiding to be replaced with relief that nothing untoward had happened to her. "Do you realize what a risk you were taking, doing some-thing as foolish as that?"

"Of course. But nothing happened. Cat was a perfect gentleman."

"Lucky for you! Next time you might not be quite so lucky, so don’t, and I’ll repeat that so you don’t forget. Don’t ever do that again. Do you hear me?"

"Yes dad." Suitably chastened, Jody agreed.

"Can we eat now?" In an effort to cover up the uncom-fortable silence, Sandy changed the subject. To her relief, her husband seemed to be satisfied with Jody’s answer and began con-centrating on the food that had just been placed in front of them.

Grateful for her intervention on her behalf, Jody flashed her stepmother a smile of thanks. For a while she had thought her father was going to really go on and on at her, but thanks to Sandy’s timely intervention, she had escaped his further wrath.

Her appetite gone but knowing that she had to make an effort to eat, Jody picked up her cutlery and began to toy aim-lessly at the meal in front of her. But though she raised her fork to her mouth several times and placed food in it, she had no idea what it was she ate. All her thoughts were centered on the man in the far corner of the room...and his beautiful companion.

Continually her eyes strayed towards Cat, and each time she looked and saw how engrossed in each other they appeared to be, she glanced away, more depressed than ever.

Unbeknownst to Jody, Sandy was watching her and noting the look of pain that came and went each time she looked toward the far-off table. Finally she couldn’t allow it to go on any longer. Pushing to her feet, she gave Jody the chance of a break.

"Shall we go and freshen up, before we have our coffee?"

With a grateful nod, Jody got to her feet and followed Sandy to the rest room.

"You haven’t known Cat long, have you? But he seems to have made a deep impression on you." Sandy sank into the seat in front of the mirror, but made no attempt to renew her make-up. Instead she turned to face her distraught stepdaughter.

"Who?"

"Cat Grant. I couldn’t help noticing how hurt you were to see him so close to another woman."

"It didn’t hurt at all," Jody denied angrily. "I hardly know the guy. Why should it hurt to see him with someone else?"

"Because he’s starting to mean a lot to you."

"Like hell! I don’t even like him! He’s too darn sure of himself, especially where women are concerned."

"It’s not necessary to like a person to fall in love with them, Jody," Sandy reminded her.

"For me it is. Cat Grant is a cad and a womanizer, and he means nothing, absolutely nothing to me. I hope that I never see him again after today." Abruptly, as if the whole sub-ject had become distasteful, Jody shot to her feet and headed back to the restaurant, leaving Sandy little option but to fol-low.

Arriving back at the table Jody sank wearily into her seat, determined to concentrate on her food and her companions and not the man across the room from her. But to her disgust it didn’t prove to be that easy.

Unconsciously, her gaze kept drifting towards the secluded table, and so it continued throughout the rest of her meal.

When her father suggested that they leave, she agreed readily. Without waiting to push back her chair, she jumped to her feet. But in her haste to be gone, Jody sent her chair flying backwards, making it land against the one behind it. The loud clatter attracted the attention of the other patrons.

Embarrassed, Jody dropped her head against her chest and grimaced. Seeing that embarrassment, Mr. Allen hurried around the table to right the two chairs, before sliding his arm around his daughter’s shoulders in a quick hug of reassurance.

"Thanks, Dad. I must be getting clumsy in my old age." Desperate to hide what she was really feeling, Jody tried to make a joke of the whole incident, but failed miserably.

"Let’s go." Dropping his arm, Mr. Allen stood back to allow his daughter to proceed him from the restaurant.

But Jody couldn’t leave without stealing one last glance at Cat. Almost immediately she wished she hadn’t, for the man was on his feet and hurrying across the room toward them.

Grabbing her father’s arm, Jody urged him towards the door, hoping that they would be able to escape before Cat reached them. But the effort was in vain. He was beside them before they had covered half the space.

"Hello, Jody. I didn’t realize you were eating here as well." His deep, slightly husky voice reached out and caressed Jody’s taut nerves.

Determined not to let him see how his presence affected her, Jody smiled coolly and answered, "Hello, Cat."

"Aren’t you going to introduce us, Jody?" This came from Sandy who had moved around to stand beside her.

"Sure." Angrily Jody glared at her stepmother, but Sandy chose to ignore the look. With a sigh she effected the introduc-tions. "Cat, I’d like you to meet my parents. Dad, Sandy, this is Cat Grant."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Allen, Mrs. Allen." The famous Grant charm was well in evidence and neither of the two people on the receiving end of it were immune. Introductions over, Cat turned back to face Jody. "You’re leaving?"

"Yes. We’ve finished our lunch."

"You have to be somewhere?"

Deliberately, knowing she had to resist the charm that was being flashed her way, Jody kept her voice completely devoid of emotion. "No, nowhere in particular. Sandy and I are just going to continue with our shopping."

"Then why don’t you both stay and have another cup of coffee with me. There’s someone I’d like you to meet." As he extended the invitation Cat’s eyes scanned Jody’s pale face and he added, "You look like you could do with a rest, rather than a mad rush of shopping. Please, honey, join me?" This time his request was accompanied by a stunning smile.

Tempted, but resisting it for all she was worth, she dropped her eyes away from what she knew was a deliberate ploy to charm her. In a voice as cold as ice, she snapped. "No thanks!"

Then before either of her parents could react, she turned on her heel and rushed from the restaurant. For several seconds everyone stared after her, then with a muttered "Excuse me," Mr. & Mrs. Allen hurried after Jody.

Taken aback, Cat stared after them, a mixture of emo-tions flitting across his handsome face, then with an angry ex-clamation he muttered, "Damn the woman!" and stalked back to his table.

Sinking into his seat, he drew forward his glass and drained the contents in one long gulp before signaling the waiter for another drink.

"So that’s who’s been causing you to lose sleep." The hard taunting voice was accompanied by an even harder smile. "A little young, isn’t she?"

"Don’t talk rubbish, Sharna. She means nothing to me." Picking up his now full glass he took another long drink.

"Pull the other leg. That’s not the impression I got."

"For God’s sake, Sharna. I don’t need that kind of talk from you."

"And I don’t need a crystal ball to know that she’s going to be your next conquest. Although," she added sarcasti-cally, "I still say she’s a little young and inexperienced for you."

A low growl erupted from between Cat’s lips, but he made no attempt to chastise the woman for her deliberate insult. Instead he picked up his glass and stared into its depths, his face drawn and pale.

But Sharna wasn’t used to being ignored, nor could she leave well enough alone.

"So her age gets to you, does it?" she taunted, then added. "You know that’s the first time I’ve seen a woman refuse one of your invitations. You must be losing your touch!"

Deliberately she slammed cruel, hurtful words in his direc-tion, wanting to hurt him as he hurt her. She was jealous. Bitterly jealous, of any one new that came into his life.

She had known Cat a long time and had always hoped that eventually, when he got sick of the constant round of women, he’d turn to her. So far, to her dismay, it had not happened.

"Have you finished?" With uncharacteristic lack of manners, Cat pushed to his feet, threw some money on the table and left the restaurant, leaving a bewildered woman to hurry after him.

****

"He’s very handsome, your Cat Grant."

"How many times do I have to tell you Sandy, he’s not my anything."

A hint of sadness crept into Jody’s voice as she answered, and Sandy was quick to notice it, although she didn’t comment.

"I think he might be, honey, despite your denial."

"No!" One word but it was loaded with hurt and frustration.

"You’d like me to drop the subject, wouldn’t you?"

"Please." Wearily, Jody acknowledged the truth.

"Okay, even though it’d be far better for you to talk about it." Then after a pause Sandy continued. "Tell me if you’ve decided what sort of job you’d like."

CHAPTER FIVE

"Hi, Jody. Just in time for a drink before dinner," Michael greeted her as she strode into the room, dropping her jacket, purse and parcel onto the nearest chair and sinking down into another.

Kicking off her shoes, Jody sighed wearily before ac-cepting his offer of a drink. "Make it long, cool and potent, I feel I need it."

"Hard day?" Clare questioned, coming out of the kitchen where she had been putting the final touches to the dinner.

"Sort of! Things didn’t..."

"Oh before I forget. You had a phone call." Michael inter-rupted. "Cat Grant called and wants you to call him back. The number’s on the pad by the telephone."

"Thanks."

"Well, aren’t you going to ring him?"

"Not just now." Taking a long drink from her glass, Jody relaxed back against the cushions of the chair with pretended nonchalance.

"But why?"

"I’d rather not go into that if you don’t mind. Now tell me," she continued, "when are we going to have this superb dinner that you’ve prepared?"

Michael and Clare exchanged puzzled looks. Something wasn’t quite right with their friend. Clare opened her mouth to question Jody but Michael, seeing the strain and depression reflected on their friend’s face, shook his head to silence her.

Instead, Clare turned to the subject of dinner. "If you give me five minutes, dinner will be on the table."

"Five minutes it is, then. I’ll just go and put my things away." Still clutching her drink in one hand, Jody bent and gathered up her possessions and headed for her bedroom. A few minutes later she was back, looking a little pale but more composed.

But she had hardly sat down at the table when the phone began to ring. Being closest, Jody picked it up.

"Jody, at last! Where have you been?" Cat’s deep husky voice echoed over the line, sending tingles up and down Jody’s spine.

But she wasn’t about to let him know the effect he had on her nerves. In a voice as cold as ice she snapped, "Out."

"I saw you, so I already know that." There was no mis-taking the sarcasm in Cat’s voice. Without giving her a chance to retaliate he continued, "Didn’t you get my message?"

"I got it!"

"I see!" A wealth of meaning tinged Cat’s voice. "What have I done to you, honey, that you’re treating me like this?"

"Don’t pretend that you don’t know." The coolness in Jody’s voice evaporated in a puff as anger took its place.

"You’re still mad about the other night!" Cat sounded surprised that it was still bothering her.

"And if I am?"

"If I say I’m sorry that I was such an idiot, will you try and forget it?"

"It’s not possible. Look, Cat, I’m in the middle of din-ner. I must go." Moving the phone away from her ear, Jody was about to replace it when she heard Cat’s voice begging her not to hang up on him.

"Jody, please don’t go. I really am sorry. Truly. I didn’t intentionally go out of my way to upset you. Misguidedly I thought it would be better to tell you the truth about my past life. But obviously it wasn’t the time for such plain speaking. Can’t we forget it and start anew?"

But although Jody longed to agree, she hesitated before answering. She didn’t want him to think that she was ready to jump every time he snapped his fingers.

"Well," he snapped impatiently, "can we start again?"

"I guess so, if that’s what you want." Taking a deep breath, Jody continued, "Can I go now?"

"If you must, but before you do, can we meet again?"

"I’m not sure, I’m going to be pretty busy for the next two weeks, so I won’t have much time for socializing. Perhaps..."

But Jody didn’t have time to finish. In a voice that vibrated with anger, Cat interrupted. "Okay, I get the message. I don’t beg anyone. Forget I asked. Good-bye!!"

The loud bang as the phone was slammed back into its cradle reverberated through Jody’s ear, making her wince in pain. As if burnt, she dropped her phone back onto the bench.

Tears sprang to her eyes. She’s made him angry again, and that wasn’t what she intended at all. All she had been trying to tell him was that she had appointments, but perhaps with a little reshuffling she’d be able to find some time to see him as he had requested. But he hadn’t waited around to hear her explanation.

She had to contact him again and try and explain. Reaching for the telephone, she quickly dialed the number that he had left for her, but to her dismay he was nowhere to be found in the hotel. After leaving her number with the receptionist, Jody hung up, more dejected than ever.

Depressed, mainly by her own stupidity, Jody stood gazing at the inanimate object for several minutes, trying to figure out where Cat had been calling from. Then suddenly the truth hit her. He had told her that he was going to visit his parents as much as possible, so perhaps he had been ringing from there.

With spirits lifting by the second, Jody reached for the phone book and began to sift through it. But to her dismay there were so many Grants listed that she had to abandon her search as a total waste of time. With a heavy heart she replaced the book.

It looked very much like she’d mucked up any chance she might have had with Cat. And all because she’d been super-sensitive about Cat’s past. What had gone on before she met him didn’t matter. It was in the past. It was only now that she was realizing this.

Her mind turned to her chance meeting with him at the restaurant. He hadn’t seemed to be particularly bright and happy as she would have normally expected him to be when in the company of a beautiful woman. In fact, he’d looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. His face drawn and pale, his glorious eyes ringed with dark circles.

She wondered what had put them there. Whether he’d been spending too much time working and partying and not enough time resting.

You’re jumping to conclusions again, woman, she chided herself. Haven’t you learned anything yet about playing guessing games? It’s probably just the long hours that he’s had to put in with his recording sessions.

"Jody, are you coming back to eat your dinner?" Michael’s voice sounded anxious, and, with a shake of her head and a deep breath, she got to her feet and made her way back to the table.

Dejectedly, she sat down and picked up her knife and fork, but though she made an effort to eat, the food tasted like sawdust. Finally she gave up trying to swallow and pushed her plate away.

"Anything wrong, Jody?"

"Not really. Or nothing that I can talk about."

"Like to try? Sometimes it helps to share a problem."

"Thanks Clare, but for the moment I think I’ll pass. I’m not sure that I can explain, anyway."

"Okay, friend, but don’t forget that we’re always here if you feel like discussing anything at all."

Gratefully Jody flashed her flatmates a smile. "I really appreciate that, thank you."

****

The next morning as she was getting dressed, ready to go out, Clare appeared at her bedroom door with a newspaper in her hand. "Hey Jody, did you see this article about Cat Grant?"

"Article! Where?"

"Here in last night’s paper. It goes into some detail about his Maori ancestry."

"Maori ancestry? I didn’t know he was part Maori."

"Well apparently he is, on his mother’s side. Here, read it for yourself." Clare thrust the paper towards Jody. "According to the article, Cat has always taken a great interest in his Maori heritage and includes lots of Maori material in his concerts."

Taking the paper, Jody quickly scanned the newspaper, ab-sorbing every detail with interest. The article explained in detail that Cat spoke and understood the Maori language almost as well as the English language. He was advocating anyone with even a hint of Maori blood learn the language and customs so that they would not be lost to the next generation.

"How proud his mother must be of him," Jody muttered to herself.

A large photo at the bottom of the article drew her at-tention. Standing with his arm around an older woman’s shoulders, the look of affection on his face was the same one that she had seen there when he had been photographed with his daughter. As between father and daughter, there was obviously a good rapport between mother and son.

Looking at the proud lady standing alongside Cat, Jody could see where he got both his good looks and his proud upright standing. It was stamped on both their faces, and in their carriage. They were of royal blood and very proud of it.

It seemed an obvious conclusion, after reading about him, that Cat should turn up at Jody’s flat that evening. As if unsure of his welcome, he hovered on her doorstep, waiting for her invitation to enter. When it was forthcoming, he didn’t hesitate but stepped quickly over the threshold, a warm smile slashing his face.

"How are you, honey?" he asked, following her into the lounge and sinking into the nearest chair.

"Fine. And you?"

"Oh, I’m fine."

There was an awkwardness between them, something that neither of them seemed equipped to handle, but Cat made a sterling effort.

"Tell me why you left your name and number, Jody?"

"I wanted to apologize for my attitude to you."

"Apology accepted. So you admit you were in the wrong?"

"Yes, I guess I was to a certain extent. But you also jumped to conclusions."

"I guess I did. Put it down to an overabundance of pride. I couldn’t stand the thought of having my apology rejected."

"I’m sorry. I’m not usually so rude."

"Shall we start anew?"

"Yes, please."

"Great. Will you tell me why you acted like that?"

"I don’t know," Jody admitted, shamefacedly.

But Cat was unconvinced. "I don’t buy that, honey. I think you do know. Had it anything to do with seeing me with Sharna?"

"Perhaps! Really, I don’t know. It’s all tangled up in my mind, and I can’t seem to untangle it. All I know is that I wanted to hurt you."

"Oh, you did that, honey. Very successfully," Cat admitted, albeit somewhat reluctantly. "I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before. You even got between me and my music, which definitely hasn’t happened before."

"I’m sorry." Again Jody apologized and couldn’t help thinking that this was becoming something of a habit.

"No more apologies. We’re starting from scratch."

Moving across the room, Cat slid into the seat beside Jody and slipped an arm around her shoulders. Before Jody realized his intention, his lips brushed across hers in a light but telling kiss.

"Sealed with a kiss, Pounamu, and that’s the way it should be between us. No more fighting. Please! It tears me apart."

"No more fighting," Jody agreed readily, then curiously asked, "What did you call me?"

"Pounamu. It’s Maori for Jade."

"I see, but where’s the connection?"

Pulling her to her feet Cat guided her to the mirror above the fireplace. Turning her around to face it, he stood behind her and whispered, "Look at your eyes. They’re the color of jade. It’s one of the first things I noted about you that day on the road. That and your beautiful hair."

"You did."

"Sure, and it took a great deal of tongue biting not to tell you right there and then. But I figured that you might turn tail and run before I had a chance to get to know you better if I told you, so I kept quiet. I didn’t want to lose you before I got to know you better."

Turning her around, Cat slid his hands down to encircle her waist and pulled her closer.

"Oh, Jody," he whispered, lower-ing his head so that his lips rested just above hers. "Thank goodness we’ve settled things. I couldn’t stand this anger between us." A deep sigh shook his body before he continued. "My mother will be so pleased."

"Your mother. What has she to do with us?"

"Nothing. But I’ve been driving her crazy, or so she tells me. She gave me a good dressing down this morning. Said I was to make my peace with you, or go stay somewhere else. My cranky moods and bad temper were driving her crazy."

"You’ve been obnoxious, in other words."

"I’d say that was probably the understatement of the year. You do know that I adore you, don’t you?"

Before she had time to ponder his revealing words, Cat’s head moved the rest of the way, and his lips pressed down onto hers in a slow, mind-drugging kiss that left Jody gasping for breath and shaking from top to toe.

Needing to catch her breath, she pushed back out of his arms. A ragged sigh whistled out from between her lips and to her surprise, the same sound echoed from between Cat’s lips, to be almost immediately followed by a slow sensual smile.

"How about coffee? I think we both could use some, don’t you?"

As if in a trance, Jody moved towards the kitchen. Coffee was the last thing on her mind, but what was there frightened her silly. Never in her short lifetime had she felt this way after just one kiss, and that from a man who she seemed to be constantly at war with.

A shudder shook her slim frame. It was almost as if Cat had some hold over her and could manipulate her at will. Another shudder shook Jody’s body, as she thought of the conse-quences if the kisses had continued.

"Don’t worry about it, honey." A voice from the vicinity of the doorway seemed to hone in on her thoughts. "It happens."

"I wasn’t!" Quickly Jody denied she’d been thinking about what had happened. But the minute the words were out, she knew she hadn’t fooled Cat.

"Oh no?" he queried. "In that case forget the coffee and come back into my arms where you belong." Leaving his posi-tion by the door, Cat moved toward Jody. Hurriedly she took a step backwards.

"You weren’t?" Again Cat questioned her denial.

Embarrassed color crept its way up Jody’s neck and face. "Okay," she murmured, "I admit it."

With two steps, Cat shortened the distance between them and drew her back into his arms.

"Don’t be frightened by what happened between us, honey. It’s perfectly natural. Something to be enjoyed, not ignored. I know we have only just met, and haven’t had time to get to know each other properly. But sometimes that is the way things go. If you want the truth, what happened between us frightens me as well. I don’t think I have ever felt such an over-whelming attraction to anyone in such a short space of time." Seeing the look of surprise that flitted across her face he added, "Don’t worry. I have no intention of rushing you into anything you don’t feel comfortable with. We’ll take this as slow or as fast as you want."

With a candidness which surprised herself, Jody ad-mitted the truth. "I’m not really frightened. Just concerned that it has happened so fast, and that we might be rushing into something neither of us is ready for. But I trust you to keep your word about taking our time, even though at the moment I feel I’d go along with anything you asked of me."

Cat’s face convulsed with emotion and with a groan he lowered his head to rest against hers. "Oh hell, honey," he mur-mured emotionally, "don’t say things like that unless you’re willing to take the consequences. I’m not made of stone."

For a brief minute he continued to hold Jody close, then with a deep sigh he dropped his arms and stepped away. Turning on his heel he left the kitchen.

Left on her own, it took Jody several minutes to gain control of her shaking hands and overwrought emotions before she could continue with her task of making the coffee. When she entered the lounge a short time later with a tray of coffee, it was to find Cat seated on the settee, his head resting against the backrest, his eyes closed. As if he had sixth sense where she was concerned, the minute Jody lay down the tray his eyes opened. A warm smile spread across his face, which was followed almost immediately by a wide yawn.

"Sorry about that," he murmured, pushing himself upright, "I guess I dropped off."

"You must be tired."

"Sure am. The last few days have been hectic, and I haven’t had much time for sleep."

"Then you should slow down," Jody reprimanded. Before he could answer, she lifted the coffee pot and started pouring. "Black or white?"

"Black, please, no sugar."

Careful not to touch his fingers for fear of what it would do to her nerves, Jody handed him his mug of coffee. Then, picking up hers, she sat back in her chair and began to sip the steaming liquid.

A smile of understanding spread across Cat’s face at her carefulness, but he did not comment. Lifting his mug, he took a long satisfying drink before turning his attention once more to Jody.

"Tell me, honey, are you free this weekend?"

"As far as I know. But why?" A puzzled frown furrowed Jody’s face.

"How’d you like to come to my parent’s house for the weekend?"

"You mean it?"

"Sure do. Mother and Trina are longing to meet you."

"They know about me?"

"Of course they do. Remember mother gave me that lec-ture about you. Anyway why shouldn’t they?"

"I don’t know. I guess I thought...I didn’t...It doesn’t matter." Jody finished, confused both by her feelings and his attitude towards her.

And although a frown swept across his face, Cat seemed to understand her confusion. "Don’t try to analyze it Jody. The simple fact is that I’d like you to meet my family, and they’d like to meet you. Well," he queried, "will you come?"

"I’d love to!" Without a thought for what she might be getting herself into, Jody agreed. She was just as curious to meet Cat’s family as they appeared to be to meet her. "You’re certain your mother won’t mind me staying all weekend?"

"Of course she won’t. One extra in a family our size won’t make much difference."

Eager to learn more about Cat and his family, Jody quickly asked, "You come from a large family?"

"Sure, by today’s standards I guess it is. I’ve got three brothers, and two sisters, all of whom, except for Kane, live at home. As well there always seem to be cousins, uncles, and aunts staying."

"Your poor mother." Jody, coming from a one child family, couldn’t imagine how Mrs. Grant coped.

But Cat quickly reassured her. "Poor mother be blowed. She loves it and is never happier than when she’s got the whole family around her. I guess it’s her Maori ancestry. They’re very big on the extended family."

"I read about that in the local paper."

To her surprise Cat was immediately on the defensive. "And?" he questioned tensely.

"And what?" Jody frowned. Why was he so uptight about something as simple as his heritage.

"And does it make a difference to our relationship?"

"Make a difference? Of course not! Why should it?"

Immediately, Jody saw Cat relax. "It shouldn’t! But sometimes it does."

"Not to me it doesn’t!" Jody snapped indignantly, angry at him for even thinking it would matter. "I’m not like that."

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that you were. It’s just that I have come across that sort of prejudice before when I mention that I’m part Maori." Pushing to his feet, Cat laid down his coffee mug and stretched wearily, arching his back and running his hands through tawny-gold locks before turning to face Jody. "I’d better be going before I fall asleep again. I’ll call for you tomorrow around five. Okay?"

"Sure, that’ll be fine." With reluctance that their evening together was ending, Jody got to her feet and crossed to his side. "Make sure you get a good night’s sleep. You look to-tally ex-hausted."

A slow, sensual smile spread its way across Cat’s hand-some face. "I’d sleep much better if I stayed here," he murmured seductively, then as he saw the embarrassment he had caused her, he continued. "I’d better go." Bending, he pressed a light kiss on her lips before heading for the door.

Mesmerized Jody could only stand and stare after him. "Bye," she murmured, her emotions racing out of control. A simple kiss and he’d managed to send her world topsy-turvy again. Somehow she’d have to come to terms with how he made her feel before she saw him again the next day, otherwise the weekend was going to be one big emotional crisis.

CHAPTER SIX

"Welcome to my home, Jody."

Pulling the car to a halt in front of a large brick building, Cat swung around to face the woman sitting beside him, his face alight with a truly charming smile.

"Thank you."

Jody clutched her fingers around the purse that lay in her lap. Now that she was actually at the Grant house, she was beginning to feel very nervous of meeting Cat’s family.

Sensing her nervousness, Cat reached over and squeezed her hands reassuringly. "Don’t be scared, honey. They’re quite harmless, and I’ll be beside you all the time."

Getting out of the car, Cat hurried around to open the passenger door for Jody, closing it after her he slipped his hand through hers and pulled her close. "They’ll love you," he whispered, swinging her around to face him.

"I hope so."

"Of course they will." Sliding his hands up her arms, he pulled her against his body and leaned his head against hers as if trying to instill some of his confidence into Jody’s shak-ing form. "Are you all right now?"

"Mmm."

"Good, then we can go inside. But before we do, there’s something I almost forgot to do."

"There is? What?" Unconsciously Jody raised her face upwards, which was just what Cat had been waiting for. Bending his golden head, he pressed his lips to Jody’s in a gentle but passionate kiss.

"That!" he whispered, then with a smile, he grasped her hand and led the way into the house, seemingly totally unaffected by what had just passed between them.

But for Jody it was a totally different story. The shaking had returned ten-fold, but this time it was not caused by nerves, but by Cat’s kiss.

Mentally she tried to pull herself together but had little luck. It seemed like every time Cat got close to her, it af-fected her quite badly. To Jody, who had always been in total control of her life, this was a strange and disturbing development and one she wasn’t exactly sure she welcomed.

"Daddy! So you’ve finally come." A small blonde-haired girl came running across the highly polished hall towards them. "I thought you’d gotten lost," she accused, "you were so long." Without any slackening in pace, she flung herself into Cat’s arms.

A brilliant smile lighting up his face, Cat caught the girl in his arms and flung her up into the air, his laughter intermingling with that of the small girl. "As you can see, honey-bun, we didn’t get lost." Swinging her around, he drew her attention to Jody. "How about saying hello to my friend."

"Hello, Jody." Shyly the young girl held out a small hand toward Jody.

"Hello, Trina." A smile of understanding hovering around her mouth, Jody took the small outstretched hand and shook it, giving it a gentle squeeze as well before dropping it.

To her surprise she heard a relieved hiss of breath es-cape from between Cat’s lips, but guessing that he wouldn’t thank her for inquiring into the reason behind it, Jody chose to ignore the sound.

Placing his daughter back onto the floor, Cat asked. "Where’s Grandma?"

"In the family room. Come, I’ll show you." Holding out a hand to each of them, Trina led the way down a long polished hall to the back of the house.

The first thing that struck Jody, the minute she stepped through the door into the large room, was the number of people. Self-consciously she stopped on the threshold, as on hearing the door open, every eye turned toward it.

Slipping an arm around her waist, Cat drew her close to his side and urged her forward into the room and across it to where an older woman was seated.

"Don’t panic, honey." The quiet words were whispered close to Jody’s ear and went a long way to helping her relax.

"Mother, I’d like you to meet Jody Allen. Jody, my mother."

"Welcome, Jody. At last we get to meet you." With a charming smile that was reminiscent of her son’s, the woman held out her hand to Jody.

Forgetting her shyness in the warmth of the welcome, Jody slipped out of Cat’s hold and stepped forward to take the outstretched hand.

"Thank you, Mrs. Grant. It’s lovely of you to have me here."

"Call me Mahia, as the others do. Come, sit here and let me get to know you better." Patting the seat beside her Mahia Grant urged Jody into it.

"Thank you, Mahia." Gratefully Jody sank down onto the seat, glancing up at Cat as she did so. She was surprised to see a look of supreme satisfaction on his face, but did not have time to dwell on it as Mahia began to talk to her.

"James tells me you picked him up when he was hitch-hiking. I hope you don’t make a habit of picking up strangers." There was just a hint of reproof in Mahia’s voice and quickly Jody hurried to reassure her.

"No. Cat was the first person I have ever picked up."

"And the last." Cat interrupted, his tone indicating that he did not approve of her action and if he had anything to do with it she’d never do it again.

"Go away, James!" With a wave of her hand Mahia dis-missed her son. "I want to talk to Jody alone."

"I’m going, I’m going. Just don’t intimidate her. I want Jody to stay the whole weekend, not just a few hours."

"As if I would."

"You would." Cat accused, although he didn’t sound very serious about the accusation. Flashing Jody a smile that held a measure of intimacy he hadn’t previously shown, he swung on his heel and crossed the room to where the other people were gathered.

Jody’s eyes followed him as he crossed the room, un-aware that everything she felt for him showed all too clearly in her face and that his mother saw it all.

"You really think a lot of that wayward son of mine, don’t you Jody?"

"I guess so."

"Don’t be ashamed to admit it. Love is for giving, not hiding." Mahia reassured.

"I don’t love him. I hardly know him."

"Love doesn’t have a time limit on it. It can happen in the blink of an eyelid."

"I guess you’re right about that. But really, I’m not sure what I feel for him. Your son is not an easy person to know."

A sad expression drifted across Mahia’s face and with a sigh, she admitted the truth of Jody’s statement. "He never used to be that way, but since Lisa’s death he’s gone totally inward. Nowadays no one can admit to knowing him very well at all. I even have trouble relating to the person he’s become."

"Lisa?" Jody couldn’t help questioning the identity of the person who had changed Cat so much.

A surprised look flashed across Cat’s mother’s face. "You don’t know about his wife?"

Jody shook her head. She really didn’t know that much about Cat at all, but desperately wanted to find out all she could.

"James hasn’t told you anything about his marriage at all, has he?"

"No, only that his wife was dead. He sounded so strange when he told me that I didn’t like to push him for further information, especially as I hardly know him."

"Oh dear, I had hoped that he’d gotten over the whole af-fair, but obviously he hasn’t. It wasn’t one of the happiest periods of his life. I guess I can understand why he’s still not completely over it." Mahia took a deep breath, then con-tinued, "In a way, although I hate saying this, it was a relief to us all when Lisa died. She hurt James so much. Would you like me to tell you about her?"

"Yes, but only if you’re sure Cat wouldn’t mind."

"He’d probably object if he knew, but I think that you deserve to know, especially if you are to understand the person that James has become."

Glancing across the room to make sure that Cat was still engrossed in conversation with the rest of the family, Mahia began her story.

"James was only eighteen when he left New Zealand and although both his father and I felt he was too young to leave, we didn’t stand in his way. His first port of call was the United States of America, a country he seemed to love on sight. He hadn’t been there very long and was still find-ing his feet when he met Lisa Kilroy. She was quite a few years older than him and already established in the entertainment world, with a reputation that was somewhat undesirable. Flat-tered by the attention she was giving him, as any young man of his age would have been, he started dating her regularly. It wasn’t very long before she asked him to move in with her. As you can imagine we weren’t very pleased about either situation, but being so far away there was not a lot we could do about it, except pray that things would turn out okay. At first it seemed to work really well. Then Lisa discovered she was pregnant, and that seemed to be the beginning of the end. According to what I have managed to piece together, they had some terrific rows about the baby, but finally James managed to persuade Lisa that the best thing for all concerned would be for them to get married."

Mahia took a deep breath then continued, "The marriage was a disaster right from the beginning and should never have taken place. Three weeks after Trina was born, Lisa left James and ran off with another man. The couple were killed only a mile away that same morning." Mahia’s voice faded and for a few seconds Jody found herself unable to speak as emotion after emo-tion washed over her.

Finally she managed to croak out. "Oh, poor Cat. How he must have suffered."

"He sure did. Not so much for Lisa’s defection, but be-cause he felt he had been such a fool to be taken in by her."

"What was she like, Mahia?"

"As a person, hard and shallow. Physically, very beautiful, with a face like an angel and a body to match. Looking at her, it was very easy to understand why James fell for her. But one thing I’m certain of is that he’ll never make the same mistake again."

"I’m sure he won’t." Jody murmured remembering the way he had reacted on various occasions.

"Don’t be too hard on him dear, he’s been through a bad patch and, in fact, for a long time after Lisa’s death we really feared for his sanity. For months he wandered around as if in a dream, caring for nothing or nobody, except Trina. As a last resort his father and I decided to act. We flew to the States and threatened to take Trina from him if he didn’t start pulling himself together. Thankfully our threat worked. It made him sit up and take notice of what was going on around him."

"What happened about Trina. Did she come to live with you?"

"No. James wouldn’t allow it. He wanted her with him at all times. When his career began to take off, he hired a nurse for her, which meant she could still be with him wherever he went. It seems to have worked remarkably well. Trina is happy and well."

"And a very pretty child."

"Very. I guess you noticed how devoted to her father she is? She won’t let anything be said against him. I’ve seen her get very angry with any person who does get derogative. I worry a little about what’s going to happen should he meet someone he wants to marry. Trina could be a big stumbling block."

"Not if she liked the person too, surely?"

"No, if she liked the person, then I don’t think there’d be a problem. Oh oh, here’s trouble."

Quickly Jody glanced across the room guessing that Mahia was referring to Cat. Sure enough, he had just gotten to his feet and was moving across the room toward them.

"Come on, Mother," he appealed, "you’ve had my girl long enough. The rest of the family wants to meet her, too."

Jody’s heart warmed at his words "my girl" but she made sure that nothing showed on her face. It could have been a slip of the tongue and until she was sure she was not going to let on how she felt.

"Take her away, then, James. We can talk again later." Flashing them a charming smile, which again reminded Jody of Cat, Mahia waved them away.

Grabbing hold of her hand, Cat hauled her to her feet. Slipping his arm around her waist he turned her around before heading off across the room, whispered, "Come, Pounamu, and meet the rest of the crowd."

"So you’re Jody. I can see why big brother hasn’t brought you to see us before." This came from the tall good looking young man that Jody instantly recognized from the photo in the paper as Kane, one of Cat’s brothers.

Flattered, Jody smiled her thanks and almost im-mediately became aware of Cat’s antagonism towards his brother.

"Can it, Kane," he growled warningly.

A teasing smile flitted across Kane’s face. Not in the least put out by his brother’s warning he murmured, "So that’s how it is? Now I understand!"

"You don’t understand anything," Cat muttered then, turning his back on his brother, he began to introduce Jody to the rest of the group.

Names floated over her head in a wave of confusion until finally she gave up trying to put names and faces together, comprehending only that they were Cat’s other two brothers, Johnny and Rick, and his two sisters, Leigh and Amanda.

"You’ll soon figure them out," Cat reassured, seeing the puzzled look cross her face. "It won’t take you long once you get to know them."

"I guess not. At the moment it seems to be a jumble of names and faces, and none of them fit."

"Don’t worry, they will." Cat seemed about to say some-thing else, when another person appeared at his elbow and he was forced to turn and introduce Jody to her. "This is my sister-in-law Sharna Kilroy. Sharna, Jody Allen."

Hesitantly, Jody acknowledged the woman. This was the lady who had been with Cat in the restaurant, the woman he had been having a quiet tête-à-tête with, and who had been witness to Jody’s humiliation.

With the briefest of nods, Sharna acknowledged the in-troduction, but once that was accomplished she turned her back on Jody and sought to attract Cat’s attention. Sliding her hand possessively up his arm, she tucked it behind his head and drew it down towards her.

"I’m in trouble, darling," she whispered intimately in his ear. "The light bulb in my room seems to be broken."

"Can’t it wait?" Impatiently, Cat tried to shrug out of the possessive hold.

"Afraid not, darling. I can’t see to renew my make-up," Sharna purred seductively, while her fingers slid upwards to thread their way through the hair at the base of his spine.

Jody shuddered. Did Sharna have to make it quite so obvious to everyone that she and Cat were on intimate terms? Disgusted, Jody turned away, only to run headlong into several pairs of hatred-filled eyes, glaring at Sharna.

So, she thought, they don’t like her either. Thank goodness it’s not just me who has this feeling.

Unable to stop herself, her eyes swung back to the couple. To her dismay she was just in time to see the woman reach up and press a light kiss on the side of Cat’s mouth, before dropping her hand from his head and gliding from the room.

"I’ll be back soon, Jody. Sharna wants me to fix a light bulb in her room."

"Sure." Jody acknowledged Cat’s statement, then as he turned and walked away, she added, under her breath, "I bet she makes sure that you’re gone for some time."

"Did you say something?" Unbeknownst to Jody, Kane had come up alongside her and caught the tail end of her mutterings.

"Oh, Kane, it’s you!" Jody jumped guiltily at his sudden appearance. "I was talking to myself."

"About Sharna?"

"How did you guess?"

"It wasn’t hard. The rest of the family aren’t very keen on her either. She’s like a man-eating spider, on the hunt, and at the present moment Cat seems to be her target."

"I think she’s got him," Jody murmured dejectedly.

"No way. She might think she’s got him hooked, but Cat’s not that big a fool. He knows her for what she is and is well able to keep out of her clutches. From the look on his face as he left the room, I don’t think he was terribly impressed by her little act, and if I know my brother as well as I do, she’ll be leaving tomorrow."

"He’d kick her out?" Jody exclaimed incredulously.

"Sure would. When people displease him, Cat doesn’t hesitate to get rid of them. He doesn’t suffer fools lightly."

"I see."

Sensing her discomfort, Kane tried to make up for his lack of tact. "I wasn’t referring to you when I said that, I was referring to the people who work for him. His personal relation-ships are very different, and just that, very personal and very private."

"We don’t have that sort of relationship, Kane." Jody hurried to put the facts right. "We’re just friends."

"Balderdash! There’s something more than friendship between you two, even if you are too afraid to admit it."

"There’s nothing, Kane. Absolutely nothing."

"No way. My brother’s very possessive about you. It’s a long time since I’ve seen him that way about anyone except Trina. I..."

"Don’t say it, Kane," Jody interrupted. "Please!"

"Okay if that’s the way you want it, then I’ll hold my counsel." Slipping an arm through hers he added, "How about we go and join the others, I’m sure Cat won’t be too long."

When Cat came back several minutes later, it was to find Jody laughing and talking with the crowd as if she had known them all her life.

For a moment he stayed on the threshold of the group, absorbing what was going on, a satisfied smile hover-ing around his well shaped lips. Then having seen enough, he abandoned his post and moved across to join them.

"Hi! Enjoying yourself?" Quietly Cat moved in behind Jody and slipped both arms around her waist, drawing her back against his body.

"Oh yes!" An eager smile lighting up her face, Jody turned to look over her shoulder at the man standing so close be-hind her.

"Where’s Sharna?" Kane asked, a smile hovering around his mouth as he noticed the way Cat was holding Jody.

"She’s packing."

"Packing?"

"Yes. She’s leaving first thing in the morning."

Did I hear you right? Sharna’s leaving?" Mahia asked coming up just as Cat spoke and hearing his final words.

"Yes, you heard right. She asked that she be excused from dinner. She has a headache and hasn’t got much of an appetite."

"What did you say to her James? I hope you weren’t too cruel."

"As if I would be."

"You would."

"Well this time I wasn’t, but she understood very well."

A sigh escaped Mahia’s lips as if she would like to pursue the subject further, but a warning frown from Cat stopped her questioning him further.

"I’ll go and check on dinner."

"What was that all about?" Jody asked curiosity getting the better of her.

"Nothing you need worry about, honey."

"I hate to break up this happy group, but as mother in-sists we change for dinner, I’d better show you your room."

****

Flinging open a highly polished wooden door, Cat ushered Jody inside. A gasp of pure delight whistled from between Jody’s lips.

Never had she seen such a beautiful bedroom. Done in soft pastel shades of lavender, it was the sort of room she had often seen pictured in magazines but had never dreamed of occupy-ing. Slowly she moved further into it, her eyes swinging left and right as she tried to absorb all the fixtures and fittings.

At one end of the large room was a wide queen-size bed, covered in a beautiful patchwork quilt in variegated shades of lavender...to the left of this stood two long white doors, which, when opened, revealed a set of drawers and heaps of space to hang clothes. Beside the bed, and overshadowed by it’s magnificence, stood a small white bedside cabinet on which reposed a white telephone and a small specimen vase in which stood a beautiful, perfectly formed, red rose.

Forgetting that Cat was still with her in the room, Jody rushed across to the cabinet and plucked the rose from its vase. Holding it to her face, she breathed in the flower’s sweet perfume and almost immediately a vision of that other rose intruded into her mind.

Suddenly she remembered Cat’s presence. Lowering the bloom she turned to face him. "Did you put this here?"

"Yes, Pounamu. Do you like it?"

"Oh yes," Jody murmured breathlessly, "so very much. Thank you."

"Great." Momentarily his eyes darkened with an in-definable emotion, but it was quickly masked. Moving closer, he added thoughtfully. "You know, from now on whenever I see a red rose, I’m going to remember this moment, and the picture you made standing there with it pressed to your cheek."

Overcome, Jody couldn’t reply. All she could do was gaze helplessly at the man standing before her and hope that she wasn’t revealing too much of what she was feeling to him.

"You’re beautiful, so very beautiful."

His eyes absorbed the picture she made. Standing against the window the sun reflecting on her beautiful hair, her eyes glittering very green with all the emotions charg-ing through her body, she did indeed look very beautiful.

Cat moved closer, and that movement drew Jody’s eyes upward to his face. Thousands of emotions reflected in his unusual eyes. As if in a trance, she took the two steps necessary to bring her into his arms.

"Oh, excuse me!" An embarrassed voice broke them apart. "I’ll come back."

"Don’t go, Leigh." Cat dropped his arms from around Jody and turned to call the woman back. "I was just leaving." Dropping a quick kiss on Jody’s forehead, he whispered, "I’ll be back in about half an hour to take you down to dinner."

Pushing past the woman, Cat strode from the room.

For a moment his sister stared after him, then back to Jody, as if unsure what she had just seen. Recovering quickly, she turned to Jody, and with a charming smile said, "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Of course not." Now that Cat had gone, Jody’s com-posure began to return. "How can I help you?" she asked turning to face Leigh.

"No way, really. I’ve just come to give you a message from Mother. She said, and I quote, ‘Don’t worry about dressing up too formally’ unquote. The only reason she insists on us chang-ing at all is to encourage my brothers to get out of their dirty working clothes. Left to their own devices they’d arrive at the table smelling of cows, manure and what have you."

"Cunning lady, your mother." Jody laughed at Leigh’s grimace of disgust at her brothers’ dirty smelly clothes. "Subtle, but cunning."

"Sure is. Mother rules the house with a rod of iron, although as you’ve probably noticed it’s very carefully hidden in a velvet glove." Leigh’s laughter rang out to mingle with Jody’s. Then with a sudden change, she dropped the merriment and became serious. "She really likes you, you know."

"And I like her. I hope we can become friends."

"No worries there. From what she was saying after you and Cat left the room she already considers you that, especially in the light of what you’ve done for Cat."

"What I’ve done? But I haven’t done anything." A puzzled frown creased Jody’s forehead.

"Oh yes you have. He’s been a changed person since he met you. More like the brother I used to know. Mother thinks you’re going to be really good for him."

"We’re only friends, nothing more." Again Jody found herself trying to clarify the situation between her and Cat, and again she found her explanation taken with a grain of salt.

With total disbelief, Leigh raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "You’re kidding!"

"No I’m not, truly."

A smile of satisfaction flitted across Leigh’s face, which left Jody feeling more than a little apprehensive about what was going through the other woman’s mind. "We’ll see," she murmured, then adroitly changed the subject. "I’d better go and change. I’ll see you at dinner."

Long after Leigh had left the room, Jody stood staring at the door.

Was she so open that everyone could see how she felt about Cat? Hell, she hoped not. For if she was, then before too long Cat would see it too, and she didn’t want that. Or not just yet, anyway.

But what did she feel? The question forced it’s way to the fore, as did the answer. There in that beautiful room, with Cat’s red rose clutched tightly between her hands, Jody finally admitted the truth. She was in love with Cat Grant!

Pushing the rose back into it’s vase, she sank down onto the side of the bed and buried her head in her hands.

"Oh no," she whispered, over and over again. "Not that, please. He can never be mine, not now or ever, he’s too much of a loner, a one man band with no time for commitment."

A sob shook her body as she realized the futility of her love. But with a superhuman effort she stopped that one sob from being followed by more.

"Crying won’t help the situation," she muttered angrily to herself, "it’ll only make things worse. Face it you fool and deal with it here and now. You’re committed and you’ll be hurt. Nothing you can do can stop that."

For several minutes she continued to chide herself for her foolishness, but it did little to help what had happened. The only thing it did do was make her feel a little better within herself.

****

The rest of the family were already seated at the long table in the formal dining room when Cat and Jody made an ap-pearance. Several pairs of eyes swiveled their way as they entered. Knowing looks colored their depths and this intensified when they saw Jody’s flushed face and bright sparkling eyes.

Noticing Jody’s reaction to those looks, Cat gave her hand a gentle reassuring squeeze, accompanying it with one of his own special brand of smiles before pulling out the chair next to his mother’s and in-dicating that Jody seat herself.

The bright color fading slowing from her face, Jody began to relax. Slowly, as she started to feel more comfortable, she began to study the people seated around the table. Most of the them she had already met... Only one stood out as a stranger, although something about his face was familiar. She turned to ask Cat who the person was and at the same time he turned to her.

"You haven’t met my father yet, have you, Pounamu?" he said. Jody shook her head. "Then I’ll introduce you." Raising his voice a little he attracted the man’s attention. "Dad." Then, as the man raised his head and looked across at them, he continued," I’d like you to meet Jody Allen. Jody, my father, Doug Grant."

Pushing to his feet, Doug Grant extended his hand across the table. "Pleased to meet you, Jody. Welcome to my home."

Taking the outstretched hand, Jody murmured a quiet "Thank You" before sinking back into her seat.

As the conversation continued on around the table, it gave Jody a chance to study Doug Grant.

Like Mahia, Doug had an open friendly personality that would draw people to him immediately. Jody felt an instantaneous liking for this man, who looked so like Cat it was uncanny.

She stole another look at him. Yes, they were very definitely alike, although in the older man’s face was none of the hardness and cynicism that marked Cat’s handsome features.

"What did you call Jody?" Mahia’s voice broke into Jody’s thoughts.

A smile lighting up his face, Cat glanced quickly at Jody noting the way color fled up her face as the question was asked. Under cover of the table he slipped his hand into hers and gave it a quick squeeze, before answering his mother.

"I called her Pounamu."

"Jade!" Mahia murmured quietly, her eyes not missing the quick look of love Jody unwittingly flashed Cat’s way. "Yes, it’s very appropriate. You like it?" she asked Jody.

"Yes." Again Jody raised her eyes towards Cat, but this time she made sure they were well and truly veiled. "Very much."

"Then that shall be your name. From now on we’ll call you that. That is," she added, "if James will allow it."

"I’d rather you didn’t, Mother." Cat’s refusal was in-stantaneous and although he didn’t elaborate on it, his mother seemed to understand and nodded her head in acceptance of his ruling.

After dinner the whole family converged once more in the family room, some settling down to watch television and others sitting down in groups to talk. It was a warm and intimate at-mosphere and one that Jody had never enjoyed before, coming from such a small family.

Gradually, as the evening progressed, she began to relax and enjoy herself within the cocoon of Cat’s immediate family and more especially with Mahia, Doug, and Trina.

Snuggled up against her father’s chest, Trina kept turning to include Jody in the conversation. But finally the young girl’s eyes began to droop and with an indulgent smile, Cat signaled it was time for her to go to bed.

"Okay, Daddy," the young girl murmured, but before she moved away she leaned forward and whispered in her father’s ear.

"You ask her." Cat’s reply was loud enough for Jody to hear.

Shyly, Trina turned to face Jody, an appealing look on her face. "Will you come up with Daddy and tuck me in, please?"

A warm glow settled over Jody and with a quick nod, her voice having failed her, she signaled her acceptance.

Sliding off her father’s knee, Trina held out a hand to each of them. "Come on, then." With a mighty tug she pulled them both upright, then, hands tightly clutched around theirs, led the way from the room.

CHAPTER SEVEN

"How about singing us your latest song, James. Kane’s been telling me that it has really taken off in America." Mahia greeted the couple as they came back into the room after settling Trina into her bed.

"It has become unbelievably popular, which is a bit of a surprise because all the predictions were that it would be a B side not an A side. If Johnny’s got his guitar handy, I’d be glad to share the song with you."

Raising her voice, so as to be heard over the televi-sion, Mahia attempted to attract her younger son’s attention.

"Johnny, could you bring James your guitar please?"

"Sure, Mother." Jumping to his feet, Johnny moved across the room to where a guitar lay propped against the wall. Picking it up, he brought it across the room and handed it to his brother.

The minute Cat took the guitar from Johnny, he seemed to change. Shutting himself off from those around him he became a different person, absorbing himself completely in his music.

Jody was amazed to see this transformation. She had never seen it happen to anyone before. He became so apart! So separated from them all.

She glanced across at the other members of the family who had now moved across the room to join them. To her surprise, none of them appeared to notice the change that had come over Cat.

She turned her attention back to Cat and almost im-mediately wished that she hadn’t. For instead of looking down at the guitar, he was looking directly at her with a light in his eyes that suggested things she would rather not think about.

Jody dropped her eyes away. To remain staring at Cat was asking for embarrassment. Instead, she turned to Mahia and asked, "Why do you call Cat James?"

"Because that’s his name."

"Yes, I know, but everyone else calls him Cat. Don’t you like that name?"

"Not particularly. To me he’s James and always will be."

The soft gentle sound of music brought their conversa-tion to a halt, and, as one, the two women turned to face the singer. Without any preliminaries, he launched straight into the re-quested song.

It was a song that Jody recognized instantly, having origi-nally been sung many years ago by a top country and western group. But now, sung in Cat’s own inimitable way, it took on a completely new meaning and depth.

Totally captivated by his voice, Jody stared un-abashedly at him. Her eyes once more betraying her feelings, although again she was unaware of it.

Spontaneous clapping broke out when Cat finished sing-ing and the call for "more" echoed around the room. A smile of contentment hovering around his well-shaped lips, Cat changed the tempo and launched into another of his songs, this time faster and more up-beat.

Immediately, Johnny crossed the room and began to sing with his brother, proving to the watchers that Cat wasn’t the only one in the family with talent. Johnny had his share, too.

Song followed song. Hour after hour passed in a totally pleasurable way until finally with a Maori song that was a favorite of his mother’s, Cat drew the evening to a close.

"Time for bed." Laying down the guitar, he got to his feet. Wearily, he stretched his long lithe body and rubbed a hand across the deep furrow that lined his brow as if it pained him.

"Coming, honey?" Leaning forward, he pulled Jody to her feet, sliding an arm around her waist as she came upright and pulling her close.

Completely relaxed after such a pleasant evening, Jody let her body lean into his, her curves fitting to his as if they were made for it.

A barely audible gasp whistled through Cat’s lips, but with admirable control he managed to hide it from everyone but Jody.

A gentle smile hovered around Jody’s lips. So he wasn’t as immune as she’d thought. Perhaps there was hope that he might start feeling the same way she did?

"Goodnight, Mum, Dad. See you in the morning." With his arm tightly clasped around Jody’s waist, Cat led her from the room.

Speculation became rife in the room the minute the couple left. Most of the people in it believing that there was only going to be one room used that night, although Mahia was quick to chastise her children for their thoughts.

****

Bright sunshine poured into the room, bringing Jody awake and out of bed before she had time to register the action. But once her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she began to remember where she was and to realize how quiet the house seemed. Pulling on a light cotton mini-dress and a pair of bikini briefs, she hurried out of her room and down the stairs to the lower level.

The sound of happy, laughing voices reached her the minute she stepped off the bottom stair, and after pausing briefly to get her bearings, she headed toward the sound.

Her wanderings carried her to the rear of the house and an open doorway through which she could see a large gar-den and a very big kidney-shaped pool. Around it and in it swarmed a mass of humanity.

Her eyes quickly scanned the assembled group, searching for Cat, but he was nowhere in sight. Turning away, she began to retrace her steps, but had hardly gone two feet when Kane dashed to her side.

"Come and swim," he invited, sweeping a hand through his dripping hair and managing to get most of the moisture all over the carpet and Jody. "It’s terrific in."

"So it seems." Jody laughed as yet another spray of water landed on her bare arms. "I’d love to join you but I’m hardly dressed for swimming."

"Then go and change. I’ll wait here for you."

"Okay, you’ve convinced me."

Turning, Jody hurried back upstairs, entering her room and rummaging in her suitcase for a swimsuit. Five minutes later she was back downstairs and clown-ing in the bright sparkling blue water with Kane and the rest of the family.

"Mmm, that was good." Reaching for her towel, Jody dried the excess water off her body and hair and sank down onto one of the chairs scattered around the pool. "Thanks for persuading me to join you."

"No trouble, pretty lady. Glad to have you with us."

"We sure are." This came from behind her chair. Swiveling slightly, she spied Mahia coming towards them. "Breakfast is on the table."

At once there was a mad rush for the tables that had been set out on the terrace leading off the kitchen.

Guiltily Jody jumped to her feet. "Can I help?" she asked, crossing to stand beside Mahia.

"It’s all done, thanks, Jody. Leigh and Amanda helped prepare it before they came out for their swim." Then, an anxious frown creasing her face, she scanned the assembled people. "Where’s James?"

"Still in our room. He complained of a headache and asked that he be allowed to sleep on." Kane supplied the answer.

"Oh no," a worried frown replaced the anxious look on Mahia’s face. "Not another one." Turning to Jody she added, "Was he all right when he left you last night?"

"He did seem a little tense. Mind you, I was so tired that I didn’t really notice a great deal about how he looked."

"And he wouldn’t tell you if there was something wrong with him," Mahia murmured, almost to herself. "Would you mind taking him some tablets and a warm drink please, Jody, while I organize the others?"

"Of course I wouldn’t mind." Slipping her toweling wrap on over her bikini, Jody followed Mahia into the house. "Does he get these headaches a lot?" she asked as Mahia filled a mug with tea and shook out two tablets into her hand.

"Yes, unfortunately he does, and since he’s been home this time one after another. I had hoped that..." she began, then with a quick shake of her head, changed what she was about to say to, "You’ll find him in the room directly opposite the top of the stairs."

Picking up the mug of tea, Jody hurried upstairs. Balancing the cup and tablets in one hand, she knocked on Cat’s bedroom door but received no reply. Quietly, she turned the handle and pushed it open.

For a moment the dimness of the room made it hard for her to see anything, but gradually, as her eyes adjusted to it, she was able to make out the twin beds and the figure huddled in one of them.

Curled in a ball, his head buried deep in the tumbled pillows, Cat looked at first to be asleep, but the minute Jody lay the mug and tablets down on the bedside table, he jerked over onto his back and opened pain-rimmed eyes.

"Who’s there?" he demanded, his voice echoing pain and tiredness.

"It’s me, Jody."

"Pounamu. Just the person I need to see. Come here." Weakly Cat held out a hand toward her. "Sit beside me, please," he begged, his voice trailing off weakly as another shaft of pain hit him.

Unable to resist his plea, especially when he appeared in so much pain, Jody sank down beside him, her eyes scanning his pain-racked face anxiously.

"Your mother sent you up some tablets and a warm drink, can you manage to sit up and take them?"

"Sure." With uncharacteristic meekness, Cat levered himself up onto one elbow, his eyes blinking rapidly as the move-ment brought on another stab of pain. His distress made Jody feel every inch of that pain, and she longed to reach out and cradle him in her arms in an effort to relieve some of his discomfort.

But her natural shyness held her back. Instead, she picked up the tablets and placed them in his hand before hand-ing him the mug of tea to wash them down. With a total lack of energy, Cat took the drink and downed it before sinking wearily back against the pillows, a deep furrow imprinted on his forehead.

Picking up the empty mug, Jody got to her feet, but with more strength than he looked like he possessed, Cat managed to stop her. "Don’t go, please," he begged. "I need you here."

A warm flush of pleasure flooded Jody. He needed her.

"All right," she agreed. "I’ll stay, but only until you go back to sleep."

"Good." Closing his eyes, Cat seemed to relax and drop off to sleep, but again when Jody made to move off the bed he called her back. Opening sleepy eyes, he focused with difficulty on her face. "Are you any good at massage?" he surprised her by asking.

"I don’t know that I’ve ever tried it. Why?"

"It sometimes helps my head. Would you try for me?"

"Sure. Show me where."

Rolling over, a groan of pain accompanying the action, Cat indicated a spot high on his neck. "Just there."

Pushing the blankets down so that she could get better access, Jody knelt up on the bed and began to gently massage Cat’s taut neck muscles. At the touch of her fingers, Cat began to relax, as the tightness slowly began to disappear.

Spurred on by her success, Jody slid her hands lower, running them along the hard, tanned muscles across his shoulders and down the length of darkly tanned back. The blankets got in the way again, and without a thought for what she might encounter, she pushed them lower, following them with her hands.

But immediately she realized her mistake, for beneath the blankets Cat was completely naked. With a gasp of dismay, Jody grabbed the covers and pulled them back up over his body.

"Don’t stop," came the murmur from the depths of the pillow. "That was starting to feel real good."

"I have to go." Pushing up off the bed, she moved towards the door.

A low groan echoed from Cat, and with a sigh of frustra-tion he rolled back to face her. "Do you have to?" he asked with some effort.

"Yes. Your mother will be wondering what’s going on."

"No she won’t." Then, with considerable pain and effort, Cat pushed himself higher on the pillows and opened his eyes fully. Holding out his arms, he urged her to come back to him.

"Please," he pleaded. Reluctantly Jody moved back to the side of the bed and sat down on the edge of it. Almost im-mediately Cat’s arms surrounded her and pulled her so that she was half laying across him, and his head rested against her forehead.

"Does it embarrass you to know that I sleep in the raw?"

Color flooded Jody’s face. "Yes," she admitted.

Pushing her away slightly, Cat studied the embarrassment marking her face. "But why, honey?"

"I’m not sure, it just does."

"Don’t let it. Have you ever tried it yourself?"

"No!"

"Then do so sometime. I think you’ll find that, like me, hindering your body with clothes while you sleep will become a thing of the past."

"If you say so." Jody’s embarrassment made her un-usually abrupt.

Sensing she wanted to drop the subject, Cat didn’t per-sist with it and instead said, "Will you stay with me? I can’t bear being alone at the moment."

"Sure."

"Good." Carefully rolling over onto his stomach, Cat pointed to the base of his neck. "Just there. Thanks!"

****

"Is he asleep?" Mahia shot the question at Jody as she pushed open the kitchen door and hesitantly moved into the large room.

"I think so."

"But his head’s no better?"

"It wasn’t any better before he dropped off to sleep, but hopefully when he wakes it might have improved."

"It’s to be hoped so." Crossing the room, Mahia pressed a button on the microwave standing above the eye-level oven, then turned back to Jody. "Your breakfast won’t be a minute, I’ll just reheat it for you."

"Thank you." Sinking down at the corner of the large kitchen table, she watched Mahia hurrying around doing her chores, while she waited for the microwave to signal it’s readi-ness.

"Coffee?"

"Thanks, Mahia, if you’ll join me."

"Of course. I could do with another cup." The bell on the microwave began to peal insistently, and, hurrying across to it, Mahia took out a plate and placed it before Jody before pour-ing two mugs of coffee and coming back to sit down.

Silence encompassed the large room while Jody ate her breakfast, and Mahia drank her coffee. But finally Jody’s ap-petite failed her, and she laid down her knife and fork and reached for her mug.

"Thank you, Mahia. That was delicious, but I’m afraid I can’t finish it."

"No problem, at least you made an effort."

"Can I ask you a question, Mahia?"

"Sure, fire ahead."

"It’s about Cat’s headaches. Has he always suffered from migraines?"

"No. It’s only fairly recently that he’s started get-ting them. He lives a lot on his nerves, with a lot of late nights, early mornings, and no food. All of these things seem to precipitate the headaches."

"His occupation wouldn’t help, would it?"

"Funnily enough the loud music doesn’t actually bring them on. In fact, I’ve known him to perform with a headache so bad, on a lesser person it would have laid them out cold. I’m not sure how he copes when that happens, but somehow he does. Music has always been his way of relaxing and perhaps this has got something to do with it. Nothing else seems to work in quite the same way."

I know something else that does, too. Silently, Jody remembered the massage and how relaxed it had made Cat. But she didn’t voice her thoughts, instead she said, "I hate to see him in so much pain, it’s almost as if I can feel it myself."

"You and my son are really compatible if that’s the case. Feeling one another’s pain means that you’re close men-tally as well as physically."

"Oh, Mahia dear, please don’t read something into our friend-ship that’s not there," Jody begged. Cat’s mother was let-ting her imagination run away with her, and Jody couldn’t allow that to happen.

"I’m not. I know you love him, and I’m sure Cat returns that affection. No," she halted Jody’s rush to speak, "don’t deny it. I’ve never seen my son like he is with you. So gentle and consider-ate and also so very possessive of you."

"He’s not always like that," Jody murmured quietly, remember-ing the times when Cat had been far from gentle.

"Of course he isn’t. No one could be that way all the time. What he needs is someone to understand him. Understand the pressures he’s under, and the demands his occupation makes on him. In you he seems to have found that someone, and because of it, he’s beginning to treat you as someone very special. I hope for both your sakes that it works out."

Getting up from the table, Mahia gave Jody’s shoulders a quick affectionate squeeze then with a murmured apology rushed from the room, but not before Jody had seen the tears sparkling in the older woman’s eyes.

The rest of the day for Jody was one of complete relaxation. Of Cat there was no sign until well into the af-ternoon.

Swaying slightly, his eyes shuttered by dark mirror glasses, Cat appeared at the door leading onto the terrace, where Mahia and Jody were indulging in a quiet cup of coffee. Looking up, Jody was the first to see him outlined against the patterned glass. With a gasp, she jumped to her feet and hurried across to his side.

"You shouldn’t be out of bed," she scolded.

He looked terrible. His face almost the color of burnt ash, and his eyes behind the glasses dull and listless.

"I’m fine."

With a determined effort, Cat straightened from his leaning position and tried to make it across the ter-race. But before he had a chance to move more than two feet, his mother was by his side. Taking his arm, she turned him around and marched him back upstairs. Without a murmur, Cat allowed her to have her way.

When Mahia came back downstairs the rest of the family had arrived home and it was several minutes before Jody was able to question her on Cat’s condition.

"He’s definitely no better, is he?"

"No, not even a slight improvement. In fact I think he’s worse. If the headache hasn’t improved by the morning, I’m going to suggest he go to the doctor. He asked if you’d go up to him when you’ve had your dinner."

"Of course I will. That is," she added, "if you don’t mind?"

"Why should I?" A worried frown creasing her brow, Mahia moved across to where Kane was sitting and sank down beside him. "I think you’d better sleep on the bed in the family room tonight Kane, save making a noise in your room and disturbing Cat."

"Sure, no problem. I’m so glad he’s here this time when he’s got one of those headaches. Sometimes I’ve been out of my mind with worry when he’s had them back in the States. There’s so little one can do for him."

Gently, Mahia patted her son’s hand. "I know," she mur-mured understandingly. "I feel the same way now."

The minute Jody finished her dinner, she excused herself and hurried upstairs. Not bothering to knock, she pushed open the door to Cat’s room and let herself inside.

Again the dimness made it hard for her to see, but this time she knew where the bed was and without hesitation, she crossed to it.

"Is that you, Jody?"

"Yes, Cat." Sinking down onto the side of the bed, she took the outstretched hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "How are your feeling?"

"Lousy!"

"Would you like me to massage your neck again?"

"Yes, please." Levering himself over, Cat stretched out on his stomach, his head buried in the pillows.

Time slipped by unnoticed, as gently Jody stroked her fingers over the taut neck muscles beneath her hands. When he began to relax and his breathing became more even, she quietly pushed to her feet, stretching tired, abused back and arm muscles.

"Stay with me." Cat’s pain-filled voice broke through Jody’s tiredness. "Please," he added sleepily. "I need you be-side me so much."

Hesitantly, Jody moved back to stand looking down at the man lying face down on the bed. Was he serious? Did he mean what she thought he meant?

"Please, Pounamu." This time there was no mistaking the tiredness in his voice, nor what he was asking. "With you beside me, I know I’ll be able to sleep."

"All night."

"Yes." The voice was getting fainter, as if it was be-coming an effort to speak. "I promise I won’t make any demands on you. Hell," he exclaimed with a harsh laugh, "who am I kid-ding? I couldn’t make demands!"

"But what will your mother say?"

"She won’t know unless you tell her. Help me," he begged opening heavy sleep-rimmed eyes that held the plea he had just voiced.

Jody wasn’t proof against that look. There was no way she could refuse him his request when he looked like that.

"Okay," she murmured, determined to stay only until he was asleep.

"Thanks, honey." Holding out a far from steady hand, Cat urged her to join him on the bed. Slowly, her heart beating uncontrolla-bly fast, Jody kicked off her shoes and slid onto the bed alongside Cat.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Lifting the hand he still held, Cat pressed a light kiss on its palm. "Go to sleep now." Set-tling himself more comfortably, he pulled her head down onto his shoulder, a sigh of contentment whistling from between his lips.

For a long while Jody lay stiffly within his arms, afraid to relax in case she fell asleep. But slowly, as she became used to lying next to him, she found herself relaxing and enjoying the sensation of being held tightly against Cat’s body. The man who meant everything in the world to her.

It felt so good to be this close to him. Who was she to fight it? But she wouldn’t stay for long. Once he was sound asleep, she’d make her escape.

But the deep rhythmic breathing beneath Jody’s ear was hypnotic and although she fought against it, she found her eyes closing.

Desperately she fought to keep them open. Jerking her-self awake each time her eyelids closed. But it was a losing battle!

****

Light was just beginning to peep through the gap in the curtains when Jody again opened her eyes. For several seconds she lay looking around the room trying to get her bearings, then with a rush, memory returned, and with it came dismay at what she had done.

With a gasp, she sat bolt upright, only to be almost im-mediately pulled back down into the warm cocoon she had just va-cated.

"Keep still, Pounamu, and go back to sleep. It’s early yet." The admonishment was issued with more than a hint of sleepiness. But Cat’s words had the opposite effect on Jody. With a muttered "No," she twisted free and stood up.

A low groan accompanied her action, but Jody chose to ignore it. His pleas had gotten her into his situation. Without a backward glance, she fled from the room.

A hard solid object and a loud "oowhoo" brought Jody up sharply. Temporarily winded, she grabbed at the solid object only to find herself held tightly within Kane’s arms.

"Hey, steady on, honey," he cautioned, as she struggled to be free. "Slow down."

"Sorry." Embarrassed, Jody tried to stop the color flooding up her face but failed miserably. What would Kane think of her rushing out of his brother’s bedroom this early in the morning and in such a disheveled state?

But Kane seemed unperturbed. "How is he this morning?" he asked, setting Jody free.

"I don’t know!" Free, Jody didn’t wait around, but rushed to the sanctuary of her room.

Stripping off her dress, she slipped on her dress-ing gown before gathering up clean underclothes and heading for the bathroom.

The warm water did wonders for her sense of well being, although it did nothing to erase Cat’s touch from her body, or to wipe from her mind the memory of being held all night in his arms. Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she stepped from the shower and began to dry herself before putting on her under-clothes and heading back to her bedroom.

But to her surprise, when she pushed open the door it was to find Kane perched on the end of her bed, a pair of sandals dangling from his fingers.

"Yours, I believe," he quipped humorously, a warm smile lighting up his face.

"Yes, Kane. Thanks for returning them."

"No problem. You’ll be pleased to know that Cat is fully recovered."

"I’m glad," Jody murmured, the color rushing up under her skin again.

But Kane seemed not to notice her embarrassment and carried on as if it hadn’t happened.

"You worked a miracle, honey, and for that I’m eternally grateful. Many is the time I’ve seen him laid low for days with one of those darn headaches."

"Now that you’ve expressed my thanks for me, Kane, you can leave." Riddled with sarcasm, Cat’s deep voice broke in on Kane’s speech. Startled, the couple swung around to face the man just pushing open the bedroom door.

Not in the least put out by the sarcasm in his brother’s voice, Kane pushed himself leisurely to his feet and crossed to stand beside Cat.

"Glad you’re up and about again, brother." Then with a warm smile for Jody, he strode casually from the room, unaware of the tension-filled air he was leaving behind him.

For a long time after the door closed behind Kane, con-versation was nil between the couple. They stood, like strangers meeting for the first time, staring at one another, one in anger and the other in bewilderment.

Finally it was Cat who broke the silence. In a voice that brooked no argument he grated, "Don’t encourage my brother! He’s spoken for!"

Jody’s hackles rose, and with more sarcasm than she in-tended, she drawled, "Spoken for? What a quaint, old-fashioned expres-sion!"

But the sarcasm was lost on Cat. Ignoring it, he continued. "But nevertheless true. Kane is engaged - to a very nice woman he’s known for several years. I believe they plan to marry sometime within the next six months."

"He doesn’t act like an engaged man. Are you sure you’re not making this up to keep me away from him?" Jody retorted angrily, surprising herself with her reaction.

She didn’t know why she was acting like this towards Cat, when really all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms. Not make him angry.

"Don’t be ridiculous! Ask him if you don’t believe me."

At once, Jody backed down. "So I believe you. But why are you so angry with him? He only came to return my shoes."

"I know. I sent him. I didn’t expect him to stay and chat you up."

"He wasn’t."

"Then he’s losing his touch." Cat’s about face left Jody feeling confused and bewildered. Before she could com-ment, he continued. "I want to thank you for what you did for me."

"It was nothing." Then, before he could elaborate, she added, "Would you please leave so I can dress."

"Want some help? I’m very good at dressing and un-dressing ladies!"

"I bet," Jody snapped. "No thanks, just leave."

"I’ll wait outside for you."

"No, please don’t do that!" Jody begged, knowing she couldn’t face walking into the dining room with him and being aware that everyone knew where she’d spent the night.

With uncanny perception, Cat guessed what was behind her impassioned plea. Crossing the short space between them, he drew her into his arms.

"No one else knows what happened. It’s between just you and I."

"Kane knows."

"Sure, but I know we can trust him to not say anything. Anyway," he reassured, "it’s no big deal. Quit worrying about it." Bending his head he pressed a light kiss on her forehead before releasing her and moving to the door. "I’ll be out-side, don’t be long."

Before Jody could react he was gone, closing the door behind him.

****

"Thank you for a lovely weekend, Cat. I really enjoyed meeting your family."

"And they enjoyed meeting you. You’ll take mother up on her offer, and come again?"

"If I can and I’m asked, yes, I’ll certainly go again."

"You’ll be asked!" Taking her key from her hand, Cat unlocked the door and pushed it open. "May I come in for a few minutes, there’s something I want to tell you."

"Sure." Jody led the way into the quiet flat, a sure sign that her flatmates weren’t home. Unbuttoning her jacket, she slid if off and flung it over the back of the sofa before turning and asking. "Would you like a drink?"

"No thanks, honey, I’ve got to get back. I’ve got a lot to do before tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. I’m flying down south first thing in the morn-ing. Kane’s arranged a couple of concerts for me in Christchurch and another two in Wellington."

"You don’t sound very pleased about it."

"Let’s just say that I didn’t want to be away from Auckland just now." Wearily he ran a hand through his already tousled hair, drawing Jody’s attention to the strain and tired-ness etched deep into his face.

How she longed to wipe out those lines of strain with her own particular brand of comfort. But she knew she mustn’t touch him, knowing that for her at least it wouldn’t stop there. She’d want more.

"You’ll take care of yourself while I’m away, won’t you, honey?"

"Of course. I always do, and you do the same. Get plenty of sleep and don’t burn the candle at both ends."

"Oh, don’t worry about me. I’ve been taking care of myself for longer than I care to remember." Glancing at the rolled gold watch on his wrist, he heaved an exasperated sigh. "I’ve got to go, Pounamu. I’ll call you when I get back."

"Have a good trip."

"For sure. See you soon." Before Jody had a chance to assimilate his action, Cat pulled her into his arms, his hands sliding down her back to rest at the base of her spine and mold her against his body.

Lifting her head, a silent invitation written in her eyes, Jody was stunned to see the look of desire that flashed like a neon in Cat’s unusual eyes. But before she could really register it, it was shuttered, and he lowered his head toward her.

Passion flared between them, bringing forth an instan-taneous reaction from their bodies. Jody shuddered as the full impact of what was happening between them hit her. She molded her body closer but instead of responding to it, Cat seemed to reject her surrender. With a muttered, "Hell, I’d better go or I’ll be staying the night," he shoved her away.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The banging of the outside door brought Jody down to earth with a thud. Pressing her hands to her warm flushed cheeks, she sank down onto the sofa, before her legs gave out on her.

What had she done? What had she admitted to Cat by her surrender? That he could turn her on? That too, but also she was sure that she wanted him just as badly as he had wanted her.

"Oh hell," she muttered, "how do I repair that kind of damage?"

****

"Jody, telephone." Clare held out the cream hand piece to the woman who had just come through the door. "I think it’s your friend, Cat," she added in an aside.

"Cat! But it can’t be, he’s away." Excitedly, Jody grabbed the phone and murmured a quiet "hello." To her surprise it was Cat.

"Where are you?"

"In Christchurch still. I’m about to go on stage, but I had to ring you first."

"But why?" Jody couldn’t believe he had taken time out to actually ring her from Christchurch, and the fact showed in her voice.

"To tell you that I miss you and wish you were here with me."

"M-miss me..."

"Sure. Don’t you miss me?"

"I...I...guess."

"You don’t sound too sure." A hint of censure entered Cat’s voice.

"There hasn’t been time. Clare and Michael are getting married tomorrow and there’s been so much to arrange." With a quick change of subject, Jody managed to avoid answering his question.

Then out of the blue Cat threw an equally hard question at her. "Have you seen Kane?"

Jody hesitated. Did he know that she had been out with his brother or was he just guessing? Not wanting to cause an ar-gument over the phone she decided to lie a little. "I thought he was with you."

"He didn’t come this trip. Johnny came instead. Stay away from him, honey," he warned, then before she could answer, he added, "I’ve got to go, they’re calling me to go on stage. See you soon."

"Bye, Cat."

Still in a state of shock that he had actually taken time out to ring her in spite of his busy schedule, Jody replaced the phone on it’s hook and moved into the lounge.

"He’s keen isn’t he, calling you so soon after leaving."

"I guess so."

"And I know so. Shouldn’t he have been on stage?" Clare asked glancing at the clock which showed the time at eight o’clock.

"Yes. They were calling him as we were talking."

"Wow. He’s hooked!"

"Please, Michael, don’t jump to conclusions."

"Forgone conclusions as far as I’m concerned. Don’t you hope that I’m right?"

"Perhaps." Jody was deliberately casual with her answer. These two people were her best friends, but there was no way she was going to reveal to them exactly what she felt for Cat until she was sure how he felt about her.

"Perhaps nothing." Michael burst out, revealing that he knew exactly how she felt, even if she wasn’t going to admit it openly. "Does he know that his brother has been keeping you company?"

"Hell no! He’d kill Kane if he knew."

"And throttle you."

"More than likely. He’s warned me several times about encouraging Kane."

"But you’re not. It’s Kane that’s doing all the chasing."

"I know that, and so do you, but for some reason Cat doesn’t believe me when I tell him, and this time wouldn’t be any differ-ent. He’d be convinced that I’m leading Kane on. But all that’s happening is that Kane is keeping me company while Cat’s away. As far as I’m concerned, he’s a good friend, no more."

"You’ll have to hope that Cat doesn’t find out. I imagine his anger would not be pleasant."

"Very unpleasant." Quickly Jody switched the subject to the wedding and for the rest of the evening the sub-ject of Cat and Kane was not mentioned.

****

"Jody, Kane here. Are you free this afternoon?"

"Hi, Kane. Yes I think so, why?"

"Cat’s arriving back and I thought you might like to come with me to meet him."

Jody swallowed awkwardly, trying to clear the lump that had begun to form in her throat at the thought of Cat returning to Auckland. She’d love to meet him but the publicity that followed the man around scared her silly. She didn’t want to be the subject to media speculation. Quickly, she declined.

"I don’t think so, thank you."

"Why ever not? Come on," he begged persuasively. "You know you want to."

"Sure I do. But will Cat like it?"

"Of course he will. How many times has he rung you this week?"

His question reminded Jody of Cat’s nightly calls and the loneliness she had sensed in his voice.

"Well," Kane persisted, "how many times?"

"Every night. But that doesn’t prove that he’ll want me at the airport to meet him."

"Doesn’t it? Haven’t you forgotten something?" he questioned, a hint of cruelty in his tone. "Cat doesn’t have to make a play for a woman unless he really wants to. They usually come to him."

Pain shot through Jody. What he said was quite true. Perhaps she had reason to hope after all. Against her better judgment she decided to accept his offer. "Okay, I’ll come. What time?"

"I’ll pick you up around twelve."

"Great. I’ll be ready."

But she nearly wasn’t. Pondering so long over what she was going to wear, she was very nearly late. But after a quick shower and dressing at a gallop she managed to be ready just as the doorbell rang.

Feeling the need to dress up, Jody had chosen to wear the new outfit that Sandy had bought her on their abortive shop-ping expedition. Clinging closely to her body, the silk trouser suit enhanced every curve and brought out unusual lights in her green eyes. Teaming it with white high-heeled shoes and handbag, she finished off the whole outfit by tying back her hair with a scarf of the same material as the suit, the tails of which hung down her back.

"You look fantastic." Kane’s eyes showed their ap-preciation, as he bent and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Thank you, kind sir. But for an engaged man you’re just a little fulsome with your compliments and a little free with your kisses, aren’t you? Remember your fiancée?"

"I do, frequently," he muttered tensely.

"You’re not happy about being engaged?"

"Sure I am. I only wish that Tess could be here with me. It seems such a hell of a long time since I saw her."

"And you miss her?"

"Do I ever!"

"Then ring her and tell her."

"I have, so many times in fact, that I think mother’s beginning to wonder what’s wrong with me. She swears the telephone bill is going to be astronomical, and she could be right. Ringing the States is not cheap."

"But it’s worth it, isn’t it?"

"Too right. But so frustrating. Cold showers are beginning to drive me nuts!" he added, a derisive grin slashing across his face, a grin that deepened as he saw bright color flood Jody’s face.

"You know," he added, laughter still tinging his voice, "you’re something else again."

Taking her arm, he led her downstairs and helped her into the car before going around and climbing into the driver’s side. Soon they were speeding toward the airport.

And as the miles were eaten up, Jody began to get more and more tense at the thought of seeing Cat again. In an effort to calm her nerves, she began to study the scenery as if flashed by the car window.

Despite the fact that her mind kept wandering to the coming meeting, she did manage to notice when they passed through the different suburbs that made up Auckland. The way the better kept areas blended into the poorer areas, the way the houses be-came more ramshackle and run-down, the overcrowding that she knew existed in some of these state houses, the way the flatness of the land was broken by the now extinct volcanoes of One Tree Hill and Matthieu Eden.

The scenery changed again as they turned off the main highway and headed down the long tree-lined drive to the airport complex. Here it was as if you were stepping into another world, with planes climbing into the air above, cars and trucks rushing here and there on the ground, and people rushing from one build-ing to another - each going about their own business, without time or thought for anyone else.

Normally Jody loved the helter skelter of the air-port terminal, but today she cursed its busyness. Any hope of meeting Cat without a fanfare from the press or at least one per-son observing them was gone. This was brought home to her with a vengeance the minute she stepped inside the terminal building. There were people everywhere.

A shudder went through Jody, and Kane, his arm around her shoulders, noticed it immediately. Without a word, he hurried her past the crowd of press photographers lining the causeway and into the cafeteria, where he pushed her down into a chair before crossing to the counter and purchasing two cups of coffee.

"It’ll be a few minutes before Cat’s plane arrives. Drink your coffee and relax, you’re a bundle of nerves."

"I’m sorry, I can’t help it. There are so many people out there. I’m scared that I’ll make a fool of myself in front of them." The words came out in a tumbled rush, showing Kane just how nervous she really was.

Compassionately, he laid his hand over her clenched fists and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"You’ll be fine," he reassured. "Just fine."

"But those people waiting down there are from the press, aren’t they?"

"Sure, but they won’t hurt you."

"No, only take photos."

"So what? You look fabulous and any photos they take will turn out fantastic."

"That’s not the point. I’m not sure that I’m ready to be linked publicly with Cat."

"It’s inevitable." Kane’s answer did little to reassure Jody.

"Not if I don’t meet him." Jumping to her feet, she made to leave the cafeteria, but Kane was too quick for her.

"Oh no you don’t." Grabbing her by the arm he managed to forestall her flight. "You’re not going anywhere except to the VIP lounge with me."

Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he kept her close to his side as they made their way along the wide corridor to the lounge. Their timing was perfect. As they arrived in the VIP arrival lounge the tannoy announced the arrival of Cat’s plane.

A crowd of pressmen caught Jody’s eye as she was hurried forward and unconsciously she shrank back against Kane’s arm.

"Forget them," he whispered, tightening his arm around her shoulders. "I see Cat coming."

And so could Jody. Her eyes devoured him as he strode down the long uncarpeted corridor, closely followed by his usual en-tourage.

Clad in a light fawn suit with a darker brown shirt underneath, he looked what he was - a handsome, virile, suc-cessful star, with the world at his feet.

Jody’s heart began to play tricks on her - one minute fluttering madly, the next seeming to stop. She took a deep shuddering breath in an effort to control her uncontrollable emotions. But with little success. She cringed back against Kane, but with a gentle push he sent her forward into Cat’s path-way.

The approaching man spied her immediately and his eyes lit up appreciatively. Thrusting his briefcase and jacket into the nearest person’s arms and completely ignoring the out-stretched mikes and hovering photographers, he broached the dis-tance between them and pulled her into his arms.

The kiss they exchanged was long and passionate, leaving Jody clinging for dear life to Cat for support. Finally they had to break apart, but even then Cat made no move to immediately draw back or release her. Instead he buried his head against her neck and whispered. "Hell, I needed that. Don’t ever let me go away again without you."

Then, with a superhuman effort, he managed to get himself and his body under control before turning to speak to Kane.

"Thanks," he murmured, not needing to elaborate, as Kane understood completely.

"No problem. Welcome home, brother." Kane interposed himself between the persistent newsmen and the couple.

"Thanks. Can we get out of here?" Cat murmured quietly so that only Kane could here. "I don’t feel like facing this riff raff’s questions right now."

"Sure, that’s easily arranged. By the way, where’s Johnny?"

"In Christchurch. He’s been offered a job as lead vocalist with the band that backed me over the last week. Need-less to say, he grabbed the chance with both hands."

"And you get to tell Mother."

"As usual."

"She’s not going to be pleased. She was hoping that he’d be around home for a little longer."

"I know. Still, he couldn’t be denied his opportunity. He’s been waiting for it for so long."

"He sure has. Oh, oh here they come again," Kane warned as the press converged forward once more. "Quick, make your escape. Here’s the car keys, take them and go. Jody knows where it’s parked. I’ll grab a lift with the others and follow with your luggage when I’ve dealt with this lot." Thrusting the keys into Cat’s hand, Kane shoved the couple away and turned to face the advancing press.

"Thanks, Kane." Grabbing Jody’s hand, Cat made a run for the door, leaving Kane to face an angry mob of pressmen.

By the time they realized that Cat had gone, the couple were well and truly away from the airport. They were some way into town before Cat spoke. "Have you had lunch?"

"No, not yet."

"Neither have I. How about we go to a little res-taurant I know in the city and have something to eat?"

"That’d be nice." Then tongue in cheek she suggested, "We could go back to the flat and I’ll cook something for us, if you prefer."

"Oh I prefer, honey, but I don’t think you would. The way I feel right now we wouldn’t be doing much eating!" Cat’s eyes left the road briefly, and Jody couldn’t help see the desire that glazed their depths.

"Please don’t look at me like that," she begged, her emotions racing out of control at what he was suggesting.

"Why ever not? I’ve never denied that I want you, so why should I start now. Accept it sweetheart. I can think of nothing better I’d like to be doing right now than taking you to bed."

"You’re frightening me."

"The thought of making love with me frightens you," Cat grated tensely. "But why? It’s a beautiful experience. The merging of two bodies and minds as one."

Jody shuddered. She wasn’t used to this kind of straight talking, especially when the people involved hardly knew each other. Shaken, she turned away from his passion-filled eyes and pretended an interest in the scenery. From beside her she heard an exasperated sigh, but she refused to turn around.

"Okay, you win. This time," Cat growled, his impatience barely concealed. "But sooner or later we’re going to have to talk about how we feel."

Jody flashed him a grateful smile of thanks, but Cat didn’t notice. He was staring straight ahead, a tense, tight look on his face.

More content than she had felt for a long time, Jody settled back in her seat and began to enjoy the ride.

All too soon they were pulling into a car park behind a quiet, indiscriminate building and Cat was helping her from the car. Slipping his hand into hers, he led her toward the build-ing and in a small side door.

From the doorway, the small dining room appeared to be crowded and Jody felt they’d be lucky to get a table, but Cat seemed unperturbed. With a confidence that Jody couldn’t help but admire, he pushed the bell on the reception desk and waited patiently for someone to answer it.

"Cat, is it really you?" A small, plump woman came rush-ing toward them. "I don’t believe it!"

To Jody’s surprise, the woman grasped Cat in a bear hug, kissing him warmly on both cheeks before stepping back to scan his tall figure. "You look terrible," she murmured. "You’re working too hard again."

"Of course. How are you, Sylvia?"

"Fine, just fine." Sylvia shot a curious look at Jody, then asked, "You and your friend want a quiet table, out of sight?"

"Yes, please, Sylvia, if you can manage it."

"Of course I can." Turning on her short legs, Sylvia set off across the restaurant, obviously expecting them to fol-low. Slanting her a warm smile, Cat tightened his hand around Jody’s and led her after the woman.

They were shown to a secluded corner table that gave ample privacy from the eyes of the other patrons and although Jody was a little wary of their isolation, she couldn’t blame Cat for seeking it. Not after what she guessed had been two weeks of constantly being in the public eye.

"You know this place well?" she questioned the minute the woman left them alone.

"Sure do. This is where I first started my singing career at the tender age of sixteen. Sylvia and Joe believed in me and gave me the opportunity to prove myself. I’ll never be able to repay them for that."

"I can believe it." Reaching forward Jody picked up the menu placed beside her plate and began to study it. For a brief moment silence settled over the table, but only briefly.

Laying down the vinyl-covered pamphlet, Cat stretched wearily and settled back in his seat, his eyes drifting over Jody sitting across from him.

"It was so good to see you at the airport today. I hoped that Kane would think to ask you to come with him."

"I nearly didn’t." Jody admitted, remembering how she had hummed and hawed before agreeing.

"Why ever not? You must have known you’d be welcome."

"Not exactly."

"But now you do."

Leaning across the table, Cat picked up Jody’s hand and began playing with her fingers, his own lean digits stroking along hers in a gentle caress before lifting her hand to his mouth. With a smile hovering around his sensual lips, he separated each finger and very gently kissed the tip of each in turn before giving the whole hand a gentle squeeze and laying it back on the table.

"Mmm." Suspended in time, Jody hadn’t made any attempt to answer his question, but once he released her hand, she finally found her tongue, not without some difficulty. Quickly, so he couldn’t repeat the action, she tucked her hands into her lap.

As if guessing the turmoil he had sent her into, Cat began to talk about his trip, then with another quick change of subject he asked. "Are you free this weekend?"

"I think so."

"Then how about coming to my home again?"

Jody’s breath caught in her throat. So soon after the last time, this invitation was definitely a bonus and one she wasn’t going to pass up.

"I’d love to," she murmured, "but you’re sure that your mother won’t mind?"

"We had this out before, honey," Cat reminded her with an intentness that forbade further discussion. "Actually, I think she’ll be extra pleased if you can come this weekend, as it’s rather a special occasion. My mother’s tribe is holding a special celebration for me on our marae. Have you ever been on a marae?"

"No never. It sounds interesting. But are you posi-tive you want me along? It sounds like a very personal family affair."

"Would I have asked you if I didn’t?" Exasperated by her self-doubts, he leaned across the table and took her hands be-tween his. "Can’t you accept that I want to be with you and en-joy your company without making a grand issue of it?"

"I’m sorry. I guess I find it hard to understand ‘why me’ when you could have any woman you liked?"

"That question is stupid and unnecessary, and I’m not even going to answer it." Picking up his fork, Cat dismissed the subject, but Jody could sense that he was angry with her for as-king it.

Picking up her own fork, she began to ladle food into her mouth but hardly knew what she was eating. Once again, Cat had reacted badly to her question, and she appeared to be in his bad books once more.

****

They were almost to his parent’s house before he spoke more than one word to her.

"Sorry," he murmured, pulling the car to a halt on the side of the road. "I’m not usually so sensitive. I guess I’m over-tired. Forgive me?"

Jody couldn’t answer. Cat humble was not something that she could handle. Instead, she just gave him a warm smile and leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth.

"Thanks, sweetheart." Turning slightly, Cat managed to divert her kiss to his lips, and followed it up with several of his own which left Jody breathless and longing for more.

"I think we’d better keep going," Cat muttered tensely as he pushed Jody away and restarted the car.

****

The visit to the marae and the subsequent ceremony was an experience that Jody knew she would never forget, and one that she hoped she could repeat sometime in the future.

Although she had lived in New Zealand all her life she had not had a lot of contact with or interest in the Maori way of life or their culture. Now she was seeing it from an intimate family situation, and she felt ashamed that she had not experienced it before.

A culture and a lifestyle totally outside anything she had ever come across before - but which was obviously very much a way of life for the whole Grant clan - it appealed to Jody’s senses. This was further enhanced when she saw how proud Mrs. Grant was of her eldest son, and the esteem with which he was held within the elders of the tribe.

Wary of making a stupid, unforgivable mistake, Jody stuck close to Cat’s side, following his every move, while at the same time marveling at the way he appeared at ease with these very proud, stately Maori people. It was almost as if he lived their kind of life all the time, instead of the fast, racy jet-setting life of a top pop singer. He fitted in so well.

Mesmerized by the scene being enacted around her, Jody felt disorientated by it all. It was almost as if she was look-ing in on something very private and afraid of being discovered.

The whole ceremony had begun with their arrival, en masse, at the entrance gate of the Marae. Here they were met by several of their hosts. True to Maoridom and it’s attendant traditions, they had to wait at this gate until bade enter by means of a Karanga (call), from the host side. Once this was completed, the whole party, visitors and hosts together, moved forward toward the meeting house, until they came to a halt twenty to thirty yards from it’s entrance.

Never having been this close to a meeting house before, Jody gazed spellbound at the building before her eyes. It was beautiful. Immaculately and intricately carved with the sunlight reflecting on every minute detail of that carving and lighting it as if from within. Her attention switched to the men and women standing in front of the building. These were members of their host tribe, and Jody found herself staring avidly at them, at their brilliant tattoos (koru) and bright intricately woven cloaks.

It was the setting, she decided. It made the whole scene come to life in breathtaking Kodachrome, a scene she knew she would never be able to forget for a long time.

A slight touch at the back of her waist reminded her that she couldn’t linger and at Cat’s instigation she moved for-ward, closely followed by others members of the Grant family.

Then once more the group stopped. This time near the carefully arranged seats. Although Jody didn’t know it at the time, this pause was one of remembrance - for those of the tribe who had passed onto the other world.

As one, and with graceful ceremony, the Tangata Whenua (the hosts), sat down, indicating by their action that it was time for everyone else to be seated.

Wearily Jody sank into her seat. So much was happening around her. So many new sights she was finding it hard to take it all in. Mrs. Grant, seated on her right, gave her an understand-ing smile before turning to speak to Trina, on her left.

As if a whistle had been blown in signal, silence fell over the assembled crowd, and an elderly Maori rose to his feet and began to speak, in a soft musical voice, the words of wel-come.

To Jody the whole thing was incomprehensible as it was spoken entirely in Maori, and she neither knew nor understood it. She glanced at Cat and to her surprise found him deeply engrossed in everything that was being said.

Instead of returning her attention to the man speaking, Jody kept her eyes on Cat. He sat completely still, head proudly erect, his eyes staring into the distance, his whole body enraptured as he absorbed into every pore in his body the culture that was so much a part of and deeply ingrained in him. He was proud to be part Maori and didn’t care who knew it.

But to Jody, not understanding anything of what was being said, the welcome seemed to go on and on. Restlessly, she moved around on the hard wooden seat. Understanding her rest-lessness and the reason for it, Mrs. Grant laid a comforting hand over Jody’s and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Jody smiled her thanks and settled back to listen once more, especially when it became obvious that it was now Cat’s turn to reply.

Getting to his feet, he crossed to the middle of the area and began to speak. As if it was a language he used every day, the words tripped off Cat’s tongue with perfect fluency.

All around her, Jody sensed a feeling of pride and ad-miration for the man standing before them, and because she had arrived with Cat, some of the pride seemed to rub off on her. Loving him as she did, she wished that she could really enjoy this feeling of being one of the family, and not just an outsider looking in.

The sound of clapping brought Jody’s attention back to what was happening and although she didn’t understand a word of what was being said, she gathered that Cat was being asked to sing. From somewhere a guitar was produced and thrust into the man’s hands.

One of his famous smiles slanting across his handsome face, Cat launched into his own version of "Pokarekare Ana." Tears sprung into Jody’s eyes, but she quickly blinked them away as Cat’s deep, powerful voice echoed across the space between them, engulfing her senses and caressing her nerves to fever pitch.

Her love for him increased and with it came a touch of sadness. Briefly, she had hated this man for the way he had treated her. Hated him as she had never hated anyone before. But in the space of a few short days that hate had turned to love. A love moreover that was doomed to causpered. Taking her hand, he guided it ever so gently toward his swollen member. "Touch me, please!"

"Oh no! I can’t!" Jody recoiled back at the idea.

"Oh yes you can, honey. Please," he begged. The guid-ing hand continued to show her what he wanted. Shyly at first, but gaining confidence in leaps and bounds, Jody quickly learned what he liked and how to please him, just as he had pleased her.

Eyes closed, his breathing quickening as her touch be-came bolder, he lay very still. Wanting more, and becoming very frustrated as each minute passed, Cat nevertheless let her explore his body as he had recently explored hers. He didn’t want to frighten her by demanding too much, too soon.

But finally he couldn’t stand the waiting any longer. Pushing her roving hands away, he levered himself over her body, his hard muscled knee sliding gently between her slim, pulsing thighs.

"God, you’re beautiful," he murmured convulsively against her neck. "I want you so badly, Aroha! Now!"

Jody’s body tensed. Feeling that tenseness, Cat leaned forward and pressed a light kiss on her mouth, even as one hand slid down to again tease her soft feminine center. Totally out of control and unable to stand any more of his teasing, Jody arched against his hand.

Needing no further invitation Cat slid between her thighs. Gently, he prodded the slick entrance to her warm, inviting body. For a moment, as he felt the restriction, Cat hesitated and started to withdraw.

"No, Cat, please!"

"This could hurt."

"I don’t care. Please don’t stop." Jody’s legs tightened around Cat’s, inviting him to go deeper.

With a groan, Cat buried his shaft deeper.

The sharp stab of pain that pierced through Jody caused her to wince momentarily, but the discomfort was soon lost beneath the rush of feelings and emotions that coursed through her as the hard muscled body pushed her deeper and deeper into the mattress.

As if by instinct, Jody began to move with him, matching his thrusts with her own. Deeper and deeper they sank into the realms of utopia. Each taking pleasure from the other and giving in return. Wave after wave of emotion rippled through Jody, filling her head and body to bursting point, but still they seemed to reach for higher peaks. Scaling ever upward.

As close as they were, Jody needed to be closer. With an anguished cry, she clutched at Cat’s shoulders, wrapping her arms and legs around his body and scoring her own particular brand deep into his skin. With a final agonizing shudder Cat took her with him over the top, into a world existing only in the minds of lovers.

****

A lack of warmth and sense of being alone woke Jody from her deep sleep. Wrapped in a cocoon of euphoria, she didn’t immediately open her eyes to the new day. Instead she lay with them closed, reliving all that had happened the night before.

Time after time she and Cat had given and taken pleasure from each other’s bodies. Each time seeming to be better than the last, until well into the early hours of the morning they had fallen as-leep.

Eyes closed tightly, Jody smiled happily and hugged her arms around her body. She was loved and in love!

The bright sunshine splashing against her closed lids refused to allow her to linger any longer, and she slowly she sat up, turning slightly to gaze at the pillow beside her.

Something was wrong. The pillow was empty. No golden-brown head rested there. She listened. Head on one side. Hoping that some sound might signal that Cat was still in the flat. No noise came back at her.

Apprehensively, she swung her feet out of bed and as she did, she noticed a white sheet of paper resting on her bedside table. With fear tightening her throat, she reached out a shaking hand and picked it up. Unfolding it she quickly scanned its contents.

A cry of animal pain wrenched itself from her throat, as the words before her sank into her pain-dulled brain.

Not a love letter. In fact just the opposite. The cold unfeeling words ripped holes in Jody, and took from her the pleasure that she had felt during Cat’s lovemaking.

Last night was a big mistake, and should never have happened. I’m sorry for inflicting my animal desires on you. Take care. I’ll call you.

Cat.

PS. Stay away from Kane!

Deeply hurt, Jody’s hand crushed convulsively around the square of paper until it was pounded into a small ball. Then with a burst of anger, she threw it across the room, sobs erupting from her throat as it hit the window and bounced onto the floor. For a moment she stared at the small round ball as if not believ-ing that the words it contained were true. But all too soon reality began to set in, and with an sob, she threw herself onto the bed.

Soon, even the tears dried up and with it came the realization of just what had happened. She had been used.

The enormity of the whole night began to impinge on her consciousness, and she shuddered in disgust. It had been so easy for Cat to convince her to let him have his way.

And because it had been so easy, he had used her for his own pleasure. Playing on his experience and sensual attraction to make her give into his demands.

Jody cringed in self-disgust. How could she have been so gullible?

To have been taken in by him and his demands. She couldn’t even pretend ignorance of what he was like. Or what she had heard he was like. She had known all along of his reputa-tion. And now she was paying, in pain and humiliation, for her stupidity.

"I hate him, hate him!" she moaned, Cat’s betrayal hurting as nothing had ever hurt her before...and never would again.

For several minutes she let herself sink into the deepest dungeon of despair, but then her normal fighting spirit began to kick in and finally won.

Taking a deep, ragged breath, she straightened her shoulders and sat up.

"From now on, Cat Grant, you can go to hell. I’ve had it with you. You’re nothing but a lying-son-of-a bitch."

****

"Hell, Jody, what, are you training for, the Olympics? Slow down or you’ll exhaust yourself and me!"

"Sorry, David."

"Like to talk about it?"

"There’s nothing to talk about!"

"If you say so. Want another game?"

"No thanks, David. I think that’ll do for today."

Pushing herself up off the seat she had been perched on, Jody picked up her racket and headed for the showers, exhausted but still in a turmoil within her mind.

When she had left the flat, she had been intent on doing some form of physical exercise. Something that would leave her too tired to do anything but collapse into bed and sleep. As if by instinct she had headed for her old stomping ground - the lo-cal gymnasium.

But now, several games of squash later, she felt tired but still as miserable as ever. Nothing had changed. She still couldn’t forget what had happened between her and Cat. Nor what she considered to be his betrayal.

And when she returned to the flat after spending the rest of the day wandering around the center of the city, the memories rushed back once more. Visions of Cat sprung into her mind, but she quickly banished them. She wasn’t going to allow thoughts of him to intrude.

Reaching for the newspaper she buried herself in its depths in an endeavor to shut out every-thing else.

And for most of the evening she succeeded, forgetting Cat. But when sleep claimed her, thoughts of him intruded once more.

Vividly, as if it was happening all over again, every detail of their lovemaking flashed before her eyes, until shivering and wringing wet through, she jerked awake. Pictures of Cat flashed like a slide show through her mind.

Cat, standing beside the bed, shirtless, his trousers unzipped and just balancing on his hips. Cat tousled and love-mussed, his hair tumbling across his face. Cat, his eyes dark and full of emotion as he gazed down at her before their lovemaking reached its crescendo. Cat, his face flushed and... No! She wouldn’t think of him any more. She couldn’t.

Instinctively her hand reached out to the other pillow. But sanity returned the minute she felt its emptiness. Jack-knifing to a sitting position, she pressed her hands to her face, trying to shut out the pictures that flooded her mind and brought with them intense longings.

But it was hopeless. Nothing would shut out those images. Nor shut out the fact that although she had only spent one night with him, her body cried out for his.

Oh, how she wanted him! Needed him! Desperately! A shudder shook her already overtaxed body. How could she stand the thought that he might not come around again? His note had sounded so final. As if he was never going to call her again.

She had been a one night stand. One that when morn-ing had come, he had regretted ever having got involved in. His hasty retreat and cool note proved that he’d had second thoughts and hightailed it before she woke, and he had to confront her.

To Jody’s mind it was a cowardly way out and one she wouldn’t have associated with Cat. Still, he had left without a word. Leaving behind a hurtful note.

It was over. Even before it had barely begun.

She’d have to make a life without him. A life that didn’t include even thoughts of him. It wasn’t going to be easy, but with a surge of anger, Jody vowed she would do it or die trying!

****

On waking beside Jody, Cat had gone through his own kind of hell.

He had longed to pull her close and repeat the experiences of the night. But cold common sense had suddenly reared its ugly head.

He was too old for her. Too experienced. She needed someone who hadn’t seen life as he had. Who hadn’t used women for his own means, then brushed them aside when the relationship no longer appealed. Someone who could love her as she deserved to be loved. To give her a house and family and the security that he couldn’t give her.

He cringed inwardly. How could he have got involved with her, knowing how innocent she was, and how trusting?

God, I need my head read, he muttered, as quietly he slipped from the bed and began to pull on his clothes. I shouldn’t have kept in touch. I should have left well enough alone. Now I’ve got to back off. Let her get on with her life, and for-get me.

Pulling on his trousers, he quietly zipped them, and left the bedroom, returning a minute later with the cool note he had penned.

Several minutes later, he was headed back to Helensville.

Pulling to a halt before his parent’s house, he sat with a bowed head, as tears of frustration and hurt clouded his eyes.

Frustration that he’d had to back away from the one good thing that had come into his life of late, and hurt for Jody. He knew she’d be hurt by his note. It had hurt to write it. But it was the only way he could think of to break it off without revealing just how hard it would be for him.

She’d hate him for a while, but hopefully she’d soon realize that it was for the best. He was no good for her.

Rubbing his hand over his damp eyes, he took a deep breath and climbed out of the car. His family would all be up and about and in order to survive the interrogation he knew would be forthcoming, he’d need to appear happy and uncaring.

Minutes later when he joined them all by the pool, his mask was in place. A mask that fooled everyone except Kane and Mahia.

They had no trouble seeing through the joviality but made no comment on it. There would be time later for questions, when there weren’t so many people around.

CHAPTER TEN

"I thought you weren’t going back to University Jody? Why the change of plan?"

"Several reasons, Dad, which I’d rather not go into if you don’t mind."

"Oh, I don’t mind. I’m just glad that you’re not going to waste your opportunities after all. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow. That’s why I had to come around to see you and Sandy tonight."

"You’re in a big hurry all of a sudden, aren’t you? Term doesn’t start until next week."

"I know, but I want to get settled in well before that."

"This wouldn’t have anything to do with that guy you’ve been seeing, would it?"

Jody’s face blanched, but with a calm she wasn’t feel-ing she managed to sound disinterested and in control. "What guy?"

"Don’t pretend you don’t know who I mean! The enter-tainer you’ve been seen with several times."

"Oh, you mean Cat." Again disinterest, which only fal-tered a little as she mentioned his name.

"Yes, him! Well has it?" Mr. Allen demanded.

"Of course not!" Jody denied quickly. Too quickly it seemed by the way her father raised his eyebrows in disbelief. She made an effort to convince him. "Cat and I were just friends, nothing more. Now we’re not even that."

"Did something happen between you?"

"Not exactly." Jody answered evasively. "Do you mind if we drop the subject?"

"Sure. How about we talk about your finances instead. Do you need money?"

A sigh of relief shuddered through Jody at the change of subject. Her reserve of self-control was wavering pretty badly, and she hadn’t been sure that she could hold onto it much longer if her father had persisted with his questions about Cat.

"I’m fine for money, thanks, Dad."

"Good. Don’t hesitate to ring me if you run short will you, and I’ll organize an advance for you."

"Thanks, Dad, you’re the best." Jody leaned across and hugged him affectionately. "What would I ever do without you?"

"Bribe someone else, no doubt."

Jody laughed and her father couldn’t help noticing how brittle it sounded. It was nothing like her usual happy laugh. He longed to probe the reason behind that sound but with uncanny perception, he gauged it to be the wrong time.

Unaware of the thoughts running through her father’s mind, Jody got to her feet. "I’d better be going, I’ve got a long drive ahead of me tomorrow."

"Right, and no picking up hitchhikers!"

A look of despondency crossed Jody’s face but was al-most instantly masked with a smile. But when she spoke she couldn’t hide the bitterness in her voice. "Don’t worry about that, Dad, I’ve learned my lesson on that one!"

Mr. Allen recoiled from the bitterness in his daughter’s voice. This time he couldn’t let it go without commenting. He opened his mouth to question her, changed his mind when he saw the expression on her face. Instead, he gave her a quick hug before leading her outside to her car.

****

For days after her arrival in Wellington, Jody found it difficult to concentrate on anything or anyone. Her thoughts kept returning to Auckland and the man she hadn’t seen again since the night he had spent at her flat.

Time and again she tried to push thoughts of him from her mind, but persistently they would return to haunt her and make her long for some contact with him.

For although it looked as though he had wiped her from his mind, she couldn’t deny what she felt. Nor the need she had deep down for some contact with him, even if it was only to see a photograph of him in the paper.

But for some reason even the press seemed to have abandoned him, and Jody had to content her-self with gazing at the photographs on her CD’s.

Every time she found herself doing this, she would push the offending CD’s to the back of the cabinet, out of sight. But they didn’t stay there for long. Slowly but surely they’d creep back to the front of the cabinet and Jody would find herself listening to them once more.

In an even more extreme effort to push Cat out of her mind, she began to date other men. But even this proved to be a hopeless solution.

The men she dated evoked no spark of inter-est. She found them boring. Too young.

As the weeks sped past and nothing changed, Jody began to find herself on the end of an uncalled for reputation. Men she dated and then dropped accused her of being stuck-up. Too good for common males. A tease. A good-time party person! All names that hurt deeply and caused Jody to sink deeper and deeper into her shell. Finally she gave up accepting dates at all and spent more and more time alone.

Even her flatmates barely saw her. Then it was only to watch a little television or eat the few meals that she could force past her lips. Because of her lack of appetite, she began to lose weight. Too much weight. So that she was barely a shadow of her former self.

Her flatmates began to worry about her as time went by and no change for the better occurred. Time and time again they tried to get her to talk, but each time it was like she pulled a shutter down over herself, and she would retreat further into her shell.

Then, one night when they were all seated in the lounge watching television, Jody emerged from her self-imposed confinement.

Sprawled casually in the motley collection of chairs that furnished the lounge, relaxing as only students can after a hectic week of study, they were suddenly startled out of their wits by a loud exclamation of dismay from Jody.

As one, all eyes turned to look at her, only to find her staring as if hypnotized, at the small screen and the news item that was showing there.

"Singer Cat Grant left the country today for three concerts in Australia, one of which is at the Sydney Entertainment Center. He is seen boarding the plane with his latest companion, Binca Leigh."

"Oh No! No!"

The sound was wrenched from between Jody’s lips and before her companions had time to register either the words or her action, she raced from the room. One by one they turned to stare after her, each with a puzzled frown on their face.

A deadly embarrassed silence followed Jody’s abrupt departure, continuing for several seconds before one of the men turned to Jody’s room-mate and said, "It might be a good idea if you check on her. She looked terrible!"

Nodding, Sue got to her feet and hurried along the pas-sageway to the room she shared with Jody. Lightly she tapped her fingers against the door, but no sound came from within. Frightened by what she might find, she pushed open the door and walked inside.

At first she couldn’t see a sign of anyone, due to the dimness of the room, but gradually as her eyes began to adjust, she saw Jody. Huddled in the middle of her bed she looked like a small ball of misery.

"Would you like to talk about what happened?" Sue asked, sitting down on the side of the bed.

"N...No thank you," Jody sobbed, drying her tears with the back of her hand and sitting up to face her roommate. "I’m fine now."

"You know Cat Grant?" Sue let her curiosity get the better of her and then immediately wished she hadn’t when she saw the look of pain that crossed Jody’s face.

In a hollow voice and with her face turned away, Jody answered, "Yes, I know him, or thought I did."

"I don’t understand. You either know him or don’t."

"Sure I know him, in fact we even went out a couple of times. But it’s over, and if you don’t mind I’d like to drop the subject."

But now that she had actually got Jody talking, Sue wasn’t going to be fobbed off that easily. "You fell in love with him, didn’t you?"

A shudder of despair shook Jody’s body, and a sob es-caped from between her lips before she could stop it.

"Yes," she admitted. "I was stupid enough to fall head over heels in love with the man I thought I knew. But as it turned out it was one of the silliest things I’ve ever done in my life. He used me!"

Impulsively, Sue drew Jody into her arms and gave her an understanding hug before releasing her and getting to her feet. "You probably don’t want to hear this right now, but you will get over him. But it’ll take time. You’ll see."

"I hope so, oh how I hope so. But somehow...."

"No," Sue interrupted, "no negative thoughts. From now on be positive and fight for what you want."

"That’s easier said than done!" A spark of her former forcefulness showed through just briefly, but it was soon swamped once more by Jody’s misery.

With a sigh of pure frustration, Sue turned and left the room. There was little she could do to help the dejected woman except offer her friendship and understanding should she want them. At the present it didn’t look as though she wanted either.

Long after her roommate had left the room, Jody stayed huddled in the middle of her bed, sunk deep in the depths of despair. Then the words that Sue had thrown at her began to sink in. With a sigh, she got to her feet and crossed to the large desk situated in one corner of the room.

Perhaps studying might help.

But though she pulled the bundle of papers toward her and began to read them, she found she couldn’t concentrate on the printed word.

Time and again the news-item flashed through her mind. Why had she let it upset her so much?. She’d always known that there were and always would be other women in Cat’s life. To think otherwise would have been burying her head in the sand. Why then had it been such a shock to see him on television with a beautiful lady?

Then the truth hit her.

Deep down inside she had been holding onto the hope that Cat would contact her again. That he would apologize for not being there in the morning and want to make everything right between them again. That he would admit to missing her as much as she was missing him. But now that hope had been wiped out. He wasn’t missing her at all, in fact it looked very much like he had replaced her with someone else.

A sob welled its way up her throat, but with an effort, Jody held it back. She wasn’t going to cry any more, especially over someone who didn’t deserve her sorrow. >From now on she’d forget Cat Grant existed and concentrate on her life and how she could get the best out of it.

And for the next couple of weeks Jody managed, quite success-fully, to do just that. Working like a Trojan all day, and playing hard half the night.

But although this kept her busy, it didn’t make her happy.

Finally it all came to an end, and this was directly caused by an announcement in the local paper. Minutes after reading it, she was hurrying to the Dean’s office with her resig-nation from the University.

****

Three days later she was back in Auckland, tired and ex-hausted, but hyped up by the knowledge that Cat was once more back in the country and within calling.

Several times during those first few days home, she went to pick up the telephone and call him, willing to forego the hurt she had felt at his lack of contact, if only she could hear his voice. But each time she cursed herself for being weak, and that she was only asking for more hurt if she carried through with this action.

Common sense finally prevailed, and Jody made no more abortive attempts to call. Instead, she contented herself with poring over the small square of newspaper she had cut out and tucked into the side of her handbag before she left Wellington.

It wasn’t anything very mind boggling - just an advertisement for a concert that Cat was giving in Auckland - but to Jody it repre-sented a chance to see the man again, if only from the depths of a crowded theater.

Deep down she knew that she was asking for trouble going to see Cat in concert. Knew that it would hurt to see him again, but she was beyond caring. She had to see him again. Just one more time.

But when, after having been home for several days without contacting anyone, she finally rang her father and told him what she had done, she began to wonder if after all she had been foolhardy to blow everything just on the strength of a newspaper clipping. Her father couldn’t believe what she was telling him and didn’t hesitate to tell her what he thought of her actions.

"You’ll get hurt again," he snapped, showing that he had known all along why she had hurried back to Auckland. "Cat Grant is a user, not a giver!!"

"I know that Dad."

"Then why let him influence what you do with your life?"

"He didn’t. He just precipitated it. I wasn’t really happy with what I was doing anyway, only pretending to be for everyone’s sake. Cat’s concert announcement just helped me make up my mind."

"So I’ll accept that. What are your plans?"

"I haven’t any, other than starting to look for a job."

"Would you like my help? I’m sure if I made some in-quiries I could come up with something suitable for you."

"Thanks, Dad, but no thanks. This is something I’ve got to do for myself."

"Good on you." Although he was disappointed that she didn’t want his help he was proud of her for wanting to stand on her own two feet and made sure she knew.

"Thanks, Dad, I need your approval." Tears formed in Jody’s eyes at the way her father had accepted her decision. Abruptly, she brushed the moisture away. Tears weren’t for her, she’d vowed that before and intended to stick to her decision.

"When are you coming around to see Sandy and me?"

"I’m not sure."

"Then how about tonight?"

Jody took a deep breath before answering, her father wasn’t going to like her reply. "I’m afraid I can’t make it tonight, I’m going to a concert." Tensely she waited for the ex-plosion and it wasn’t long coming.

"Don’t be a fool Jody!"

"Pardon?" Deliberately Jody injected nonchalance into her voice.

"Don’t ‘pardon’ me girl," her father snapped angrily, "You know very well what I’m talking about. Even though the con-cert advertisement was what brought you back to Auckland, I had no idea that you’d be stupid enough to go to it!"

"I have to go, Dad! Before too long Cat will be heading back to the States, so this could be my last chance to see him before he leaves for good."

"He hurt you before and seeing him on stage is going to bring that hurt right back again." He was really concerned with what was going to happen to his daughter, and he had to do his best to stop her foolishness.

"It never went away. How did you know that it was Cat who sent me off in such a hurry? I never admitted that to you?"

"Grant came to see me! He wanted to know where you’d disappeared to, and when I told him back to University he asked for your address in Wellington. The way he was acting it ap-peared as if he had a guilty conscience about what had obviously happened at your last meeting. He was very uncomfortable around me."

"But..."

"I didn’t give him your address, Jody."

"Why ever not?" Jody couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Cat had actually gone to her father to find out her whereabouts. Surely that showed he cared?

"Because of the way you were when you left here. I wasn’t going to see you go through that again. I told him in no uncertain terms to stay away from you, or I’d not be responsible for my actions."

"Oh, Dad, no!" Jody was close to tears. All her heart-ache and suffering could have been spared.

"It was for your own good. He’s not the right guy for you."

"Perhaps not." Jody couldn’t fail to agree with her father on that, Cat wasn’t really for her, even though she loved him. "I would have liked to have seen him again, though."

"It’s better that you didn’t. Anyway," he added as if to defend his actions, "Some of the gossip that’s been circulating around the town about him has convinced me that I did the right thing by refusing to allow him near you. He’s nothing but a playboy, using women for his own ends, then discarding them."

"I know." Silent tears wended their way down Jody’s pale cheeks, but she made no move to wipe them away. "I’ve got to go, Dad," she whispered huskily, and, before he could argue, she hung up.

Later that evening, sitting and waiting for what seemed like an age for the show to begin in the large, packed theater, Jody began to have her own doubts about coming to the concert. Her seat was right in the front row and opposite where Cat would stand for most of the evening. One change in the lighting or one move from her would bring her right into his line of vision.

Several times she picked up her bag and prepared to walk out, but each time she stopped and cursed herself for being a coward. Finally the decision was taken out of her hands, as the lights dimmed and the semi-darkness made it impossible to see, let alone move.

Earlier, and with nothing better to do, Jody had in-dulged in her favorite occupation. People watching. To her surprise the theater contained a mixture of young and old, male and female, emphasizing Cat’s wide appeal to the public in general. Despite her overlying anger and confusion with him, her heart swelled with pride. This man she loved was well loved by many others as well but in an entirely different way.

Suddenly a hush fell over the audience, as the one remaining light on stage was extinguished and the theater was plunged into total darkness.

Eagerly, the people around Jody sat forward in their seats, waiting with barely concealed impatience for what was to come. They were soon rewarded.

From the depths of the darkened stage came the sound of a solo guitar. Almost immediately a spotlight picked out the soloist. Alone, he played several bars, then from the darkness came the sound of another guitar. A second spotlight flashed onto him. Slowly, one by one, each member of the band was brought into the music until they were all playing and all illuminated. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the stage was again plunged into darkness and for several seconds stayed that way.

Around her, Jody heard people muttering in confusion. When it seemed like nothing more was going to happen, a solitary spotlight began to swing in an arc, backwards and for-wards across the stage, until suddenly it seemed to find it’s tar-get and came to a halt on a dark silhouette.

Dressed all in black, his back to the audience, head bent, hands by his side, feet slightly apart, the figure was com-pletely motionless. Playfully, like a capricious child, the light slid up and down the still body, but not a muscle moved. The music swelled louder and louder, reaching it’s crescendo and finally as if that was a signal, a deep shudder shook the figure from top to toe.

Slowly, as if he was a puppet on a string, the figure gradually began to raise his head, and at the same time his arms moved skywards in a slow, erotic, suggestive stretch that had every muscle in his magnificent body rippling with enticement.

Notes of liquid velvet filled the theater, enchanting his mesmerized followers, as the beautiful words and music of Neil Diamond’s I Am, I Said floated toward them. As if still on strings, Cat turned and began to walk slowly to the middle of the stage, the spotlight following him and continuing with it’s playfulness, finally coming to rest on him as he reached center stage.

Jody tensed. He was so close, surely he must be able to see her.

And then she was sure that he had seen her, although other than a slight tightening of his fingers around the microphone, he gave no sign of recognition.

Jody’s already ragged breathing intensified. She dropped her eyes downwards for a second, seeking but not finding control of her fast beating heart and her completely out of con-trol emotions.

But there was no way that she could keep her eyes lowered, not when the man she loved was standing only inches above her. Slowly she raised her head.

Her mind formed images. Ones that she knew were going to need to last her for a lifetime. Dressed in black shirt and trousers, with a black Stetson pushed to the back of his tawny-gold hair, he looked like the devil incarnate, giving off an aura of sexuality, confidence, machismo, all three rolled into one.

Her eyes moved downward, taking in the way his lithe, muscular body moved in perfect time to the song he was singing. The way the tight black jeans molded his narrow waist and thighs. Other thoughts forced their way into Jody’s mind, thoughts that did nothing for her peace of mind.

Angrily, she shoved them away and made herself look up-wards. But that proved just as bad as they came to rest on the length of hair-sprinkled skin beneath the partially buttoned shirt. Oh how she longed to feel that skin beneath her hands once more.

Suddenly the song came to an end, and Jody’s attention was drawn away from her disturbing thoughts and back to the man on stage. Replacing the microphone on its stand, Cat launched into a short speech of welcome.

To Jody’s surprise it was all in Maori - but he quickly followed it with the same words in English before the band began playing the introduction to another song.

Completely enthralled by what was going on on stage, Jody failed to see the man who slid into the seat beside her. It wasn’t until a hand was laid over hers that she realized that she was no longer among strangers.

"Hi Jody," he whispered.

"Kane!" Jody gasped in surprise, her eyes leaving the stage for a moment to focus on Kane Grant.

"The one and only." A cheeky grin lit up Kane’s hand-some face.

"But... Cat will kill you!" Jody’s head swiveled back to the stage. To her relief Cat was not looking their way.

"It’s okay Jody, he knows I’m here. He sent me to get you to come back stage."

"No!" Jody’s body began to shake at the very idea. "I can’t," she whispered apprehensively.

"Yes you can."

A loud shushing from the seats behind warned Jody that they couldn’t continue this conversation any more without dis-turbing the people around them.

"Let’s get out of here so we can talk." Reluctantly she allowed him to take her hand and lead her out of the theater.

But once they were outside in the corridor, she called a halt.

"I’m not going backstage, Kane."

"Why the hell not?"

"Cat... It’s hard to explain."

"Look, try forget what’s in the past. Cat would like you to come backstage and specifically sent me down to get you. Surely," he added persuasively, "that must count for something."

"I guess." Then a thought struck Jody. "When did he ask you to do this? He hasn’t been off the stage."

"He’s known you were in the audience right from the mo-ment you took your seat. >From the side of the stage you can see quite well into those front row seats."

"You’re kidding. Tell me you’re kidding."

"No, I’m not kidding. Now will you come? Cat has nearly finished his first half and will expect to find both you and me back stage when he comes off."

Slowly Jody nodded. Deep down she knew it was what she wanted anyway, so why fight it. A smile spread across Kane’s face and with a murmured, "Thank goodness for that," he took her hand and led the way down the long corridor to a door at the end of it. Several minutes later they were through the door and making their way around the side of the stage.

Arrows of fear shafted through Jody’s body. Apprehensively she pulled back on Kane’s arm, willing him to stop. But now that he had got her this far he wasn’t letting her back out. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, he urged her forward.

"God, I’m thirsty!" Cat bounced off the stage to come to a halt beside Kane and Jody, his body bathed in perspiration, his face flushed and strained.

Jody, a bundle of nerves, glanced towards him. To her astonishment, although he glanced briefly in her direction, he didn’t acknowledge her presence, nor did he speak to her. It was almost as if she wasn’t there.

As if it was a common occurrence, this abruptness, Kane moved to his brother’s side and tossed him a towel. Then with a shove in the right direction, he said, "The orange juice is on ice, go help yourself."

"Thanks." Taking the towel, Cat moved slowly away from them toward his dressing room. Jody couldn’t believe her eyes and ears. A frown of anger furrowing her brow, she stared after him, then turned to snap at Kane. "Now what have I done?"

"Nothing." Kane seemed totally unperturbed by his brother’s behavior.

"Then why did he ignore me?"

"That’s just the way he is when he comes off stage. Don’t read anything into it. He knows you are here and that’s all that matters."

"But he never even said ‘hello.’" Jody couldn’t under-stand this sort of behavior. Sure Cat had looked tired and to-tally drained, but that wasn’t any reason to be rude.

"He never does. Look," Kane went on as he saw the bewildered angry frown still hovering on her brow. "I know it’s hard for you to understand, but I’ll try and explain. Cat puts absolutely everything into his performance. So much so that he completely drains himself. The last thing he feels like doing mid-performance is talking and everyone knows that and respects his wishes. What he needs most when he comes off stages is a long cold drink, a change of clothes and a few minutes peace and quiet to revitalize his energy."

"Then why the hell did you insist on my coming up here? I could have stayed down in the audience." Jody was be-side herself with anger now. She had understood all that Kane had told her, but as far as she was concerned, she could have stayed below and enjoyed the concert instead of hanging around waiting for Cat to acknowl-edge her presence.

A long exasperated sigh whistled out of Kane’s lips. "I told you why. Cat wanted you to be here."

"Like hell he did!"

"Hey, honey, calm down, please." Gently Kane tried to calm Jody’s very ruffled feelings. "Believe me, he needs you here, and just the fact that you are, will make one hell of a difference to him and the way he performs in the second half. To date he’s been good, but I guarantee this next half is going to be even better. But only if you stay where he can see you?"

"What have I got to do with it?"

"Lots. Cat adores you, and according to various hints he’s been dropping lately, wants to see more of you. You know that he went to your father and tried to get your address, don’t you?"

"Yes, Dad told me what happened."

"When he couldn’t get that address he was beside him-self. He was all ready to jump on the next plane and fly down to Wellington and hang around the University campus in an effort to find you. But unfortunately he couldn’t leave Auckland due to recording commitments and then he had to fly to Australia for a concert. By the time he got back here, this series of concerts had been organized, and he was on the same old merry-go-round again. But believe me, he really does want you here."

"But why not tell me that, and why did he write such a hurtful note the last time we saw each other? He pushed me away and in the most hurtful way."

Again Kane gave an exasperated sigh. Running his hands through his hair in desperation, he tried to console Jody.

"I can’t answer that for sure. My guess is that he thought he wasn’t good enough for you and should back off. But although he tried, he couldn’t pull it off. That’s why he went to see your father. Believe me, when he came away empty-handed he was devastated. I know. I had to put up with his bad mood. As for him not acknowledging your presence now, I’ve tried to explain that Jody. Please try and understand."

Jody shook her head. "I’m sorry," she whispered. "But I can’t . If he hasn’t got the manners to say hello, then he can forget about my staying here. I’m going back to my seat." Spin-ning on her heel, she headed for the stage door.

But she had hardly taken a dozen steps, when a well-remembered voice halted her in her tracks.

"Don’t go, Jody."

Slowly, unable to believe that Cat was actually taking time out to talk to her, Jody swung around. Emotion after emo-tion flashed through her body and because of it her voice was un-usually brusque when she spoke.

"Why not?" she snapped.

"Because I’m asking you to stay."

Defensively, knowing she wasn’t in control of her feel-ings and wasn’t proof against this man’s pleading, Jody reverted to sarcasm.

"So the great Cat Grant has finally condescended to speak to this lowly person."

"Don’t, Pounamu, please! Sarcasm doesn’t suit you." The words were softly spoken and almost a caress, sending Jody’s emo-tions skyrocketing even higher. Holding out his hand, Cat urged, "Come back with me. Please!"

Jody was lost. She couldn’t refuse such a plea coming from him. Slipping her fingers into his, she allowed him to pull her closer. Hard tanned fingers closed around hers, drawing her into Cat’s side. The proximity immediately began to create further problems for Jody.

His touch was like an electric current, hyping over-taut nerves, until she was sure that Cat must be able to feel them vibrating. She shivered, and immediately Cat stopped walk-ing and swung her around to face him.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, his voice soft and caressing.

"No." Jody tried to pull her hand free. "Please, could you let my hand go a little? You’re hurting it."

"Sorry." The pressure was released and in a gesture that was both unexpected and disturbing, Cat raised the tortured fingers to his lips and pressed a kiss on each one of the crushed tips. Then before Jody had time to register his action, he dropped her hand and moved across to stand at the side of the stage.

Stunned and more than a little confused, Jody stared after him. What a complex person he was turning out to be. One minute abrupt and rude, the next kind and considerate. Which, she wondered, was the real Cat Grant, or is he a combination of both?

The sound of loud music penetrated Jody’s pondering and with a start she realized that the concert was about to recom-mence. Not wishing to miss a minute of Cat’s performance she hurried over to the wings, where Kane was standing.

With a smile, Kane drew her to his side, so that she could see directly onto the stage, without being seen from below.

"I think you’ll believe me in a moment about him being tormented by what he did to you and wanting to make amends. He’s changed a couple of songs in the program. Listen."

Confused, Jody focused her attention on the stage and the words that Cat was speaking.

His voice a husky imitation of it’s normal tone, he began to explain about the next song he was to sing.

"This is a new song that hasn’t as yet been released. Hopefully it will be in the shops within the next few weeks. It was writ-ten for a very special person, a lady I met some time ago and through a lot of misunderstanding parted company with."

Turning slightly, Cat in-clined his head toward Jody, his golden eyes shining with emotion, then he continued. "To my Pounamu, this is for you. Please understand."

Tears sprang into Jody’s eyes. Again Cat had shown a completely different side to his nature. A caring side. Overcome with emotion and trying to hide it from the assembled people, she brushed her hands across her eyes.

"Listen to the words, Jody. They say it all," Kane whispered close to her ear. "He wrote it the afternoon he got back from seeing your father."

And the words did indeed say it all.

"I broke your heart, like I vowed I’d never do.

But we were so different, from opposite sides of the

world.

I had to let you go

Let you find someone else.

Someone who could give you what I couldn’t

Someone who wasn’t tainted by all he’d seen

Pounamu I’m sorry, sorry for what I did

Please forgive me

I care for you

Only you."

The song went on and on through several verses each in-terspersed with the Chorus, "Pounamu I’m sorry..."

Sobs shook Jody’s body, and with a muffled cry of pain, she buried her head in Kane’s shoulder. Understanding just where she was coming from, he slid his arms around her body and held her tight, trying to bring some comfort to her.

"I told you he cared. Now do you believe me?"

"Yes," Jody managed to croak out.

"Then how about wiping you eyes and watching the rest of the show, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy it."

And Jody did enjoy watching him, although she wasn’t so that sure that it was a good idea to be this close and see the way his sensual body moved inside the tight fitting clothes.

Too angry with him when he’d come back from his dress-ing room, she had not taken any notice of what he had changed into, but now she had a chance to study everything about him.

In complete contrast to his first outfit, which had been all black, he was now dressed in lighter colors. Dark blue satin-finish trousers stretched across his muscular thighs like a second skin and hugged his long lithe legs.

A partially unbuttoned, full-sleeved white shirt of the same material, topped by a dark blue jerkin stretched across his wide shoulders and tapered down over his muscular chest to disap-pear into his trousers.

On anyone else the outfit might have looked effeminate, but on Cat it only served to enhance his masculinity and promote the image that had always been perpetrated for him. That of a sexual male animal. Handsome, talented and a draw for all women.

Jody’s eyes lovingly raked up and down Cat’s body, and finally came to rest on the partially exposed skin. Memories returned to flood her mind.

Memories of what it felt like to touch that skin. How smooth it was in some places, how hair-roughened in others. How that hair angled down his chest to his navel, to disappear beneath... How his long hair-roughened legs felt abrasive against hers. How the hair at the juncture of his thighs... But here Jody had to call a halt.

Thoughts like that were too disturbing. Her body trembled in anticipation of those memories. She had to stop them while she could.

But despite her calling a halt, her mind had other ideas and switched to more disturbing thoughts.

What Cat’s body looked like when it was naked as the day he was born...the feel of it against her own naked body...the touch of his hands on her skin...his kisses, and how her body reacted to them...how he had shown her how to please him...how he had pleased her, discovering places she hadn’t known existed...his kindness and understanding over her inexperience...how he had taken...

Once more Jody called a halt. It was self-inflicting torture, something she could do without. She had to try and push what had happened between them out of her mind and try and con-centrate on watching him perform, live, on stage.

The strains of music and words of her favorite Maori song drifted to Jody. As if in a trance, she raised her eyes towards Cat’s face and to her surprise he was looking directly at her. Standing slightly angled towards the wings, it was if he was singing just for her and her alone.

Color washed up Jody’s face, as she noticed that those around her had seen Cat’s action as well and were interpreting what it meant in their own way. Dropping her eyes, Jody willed herself to remain calm and not read anything into his action.

When the tempo of the music changed and Cat turned back to fully face the audience, a deep sigh shook Jody’s body. For the moment at least, her feelings were safe from exposure.

"Watch this. It’s what every woman in the audience waits for."

Kane drew Jody’s attention back to the stage. To her surprise, when she peered around the side of the curtain she could see all the women sitting forward in their seats, an eager look of anticipation on their faces.

Picking up a bunch of white roses, Cat moved to the edge of the stage. Almost immediately it was like a stampede. Women of all ages seemed to head for the space in front of the stage.

Still singing, Cat began to throw the roses into the audience. To Jody, who had never seen this part of Cat’s act before, but had heard about it, it was a revelation. It was a theatrical gesture, but it showed without words just how Cat was thought of by his fans.

How, she wondered, could normally sane women act like this? Demeaning themselves in such a love-sick way. But, she realized as she watched, they were merely acknowledging their hero worship for their idol in their own particular way.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jody’s heart swelled with love, a love that only Cat could evoke. He was so special to her. So very special. Her face took on a glow as she watched that special person enacting this final part of his performance.

Kane, standing be-hind her, saw the love that shone out of her face and was over-joyed for his brother. One thing Cat really needed was someone to love him.

"So that’s how it is!" he whispered in her ear.

Startled, Jody swung around to face him, her eyes wide in apprehension. What had he seen? What had she given away?

"You love my brother, don’t you?"

"Oh, sure." Jody answered flippantly. "Just like thousands of others."

"No, not like thousands of others. In a very special kind of way. Stop trying to pretend otherwise."

"Cat mustn’t know," Jody begged, not denying his statement.

"Why ever not?"

"Because he doesn’t return what I feel!"

"Has he told you that? I think he cares very much. Didn’t you listen to any of the words of that song?"

"Yes, I heard them all. They were beautiful. But al-though he wrote that song he hasn’t personally said what he feels."

"Then why jump to conclusions, that he doesn’t return your love?"

"Am I? Has he actually told you differently?" Jody demanded, hoping that he knew something she didn’t.

"No." Kane admitted, then added in an effort to cheer her up, "I do know that he likes you a lot and that for the last few weeks that you’ve been apart he’s been absolutely unbearable and totally unlike himself. No one has been able to speak to him without getting their heads bitten off. Even Trina couldn’t get through to him."

"But that means nothing." Jody took a deep breath, hating what she was about to say, but knowing it had to be said. "I didn’t notice it stopping him from seeing other women."

"Other women!! There haven’t been any!"

"What about Binca Leigh? I saw a photograph of them in the paper."

"Binca!" Laughter shook Kane’s body. "But she’s an old friend from way back. There’s nothing romantic between them Jody, nothing at all."

"Oh yeah! Cat and a beautiful woman, and they’re friends! Pull the other leg."

"Yeah. She’s married to one of Cat’s oldest friends. They live in Sydney and she’d been over here visiting her parents. They traveled together back to Australia and Cat stayed with her and John while he was there."

"But in the paper..."

"I know what the papers said, but they were wrong. Com-pletely wrong."

"That still doesn’t prove anything."

"You’ve got to be kidding, honey. When Cat forsakes all women, that means a lot. Don’t forget I know him a lot better than you do, and I’ve seen him in all sorts of moods, both before and after he’s broken off an affair. But I’ve never seen him like this before. It must have been some fight you had," he added curiously.

"We didn’t! Fight I mean."

"Then what?"

"I’m sorry, Kane, I can’t tell you that. It’s something just between Cat and I, and that’s the way I want it to remain."

A loud burst of applause drew their attention back to the stage, and as they watched they saw Cat take a final bow then turn and run off the stage.

"Whew! Thank goodness that’s over."

"They loved it!" Kane understated, handing Cat a large towel.

"Yeah, I guess so." With a sigh of utter exhaustion, Cat took the towel and began to wipe the moisture off his face, before slinging it around his neck.

"By the way, Kane, in case I forget to tell you. Thanks."

"My pleasure."

Jody looked from one to the other, a puzzled frown mar-ring her face. What on earth were they talking about? Seeing her frown, Kane sent her an apologetic smile but made no attempt to enlighten her, instead he murmured a quiet goodnight and moved away.

Jody tensed. Now was the moment she had been looking forward to and at the same time dreading all night. She and Cat were on their own. Just how was he going to act?

Deciding to take the bull by the horns, she moved closer and was about to slip her hand through his arm in a ges-ture of friendship, when to her surprise he swung on his heel and began to stride away from her.

Open-mouthed, Jody stared after him.

"Are you coming?"

Cat stopped several feet away and held out his hand, impatience, tiredness and total exhaustion written all over his face. Needing no second bidding, Jody crossed to his side and slid her hand into his.

Flinging open the door of his dressing room Cat ushered her inside, then followed before banging it behind him and crossing over to the sofa stretched along one wall.

Out of breath, Jody stopped just inside the door and took several long shuddering gulps of air before following Cat across the room to the sofa. To her surprise, he was already stretched out on the soft upholstery, his hands tucked behind his head and his eyes closed.

For several minutes he lay thus, then slowly, as she watched, he seemed to relax and drop off to sleep. As tense as a violin string and unsure what was ex-pected of her, Jody moved across the room to the dressing table.

Scattered across it’s dusty glass top, was an array of toilet gear. Unconsciously, she reached out and picked up the tortoiseshell hair brush, run-ning her fingers along the hard bristles, then the smoother back.

Several long tawny-gold hairs were tangled in the bristles and unaware of what she was doing, Jody pulled them free and ran the crisp hair through her fingers. It felt so like the real thing that her imagination began to run riot.

Replacing the hairbrush she moved away from the table, but as she did she happened to glance upward and caught sight of herself in the mirror. Although she knew it to be her image, she couldn’t believe what she saw.

Love shone from that face. Love that seemed to light it from within and give it a soft, almost iridescent, glow. Around the softly parted lips a light secret smile played and her eyes sparkled with a hidden light.

Suddenly Jody realized something else as well. If she could see her image so too could the man lying directly be-hind the mirror. Anxiously, she glanced at Cat, hoping against hope that he still slept and hadn’t seen what had been reflected in the glass.

But it was a forlorn hope. Cat had obviously seen everything.

Propped up on one elbow, he was gazing in her direction. As he saw her turn to face him he smiled and said, ever so softly, "Come here, Pounamu."

Slowly Jody swung right around, but didn’t move for-ward.

"Don’t be frightened." Again it was said very quietly and this time held just a hint of anxiety. "I promise I won’t hurt you again, or not if I can help it."

Jody took a hesitant step forward, then another and another, then with a rush she raced across the room and flung herself down on her knees beside the sofa.

An exclamation almost like a groan was torn from Cat’s lips, and swinging his feet to the ground, he slid his hands under Jody’s armpits and lifted her up onto the sofa beside him.

Cautiously, not taking his eyes off her face, Cat slid his hand down into hers, then lifting it towards his lips, he began kissing each finger in turn, before turning it over and planting a soft kiss on the inner palm.

"Forgive me?" he whispered tensely. "I was so damn stupid!"

Not trusting her voice, Jody nodded.

An arm slid around her shoulders, simultaneously with a long sigh of relief from its owner. "I’ve missed you, honey, so very much."

"You have?"

Jody tried but couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. Even after all Kane had told her she still found it hard to believe. After all, Cat Grant, superstar extraordinaire, only had to snap his fingers to have any woman he wanted.

Sensing her disbelief, Cat’s mood changed completely. Dropping her hand he swung himself off the sofa and strode over to the dressing table, disappointment and something almost like suppressed anger radiating from every part of his body.

"Why the hell do I bother!" The explosive words were aimed more at himself than at Jody, but she caught the full force of them as he slammed down the whisky bottle and lifted the glass to his lips.

Briefly, Jody dropped her eyes, anything to escape the anger and frustration written on Cat’s face. But she was unable to keep her eyes off the man she loved for very long.

And as she looked up, so too did Cat and caught her in-terest in the mirrored surface. Mockingly, he raised the glass in a salute before placing it against his lips and draining the liq-uid in one long gulp.

Again Jody heard glass on glass as Cat began to pour more drink into his glass. But for some reason he never completed the action. Laying down both containers he turned to face Jody.

For several long, tense seconds he stared at her, his face a mask of indecision, then with a ragged breath, he moved slowly toward her, hands outstretched. Not knowing what to ex-pect, Jody placed her trembling hands into his, allowing him to draw her to her feet.

Sliding his fingers up her forearms, Cat pulled her into his arms.

"Don’t disbelieve me, Jody." Cat’s voice was pitched low and took on an extra huskiness which to Jody sounded as though he was begging her to believe in him. "I really did miss you, Pounamu. So very, very much. Did you miss me?"

A hard lump formed in Jody’s throat, making it impos-sible for her to speak. Heart bursting with emotion, she could only nod.

"Then show me." Pulling her closer, Cat inclined his head for her kiss.

For a split second Jody hesitated, then taking her courage into her hands, she reached up and pulled his head down toward her. Tentatively, her hot dry lips touched Cat’s warm sensuous mouth in a light caress.

"Not like that, honey," Cat teased, a warm smile of un-derstanding flashing across his face. "Like this."

This turned out to be Jody’s undoing. The moment his lips touched hers she surrendered, her mouth fluttering open beneath his, inviting his intrusion. And Cat took the invita-tion, the tip of his tongue flicking against Jody’s and enticing her to groan in pure frustration.

Almost of it’s own volition, her body relaxed against Cat’s. Equally responsive, Cat arched her even closer, his hands pressing her lower body to his and making her fully aware of what was happening to him.

His caresses became more adventurous, his lips follow-ing a pathway down to the vee that was just visible between her breasts, and impatiently trying to push a pathway further.

A time bomb seemed to explode within Jody, splintering into a thousand multicolored shards of desire. Losing the last of her inhibitions, she began to return caress for caress. But the minute she started to touch him, she received a surprising reaction.

As if stung, Cat pushed her away from him and put the width of the room between them. Shocked, Jody stared blindly after him. Why had he rejected her caresses?

Why was he even now leaning against the wall, his hands supporting his body, his back to the room, head bent and gasping for breath? A frown creased her brow. What had she done wrong this time?

Knowing she was probably risking a rebuff, she crossed the space between them and lightly touched Cat’s arm.

"What’s wrong, Cat?"

His reaction to her touch was instantaneous and violent.

"Don’t touch me!" he grated, flinging her hand off his arm and spinning around to face her. "I promised myself I’d go slow this time, but the minute I touch you I lose complete con-trol. I don’t want us to start off on the wrong foot again."

"But Cat..." This time Jody wasn’t going to let her pride stand in the way of understanding.

But Cat gave her no time to finish. Snatching up his jacket off the back of a nearby chair, he flung open the dressing room door and motioned her out. "Let’s get out of here. I think we need some privacy."

Still slightly confused, Jody followed him out into the corridor, but the minute she did, she became aware of a different kind of problem.

Standing outside was a large group of people who the minute they saw Cat began clamoring for his attention.

As she watched, Jody saw his face tighten ominously and his mouth open as if he was about to yell at the assembled crowd. But before he could utter a word, Kane appeared alongside them and guided Cat and Jody away from the group.

"Cool it," he advised his brother, pushing him towards the back stage door. "I’ll deal with them."

"Thanks," Cat muttered ungraciously, although Kane didn’t seem to notice the tone of voice or the lack of genuine thanks. Banging the door after them, Kane turned back to the gaggle of protesting people.

Once outside, Cat took Jody’s arm and guided her down the steep stairs to a car that stood at their base. Because of their haste, several times Jody found herself stumbling, but each time she did Cat was there to make sure that she didn’t fall.

Standing beside the car was a young man Jody recognized as Rick, another one of Cat’s many brothers. A warm, admiring smile was flashed her way before he turned to speak to his brother.

"The car’s all gassed up and ready to go, just as you re-quested. Do you want me to drive?"

"No thanks, I’ll drive."

"Right, see you later."

"Not tonight you won’t."

Swinging open the passenger door he pushed Jody into the seat, accompanying his actions with a smile and the words, "Trust me, please."

"What do I tell Trina? She’ll be waiting up for you."

"She knows I won’t be home tonight. I told her I’d see her in the morning. Now scram little brother, and thanks."

"Yes big brother boss." Rick sketched a cheeky salute and turned on his heel and raced up the stairs, calling as he ran, "Good luck, brother dear. I think you’ll need it."

Cat’s face flushed angrily. Spinning on his heel he grated, "By God Rick, I’ll..."

But his words fell on deaf ears. Totally unperturbed by his brother’s anger, Rick in-terrupted with another quip. "Where’s your sense of humor gone? Can’t you take a joke these days?"

A ragged, irritable sigh exploded out of Cat. "Go away and play trains!" he snapped. "I’m not in the mood for your tactless jokes."

Without another word he strode around the car and flung himself into the driver’s seat. His anger cooling rapidly, Cat looked up the stairs to where his brother was just disappearing into the stage door.

Nothing seemed to get Rick down. He cruised through life as if it was one big party, extracting enjoyment from every second of the day. Cat sighed and reaching out, switched on the ignition - if only life were that simple!

Jody, huddled in the corner of her seat, had watched the interchange between the brothers with more than a little ap-prehension. Cat was in such a strange mood, and his brother’s teasing had only seemed to make that mood worse.

But to her relief, once they were underway he seemed to relax, and despite a tense-ness around his mouth and tiredness he was having trouble hiding, he no longer appeared to be angry.

Sinking deeper into her seat, Jody began to relax.

Now all she had to do was wait and find out where Cat was taking her.

But although she waited for quite a while, he made no move to tell her their destination. Finally she couldn’t resist voicing her concern.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You’ll see."

"Is it far?"

"No, not really. Why don’t you relax and enjoy the drive." Briefly, Cat swung his head her way and flashed her a warm smile. "Trust me, Pounamu."

Unsure about his motives for literally kidnapping her, but willing at least for the moment to go along with him, Jody whispered, "Okay."

"Good."

Taking one hand off the wheel, he reached across and picked up one of Jody’s, squeezing it gently before laying it on his knee, his hand resting on top of it.

Mile after mile passed by in silence, but the silence didn’t worry Jody. It was so good to be with the man she loved after so much time apart.

Every now and again she stole a secret look his way, refilling her mind with new images of him. Images that she had never really forgotten.

But what she saw worried her. Cat looked tired and strained.

Tiny lines spread from the edge of his eyes in small fans, and from the corner of his mouth, to crease into the tanned cheeks above. The rest of his face was drawn and taut as if he had been using up all his energy and replacing none of it. Remembering the physical exertion he put into his act, Jody won-dered how he found enough strength to concentrate on his driving. He looked ex-hausted.

"Would you like me to take over the driving, Cat?"

Without taking his eyes off the road, Cat flashed her a smile and said, "No thanks, honey, I’ll manage."

"Well, don’t hesitate to say if you want me to."

"I won’t."

Jody relaxed again and this time closed her eyes. But the minute she did her thoughts began to run away with her and a thousand questions flashed through her mind.

Where was Cat taking her? What had he in mind? Why had he told his brother that he wouldn’t see him until the morning? All important questions as far as she was concerned, but so far Cat had made no effort to tell her anything.

Not that Jody was really worried. She was with Cat and that was all that really mattered. Any time spent with him was a bonus. Soon, she knew, he’d have to be heading back to the States, back to the life he normally lived. She had to grab every opportunity she could to be with him.

Happy, at least for the moment, she sank deeper into her seat.

The slowing of the car and the click, click of the in-dicator, brought Jody’s eyes open. Pushing herself upright, she peered out the window.

Where were they? She searched the darkness for an answer. But to no avail. The darkness hid most of the landscape. All she could see was the outline of a building below them, as the car descended a steep driveway.

With an exhausted sigh, Cat brought the car to a halt and switched off the engine. Then, as if he had used up all his energy, he flopped forward onto the steering wheel, his eyes closed, his hands sliding up to massage the back of his neck.

Anxiously, Jody scanned his bent head and the way he seemed to have collapsed completely against the wheel. Releasing her seat belt, she slid over to the middle and leaned closer in order to check on him. But before she could touch him, Cat pushed himself upright and opened the door of the car.

"Come on."

With an unusual lack of manners, he swung himself from the car and strode away to a dark outline in the distance. Jody, still seated, heard the house door click open, then a few seconds later saw lights flash on inside.

Still stunned by the way Cat had walked off and ex-pected her to follow, Jody flung open the door and stepped out, slamming her car door and moving around the front of the car. As she did, she noticed that the car lights still beamed out into the night. Pulling open the driver’s door, she leaned inside and after much fiddling with switches found the one she wanted and plunged the vehicle into darkness. Grabbing the keys, she locked all the doors, and turned to face the house below.

Unsure where she was going, she stumbled down the gravel pathway toward the winking lights. The door stood wide open, inviting her to enter, but she didn’t immediately move inside. Instead she stood on the threshold, her ear cocked for some movement from the interior. But none came.

Frightened by the lack of sound from within, she rushed inside, slamming the door after her. Hurrying from room to room, she tried to locate Cat. But with no luck. Finally she came to the last room. Pushing open the door, she stepped inside and found him. Stretched out full length on a wide sofa, his eyes closed, his even breathing telling her that he slept.

Jody’s heart thudded back to normal. He was okay after all. She didn’t know what she expected to find when she had started looking for him, but it definitely wasn’t to find him asleep.

Quietly, she tip-toed across the room to stand looking down at the sleeping man. In sleep he looked so vulnerable. His face now relaxed, but showing all those new tell-tale lines.

Unable to help herself, Jody dropped to her knees beside the sofa. Reaching out, she gently smoothed the tawny gold hair back from his forehead. But Cat didn’t stir a muscle. Greatly daring, she let her finger slide down his face to trace the deep lines etched around and under his eyes - then on down his tanned cheeks to rest briefly against his hard, sensual lips.

"Mmm."

Cat’s sigh of pleasure had Jody jumping back and withdrawing her hand as if she had been stung.

"Don’t stop. That was nice."

"I’m sorry." Jody withdrew a little further.

"No! Not that!" As if it was a great effort, Cat opened his eyes and focused on Jody kneeling beside him. "I’m the one who should be sorry. This is not how I planned this evening."

"You planned this?" Even more surprised, Jody moved further away and stood up.

"Mmm, down to the last detail. There’s even wine in the fridge."

Levering himself upright, Cat held out his hand, but Jody ignored it and took another step backwards.

"The whole thing has fallen horribly flat. I’m too damn tired to do anything but sleep." A frustrated sigh echoed from the man.

"I don’t believe it. How could you plan this? You didn’t know I was going to be at your concert."

"No I didn’t. But if you hadn’t been there, I would have gone around to your flat."

"But I could have still been in Wellington."

"I knew you weren’t."

"How?"

"My spies told me."

"You mean Kane?"

"Yes. He told me that he’d seen your car at the flat."

With a huge yawn Cat heaved him-self to his feet and shortened the gap between them. "Come to me, honey," he murmured. "Let me hold you."

Sliding his arm around her waist, Cat pulled her against his body, his head dropping to rest against the top of hers.

"Let’s go to bed," he whispered emotionally, lifting his head to press a light kiss on her forehead.

"No!" Jody shrank back against his restraining arm.

"But why not?"

Wearily, Cat dropped his arms from around her waist and stepped back. "I’m sorry if that sounded abrupt, it wasn’t meant to. I guess I’m just too damn tired for the niceties at the moment."

"I can’t," Jody protested, "I just can’t."

For a moment Cat looked slightly bewildered, as if he couldn’t understand what she was saying. Then suddenly a smile flashed across his handsome face.

"Hell, honey, I didn’t mean that in the sense you’ve ob-viously taken it. All I meant was for us to go to bed, to sleep. Nothing else. In truth, I’m too darn tired for anything but sleep. In fact, if I don’t find a bed within the next few minutes I think I’m likely to fall over."

With a smile, Cat turned and started to leave the room, stopping at the door and saying, "Coming?"

Putting aside her doubts, Jody returned his smile. "Okay," she replied. "I’ll just lock the doors and put out the lights, you go ahead."

Her chores completed, Jody headed down the long pas-sageway in search of the bedroom. It took several wrong turns before she finally located the right room.

Cat was already in the wide double bed, his eyes closed, his even breathing signaling that if he wasn’t already asleep, he was close to it.

Pulling off her dress, Jody slid under the covers, making sure that she kept well to her side of the bed. But as if he sensed her presence, Cat immediately rolled over to face her, one hard leg moving to pin her down to the mattress. Jody tensed. Was Cat going to make advances, after saying he wouldn’t?

She tried to pull free, and in doing so disturbed him even further. With an exasperated sigh, he moved closer and pulled her into his arms, murmuring, "Stay cuddled close, please," before almost instantly drifting off to sleep once more.

CHAPTER TWELVE

A heavy, immovable weight seemed to be pushing Jody down, and desperately she fought to be free. But she couldn’t budge it. In desperation she forced her eyes open in order to discover just what has holding her down.

For a brief moment as she faced the daylight she couldn’t remember exactly where she was, then as her eyes focused properly, everything came rushing back.

She had slept the night in the same bed as Cat and the weight holding her down was his leg slung across her lower body. Shocked that she had given into his pleas, she knew she had to escape before he woke.

Gently, so as to not disturb him, she pushed at the long hair-sprinkled limb. But although she was very careful, her efforts were in vain. He woke almost immediately.

Just like her, he took several minutes to come fully awake, but when he did and realized that she was still beside him, a warm heart-rending smile slashed across his face and his eyes lit up appreciatively.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I thought I’d dreamt that you’d come with me last night. I’m glad it was true."

"Good morning." Jody’s reply was slightly abrupt and far from warm.

Alert as ever, Cat wasn’t slow to notice her tone. Levering himself up into a sitting position, he leaned closer.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, a puzzled frown furrowing his brow.

"I would like to get up. You’re holding me down."

"And with good reason, it seems. You’re trying to es-cape from my bed."

"Of course I am. I want to get dressed."

Cat’s near-ness was starting to effect Jody’s nerve-ends , and she knew she had to move away before things got out of her control.

"This early?" The light bantering tone did nothing for Jody’s mood of desperation.

"Yes, this early."

"Oh, no." A teasing light entered Cat’s eyes, softening the harsh lines. "Not while I’m here with you. Come on, honey, relax."

"Please, Cat, let me go." Desperately Jody tried to keep the tears that threatened under control.

Sensing her discomfort, Cat leaned closer, increasing Jody’s nervousness.

"Don’t fight it, honey. Remember I promised we’d take it as slow as you want this time. You call the shots, all the way," he whispered, lowering his head and pressing a light kiss on her lips.

Despite her agitation, Jody found herself beginning to relax. Cat had sounded genuinely sin-cere.

But his continued closeness was doing strange things to her emo-tions, and despite feeling more composed, she needed to escape before she gave in to them. With a quick twist she managed to break free.

But her freedom was short-lived. With only a slight shift of his body, Cat was able to stop her moving further away.

Sliding his hand into her hair and levering her face around toward his, he whispered against her lips, "Relax and enjoy."

Before Jody had time to reply, she found herself on the receiving end of a very gentle, but very possessive kiss.

For a brief moment she fought against that possessive-ness, but that only seemed to encourage Cat to deepen the kiss.

Knowing she had lost the battle before it began, Jody found herself surrendering to his demands. With a sigh of pleasure she relaxed against him, returning kiss for kiss.

Forsaking the hold he had on her head, Cat’s free hand slid down to the front-opening of her bra. With one click it undid, and Jody’s full breasts flowed out into his hand, their dark-crests throbbing with a desire he couldn’t fail to notice.

A strangled groan of pleasure escaped his lips before he lowered his head and surrounded each throbbing center with a kiss. Beneath him he felt the deep shudder that shook Jody’s body. Thinking that she was upset by what he was doing, he raised his head.

But instead of seeing dismay, he saw desire. Convul-sively, he returned to his gentle teasing, his hands following the pathway his lips had already trailed.

"Touch me!" he whispered as he returned to press a kiss on her softly-parted lips. "Oh, God, touch me."

His throb-bing emotion-filled voice penetrated Jody’s web of euphoria.

Reversing their positions, she began an intimate exploration of the body that lay supine beneath her. Her fingers finding and gently kneading the masculine nipples that seemed to grow and pucker just as hers had previously.

"That feels so good. Now I understand why you like it so much," Cat groaned as Jody took the tip of his nipple into her mouth. "Oh, hell, you’re killing me."

"You want me to stop?" Distressed that she might be hurting him, Jody dropped her hands away from him.

"Oh no. Please don’t stop." Gently Cat grabbed her hands and guided them back to his chest.

Shyly at first, but growing bolder by the minute, Jody slowing let her hands slide down his body, fol-lowing each caress with a gentle kiss, until Cat was begging her for more and more. With butterfly kisses she followed the pathway of hair that sprinkled his chest and arrowed down to nestle gently around his swollen manhood.

Hands trembling, she slid her fingers around its throbbing length, gently sliding up and down and almost immediately following it with a row of tiny kisses.

"Oh God, baby, please don’t stop."

With increased courage, Jody pressed longer, deeper kisses onto its throbbing center until with an explosion of passion, Cat rolled her over and dove into her body.

A cry of surprise echoed from between Jody’s lips. To be almost immediately followed by a groan of pure pleasure.

Explosion after explosion wracked their bodies, taking them higher than they had traveled the first time they had come together.

And this time there was no holding back on either side, no doubts, just a coupling of minds and bodies, a meeting of spirits on a single plane.

For what seemed an eternity, they took from each other and gave back, cresting each particular height together, until they reached the pinnacle. With a resounding cry of pleasure they shuddered to a climax. Together and as one.

A thousand lights seemed to explode inside Jody’s head, like a myriad of stars converging together to cause a gigantic starburst. Her body felt like it didn’t belong on this earth but was floating far away on a cloud, tingling from top to toe, every nerve alive and throbbing.

It took several minutes before she could even breathe properly again, let alone think.

But slowly, as their passion cooled, the world began to right itself and with it came the cool sensible light of day, intruding into Jody’s world of euphoria. The arms that she had clasped tightly around Cat’s body dropped away, and with a supreme effort she managed to lever herself out from under him.

"You did it again," she accused him angrily, although it was herself she was angry with, not him. "You coerced me into making love with you again."

"I didn’t think coercion came into it, darling," Cat whispered huskily. "I think it was a mutual thing."

"Mutual or not, it shouldn’t have happened."

"Don’t say that, Pounamu. What we just shared was so good. I’ve never shared an experience like that before."

"For you, too?" she gasped incredulously, anger forgotten.

"Of course for me, too. Did you doubt it?"

Jody knew she had to be honest with him, even though it hurt to do so.

"I guess I did. Just a little. I know I’m not very experienced, and I was unsure if it felt the same way to you as well."

Gently, Cat swung out of bed and moved across to pull her into his arms. "Believe me, honey, for me it was just as great. I have never ever felt like that before, or experienced such a tumultuous explosion of feeling. With anyone!"

Happiness flooded through Jody, but it was quickly fol-lowed by a stab of pain as she recalled all the other women Cat had been with. Was she just one of many, and would that be what she would become after he went back to the States? She hated to think of him leaving. But she knew that it was inevitable and that it was probably going to be sooner rather than later.

Tears pricked the back of her eyes and threatened to spill over. In an effort to hide them from Cat, she turned her face away and managed to wrench herself from his arms and flee from the room.

The bathroom beckoned as a safe haven. Almost as if by instinct she found it without a hassle, wrenching open the door and slamming it and locking it after her. Sobs racked her body, sobs she couldn’t control. Sinking to the floor she buried her head in her hands and wept.

Wept for herself and the love she had for the man she had left behind in the bedroom. Wept for the love she was sure would never be returned. Wept for her foolishness in grabbing a little happiness while she could. Wept for the pain she knew she was going to feel when he left to go back to the States.

But crying brought her little relief. All it seemed to do was make her feel worse than she already did. With a con-certed effort she finally managed to stem the flow of tears, and get to her feet.

Shakily, she crossed the floor and flicked on the shower, stepping under it before it had a chance to warm up properly. The coldness of that first blast of water made Jody shiver, but gradually as it began to warm up, so it began to soothe her dis-traught body.

Engrossed in ridding her body of Cat’s touch and smell, Jody failed to hear the opening of a door close by.

"May I join you?" A deep, husky voice penetrated the glass door only seconds before it was swung open and Cat stepped into the shower cubicle.

"How did you get in here?" Jody demanded, retreating to the far corner of the shower and covering as much of her body as she could with her hands.

"You forgot the other door."

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes." Calmly Cat reached past Jody’s cringing body and took the soap from the soap-dish. "Turn around and I’ll wash your back."

Stubbornly, Jody remained standing in her corner, un-able to move. "Then I’ll do your front first."

Moving forward, Cat began lathering his hands with soap. Slowly he moved Jody’s hands, holding them away with one hand while he ran his other soapy hand all over her body.

Jody’s lids dropped over her eyes. This was pure ecstasy, but she couldn’t let Cat see that she was enjoying it. She had to try and keep her emotions under control.

Gently, Cat released her hands and spun her around, con-tinuing with his gentle cleansing caress, down her back, and across her shoulders. Jody’s nerves and emotions twanged out of control as his hands touched places she hadn’t believed could be so sensitive.

"Return the favor." She was back facing him again, and he was holding out the soap toward her. As if in a trance, Jody took the soap and began rubbing it into his skin, her hands sliding slowly over every familiar curve and line, until she gave into the sensual feeling and began to caress instead of cleanse.

As if she had flicked a switch, Cat’s body reacted to the caressing touch. Eyes closed, he stood perfectly still, an ecstatic look on his face, low groans of satisfaction erupting from his throat. Then as if he could no longer just take it but had to return it, he began to run his hands up and down Jody’s body.

Jody’s hands grew bolder. Tongue tip flicking along her top lip, she let her hands drift lower, until she contacted with Cat’s pulsing manhood, circling it with trembling fingers.

Almost at the same time, Cat’s fingers slid downwards in a path towards the very center of her womanhood. Gently he slide one finger inside.

A kaleidoscope of emotions rushed through Jody. Her body jerked upwards, moving against that finger. Another finger slid inside, and in the age old rhythm of lovers, began to move in time with her body. Unable to help herself , Jody gave herself up to the sensations that those fingers were creating.

"Give, baby. Oh, give."

The words were almost groaned out of Cat’s mouth, as he slid to knees and buried his head be-tween her softly pulsing thighs. His tongue slid into her taking up the rhythm where his fingers had left off.

Shock stabbed through Jody. But it was quickly replaced with a pleasure so great she had no way of expressing it. Nothing that had gone before had prepared her for this feeling. He was eating her alive and it wasn’t enough.

"Please, Cat," she pleaded, "oh, please!"

"Soon, baby, soon. But not here."

Swinging her up into his arms, water dripping off them both, Cat stepped out of the shower. Stop-ping only briefly to pick up a towel, he headed for the bedroom.

Lowering her down onto the bed, he flung himself down be-side her.

"We’re wet," Jody protested. "Let me dry you."

Pluck-ing the towel from between his fingers, she began to gently dry his body. But Cat was beyond wanting to be dry. Wrenching it from her, he flung it across the room.

"Who cares if we’re wet?"

And soon Jody didn’t care either, as Cat’s lovemaking sent her scaling up the wall, until, as before, she begged him to take her. But this time Cat was determined to take it slow and gentle, making it really good for her.

Time and time again, he brought her to the brink, his fingers sliding deep within her, each time guiding her over the top, until with a shudder Jody cascaded completely over the edge.

Cat rode every crest with her, letting her have all the pleasure for her-self. When she lay completely spent beneath him, he bent over and in a ragged, passion-filled voice whispered, "That was for you, darling. This is for us both."

Gently, he thrust his throbbing shaft into her receptive body.

After what had just happened to her, Jody couldn’t believe that she would be ready for him again. To her surprise, her body was more than ready.

Intending to take it slow this time, Cat soon found that was impossible. His body would not allow slow and gentle. Completely under the control of his emotions, he became all aggressive man. Stamping his mark on Jody. Taking everything but giving all as well.

Together, they soared to the heavens, touching the planets on their way, until slowly they began the float back down to the earth.

****

It was well into the afternoon before Cat and Jody returned to Auckland.

Exhausted, they had spent the rest of the morning sleeping, to wake again just at lunch time, relaxed and refreshed. After a quick lunch, Cat suggested heading back to town, and although she would have liked to stay longer in their hideaway, Jody knew it was time they made a move.

Sooner or later someone would be looking for both of them - especially Cat. This had been a brief, beautiful interlude but one that had to end sometime. Secretly, Jody was disappointed that it couldn’t have gone on for longer. But she knew that this wasn’t possible. Cat had commitments that wouldn’t wait.

Pulling to a halt outside her flat, Cat swung around in his seat and slid an arm around Jody’s shoulders.

"I can’t begin to express what I feel, honey. It was unforgettable."

"For me, too. When will I see you again?"

"Not until tonight, unfortunately. I’ve got things that have to be attended to. But I’ll give you a ring. There is so much that we have to discuss. Things that need to be sorted out be-tween us."

"I’ll be waiting for your call."

Opening her door, Jody swung around and began to step out of the car. But Cat wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. Forestalling her movement, he pulled her toward him. Pressing a light kiss on her lips, he whispered, "I have to go, but how I wish I didn’t."

"I wish you didn’t, too."

"Till later, honey." Reluctantly, Cat released her and allowed her to step out of the car. "Bye, Pounamu. Don’t forget me."

A smile lit up Jody’s face. Leaning back into the car, she pressed a kiss on his lips before slamming the door and heading inside.

The phone was ringing as Jody inserted the key into the lock. Leaving the door ajar, she hurried inside to answer it. As she lifted the receiver, she heard a knock and turned to beckon the caller in, before giving her attention to the person at the other end of the phone.

"That you, Jody?"

"Sure, Kane."

"Is Cat with you?"

"No, he’s just left."

"Oh, good. I’ve been trying to contact him all day."

"Is it urgent?"

"Could be. I must go. Thanks for the information. I’ll ring you."

"Great. Bye."

Thoughtfully, Jody replaced the receiver, then remember-ing her visitor, she turned to greet him. "Hi, Dad."

"Hello."

The tone of his voice had Jody staring at him. He seemed very upset. Immediately, her thoughts turned to her stepmother.

"Is Sandy well?"

"Sure, fine."

"Then why are you upset?"

"You ask that?" The words came out as if he was chok-ing. "Where the hell were you last night and again all day today? I’ve been trying to contact you!"

"Oh, I see." Color rushed up into Jody’s face.

"I’m glad you do. Well?" her father snapped. "Where were you?"

"Out!"

"Very clever! I already knew that. Stop hedging, Jody, and answer my question."

"It’s really none of your business, Dad."

"Well, I’m damn well making it my business. Were you with that ba--Grant?"

Jody cringed at the anger in her father’s voice, but she stood her ground. She was, after all, old enough to know her own mind.

"Yes," she admitted. "I was."

Wearily, he sank into the nearest chair. "Oh, Jody, what have you done?"

"Nothing that I regret."

"You’ve been to bed with him, haven’t you?"

Shocked, Jody hesitated before answering. What would he say if she admitted it?

But in the finish she didn’t have to admit anything. He took one look at her face and knew he had guessed right. With a shudder he got to his feet and crossed to where she was standing.

"How could you?"

A look of disgust flitted across his face and made Jody realize just how badly all this was effecting him. But before she could offer one word of explanation, her father began to speak again.

"What is it with you young girls? Do you get some sadistic kick out of going to bed with these high-flying enter-tainers? Do you like being one of many? A cheap thrill with a famous person? Someone you can brag about having sex with?"

"Dad!"

Jody couldn’t believe what he was implying.

"Well," he demanded, not at all put out by her horror. "Which is it?"

"None of those things. I love Cat and wanted to be with him!"

"Love! Huh! You don’t know the meaning of the word. It’s pure hero-worship."

"Not for me it isn’t."

"I suppose you think that he loves you as well."

"No! I don’t know what he feels. He hasn’t said a word about how he feels. But that doesn’t matter."

"Doesn’t that tell you something?"

"Perhaps. But I don’t really care."

"Oh, honey, what has he done to you, to make you like this? You used to be so sensible. Speaking of which," he added, as if the thought had just struck him, "I hope you took precautions."

Jody’s face blanched. She hadn’t given precautions a thought, and she doubted that Cat had, either.

Her father didn’t need her answer, he could tell by the look on her face what her answer was going to be.

"Oh, honey." Immediately he became a gentle, caring father. Gathering her into his arms, he gave her a hug. "What if you get pregnant?"

"I’ll handle it. Please, Dad, don’t be too upset by what’s happened," she begged, returning the hug.

"I’m sorry, Jody, but you’re asking the impossible. No man likes to think that his daughter has been taken advantage of and especially not by someone like Cat Grant. I hope you’re not expecting it to last?"

"No, Dad, I think I’m prepared for the fact that it won’t. No one has managed to tie Cat down, and I can’t see that I’ll be any different."

"I’m sorry. You’re going to get hurt by all this, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it."

Jody, her throat tight with emotion, couldn’t answer. She hugged him close. Despite his anger at her foolishness, he was not condemning her totally and she loved him dearly for that.

"I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you, Dad."

"Honey, you could never disappoint me. I’m more concerned about what is going to happen to you, and how hurt you will be when he leaves you."

"There’s nothing you or I can do about that. If he leaves me then I’ll just have to deal with it, but I’m hoping that he might just care enough to make a commitment."

"I wouldn’t hold out any vain hope of that. Men of Cat Grant’s caliber don’t believe in commitment."

"There is always hope." Jody wasn’t ready to admit even to her own father that she didn’t really expect Cat to stay around or suggest a permanent relationship.

"I really hope you’re right. But enough of Grant. What I came to ask you was if you would like to come around home for dinner tonight? It seems an age since we saw you for any length of time." Dropping his arms, he sank down onto the sofa.

"I’d love to, Dad, but..."

"Oh, bring him, too."

"You mean that?"

"Yes, I mean it. I guess it’s time I really met him properly."

"Thanks, Dad, you won’t regret it."

"I hope not."

The rest of the afternoon passed much too slowly for Jody. She spent most of it trying to find a suitable dress to wear that night and the rest of the time hanging around the phone waiting for Cat’s call. When it did finally come, she was in the shower. Grabbing a large towel, she wrapped it around her body and rushed to answer it.

"Jody Allen speaking."

"Hi, Pounamu. I was beginning to think you were out."

"No, I was in the shower." Jody tugged the towel tighter around her body.

A low groan came across the line. "Don’t tell me that or I’ll be around to join you. My head’s still alive with memories of this morning. Hell, I think my jeans have shrunk."

Jody gasped. He was so blatant about his body, and she still didn’t know how to handle it. "You shouldn’t say things like that!"

"Why ever not? You know you love what happens when our bodies become as one, as much as I do. Don’t try and deny it."

"Mmm. But..."

"But you don’t want to be reminded of it," Cat inter-rupted. He sighed in exasperation before continuing. "Why can’t you accept what we’ve got is special and talk about it? It’s a beautiful, natural part of life, and one that we should enjoy, not be ashamed of."

"I’m not used to talking about it, Cat."

"But you will be, I’ll make sure of that," he promised, his voice deep and sensuous. Then in a complete change around, he asked, "What are we going to do tonight?"

The abrupt change of subject had Jody in a daze for a moment, and it took her several seconds to collect her thoughts.

"My father wants us to go to dinner at his house."

Jody heard his explosion of disbelief, loud and clear. "You’re kidding?"

"No, he asked us both."

"After the way he literally threw me out of his office the last time I saw him, I don’t believe he wants to welcome me to his house."

"Start believing. He left here only a few hours ago, and he specifically asked us both over. Will you come?"

"Sure. I’ll be at your flat in about an hour. Okay?"

"Of course. See you soon."

"For sure."

Jody was just putting the final touches to her makeup when she heard the doorbell ring. Glancing quickly in the mirror, she checked her appearance once more, before rushing out to answer the door. Throwing it open she smiled a welcome at the man framed there.

For several seconds he continued to stand outside, gazing in wonder at the picture that he saw before his eyes. Then with a charming smile, he entered the room and closed the door after him.

"You look fantastic," he murmured, coming to stand be-hind Jody, his hands sliding around her waist.

"Thank you." A flush crept up under Jody’s skin and deepened when he spun her around, and she could see the intensity of the look he was bestowing on her.

"You really are my Pounamu tonight, aren’t you," he continued, praising her appearance. "Green is definitely your color."

Jody looked down at the frock she was wearing and for the first time really took note of it and it’s color. When she had pulled it from the wardrobe after discarding lots of others, she hadn’t really taken much notice of it. Now she realized that unconsciously she had chosen something that she knew Cat would like and in a color that had always suited her.

"It wasn’t intentional," she admitted. "Are you ready to go?"

"You’re sure that your father wants me there tonight?"

"I’m sure. He’s decided that it’s time he met you formerly."

"So that he can blast me for damaging his daughter."

"I don’t think he’ll do that."

"But he does know that we’ve slept together?"

"He guessed."

"And wasn’t pleased by it?"

"No, not exactly. But I’m sure he won’t say anything about that tonight. He’s too much of a gentleman to embarrass a guest in his home."

"Honey," Cat chided, a smile slashing across his face, "it wouldn’t embarrass me, one little bit. I’m not ashamed of what we shared. But I know it’s different for you, and I understand. You’re still not ready to admit it to the world are you?"

"No!"

"I thought not. I suspect that you’re still not very happy with what happened are you?" Cat prodded, seeming deter-mined to push her for an answer.

"Should I be?" Jody turned it around so that it was he that now had to answer.

"Oh yes, honey," he murmured. "Very!"

Bending his head, he pressed a kiss to her lips, initiating a response within Jody that she had no control over. Totally under his spell, she flung her arms around his neck, pulling his head closer and deepening the kiss.

But Cat wouldn’t allow things to get out of hand. His breathing ragged, but otherwise in control, he untangled her arms from around his neck and put her away from him.

"Later," he whispered, his voice husky with emotion.

To her relief, the evening did not turn out to be as much an ordeal as Jody had feared that it would be. Her father welcomed Cat as he would any guest in his house, and although they could not be con-sidered on the best of terms, they seemed to get on reasonably well. At no time during the evening was the subject of their relationship brought up.

As the evening wore on, Jody began to relax and enjoy herself, and it was only when Cat suggested that they leave that the tension returned. With a sound almost like a snort, her father got to his feet and crossed to the drinks cabinet.

Distressed by what she knew her father was thinking, Jody grabbed Cat’s arm and made a hurried departure.

Later, as they made their way back to Jody’s flat, Cat mentioned their rather hurried departure. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what?"

"Dad thinks you’re staying the night with me."

"And am I?" Briefly Cat’s eyes left the road to glance at her tense face.

"Do you want to?"

"Do you need to ask? Of course I do, but it’s entirely up to you. Last night I didn’t give you a choice, I literally kidnapped you. Tonight you choose."

Jody hesitated before answering. One part of her longed for him to stay, but another more sensible part said it was foolish to allow it. Last night they hadn’t cared about the consequences, but since her talk with her father she’d realized just what they’d done and what could happen. Until such time as she managed to make some arrangements for birth control, it was probably better if she stayed right away from him.

"I think it would be better if you didn’t tonight."

"You’re still not sure about our relationship, are you honey?" Cat sounded more than a little hurt by her rejection, although he made a valiant effort to cover it up.

"I guess not. Please understand," she begged.

"I’m trying. Don’t worry," he added, "we’ll work it out." Taking one hand from the wheel, he gently squeezed her fingers in reassurance. "Much as I want to stay with you tonight and every night I can, if it’s not what you want then I’m not going to push the issue. There’ll be other times," he promised.

"Perhaps you could..." Jody began, then stopped. She had been about to change her mind and tell him she wanted him to stay after all, but just before she uttered the words, common sense reared it’s head and she stopped the words.

"Thank you," she murmured, loving him all the more for his understanding.

"Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?" Cat pulled the car to a halt in front of Jody’s building and swiveled in the seat to face her.

"I’d like that, very much."

"Great. I’ll pick you up about seven-thirty."

Jody reached for the door handle, but before she had time to open it, Cat pulled her hand from the knob and turned her back to face him.

"Don’t be in a hurry to go. I need to hold you for awhile." Gently he pulled her into his arms his head resting on top of hers briefly before he lowered his face towards her and pressed a light kiss on her lips. "You’re so beautiful, I find it hard to let you go, but I must." With another light kiss, he put her from him, then leaned over and flung open the door. "Until tomorrow night, Pounamu."

Long after she had disappeared inside, Cat sat staring after her, his mind and body in torment at having to let her go without telling her and showing her just how he felt. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel in exasperation. He was a fool. She should have been told that he loved her, and he’d let the opportu-nity go again. Tomorrow, he vowed, I’ll tell her tomorrow.

Jody, preparing for bed, heard a car start up in the street below but did not realize that it belonged to Cat. Had she known otherwise she might have wondered why he had lingered so long.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Kane! But I was expecting Cat."

"I know you were. He asked me to come and explain his absence."

"Explain? I don’t understand!"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." Jody stepped back, allowing the man to enter, then after closing the door followed him into the lounge.

Taking a seat, she motioned Kane to do the same, but with a shake of his head, he declined and instead wandered around the small room, picking up objects and discarding them, before going on to some-thing else.

Jody stared at him curiously. What was wrong with Kane? He wasn’t usually this restless. In fact he looked decidedly uncomfortable, as if he had something on his mind.

"What’s the matter, Kane? You’re like a cat on a hot tin roof."

Throwing her an apologetic smile, Kane laid down the book he had been fiddling with and crossed to drop down alongside Jody. Picking up her hand he began to play with her fingers, then taking a deep breath, he began to speak.

"I guess you could say something is wrong, and I’m not sure how to tell you."

"Is it something to do with Cat?"

"Yes!" Again Kane seemed uncomfortable and this only served to make Jody more anxious.

"Has something happened to him? Please if it has, I want to know."

"No, nothing’s happened to him."

"Then what?"

"Cat had to leave!"

"Leave? Where? When?"

"He flew back to the States this afternoon."

The color drained out of Jody’s face, and had she been standing it was almost certain she would have fallen over.

"You’re kidding, aren’t you. Please, Kane, say you’re kidding?"

"No, honey, I’m not kidding. Cat has gone. I took him to the airport early this afternoon, and by now he’ll be well on his way to Los Angeles."

"But why?" Jody was having trouble controlling both the shaking of her body and the tears forming behind her eyes, but she was making desperate effort to do both.

"There’s a Charity concert to raise money for Romanian children and he’s been asked to appear. As well, he’s been nominated for a Grammy and has to attend the presentation cere-mony." Kane sounded as distraught as Jody felt, but she was past noticing anything but her own hurt.

"A Grammy? Cat?"

"Yes. Isn’t it terrific?"

"Yes." Jody tried to sound enthusiastic but failed miserably. All she could think of was that once again Cat had left her and this time he had gone a long way away.

"Try not to think too badly of him, Jody. If it hadn’t been something that he had committed to a long time ago, he wouldn’t have gone." Compas-sionately, Kane slid across the intervening space between them and took her trembling hands between his.

"That’s easy for you to say, Kane, but this is the second time that he’s deserted me." Jody refused to be consoled. She felt as if the world had collapsed around her.

"Believe me, if there had been any way for him to have gotten out of going he would have."

"Did he tell you that?" Jody’s dismay was turning to anger and Kane, the messenger, was about to be on the receiving end of that anger. "The least he could have done was ring me him-self. Why didn’t he do that?" she demanded, her eyes sparkling angrily.

"So many questions?" Kane joked in an effort to lighten the atmosphere, but it fell on deaf ears. "Okay, so I’ll answer them as you put them to me. No, he didn’t tell me in so many words that he wouldn’t have gone, but if his mood was anything to go by, he was as upset as you are now. As for ringing you; yes, he did try, several times, but there was no reply."

"I went out just before lunch, and have only been back about an hour."

"So it wasn’t entirely his fault that he couldn’t get hold of you. Trust him, Jody. I know he cares for you. He really was upset when he realized he’d have to go without saying good-bye, or giving you some explanation."

"Oh, yeah, I bet he was. As for caring, that I doubt. He’d care for anyone, briefly, who gave him what I did. I bet," she added sarcastically, hurt kicking in and making her angry instead of upset, "he’ll be taking someone to the presen-tation with him and to the celebration party afterwards."

Kane had the grace to look somewhat sheepish, and he didn’t deny her accusation, but he did try to make her see sense.

"Don’t jump to conclusions, Jody. You’ve got to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"I’m right, I know." Jody’s unreleased anger was turn-ing to sadness.

Sadness for what she had found and just as quickly lost, sadness for the way Cat could leave without a word, sadness for the short time they had together; and most of all sadness for the things she hadn’t said to him while he had been with her. In her grief at being deserted again she was irrational about Cat. Irrational about the fact that he had left only because it was part of his job. All she could think of was that he was gone, and that she had no idea if she would ever see him again.

"What’s the matter, Jody?" Anxiously, Kane slid his arm around Jody’s shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. "You look terrible."

As if in a trance, Jody shook her head.

"Don’t hate him, Jody," Kane begged. "He was very upset at not being able to see you tonight."

"I bet he was." The sarcasm in that short statement shocked Kane by it’s intensity.

"He was, Jody. He really was. I was with him and I saw how it affected him."

But Jody refused to be placated. Shrugging off his arm, she got to her feet and crossed to stand staring out the win-dow for a moment before turning back and snapping, "Can we change the subject? I’ve had all I can stand of this one tonight. Your brother has gone out of my life, and I’m glad. This time it’s forever. I’m not going to go through this again. I can’t. I hope I never see or hear about him again."

Kane opened her mouth to defend his brother, but the look on Jody’s face changed his mind. "How about getting your jacket, and I’ll take you out to dinner?"

"I don’t think I want..." Jody began, then with a sudden about face added, "Oh, to hell with it. Why not!"

The evening was not really a success for either of them. Kane was miserable at how much he had hurt Jody by bring-ing her the bad news, and Jody just couldn’t get Cat’s defection out of her mind, no matter how she tried.

And try she did, with the help of too much wine and an enforced gaiety. But neither worked and finally Kane suggested that he take her home.

"Would you like to come up for coffee, Kane?"

"Sure, why not." Locking the car, Kane followed Jody upstairs.

Flicking on the lights as she progressed through each room, Jody slipped out of her jacket and crossed to the kitchen.

"Put on some music, please, Kane," she called over her shoulder as she prepared the coffee makings.

"Sure. Anything in particular?"

"No. You choose."

Plugging in the percolator, Jody switched it on then headed for the bedroom to slip out of her shoes and into something more comfortable.

Suddenly, as she stood by the wardrobe door, an idea began to form in her mind. Rummaging through its depths she finally found what she was looking for - an outfit that she had only ever wore once before, and hadn’t liked. Now seemed the perfect time to wear it again.

When she went back into the lounge several minutes later, Kane was standing by the window, looking down into the lighted street, but as he heard a door slam behind him, he turned to face her. Almost immediately, color suffused his face.

"What are you trying to do, Jody?" he asked quietly, crossing to where she was leaning against the door jamb.

"What does it look like?" Jody asked, dropping her voice an octave or two until it took on a gentle, caressing tone.

Deliber-ately she moved closer until she was standing only an inch from his body. Her body swaying in time to the music, and touch-ing his every now and again, she asked, "Don’t you like my outfit?"

"On you, no! It makes you look like a whore," Kane snapped, stepping back from her. "Go and get changed, it’s not your style."

"Don’t be a spoilsport." Jody purred, every inch the seducer, from the top of her carelessly up-swept hair, down the whole length of her barely covered body, to the tips of her satin slippers.

"This isn’t like you, Jody." Kane’s resistance to her invitation was dwindling fast, but he had no intention of letting her know that. With a deep breath he resorted to anger to make her see sense. "You’re only doing this because Cat hurt you."

"Like hell!" The exclamation came out hard and crisp and was accompanied by a hard look. Then in a complete about face, she turned into a seducer once more.

"Don’t I turn you on, darling?" she purred sexily, her hand moving towards the long zip at the front of her dress.

"That’s it!" Kane snapped angrily. "Get back into that bedroom and change. Now!"

Jody, unused to seeing Kane so angry, turned and fled. In the safety of her bedroom, sanity quickly returned and with it came a sense of disgust at her behavior. With a sob, she flung herself onto the bed and burst into tears.

The quiet knock, a few minutes later, and the opening and closing of the door, jack-knifed Jody into a sitting position, to stare at the intruder.

Pale and with anxiety written across his face, Kane crossed the room, to sink down on the bed beside the distraught woman. "Are you all right?" he questioned, lifting her chin with an unsteady finger to gaze into her face.

"Yes." Somewhat sheepishly, Jody dropped her eyes away from his. "I’m sorry Kane," she murmured. "I don’t know what came over me."

A reassuring smile lit up Kane’s face. "Forget it," he advised gently. "You were upset and that, plus too much wine, made you act entirely out of character."

"But..." Jody began, but couldn’t continue, too em-barrassed by what she had tried to do to this man who had always been such a good, kind friend.

"No buts, honey. We’ll forget it ever happened, shall we?" When she nodded he continued, "Now how about you get un-dressed and into bed before I leave."

"You could have stayed." Jody blurted out, unable to let the incident pass without telling him the truth. "I wouldn’t have stopped you, especially after the way I led you on."

"Given a different set of circumstances, I might have taken you up on that invitation," Kane admitted. Then with a rueful grin added, "Who knows, if you’d met me before my brother perhaps things might have been different. As it stands..."

"Who knows." Jody leaned forward and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for being so kind and understanding and such a good friend."

"No thanks needed." Kane got to his feet. "I’d better be going. I’ll ring you in the morning."

"Don’t worry about me, Kane, I’m not going to let this get to me." Resolutely, Jody lifted her head and braced her shoulders. She’d weather this if it killed her.

****

But despite everything that she tried over the next few days she didn’t weather it very well. Unable to face anyone, she stayed shut up in her flat, spending most of her days moping around it’s tiny confines, eating only when she felt the need, and sleeping only spasmodically.

Twice the phone had rung late at night and with thud-ding heart she had picked it up hoping it was Cat, but both times there had only been a distant, disembodied voice, nothing more.

Frantically she had hung up the phone, hoping that whoever had rung would ring back. But it had never happened again.

Again it was Kane who snapped her out of it. On one of his regular check-up visits, when she appeared to have slunk even lower than usual, he gave her a talking to that left such an im-pression that Jody began to rouse herself from her state of apathy.

Slowly and surely she began to take up the threads of life again. Visiting old friends and spending a lot of time with her father and stepmother.

But despite this re-interest in life and all that was going on around her, her appetite was still non-existent as was her interest in doing something with her life.

Again it was her lifesaver, Kane, who found a solution to her problems. Arriving late one afternoon and finding her wandering around the flat aimlessly, he coerced her into packing a bag and going with him to his parents’ home.

****

"Jody, how good to see you again. But why haven’t you been to see us lately?" Mahia engulfed Jody in a warm hug, making Jody feel instantly welcome.

"I guess, I thought..." Jody began, then stopped.

How could she tell this lovely warm lady that she hadn’t been able to come to her house be-cause of what had happened with her eldest son?

"Because of your break with James?" Jody flushed, em-barrassed by Mahia’s perceptiveness.

"Yes." she finally admitted.

"That’s silly. I told you on your first visit here that you’d always be welcome, and I meant it. I hope you’ll remember that in future. I’m convinced that James will be in touch with you as soon as he is able.

"I’m glad you think so. I wish I had your confidence.

"I know my son. Anyway, as I said before, you’ll always be welcome here, no matter what happens."

"Thank you." Impulsively Jody hugged the woman again, the ice that had encased her heart since Cat’s departure starting to thaw just a little.

"Let’s go and join the rest of the family. They’re all in the family room."

"All?" Jody stopped in her tracks, her face blanching.

"Yes. We’re having a family get-together."

"I can’t go in there!" Panic set in, her limbs stiffening, making her feel as if she was unable to step in any direction.

"Of course you can." Mahia insisted. Turning to Kane, who had just come back into the room, she said, "Come and tell Jody that she’s not an outsider."

"You know you’re not, Jody. Come on."

Like his mother, Kane wouldn’t allow her to hang back. Slipping an arm around her shoulders he led her towards the family room. The minute she entered the room, Jody felt it was a mistake to have agreed to come to this house again.

Visibly, she shrank back against Kane’s arm, her face pale and distraught. But Mahia was equal to the occasion. Hold-ing up her hand, she caught the groups attention.

"Folks, I’d like you to meet a friend of the family, Jody Allen. She’s spending the weekend with us."

Greetings echoed towards the cringing woman made Jody feel welcome in their midst. She began to relax. But not fully. For although everyone tried to make her feel one of them, she was still con-scious of being an outsider. When the opportunity to escape arose, she grabbed it with both hands.

The time between leaving the family gathering and din-ner Jody spent entirely alone and in her room. Although it gave her lots of time to think, which was something she really didn’t want to do, it also gave her time to sort out something to wear that was equal to the family gathering. She didn’t have a lot of choice, having only had time to throw a few things in her case before Kane had insisted they leave.

Her final choice was limited to two outfits - a black figure-hugging jumpsuit or a slim white skirt and bright green frilly blouse. The jump-suit won.

Feeling the need to really dress up and look as sophis-ticated as she possibly could, Jody really went to town on both make-up and the way she did her hair. Sweeping it up on top of her head, she fastened it with a gold chain linked to several con-cealed clips.

"Are you ready, Jody?" Kane’s call came from outside her door, and crossing the room, Jody flung it open and ushered him inside.

"Wow!" Kane’s eyes lit up appreciatively as they scanned her black clad body. As if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, his eyes slid up and down, resting briefly on the boots, the gold chain belt and finally coming to rest on the multitude of chains around her neck. "You look fantastic. What’s it in aid of?"

"Nothing, I just felt the need to dress up."

"And how!" A flash of pain crossed Kane’s face. "My brother really did an act on you didn’t he? Have you heard from him since he went back to the States?"

"No. But then I didn’t expect to."

"But that’s crazy. The last time I talked to him, he said he’d called you. You’re sure there haven’t been any phone calls?"

"Positive. The only thing I did have were two crank calls. When I answered the phone, the only thing I got was a dis-tant voice."

"That was probably Cat. Perhaps the lines were bad. But I’m sure that he said he’d rung during the day. You’ve been home haven’t you?"

"Yes, but I took my phone off the hook. You’re wrong you know, Cat wouldn’t have rung me."

"He said he had, and I believe him. Cat has never lied to me. Give him the benefit of the doubt."

"I can’t, Kane. He hurt me too much. Now, can we drop this subject, please? I don’t want to remember anything about him." Tears pricked the back of Jody’s eyes but determinedly she blinked them away. She wasn’t going to cry any more for Cat, or not if she could help it.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. Are you ready to go downstairs?"

"As I’ll ever be." For a moment Jody’s facade of sophistica-tion slipped.

"They won’t eat you." Kane reassured, then before she could comment added. "By the way, later tonight, I’d like you to do me a favor."

"Sure, if I can."

"Great. I’ll tell you more about it after dinner." Taking her arm Kane led the way downstairs to where the rest of the family were gathered in the lounge.

This time when she entered the room full of people, it was not such an ordeal for Jody, and it was made easier when Trina spotted her and rushed across to fling her arms around Jody’s waist and give her a quick hug.

"Come and see my presents." Trina slid her hand into Jody’s. "Please," she added, giving the hand she held a squeeze.

"Presents?" Jody glanced questioningly at Kane who shrugged and replied, "It’s Trina’s birthday."

"Oh, Kane," Jody reprimanded. "Why didn’t you tell me? I would have brought her a present."

"It doesn’t matter. Your being here is all the present she wanted from you."

A bewildered look crossed Jody’s face.

"You mean she actually asked for me?" she questioned, but he was forestalled from answering as another impatient tug on Jody’s arm told her she was wanted.

"Look, Jody, I got heaps and heaps. It’s the best party I’ve ever had!" Trina exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down, her eyes alight.

"My, you’ve certainly been a lucky girl. I’m sorry that I haven’t got anything for you, but your Uncle Kane forgot to tell me that it was your birthday."

"You came to my party, that’s the best present of all." Trina confirmed Kane’s former statement. An affectionate hug ac-companied the young girl’s words before she continued in a more sober voice. "I so wanted both you and Daddy here tonight but he couldn’t make it." A sad smile flitted across the young girl’s face, then with a complete about face, she added, "At least I’ve got my second best person. Thank you for coming."

"My pleasure, honey." Jody was slightly embarrassed but nevertheless pleased as well at the warm affection Cat’s young daughter was showering on her, especially as they had spent such a short time together.

To hide the emotion the girl’s words evoked, Jody urged Trina to show her presents and tell her who had given them to her. Eagerly, Trina seized a bundle and began to explain their givers, until Jody’s head was whirling with names, many of which she hadn’t heard before.

"But these are my very best presents." Trina drew out a large case and a small jewelry box. "This is from Uncle Kane and this is what my daddy gave me."

The first proved to be a three-quarter size guitar, beauti-fully engraved and with a small plate on the end telling the date of giving and the giver’s name. The other present was obviously the one that Trina loved the most, and undoubtedly be-cause her adored father had given it to her.

Jody’s heart began to accelerate, the palms of her hand became sticky and moist as Trina flicked open the padded box to reveal a small gold hand-engraved locket and a pair of stud ear-rings. Not aware of the torment she was putting Jody through, Trina clicked open the locket and displayed the photograph inside - a truly fantastic smiling study of Cat.

Pain shot through Jody. Pain that had her momentarily closing her eyes and gritting her teeth in an effort to control it. Hot and cold flushes shook her body and again she closed her eyes to try and pull herself back under control.

But it was a light tug on her arm that finally made her gain control. Opening her eyes, Jody discovered Trina looking up at her, a worried look on her small pretty face.

"Jody, talk to me, please."

"Sorry, Trina. You’re a very lucky girl. Your daddy must love you very much."

"Oh, he does." Trina had no doubts on that score and Jody knew she had no reason not to. Cat adored his daughter above everything and everyone.

"Would you please put it on for me?" Taking the locket from it’s box, Trina snapped shut the front and handed it to Jody. With barely concealed emotion, Jody took the small gold object and slipping it around her neck endeavored to do up the small intricate catch. The way her hands were shaking made the task difficult and it was several seconds before she finally ac-complished her task.

"There, now turn around and let’s see how it looks."

Trina, her eyes dancing with happiness, spun around to face Jody, and again a stab of pain shafted through Jody. This small animated girl was so like Cat. Not only in looks, but she had his mannerisms as well. Like the way she held her head. The way she used her hands to describe something. The slight lifting of the corners of her mouth when she smiled.

Little things, but things she shared exclusively with her father, and which pulled at Jody’s heartstrings and made it harder to act naturally around her.

"Jody." Again Trina drew her attention back to her. "Jody, please."

"Sorry, Trina, I was miles away. Did you want something?"

"Mmm. On Monday, would you take me to get my ears pierced, please?"

"Oh, I couldn’t!" Jody exclaimed without thinking, un-wittingly hurting the small girl standing beside her.

"I see." Hurt, Trina dropped her eyes, her hands twisting together as she tried not to cry.

Immediately, Jody was contrite. She hadn’t meant to hurt the young girl with her thoughtless exclamation. Dropping to her knees, she pulled Trina into her arms.

"I’m sorry, honey. That didn’t come out quite as I meant it to. What I was trying to say was, shouldn’t you get your grandmother to take you?"

"I already have." Trina raised tear-washed eyes up-wards. Blinking rapidly to banish the moisture she continued, "Gran said if I wanted you to take me that it was okay with her. Will you, please?"

Like her father, Trina had a way of getting around people and Jody who wasn’t immune to Cat’s pleading, certainly wasn’t immune to his daughter’s either.

With a sigh, she gave in. "Of course I’ll take you. We’ll talk to your grandmother about it tomorrow. Okay?"

"Terrific! Thank you." Excitedly, Trina flung her arms around Jody’s neck in a warm thank you hug. "You’re the bestest, the very bestest. Just like my daddy."

A quick wet kiss on the cheek, followed by another hug, then Trina rushed away to tell the other children her news.

For several minutes Jody was left alone. Alone to reflect on how fond of Trina she was becoming and how much pain that fondness was bound to cause.

Kane, coming to tell Jody that dinner was about to be served, saw the whole interchange between the young girl and Jody. His heart contracted with emotion. "Damn and blast you Cat," he muttered under his breath. "You don’t know what you’re depriving these two of by copping out."

Then as he saw the two break apart and the pain slash-ing across Jody’s face, he moved forward and pulled her to her feet.

"Time for dinner." Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he began to lead her to the dining room.

Trina bounced back to their sides. "I’m starving," she exclaimed. Slipping a hand into her Uncle’s she tugged him to a halt. "Is Jody going to sing for us Uncle Kane?"

"Am I what?" Shock reverberated through Jody. What the hell was Kane up to now?

"Blabber mouth!" Kane reprimanded his niece, accompany-ing it with an affectionate smile that took the sting out of his words. "I haven’t even asked her yet."

"Oops, sorry." Trina hid her face against his side momentarily then beat a hasty retreat.

"Sorry about that, Jody. Trina rather jumped the gun. But now that she has, what about it? Will you sing for us?"

"How do you know that I sing?"

"Cat told me."

"But he’s never heard me."

"No, but he said you told him you’d done a lot of it at University. Shows, concerts, etc. Well, will you?" he pleaded.

"I don’t think I..." Jody began only to have Kane in-terrupt. "Please, Jody, as a special treat for Trina on her birthday."

"Hell, Kane, you sure know how to get to a person, don’t you." Jody took a deep breath. "Okay, I’ll do it, but don’t ex-pect miracles. I’m hardly a Barbra Streisand."

"No one asked you to be. You won’t regret it, honey, believe me." Kane murmured quietly, then in a more normal voice added, "Dinner calls, let’s go before Trina comes looking for us."

Dinner seemed to Jody to be a long drawn out affair and one which she didn’t really enjoy. Every mouthful she took brought her closer and closer to the time when she was to sing. The time when she was sure that she was going to make an utter fool of herself.

Kane, guessing what was going on inside her head, reached across and gave her hand a squeeze, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the family, although no one made direct comment. But Jody was unaware of the thoughts that were running through the other members of the family’s minds - she was too uptight about her coming ordeal.

****

"Beautiful, Jody, absolutely beautiful. I knew you could do it." Kane jumped to his feet and raced across to hug her warmly.

"You really mean it?" Jody’s face flushed with exhilaration, deepened in color at Kane’s words.

"You were terrific. Believe me. I’m around profes-sional singers all the time, so I know what I’m talking about. You should make a career of singing!"

"Oh, I couldn’t!" Jody paled at the thought. "I’m not good enough."

"Oh, yes you are." Another voice joined the conversa-tion. Turning Jody came face to face with a man she recognized as one of Kane’s many uncles, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember his name.

Seeing the look of confusion on her face, the man sup-plied the missing link. "Joseph’s the name. Joseph Lucas, Mahia’s brother."

"Oh yes, now I remember. Sorry. You’re the man who gave C-Cat," Jody stumbled over saying his name, but then quickly pulled herself together and continued, "his first break."

The man nodded. "That’s right and I’m willing to do the same for you, if you’re game to give a try."

"I’m not sure I want this." Jody stammered in stunned disbelief. Things were happening too fast for her brain to register it all. She needed time to herself to think.

But she wasn’t about to get that time. In a manner which had gotten him to the top of his profession, Joseph Lucas took her by the arm and led her over to one of the sofas scattered around the room.

"Tell me why not?" he demanded, pushing her down onto the soft upholstery and seating himself beside her.

"I don’t know... I guess it never occurred to me that I was good enough to make singing a career."

"Let Kane and me be the judge of that. Come to the studio on Wednesday at ten o’clock, and we’ll prove it to you." Joseph smiled in encouragement.

"She’ll be there." Kane appeared and sat down beside Jody. "I’ll see to it personally."

"Great, see you then." With a beaming smile he left them to join the rest of the family.

"See, honey, I told you you were good. And if Uncle Joseph approves then your success is assured." Kane ex-claimed the minute they were alone.

"Can this really be happening to me?" Jody exclaimed in disbelief, pressing shaking hands to her over-heated cheeks. "I must be dreaming. Surely."

"It’s no dream. This is for real and on Wednesday you’ll have it confirmed, officially."

"Or unconfirmed!" Jody murmured tensely. Then a thought struck her. "Kane, if this does come about, I want you to promise me that you won’t tell Cat."

"But why ever not? He’d be pleased for you."

"I just don’t want him to know. Please, you’ve got to promise me!"

"Okay, if that’s what you want. By the way. While we’re on the subject of Cat, there’s something that I must tell you."

"I don’t want to know. I told you I didn’t want to talk about him!" Jody exclaimed, her voice high and tense.

"I know you did and this is why I haven’t mentioned it before. But I’ve been trying to convince you that he cares and you won’t listen. Now you’re going to listen."

"Please, Kane, no." Jody pressed her hands over her ears in an effort to shut out his voice.

But Kane was determined that this time she was going to hear him out. Reaching up, he pulled her hands away and held them between both of his.

"Cat rung up this morning to speak to Trina, and he also asked to speak to me. Apparently he’s been ringing your place quite a bit, and he hasn’t managed to catch you home. He was concerned that something might have happened to you. I was able to reassure him that you were okay."

"He’s rung me?" Jody couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

"He wanted me to tell you that he’ll try again, but that from now on he’s going to be on the road quite a bit until the Grammy awards. The concert was such a success, they’ve decided to take it to some of the other states, so he’s not going to be able to get to a phone very often."

"You’re making this up, Kane, aren’t you?" Jody couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Cat hadn’t abandoned her after all.

"No, I’m not. He really did ring, and he did ask for you."

What Kane didn’t tell her was that he had given Cat a dressing down about his lack of contact with Jody. It was then that his brother had told him that he had tried to get hold of her but had had no luck. To his credit, Cat had sounded dis-tressed by this fact. But all this was something that Jody didn’t need to know.

"I hope you’ll now try and understand how it is with him Jody and not condemn him too much."

"I’ll try not to, but I still feel that for us it’s over. That we’ll never ever get together again, as much as I’d like us to. It’s better if I think that way, then I won’t feel let down when I do finally see him with someone else."

"I don’t think it will happen, Jody. But I can under-stand where you’re coming from." Giving her hands a gentle squeeze, he stood up. "Let’s go and join the others. They look like they’re having a whale of a time, and we’re missing out on it all."

****

"You won’t forget about tomorrow, will you, Jody?" a small voice begged as Jody prepared to climb into Kane’s car late on Sunday afternoon.

"Of course I won’t, Trina. It’s all arranged. Uncle Kane will bring you into town first thing tomorrow morning, and we’ll spend the whole day together. Perhaps," she added, "you could even stay with me for a few days. Find out from your grandmother and let me know tomorrow. Okay?"

"Oh, stupendous! Thanks, Jody." Flinging her arms around Jody’s neck, Trina hugged her tight. "You’re the be-stest friend."

Laughing at her enthusiasm, Jody returned the hug then, disentangling herself, slid into the car seat. "Till tomorrow, sweetheart," she called as she banged the door shut.

Those few days spent in Trina’s undemanding company were ones that Jody hoped she could enjoy many times over. Al-though Trina constantly reminded her of Cat, she was good com-pany, enjoying everything they did, and keeping Jody’s mind off things she would rather not remember, including her audition on Wednesday.

Together, they explored all the most exciting places that Auckland had to offer. >From the Zoo, where they spent almost a full day. To the Museum, which Trina found utterly fascinating. To the fun park at Manakau City, where Trina dragged Jody onto every ride offering, including the giant swing, which had her stomach lurching uncomfortably.

Each night they came home ex-hausted, but the next morning Trina was up bright and early, ready to start out afresh.

Wednesday came around with surprising swiftness. Before Jody knew it, she and Trina were standing outside the recording studio where they were to meet Kane and Joseph Lucas.

Jody’s feet began to drag as she approached the front door, and she almost turned to run for cover. A sharp tug on her hand and a push from behind gave her no opportunity to turn chicken.

"Come on, you can’t back out now."

"But I’m scared, Kane, really scared!"

"Don’t be." Kane slipped a reassur-ing arm around Jody’s shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. At the same time, Trina squeezed her hand and whispered in an adult-like manner, "We’re here with you."

"Thanks." With a tremulous smile, she linked arms with the pair and with forced brightness said, "Okay, onwards and up-ward.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Jody Allen speaking."

"Jody, it’s Joseph Lucas."

"Mr. Lucas."

"Joseph, please. Have you got any plans for next week?"

"Not unless you’ve made a booking and forgotten to tell me. Why?"

"Start packing. You and Kane are going to the South Island. I’ve booked you as supporting act for a television show being taped down there."

"But Joseph..." Jody began, only to falter to a halt. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "I’m not ready for television."

"Like hell you’re not! If you survived the last three weeks on the road, you’ll survive this. Well?" he asked, as si-lence greeted his statement. "What are you waiting for? Go and get packed. Kane will be at your flat in half an hour."

"Half an hour! But..."

"Will you stop saying ‘but’ and get a move on," Joseph reprimanded, but laughing to soften the rebuke.

"I’m gone." Slamming down the phone, Jody scurried into her bedroom and began throwing things haphazardly into her case, only to stop several seconds later and take it all out again.

"Slow down and think, you silly bird," She remonstrated herself. Taking a deep breath, she began to re-pack the case, discarding several items of clothing and gathering others to take their place.

Half an hour later, when Kane arrived, she was packed, showered, changed and ready to leave with him.

In what seemed like record time she was seated on the plane, buckled in, and waiting for it to take off. Only then did she have time to collect her thoughts and really come to terms with what she was about to undertake.

"That uncle of yours doesn’t let grass grow under his feet, does he?" Jody turned to Kane as the plane rose gracefully into the air.

"No way. When he decides on a course of action, he does it right away. I hope you didn’t mind the short notice."

"Not really."

"But...?"

"But I’m not as sure as he seems to be that I’m ready for such a big step."

"He wouldn’t be sending you if he didn’t think you could cope. Have faith in your ability."

"With you beside me, I don’t need faith. You’ve got it all for me," Jody teased, a smile lighting up her face.

Kane’s smile froze on his face, and his heart stopped. It was a long time since he’d seen such a happy smile on Jody’s face. Perhaps things were finally coming right for this lovely person who had been hurt so badly by his brother, admittedly inadvertently. Silently, he cursed Cat. How he wished that they’d never met. That he hadn’t spoiled her life by getting involved with her.

"Feisty, huh?" he murmured, as soon as he had regained his composure. "Just you wait, I’ll get my own back for that."

"I’ll bet you will." Jody leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes. She was tired but more mentally than physically. Slowly she began to relax and was almost asleep when Kane’s voice brought her alert.

"I believe they’re screening the Grammy Awards ceremony tonight. Are you going to watch it?"

Jody flinched as if physically hurt. "I guess so."

"You don’t have to, you know," Kane reassured.

"I know, but I think I should, don’t you? For my own peace of mind. I’ve got to get Cat out of my life and seeing him at the awards with some other woman might just be the way to do it."

"You’re still convinced that there’s going to be someone with him, aren’t you?"

"Sure, aren’t you?"

"Not entirely. I believe in what he feels for you."

"That’s nothing! I haven’t heard from him. Although," she added, "I guess I haven’t been home that much either."

"So he could have rung?"

"Sure. But I’ll never know. Has the family heard from him?"

"Mother and Trina have. I haven’t talked to him for a while."

"Oh well, we’ll see what tonight brings."

****

"Are you nervous?"

"Terrified! All the other performers are so profes-sional. What if I make a complete fool of myself?" Anxiously, Jody turned to the man standing beside her, begging for his reas-surance. Faithful, Kane didn’t let her down. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he gave her a quick kiss and a hug.

"You’ll be fine, just fine. Forget everything but your music and you’ll come through with flying colors."

"You sound almost as if you know what you’re talking about!"

Curiously, Jody studied Kane’s face, forgetting for the moment her own particular fears, as she questioned him. "Have you ever appeared on stage?"

"Once and once only." Kane grimaced.

"Then how do you know how it feels to be appearing on television?"

To Kane’s relief, the stage manager appeared beside them and indicated that it was time for Jody to make her entrance. With a smile of encouragement and another quick hug, Kane pushed her toward the stage.

"Go out and knock them dead," he whispered.

And knock them dead she did. From the time she stepped onto the stage until the time she ran off it, she had the audience in the palm of her hand. Two songs stretched into three and would have stretched further had time allowed. Kane was ecstatic.

"I knew you could do it," he enthused, grabbing her into his arms and swinging her around wildly before hugging her tightly. "You didn’t let me down."

"Thank heaven for that." Jody made no pretense at hiding her relief that it was all over. "Now all I’ve got to do is get through the taping tomorrow."

"After today, that’ll be peanuts."

Kane didn’t have any doubts she’d succeed and made sure that she knew it. Grabbing her hand, he hauled her toward the dressing room. "Hurry and change so we can go back to the hotel and watch the Awards show, while we celebrate with champagne."

Jody’s warm after-glow vanished the minute he mentioned the word Awards. A cold, dead feeling of dread enveloped her whole body. Was she ready for this? Ready to see Cat again, albeit via the television screen?

No, her mind screamed. You’re not nearly ready. But Kane had other ideas.

"Come on. We’ve only got fifteen minutes to get there." Without giving her further time to dally, Kane shoved her into her dressing room to change. "I’ll be waiting in the car, so don’t be long."

Half an hour later, seated in front of the television, a glass of champagne in her hand, eyes glued to the screen, Jody began to wonder what she had been worrying about. To date, the cameras hadn’t even focused on Cat, although they had scanned the audience several times and come to rest on other celebrities.

But that soon changed. During a break while the presenters moved onto the stage, the cameras roved around the audience once more, picking out further celebrities and naming them. Burt Reynolds, Barbra Striesand, Madonna...

Before Jody had time to prepare herself, the camera stopped near the front of the stage and pinpointed a couple sitting there.

A cry of pain pierced the air. Color left Jody’s face, as her eyes glued themselves to the screen and the figure highlighted there. Although the camera only stayed on him briefly, it was long enough for Jody to absorb every single detail and to notice the beautiful blonde clinging tightly to his arm.

Her pain intensified. Childishly, she shut her eyes in an effort to block out the hurt. But despite the intentness of her concentration, Jody couldn’t control the way her body began to react. Like a volcano about to erupt, she began to shake. Wave after wave quivered through her until she was like a mass of quivering jelly. Sobs welled their way up into her throat and out her slightly parted lips. Desperately, she fought for control and lost.

Like a pendulum, the room began to go round and round, her head whirling as if she was on a merry-go-round. Clenching her hands around the arms of the chair, Jody blinked rapidly, trying to clear both sensations. But nothing seemed to help.

Desperate to leave the room before she made a fool of herself, she struggled to her feet. But when she tried to move toward her room, she found she couldn’t even take one step. It was almost as if her legs were encased in concrete. No matter how she tried to make them move, they wouldn’t.

Again she blinked, shaking her head to clear the black-ness that seemed to be descending around her. But nothing helped. As if from afar she heard Kane’s voice. High and frantic.

Needing reassurance as the blackness descended over her, Jody reached her hands toward him. But before he could reach her side, she sank in a heap on the floor.

Reality returned to Jody slowly. Opening her eyes ten-tatively, frightened she would black out again, she found herself stretched out on the sofa, an anxious Kane kneeling beside her.

A ragged breath escaped from his lips as he saw her stir and open her eyes. "Oh Jody, thank God you’ve come around. You scared me silly fainting like that."

"I’m sorry." Jody croaked, trying to push herself up. To her disgust, she found the minute she lifted her head off the pillow the whirling sensation began again. Weakly, she sank back against the cushions once more. "What happened?"

"You fainted, honey." Kane lightly stroked the hand he held in a reassuring caress. "Don’t try to get up. I’ve called the hotel doctor, he should be here any minute."

"Doctor! I don’t need a doctor, I’m fine, truly." Again Jody tried to sit up, but this time she was pushed back by Kane.

"You’re seeing him," he snapped, "so don’t argue." A loud knock on the outer door had Kane hurrying to answer it. He was back a few seconds later with an older man carrying a black medical bag.

"Dr. March, this is Jody Allen. Jody, Dr. March."

"Hello, Miss Allen. So tell me what’s been happening to you?"

"I don’t know." Jody flushed. She felt such a fraud lying there when she really was quite healthy. "Whatever it was, it happened so fast it took me quite by surprise."

"Then we’ll have to find out what caused it." Taking out his stethoscope the doctor turned to Kane. "Would you mind leaving us please, Mr. Grant? I’d like to examine my patient alone."

"Sure. But I’ll be in the next room. Call me when you’ve finished."

"Of course." The doctor turned back to Jody. "Now tell me exactly what happened."

Quickly, Jody explained all she remembered about her faint. A thoughtful look passed over the doctor’s face. "You wouldn’t be pregnant, would you?" he asked bluntly.

Color flooded Jody’s face. "I don’t think. Perhaps..." she began, only to stumble to a halt, as embarrassment engulfed her.

"It is possible?"

"Yes." The word came out in almost a whisper.

"So perhaps we should start there."

A few minutes later, after what Jody found an embar-rassing examination, the doctor confirmed his earlier diagnosis. "Well, young lady, there’s no doubt in my mind. You’re definitely pregnant."

"Oh, hell!"

A frown creased the doctor’s face. "You don’t want to have this baby?"

"I didn’t plan on having a baby, but now that I am, I definitely want it. Oh how I want it," she added tensely.

"And the father of the baby, you plan to tell him?"

"No! Never!" The hardness of her reply shocked Dr. March, making him wonder what had happened between the couple to make her quite this vehement. "Please, doctor, you’ve got to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about this."

"They’ll know eventually," the doctor reminded her, still puzzled by her change of attitude the minute he had men-tioned the baby’s father.

"I know they will, but until then, I’d appreciate your silence."

"That goes without saying. It’s not my place to tell anyone. I presume," he added, "that also includes Mr. Grant."

"Especially him."

"If that’s what you want."

Getting to his feet, the doctor crossed the room and called Kane back into the lounge. With the minimum of fuss he told him that there was nothing to worry about, that Jody was fine, if a little run-down and with plenty of TLC, rest, good food and adequate sleep, she would soon be back to normal. Kane, pleased that there was nothing drastically wrong, accepted the doctor’s explanation without question.

Later that night, unable to sleep because of the tur-moil of thoughts whirling around in her head, Jody finally came to terms with her pregnancy, and what exactly it would mean to her life.

Things were going to be hard, but she’d manage. Alone - if necessary. Without any help from outsiders and most espe-cially without help from the man who had helped create this baby.

"No way are you going to know. This baby is mine. And that’s the way it’s going to stay," Jody muttered tensely.

But though she made that vow and was determined to fol-low it, she knew that it was going to be hard to carry through. Evening followed early morning with little sleep for Jody as she chewed over what had happened.

But with the return of day once more, her resolution to keep her pregnancy from Cat strength-ened, even though she wanted and needed him so badly right this minute.

Several times during the long sleepless night, she reached for the phone to ring Kane’s room and get Cat’s home phone number from him so she could tell him her news. But each time she’d slammed the phone back on its hook without dialing a number.

Perhaps she’d get Cat back if she told him. But would she ever be sure that he’d come back for her or for the baby? She couldn’t take that risk. She was better off alone.

Finally, desperately tired, but unable to lay around trying to go to sleep any longer, Jody slid out of bed. Pulling on her dressing gown, she headed for the lounge. Quickly, she made herself a cup of coffee then, cup in hand, crossed to the sofa and curled up in the corner of the sofa.

The blank television screen glared out at her like a large eye. Then, as if it was pre-recorded, images began to ap-pear before Jody’s eyes. Images of Cat the way he had looked last night.

Desperate to come to terms with all that had happened, Jody let those images play out. Way, way back they went. To the first moment she had seen him, until finally they came to what she had seen on television. She had only had a brief look but it had renewed all she felt for him and more.

But a nagging picture teased Jody. She closed her eyes to focus on it more clearly. Then she got it. Cat had looked happy, his eyes dark and intense, his face alight with happiness. But there had been a tenseness about him that had belied that happy look. Before Jody could grasp it, the picture slipped away and another took its place. This time it was of the woman who had been sitting beside him, her arm linked with his.

To Jody, intent on studying Cat, her features hadn’t really registered, all that had was that she was blonde, ex-tremely beautiful and clinging to Cat as if she never wanted to let him go.

A shudder shook her body and her heart and spirits sank a little lower. Who was the woman? What did she mean to Cat? What had happened between them after the show and party? Had he taken her straight home then returned to his own? Or had he stayed and...? But here Jody’s mind blanked out, refusing to accept what she was suggesting.

"Don’t fight it," she chastised herself. "Accept it. That man loves women and in his hyped-up state, how could he resist what his partner was so blatantly offering?"

"No!" her mind screamed. "Not that. Please! Never that!"

But it was a futile cry. Deep down, Jody knew it.

Cat’s reputation was well known, in fact, much publicized. How could anything that had happened between them change that? He had been gone for three months now, and although Kane had intimated that Cat had tried to contact her, he had not and she doubted now that he would.

Dejectedly, Jody pushed to her feet and lay her cup back on the tray beside the jug. What was she going to do now that she had an added complication in her life?

Fight, that’s what. No way was this going to get her down. She’d come out of it with her head held high.

Gathering up her clothes, she headed for the shower. She had a television taping to do today, and she’d make it her best ever performance, or die trying.

****

Returning from her trip to the South Island and still on a high from the reception she had received on television, Jody found herself in constant demand to perform all round the country. Knowing she shouldn’t overdo things, but wanting to make a success of her career, she’d accepted as many of those in-vitations as she could, without tiring herself too much.

And although she still ached for Cat and went into shock whenever his name was mentioned, Jody’s career skyrocketed. Kane was constantly by her side, encouraging her, and keeping her spirits up. But deep down, Jody knew that things couldn’t go on as they were.

Kane was Cat’s manager. Sooner or later he would be needed back in the States to keep an eye on his brother’s career. To her dismay, the time came sooner than she anticipated.

Returning one morning from a recording session and on a high because it had gone so well, Jody was surprised to find Kane waiting for her outside her flat.

"Kane, what a pleasant surprise." Jody flung open the flat door and ushered him inside. "I thought you were busy all morning."

"I was, but something came up I thought you should know about."

"So tell me." Kicking off her shoes, Jody sank down onto the sofa.

But to her surprise, Kane made no effort to join her. Instead he began to nervously pace around the room, much as he had the last time he had something unpleasant to tell her.

"For goodness sake, Kane, come here and tell me your news." Jody patted the seat alongside her.

"I’d rather stand." He swung around to face Jody. "What I’ve got to tell you is going to come as rather a shock and I think I’ll handle it better if I’m standing over here." Kane took a deep breath then began to speak. "I wish there was some way that I could pad this up, but unfortunately there isn’t. I’m leaving in the morning."

But Jody wasn’t as upset as Kane had expected. "So," she answered, "I’ve always known that sooner or later you’d have to go back. Although I’ll miss your company, very much, I’m not upset by your departure. You’ll be glad to get back to your fiancée. She must think you’ve deserted her."

"She does. And yes it’ll be terrific to be with her again. But there’s something else. I’m taking Trina back with me."

Jody’s face blanched, but she managed to keep herself under control with a great effort. "I see," she murmured huskily.

"Do you? I wonder." Kane dropped to his knees before her and grabbed her hands between his. "Do you really understand why he wants her back with him?"

"I guess it’s because he misses her."

"Sure. And that’s his over-riding reason. But she also has to get back to school."

"Of course. I’d forgotten about that."

"Cat was hoping to get back here before the end of her holiday, but at the moment he’s so tied up with concerts and personal ap-pearances, that it’s impossible for him to get back to New Zealand at the moment. He felt it was better for her to return to her own home."

"You’re whitewashing Kane. We both know he’ll never come back here. Or not for a long time."

"Do we?" Kane questioned and although he tried to sound reassuring, Jody could hear the doubt ringing through his voice.

"Of course we do. Didn’t I tell you that after he first went?"

"Sure you did. But I didn’t believe it would happen. Not for one minute. Hell, Jody, I’m so sorry. So very sorry that it has turned out like this." His face contorted with pain, and his hands tightened around those he held. Then, with a flash of anger, he added, "That bloody brother of mine has a lot to answer for and by Jove I’ll tell him so when I see him again."

But Jody didn’t want that happening. Cat might read something into it that she didn’t want him reading. "Please don’t say anything to him, Kane. Forget about the whole thing, just as I’m going to do."

But Kane wasn’t going to give in that easily. "Why should I? He deserves to know the hell he’s put you through and suffer a little by that knowledge."

"Suffer? Cat? You’re kidding! I bet it wouldn’t worry him at all. Especially now that he appears to have found someone else." Pain sliced through Jody, but she fought it valiantly.

"Stop putting on a brave face, Jody. This is me, Kane. The guy who knows how you feel about Cat. I know you don’t mean what you’re saying."

"Oh yes I do!" Jody snapped emphatically. "As far as I’m concerned, Cat Grant is dead and gone and out of my life forever. I never want to see or hear from him again."

"Jody, please," Kane begged, hurting for her as he heard the pain in her voice, "don’t do this to yourself."

But Jody refused to be pacified. "It’s finished, he’s out of my life forever." Then, before he could utter another word, she added, " I hope you and Trina have a good trip back to the States. Please give Trina a special hug from me and tell her I’ll miss her very much."

"And she’ll miss you." Kane pushed to his feet, haul-ing Jody up with him. "Don’t give up hope, please!" he whispered against her forehead. Then after dropping a quick kiss on her cheek, he turned and made his way to the door. On its threshold he stopped and, turning, said, "I’ll be in touch soon. Take care! Bye."

Before Jody had time to beg him not to bother keeping in touch, Kane had gone. Deeply upset by what had just happened and that her worst fears had just been confirmed, Jody wandered aimlessly around the room, trying to collect her thoughts.

But the quietness in the flat started getting to her and crossing to the stereo, she pulled out a CD and dropped it into the disc player. But several seconds later she was slamming the off button savagely, as Cat’s voice echoed around the room.

The totally irrational action seemed to pry open the flood gates, bringing Jody out of her trance-like state and taking her into one equally distressing. Sobs began to rack her body.

Sobs that built up and up, until they turned into heart-wrenching misery. Tears streaming down her face, with an animal cry of pain she flung herself down onto the sofa, crying until she fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Although it did little to help her peace of mind, Cat’s final defection did serve to make Jody more determined to carry on with her career and be the very best she could at it.

With no thought to her physical well-being, she pushed herself relentlessly. Top record followed top record. One show followed after another.

Late night followed late night. Until finally something had to give. She couldn’t continue on such a fast merry-go-round and keep her good health.

When it began to suffer, and she started get-ting pains the doctor was worried about, she made herself stop the constant touring from one end of the country to the other.

But she didn’t stop completely. Within the confines of her own city she still con-tinued to record CD’s and perform live on stage. And right be-hind her all the way was her father and stepmother.

At first Mr. & Mrs. Allen had been unsure that this was the kind of career they wanted for her, but as success followed success they saw that it was the right thing for her. Jody was doing something she got pleasure out of and despite her gaunt, hollow-eyed appearance was reveling in it. They had faith in her knowing that it was what she wanted to do with her life.

That faith teetered only briefly when she’d told them of her pregnancy, but only for a minute before they both as-sured her that they would be there for her when she needed them.

One bad moment came when her father asked Jody to reveal the name of the baby’s father and she refused. In a rare moment of rage, he had ranted and raved about her stubbornness and stupidity in not letting the father know.

"I suppose," he snapped, "if the truth is known that ‘pop singer’ is its father."

Jody, cringing against this unexpected side of her father, gulped convulsively and bit back a sob. Unable to lie to his face, she admitted that Cat was the baby’s father.

But if she had hoped that the truth would calm her father, she was wrong. With an angry growl, he grabbed hold of his daughter’s shoulders and shook her.

"Why the hell haven’t you been in touch with him? He shouldn’t be allowed to shirk his responsibili-ties."

"Please, Dad, you’re hurting me." At once he relaxed his grip but did not completely release Jody. "The reason I haven’t been in touch, is that I’m not sure that he’d want to know and even if he did I’m not going to tell him. I’m going this on my own."

"But he should take some responsibility."

"There’s no buts, Dad, the decision is made, and I don’t intend to change my mind. This is my baby and only mine and that’s the way it is going to stay."

Seeing the look of disbelief on her father’s face, Jody added, "He wouldn’t want to know, Dad, so drop it, please."

"Okay, it’s your decision. But you realize that it’s not going to be easy don’t you?" Gently, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her affectionately.

"Sure, I know that, but I’ll manage."

"I’m sure you will. Don’t ever forget that Sandy and I are right behind you, all the way. If you need help, just ask."

"Thanks, Dad." Jody hugged him closer and planted a grateful kiss on his cheek. "I needed to know that you would sup-port me in my decision."

"All the way, dear, all the way. Come on. Let’s go and pick up Sandy and go somewhere special for lunch. Despite the circum-stances we still have something special to celebrate."

But Jody still had one hurdle to overcome and that was seeing Mrs. Grant. She needed to see the lady and tell her what had happened, but she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to do it. In the finish, the decision was taken out of her hands.

After greeting her warmly, Mahia urged her to stay to lunch, and suggested they have it out by the pool in the shade of a large garden umbrella. Conversation was general for a while, then out of the blue, Mahia said, "How many months pregnant are you, Jody?"

Jody nearly fell off her chair in shock. How had Mahia guessed?

"Well, Jody, how many?"

"Four and a half," Jody murmured, embarrassed color staining her face.

"And the father?"

"I’m sorry, Mahia, I don’t think I should tell you that."

A sad smile flitted across Mahia Grant’s face. "My son is the father, isn’t he?"

Jody couldn’t answer. Burying her face in her hands, she tried to hide the truth from Mahia, but failed miserably.

"I know you love James and because of that I can’t im-agine you committing yourself in such a way to any other man. At one time I believed that he returned that love, but his silence makes me wonder. Are you sorry that it’s happened?"

"Yes and no. Yes, that it’ll never know its father and no because it means that I’ll have something of Cat with me forever."

"You’re not going to tell him?"

"No."

"But why not?" With uncharacteristic anger Mahia turned on Jody. "He should be told so that he can be here with you instead of on the other side of the world."

"But that’s where his life is Mahia, and I can’t dis-rupt the tenure of that, baby or no baby."

"Are you trying to tell me that you wouldn’t like to have him here with you? That your love for him has faded?"

"No. What I mean is that he doesn’t appear to want to know me any longer."

"Rubbish. You didn’t answer my question. You do still love him, don’t you?"

"Yes, so very much!"

"Then what’s the problem?" A perplexed frown creased Mahia’s forehead.

Jody took a deep breath. What she was about to say was going to hurt so much, but it had to be said. "The problem is that Cat doesn’t love me and never has."

"You know that for sure?"

"No. But I’d say his action in leaving without saying good-bye was telling. His failure to contact me, and his having another woman with him at the Grammy awards, says it for him."

"But there was a reason for him leaving, didn’t Kane explain that? If he didn’t I’ll..." Mahia’s voice rose angrily, but before she could continue, Jody interrupted.

"Kane explained all that."

"Well then. Why haven’t you tried to contact him? Have you written to him?"

"No, why should I chase him?"

"Why, indeed," Mahia answered cryptically. "Why, indeed." Then to Jody’s astonishment, she didn’t pursue the sub-ject any more. Instead she continued, "Much as I disapprove of your not telling James, I’ll still give you my support."

Tears blinded Jody’s eyes at the lady’s concern and kindness. "Thank you, Mahia," she murmured. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"I think I do, my dear. Just remember that I’m here and never be afraid to come to me if there’s anything, and I stress anything, I can do for you." Mahia patted Jody’s hand, then to her relief changed the subject. "Tell me about your new career."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Okay, Jody, that’s perfect. Now how about one more song and we can call it quits."

"All right, Peter, but just one." Stretching wearily, Jody bent and picked up her guitar, then crossed to perch on a strategically placed stool on the darkened stage.

Hoisting her burgeoning body into a more comfort-able position, she slipped the guitar strap over her shoulder and began to pick out a beautiful melodic tune.

Soon her clear, sweet voice joined the music with words that combined both happy and sad inflections, melding as one in beautiful togetherness.

As always happened when she sang this particular song, she lost herself in her music. It was a song that she loved above all others and one that had been especially written for her by one of the up and coming songwriters in the country.

It had, from the moment she had first performed it on stage, become a resounding success, and was now an integral part of any live performance.

Softly at first, then gathering momentum, her voice rose and fell in perfect harmony - ascending upwards as on a crest of a wave, to fall over the top into a perfectly executed finale.

For a moment as the song drew to a close, there was si-lence in the large studio, then as if on a prearranged signal a storm of clapping and cheering broke out.

Jody flushed with pleasure, a smile lighting up her face at this ovation from her friends and fellow musicians. Pushing to her feet, she bowed her acknowledgment of their ac-colade. Face alight with pleasure, Peter, the producer, rushed to her side.

"That was terrific, absolutely terrific. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you sing so well."

"Thanks, Peter. Who could fail to sing well with such a beautiful song to perform?"

"Lots of people, but you did it fantastically." A voice off to one side of the stage had them both swinging around at the sound. As if on cue, a figure stepped into center stage.

Briefly, before his features became clear, Jody thought it was Cat. Her face paled, and her whole body began to shake. But then as he moved closer, she saw that it was Kane.

"Kane! I don’t believe it!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up with pleasure. "When did you get back?"

"About two hours ago." Kane leant forward and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "How are you, Jody?" he asked, his eyes scanning her face, a worried frown on his face.

"Oh, I’m fine." Quickly Jody moved so that her body was slightly turned away from him. She didn’t need him to notice her pregnancy and with a little luck the darkness on the stage would prevent this.

To her relief, he’d didn’t seem to notice anything.

"But what are you doing back here?" Jody brushed aside his question with one of her own.

"The usual reason."

Jody stiffened, her face paling visibly. With con-siderable effort, she managed to remain calm. "You mean Cat’s coming home again?"

"Yes."

"Oh, hell! When?" Desperately, aware of all the watch-ing eyes, Jody tried to speak naturally and bring her shaking legs and hands under control.

Aware of what she was going through, Kane moved to shield her from the others present. "He’ll be here in a week’s time. I’ve come on ahead, with the band, to arrange the final details of a charity concert he’s been asked to give . Haven’t your heard about it?"

"No, I can’t say I have. Mind you, that’s not surprising. I haven’t been in one place long enough to pick up any snippets of news."

"Jody, can you come here please?" Peter’s voice inter-rupted their conversation.

"I’ll have to go, Kane, I’m sorry." With an apology, Jody began to cross the stage, but before she had gone very far, Kane’s voice halted her progress. "May I call and see you later this evening?"

"Sure, I’d like that."

"Great. About seven?"

"That’d be fine."

Again Peter’s voice interrupted them and with a smile, Jody hurried across to where the man was standing, talking to one of the sound engineers.

For the next half an hour, Jody found herself totally involved in discussions on the best way to produce the other songs she was to sing on her new album. Luckily, this gave her little time to ponder on the bombshell that Kane had dropped in her lap.

Exhausted by a full day spent at the recording studio, Jody headed for home and the long hot shower she had been longing for for hours.

Shedding her clothes in a heap on the floor, she turned on the shower and stepped under its reviving spray. For several minutes she stood still, letting the hot water cascade over her tired body, enjoying the relaxing sensations it provoked.

Then, as if it didn’t like her standing still, the baby gave her an almighty kick, one of many that she had felt lately. As always, they thrilled her, making her wish that she could share them with someone special. And, as always, she pushed that thought out of her mind. Dwelling on it only made her wish for the moon.

Stepping from the shower, she quickly rubbed herself dry. Wrapping a towel around herself, she hurried into her bedroom to dress. Choosing a pair of comfortable slacks and a loose fit-ting top, she quickly slipped into them.

Food was the furthermost thing from her mind as she entered into the kitchen but knowing she had to eat, she prepared herself a meal, set it out on a tray, and carried it through to the lounge.

But although she managed to force down a little of the food, Jody wasn’t really hungry. Each mouthful made her feel quite sick. Pushing away the tray, she got to her feet and wandered over to the window to stare down into the empty street below. Restlessly, she wandered back into the center of the room, picking up an ornament here, a picture there and almost unknow-ingly picking up a CD of Cat’s that had been lying amidst several others on top of the stereo.

For several seconds, she stared down at the handsome face printed there, an expression of pain written all over her beautiful features. Suddenly, she realized how foolish she was being, and thrust the CD to the bottom of the pile and turned away from the stereo.

Returning to the sofa, she flopped down into its soft depths, her thoughts deeply enmeshed with images of Cat. Why did he persist in torturing her? Just when she thought she had her life under control, he was coming back to his homeland.

"I don’t need this hassle. This stress. Especially not now."

Briefly, she glanced down at the concealing smock she wore and her face twisted with pain at the long, lonely months she had spent wishing Cat was around. The nights when she had longed to have him beside her. To feel the miracle that had been created when he had planted his seed deep within her body. As if in sympathy, the baby gave another kick.

They had been so happy. So abandoned in their lovemak-ing. So much so that Jody had almost come to believe that Cat did in fact feel something for her, other than lust. Another shudder shook her body as memories of those special times flooded her mind. Oh how she wished things could have been different, wished...!

A loud ringing broke into her memories. With a start she jumped to her feet, remembering as she did, Kane’s promise to call and see her this evening. Smoothing her hands down over her clothes, she crossed to the door.

"Hello, Jody." Kane stepped through the door and smiled warmly at her.

"Hi." An answering smile lit up Jody’s face.

"You look terrific, a bit pale, but terrific nevertheless." Impulsively, Kane reached forward. Pulling her into his arms, he gave her a quick brotherly hug. Almost im-mediately, Jody felt him stiffen.

Her heart began to thump wildly. Had he realized there was something drastically different about her body? She hoped not. But it was a forlorn hope.

Holding her at arm’s length, his eyes raked her from top to toe.

"So that’s why my mother didn’t want me to come," he muttered angrily.

"Pardon?" Jody pretended to misunderstand.

"Sorry, I was thinking out loud." Kane apologized for his rudeness.

Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he guided her back into the lounge. "Why didn’t you tell me, Jody?" he demanded, swinging her around to face him.

"Tell you? I don’t understand."

"Don’t play dumb with me, lady. You know what I mean."

"You mean, that I’m pregnant?"

"Yes. How come you’ve kept it a secret?"

"It’s not a secret. Plenty of people know, including my parents and yours."

"And does mother know whose child it is?"

"Yes," Jody admitted. "She guessed!"

"Cat’s!" Kane ground out, his anger only barely held in check.

"Oh, Kane, I’m sorry." Jody hated what he must be thinking of her.

With a gentleness that he had always shown to her, he pushed her down onto the sofa and sat beside her. "I don’t blame you. Far from it."

"Oh, Kane, thank you." Relief flooded through Jody. Kane was a true friend and one she didn’t want to be out of kilter with. She needed all the friends she could get at this time and especially one from Cat’s immediate family.

"Hells bells, don’t thank me. I haven’t done a thing. I’m your friend and friends stick together, whatever."

"I’m a fool aren’t I? A big, stupid, pregnant fool who should have known better than let herself get into such a situation."

"And what makes you any different from anyone else in the same situation? Hell," he expounded, a grim smile twisting his face, "you love the guy. What you shared was a natural adjunct of that."

"And now I’m paying for it."

"You could have had an abortion."

"You’re kidding!" The words exploded out of Jody’s mouth, confirming Kane’s suspicions that despite everything he had done to her, Jody still loved his brother very much. "I could never destroy a child of Cat’s. Never!"

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Keep it and bring it up on my own."

"And forsake a career that you’re really making your mark in?"

"No way. I’ll keep that going somehow. I know it’s not going to be easy but I’ll manage."

"What about Cat? Where does he come into your plans?"

"Nowhere. Nowhere at all." Jody’s anger left Kane in no doubt how she felt. "He’s got his life in the States and doesn’t need me. As far as I’m concerned he’s forgotten I exist. I’m trying to do the same."

"Don’t be too hard on him, honey. He was under con-siderable pressure when he went back to the States."

"Hard on him? Huh!"

"He wants to see you, Jody!"

"No! Never! He can go to hell for all I care. I never want to see him again as long as I live."

"You’re being awfully hard on him and yourself." Kane repeated his former admonishment. "Things haven’t exactly been easy for him over the last few months. He..."

"I don’t want to know, Kane." Jody interrupted. "Let’s change the subject."

"No, Jody. We’re going to talk about it. It’s time you faced up to a few facts and saw things as they really are."

Regardless of how it made her feel, Kane was going to make her listen to him. "I know he hurt you by leaving so abruptly, but there was really nothing he could do about that. He had to go straightaway."

"But he never got in touch with me. Not even a letter. Surely if he cared he would have contacted me."

"He did try at the beginning, but whenever he rung you weren’t home. Then as things began to heat up, he never had a mo-ment to himself. He’s had so many commitments to fulfill that he’s hardly had five minutes to spare."

"Huh!" Jody grunted in disbelief.

"It’s true. Ever since he left here, he’s been con-stantly on the move. Touring from State to State with hardly a break. In fact, his last concert was only two nights ago."

"Who cares?" Jody pretended disinterest, but when Kane raised his eyebrows in disbelief she knew he was not convinced.

"He wants to see you." Again Kane repeated the words that had started this discussion.

"But I don’t want to see him. I told you that."

"Sure you did. Sorry, I don’t believe you."

"It’s true. I’ve had months and months of hoping that he might come back. That I might hear from him, and nothing. Now when I’ve almost got my life back on track, he decides to put in an appearance. I can’t, and won’t, go through that hurt again, especially when there’s no hint of permanence at the end."

"You’re a coward," Kane chided.

"No, I’m not."

"But you’re scared. Right?"

"Too damn right I’m scared," Jody snapped angrily.

"There’s absolutely no need to be. Hell, Jody, give him this chance. He needs you. Desperately. I guess I alone know how much."

"Needs me? Since when has the great Cat Grant ever needed anyone, except perhaps the occasional woman to gratify his sexual urges and warm his bed. I bet," she added, ignoring the stab of pain that flashed across Kane’s face, "there’s been plenty of those while he’s been on the road."

"No!"

"No? Don’t lie Kane. It’s not possible. He couldn’t survive without sex!"

"It’s the truth Jody. From the day he left here, Cat hasn’t been with anyone."

"But..." Jody stammered into silence, then finding her voice added, "But why?"

"Perhaps because he loves you and couldn’t stand to put anybody else in your place."

"No, I don’t believe that. He doesn’t love me."

"How can you know that for sure?" Kane couldn’t keep the ex-asperation out of his voice at her refusal to believe him. Still, he managed to keep his anger at her refusal to believe him under control. "You haven’t been with him these last few months. Seen the way he’s been acting. I have! Night after night, I’ve heard him pacing back and forth across the floor, as if he’s in pain and can’t sleep."

"But that doesn’t prove anything." Jody was not going to give in easily. She’d been hurt too badly.

"Perhaps not! But can you tell me why he carries a photo of you around in his wallet? Why just before a perfor-mance he takes it out, stares at it for several minutes, then tucks it in the corner of his dressing room mirror?"

Jody stared at the man before her. Was he telling her the truth? Or was he just cobbling together a good story so she would agree to see his brother again?

"It’s the truth, Jody. He’s tortured. When you see him you’ll understand. He sounds the same, his voice is just as good, he looks the same, but he’s lost that zest for life that he was always known for. He needs you. Give him a chance, please."

Finally, as he spoke, Jody found herself believing him. Kane had always told her the truth, even if it had been painful. Why should now be any different?

"So, okay, perhaps he cares," she conceded. "Now what do you want me to do?"

"See him. It’s as simple as that."

"Oh, no. I couldn’t." Jody shook her head and closed her eyes in pain.

"Yes, you can. For his sake, if not your own, you’ve got to. He’s going quietly out of his mind and only you can help him."

"Kane, please don’t ask me to do this," Jody begged, hiding her face in her hands. Sobs welled up in her throat and threatened to choke her.

Knowing he was hurting her by his insistence but desperate to get her to agree to see Cat, Kane gently pulled her hands away from her face.

"It doesn’t have to be alone. We could make it a public meeting."

"How?" A frown creased Jody’s pale face.

"I told you he’s got a concert in a week’s time." Jody nodded. "But what has that got to do with our meeting?"

"Patience, honey, and you’ll soon find out." Taking a deep breath, Kane continued, "I want you to listen and not inter-rupt. Okay?"

"Sure."

"Right. For the first time, in God knows how long, Cat’s left the choice of songs for this concert entirely up to me. Knowing the mood he’s been in lately I’d decided to make most of them pretty upbeat. All that’s changed since I heard you sing this afternoon. Now I’m going to do things differently. The first half I’ll leave upbeat, but the second I’m going to make slower and more romantic. And that’s where you come in! No," Kane reminded Jody as she opened her mouth to speak. "Don’t say anything yet. One of the songs he’s been sing-ing a lot lately, is a number called ‘I Honestly Love You.’ I believe it’s one that you’ve had some success with, too." At her nod he continued, "That’s good. It fits in with my plans perfectly. On Wednesday next I want you to sing it with Cat!"

"No way!" Jody couldn’t remain silent any longer. Pulling her hands free she jumped to her feet. "You’ve got to be abso-lutely mad. I couldn’t do it. Never!"

"Oh yes, you can. And you will!" he added with a determination that reminded Jody so much of Cat.

"Don’t ramrod me, Kane, please," Jody cautioned. "I don’t take kindly to that."

"That’s the furthermost thing from my mind. You’re good and as usual you’re underestimating your talent. Believe me. That’s one thing I’m not going to allow you to do. No one, and I mean NO ONE, could sing that song as well as you and Cat together."

"But he’ll never agree!" Jody was tempted, but not ready to admit it just yet.

"He’s not going to know."

"Then how the hell do you plan to carry it off?"

"Very easily. You’ll be standing in the wings with a mike. When the time is right you’ll begin singing and slowly walk to where Cat is standing center stage."

"And what if I flop?"

"You? Flop? Never! Anyway, we’ve got all week to get ready, and we’ll use every day of that week to get all the move-ments down pat. Well, will you do it?"

"But once the song’s finished, then what?" Jody ignored his question. She still wasn’t ready to commit herself.

"Then you’ll stay on stage and finish the rest of the bracket with him. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that the songs are ones that are suitable for both your voices. Well," he demanded im-patiently, "are you going to say yes?"

"Can’t you give me time to think about it?"

"No! I want an answer now."

Tempted but scared she would make a complete idiot of herself, Jody began to pace the room, her face furrowed in a worried frown. Deep down she knew she should refuse to do as he asked. It could only cause her more heartache.

But wasn’t this something that she had dreamed about ever since she had first started singing publicly? To be on stage, performing alongside Cat. Of course it was.

"If you think it’s going to help, then I guess I’ll do it."

"Great. I hoped you would." Kane jumped to his feet and gave her a quick hug. "So let’s make plans. Cat doesn’t ar-rive in New Zealand until the day before the concert, but as I told you the band is already here. First thing tomorrow, I’ll look at their schedule and set up a rehearsal time for you. If I can work it, can you make it tomorrow evening?"

"Easily. I’m not doing much live work these days, just the oc-casional recording."

"Good. I’ll call for you about eight. In the meantime, I’d like you to go to a dressmaker I know and get her to run up a frock for the big night."

"But I’ve got plenty of outfits!" Jody protested.

"Not like this you haven’t! This is going to be very special. Tomorrow I’ll give the lady a ring and explain what I want. All you’ll have to do is to go and see her so she can measure you, then go back for a couple of fittings."

"You’re really taking over my life, aren’t you?" Jody complained, although she didn’t really dislike it. In fact, it was a change to have someone else doing all the organization.

"Sure. That’s my job. Mr. Organization, that’s me. You don’t object, do you?"

"No, I guess not."

"Great. Well, I’ll leave, you get some sleep and," he added for good measure, "don’t lie awake worrying about the con-cert or Cat’s attitude to you. Everything is going to work out fine."

"I wish I had your confidence."

"Try. It’ll come."

"If you say so!"

"I’ll see you tomorrow night. Eight o’clock." Kane gave her a quick hug, before moving to the door.

"I’ll be ready."

****

For a long time after he had left, Jody still pondered on the entire conversation she’d had with him. One particular point stuck in her mind. Could it be true that Cat really did love her? Making him forsake all other women’s company and what they were more than willing to give him?

"Of course it’s not," she reprimanded herself. "Kane’s got to have made a mistake. What would Cat Grant need with a nobody like me? Nothing ex-cept sex."

The insistent noisy sound of the telephone roused Jody from a deep satisfying sleep. Sleepily, she pushed herself upright and reached for the receiver.

"Jody?"

"Dad. How nice to hear from you."

"How are you?"

"Great."

"Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but it doesn’t matter. It’s time I was up anyway."

"Have a late night?"

"Sort of. I had a visitor who left rather late."

"Not Cat Grant!" he demanded, anger tinging his voice.

"No, his brother, actually."

"You’re not getting involved with them again, are you?" The tenseness in her father’s voice couldn’t fail to get through to Jody.

"Just why did you ring, Dad?"

"I told you. To see how you were. Why else?"

"You tell me."

"Okay. So I confess. I did have another reason. I heard THAT guy was coming home and I wanted to warn you about it. Was that so wrong? He’s already ruined your life and hurt you badly. I didn’t want it to happen again."

"My life’s not ruined, Dad. Far from it."

"You’re kidding! Being an unmarried mother doesn’t constitute ruin?"

"No, Dad, it doesn’t. I went into the relationship with my eyes open. If I hadn’t been so sure that it wouldn’t hap-pen to me, I would have done something to prevent getting preg-nant. But I didn’t. Even after the first time. Cat can’t be entirely blamed for that. We both were just as much at fault."

Tersely, Jody defended the man she loved against her father’s accusations, knowing that every word she said was true. If she hadn’t been so damn sure she was immune, she would have protected herself against every eventuality.

"But he left without a word."

"Sure," Jody conceded, "and I’m not saying I forgive him for that. Just that he wasn’t entirely to blame." With those words, Jody realized that she had finally come to terms with Cat’s actions and was starting to understand.

"You’re not going to see him again, are you?" He sounded deeply concerned, and Jody hated to make matters worse, but she knew that she had to tell him the truth sooner or later. Sooner seemed best.

"Yes, Dad, I am."

"Oh, Jody, no! You’ll only be hurt again."

"Perhaps. But I’ve got to see him. Kane managed to convince me that I should. For both our sakes."

"So, he’s behind this," he spluttered, barely in control of his anger. "I think we should talk about this some more. Can you come around tonight?"

"Sorry. I’ve got a rehearsal."

"Rehearsal. For what? I didn’t know you had a concert coming up."

"I haven’t."

"Then?"

"Look, Dad, I can’t explain over the phone. I’ll call into your work later in the morning and we’ll talk then."

"Make it around lunch time, and I’ll take you out for something to eat."

"Okay, lunch it is. Bye."

"Bye."

"Oh dear," Jody mumbled to herself as she replaced the receiver and swung her legs out of bed. "Now Dad’s worried, and that’s the last thing I wanted to happen. Why does life have to be so complicated?"

Standing up, she had barely taken two steps toward the bathroom when the phone rang again. This time it was Kane.

"Hi. Sleep well?"

"Sure, like a top."

"Good, then you’re ready for a busy day."

"I will be when people allow me to get up."

"The phone’s been busy."

"Only with one call. My father rang."

"And I can guess why. He was worried about Cat coming back, wasn’t he?"

"How did you guess?"

"Very easily. You told me he disapproved of your relationship with Cat, so it wasn’t hard to guess his reaction to him coming back."

"He was furious and worried about me."

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing, really. I’ve got to meet him at lunch time and talk it over with him."

"You won’t change your mind again will you?" Kane sounded worried which was totally unlike him. Quickly, Jody reas-sured him.

"No, Kane, I won’t change my mind."

"Thank goodness for that." He breathed a sigh of relief then almost immediately changed the subject.

"About the dressmaker. You’ve got an appointment for half past ten. Here’s the address."

Pulling pen and paper toward her, Jody wrote down the lady’s name and address, then, after promising to see her around eight, he rang off.

Mesmerized by the speed in which Kane had organized everything, Jody gazed down at the name and address she had written down.

"Remuera. Wow, Kane, you sure know the best. Only one of the most exclusive areas in the whole of Auckland."

Later that morning, when Jody pulled to a halt in front of the house, she began to have doubts that she’d copied the address down correctly.

Nestled among trees, the large, imposing two story building didn’t look anything like the home of a dressmaker. Jody checked the address again. Yes, this was the right place.

Swinging in through the gateway, she slowly drove down the long driveway toward the house she could see at the bottom. Finally she pulled to a halt before a series of steps.

A quick glance in her make-up mirror, and a subconscious smoothing down of the material encasing her body, and Jody was ready to face the occupant of this large, beautifully designed and immaculately kept house.

Nervous flutterings began to wend their way through Jody’s body, starting at her toes and traveling upwards to lodge like a hard lump in her throat. She swallowed convulsively, trying to dislodge the lump, but all she did was make herself cough. Finally, knowing she was putting off the inevitable meet-ing by stalling, Jody climbed the steps and pushed the doorbell.

"Mrs. Janson?"

"Yes. You must be Jody Allen. Come in."

Swinging the door open wider, the lady motioned Jody inside, her warm smile flashing out a welcome. Almost immediately Jody felt her body begin to relax. Here was someone she had no cause to fear. Jody wasn’t sure how she knew this, after only just meeting her, but know it she did.

"Has Kane rung you, Mrs. Janson?"

"Yes, earlier this morning. We had quite a long talk, and he was very specific about what he wanted. If you’ll follow me, we’ll go and get the tedious part of our business over first. Would you like some coffee while I’m taking your measurements?"

"I’d love one, thank you. I’m afraid I missed breakfast," Jody admitted, hunger pangs starting to make them-selves felt at the mention of coffee.

A frown furrowed Mrs. Janson’s face. "Tut, tut in your condi-tion that’s not very wise, is it? I’ll get Clara to bring some biscuits as well."

"No... You..." Jody began. She didn’t want to be any trouble. But hunger got the better of her. "Thank you, that’d be terrific." Taking a deep breathe, she continued, "Did Kane...?"

"Don’t worry, Jody," Mrs. Janson interrupted. "I may call you that, mayn’t I?" At her nod, she continued. "He explained everything to me. From now on the subject is closed and forgot-ten. Right?"

"Right, and thank you!" Jody exhaled raggedly. "I’ll be honest and admit that your reaction, as a stranger to the situa-tion, had been worrying me."

"Well, don’t let it any longer." Mrs. Janson smiled warmly. "Does Mahia know?"

Jody gulped. So this lady knew Cat’s family as well. That made things even more complicated. "Yes, and she’s been wonderful about it."

"She would be. Mahia’s one fantastic lady. In all the time I’ve known her, she’s always been there for people in need. Besides, James - Cat - is her favorite son, although she doesn’t let it color the way she treats her other children, so I can understand how she feels about helping you."

"I gathered he was very special the first time I met Mahia."

"And understandably. He’s one talented guy. As well as having the charm of Old Nick himself. Believe me, I can under-stand how easy it was for you to fall for him."

"I love him," Jody answered quietly.

"I can see that, and I’m sure he loves you, too. He talked about you quite a lot."

"He did?" Jody exclaimed in disbelief. "But when?"

"When he came for his fittings, of course. Didn’t Kane tell you I make most of Cat’s stage outfits?"

"No, he didn’t."

"Don’t worry, dear, he’s not going to know you’ve been here. Kane explained all that as well. I’m only too happy to keep it a secret, especially if it’ll bring you two together. I’m making him a special outfit, too. One that will compliment yours."

"But how do you manage that when he’s not here?"

"I have a dressmakers model which is an exact replica of Cat’s measurements. Although," she added, "from what Kane’s told me those may have changed considerably. It appears Cat has lost lot of weight since I saw him last."

"Kane neglected telling me that as well. It seems Mr. Kane Grant has some explaining to do on a few scores."

A worried frown creased Jody’s forehead. Cat losing weight was not a good sign. He had not had any excess weight to lose. She wondered what had caused it. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it, as Mrs. Janson drew her attention back to the present.

"We’d better get your measurements taken and I’ll show you the style of dress and the material that Kane’s chosen."

And for the next half an hour that’s exactly what they did. Pushed and prodded this way and that, Jody began to wonder if it was all worth it.

Finally the lady was satisfied, signaling Jody to get dressed and relax with her coffee and biscuits.

"When can you come back for a fitting?"

"Any time, as I’m not doing much work at the moment."

"Then how about 10:30 Saturday morning? By then, I’ll have the frock partly sewn, ready for your fitting."

"Sure, that’d be fine."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The town hall clock was just striking twelve-thirty when Jody pulled her car to a halt in behind the large, imposing building that housed her father’s offices. Locking the car, she left the private parking area and made her way inside. The lift that soon deposited her outside a wide paneled door be-hind which her father worked.

The ever attentive receptionist raised her head as she heard the outer door open and close, but when she saw it was Jody, she lifted a hand in greeting and went back to work.

"Hi, Dad!" Jody called around the door as she pushed it open and stepped inside the large, beautifully furnished office where her father spent his working day.

"Hello, Jody." He smiled a welcome and waved his daughter to a chair. "I’ll be with you in a minute. Take a seat."

"I’ll just wander around." Crossing to the window Jody flicked down the Venetian blind slats with one finger and stared into the street below.

Fascinated, she watched the never-ending stream of traffic wend it’s way up and down the busy street - private cars, trucks, taxis, vans, buses, pedestrians - all hurrying about their business, unaware that they were being watched from above.

Jody sighed as she watched the midday crowd hurrying past. Everyone seemed to have someone. Children had their mothers to cling to, older men a woman clinging to their arms, teenagers their boyfriends or girlfriends, and even the younger set had someone with whom to relate.

It made Jody feel so alone. Alone, for someone special. Alone, for someone besides her family. Who cared what she did and how she lived her life. But she had no one to share her life with. No one who really loved her for herself.

"Ready to go, Jody?"

Deep in thought, Jody hadn’t noticed that her father had finished writing and was now standing right behind her. With an effort, she brought her thoughts back to the present.

Flashing him a smile, she spun around to face him. "Sure, whenever you are, Dad."

Slipping an arm through hers, he led the way out of his office and into the outer room, where he briefly stopped to give a message to his secretary, before guiding his daughter to the lift.

Minutes later they were seated in his comfort-able sedan and headed for his favorite restaurant right on the waterfront. For a time, a companionable silence existed be-tween the couple, but as they sped along, Jody noticed the beginning of a frown furrow her father’s brow.

"What’s the matter, Dad? You look worried."

"You tell me?" He threw the question back at her. "You look terrible!" he snapped irritably.

"I do?" Flicking down the sun visor, Jody peered at her reflection in the vanity mirror. The face that stared back at her was far from reassuring.

"Hell, you’re right. I do." She grimaced at the image before flicking the visor back into place. "Perhaps what I need is a stimulating lunch companion and some pleasant conversation." Jody tried to pass the whole thing off as a joke and was relieved when her father seemed to take it that way, too.

"Perhaps you do," he agreed with a slow smile. "Even if he’s as old as Methuselah."

Jody laughed and punched him playfully on the arm. "You’re not that old, Dad."

"Well, I feel it and especially seeing you. Soon I’m going to be a dad again and a grandfather. That would make anyone feel old."

"Huh, I hadn’t thought about it like that. Well, Granddad, when do you want me to deliver your walking stick?" Jody teased, dodging the playful punch he aimed at her arm.

And for the rest of their time together, this happy mood prevailed. It wasn’t until they were seated in his car and heading back to town that he brought up the subject of her plans.

"Tell me when you’re seeing Grant."

"I thought you’d forgotten all about that."

"Like hell. I just didn’t want to spoil an enjoyable lunch. So tell me," he demanded, a hint of anger tinging his voice.

"Next Wednesday evening."

"The night of the concert?"

"Yes. I’m going to appear on stage with him," Jody answered, tensing, ready for the explosion she knew must come. She didn’t have long to wait.

"You’re what?" The car swerved violently as anger overtook him. Righting it quickly, he repeated, "You’re doing what?"

"I’m singing on his show, with him."

"And whose crazy idea was that?" he demanded. "Not yours, I’ll bet."

"No," Jody admitted. "It was Kane’s."

"I should have guessed as much. Does Grant know?"

"No! And he won’t until I appear on stage."

"Oh, sweetheart, what are you doing to yourself. You’re asking for pain. You know that, don’t you? He could reject you and before hundreds of people."

"I know, and that was my first worry. But Kane has convinced me that it won’t happen."

"Kane again. Damn that guy. Tell him for me that if anything goes wrong he’ll pay!"

"He’s been a good friend, Dad." Jody defended Kane. He was her one true friend in this and had been all the way through. "Without him I wouldn’t have started my singing career."

"But you also wouldn’t be in the position you are now," he reminded her. "God, I hope he’s right about his brother."

"So do I." Jody echoed his words, then after a pause continued. "Will you and Sandy come to the show?"

"Try and keep us away." A low growl issued from his throat. "Be warned though! One step out of place. One word out of line, and I’ll be backstage so fast you won’t see me for dust. Cat Grant has hurt you enough and I’ll not stand by and see him do it again."

"Thanks, Dad, it’s great to know that you’ll stick with me on this one."

"All the way, dear. Reluctantly, I’ll admit, but I’ll be there."

****

"Hell, Kane, it’s just not going to work. I can’t get this damn song right." Exasperated by her failure to perform as she knew she could, Jody slammed down the microphone and stalked off the stage.

Kane grimaced. Things hadn’t been going right at all today. But he knew they had to go on, they had so little time for practice.

Signaling the band and the backing group to take a break, he leapt onto the stage and followed Jody. He found her leaning against the door of her dressing room, her eyes closed, her whole body shaking with emotion.

Gently, he slipped an arm around her waist and led her inside the room, pushing her down into a chair before reaching for a jug of water and pouring her a glass. Handing it to her, he dropped to his knees in front of her and began to talk quietly.

"Listen, honey, and listen good," he began, with just the right amount of censure in his voice. "You’re trying too hard to make it perfect. Relax and sing the song from your heart. Pretend that Cat’s out there on stage, and you’ve got to make him believe that you mean every word that you’re singing."

"I do."

"I know you do, and he’s going to know it, too. This is only your first run through. Once we’ve had more time to practice, everything will fall into place."

"Hell, I hope so, but at the moment it all seems such a wasted effort." Desperately, Jody looked to Kane for reassurance, and he didn’t let her down.

"Forget the group. Forget the band. Just concentrate on the song and the message you’re trying to get across to the man you love."

"I’ll try, Kane, I promise."

Finishing her drink, Jody laid down the glass. Turning to Kane, she broached a question that had been bothering her ever since he had suggested the idea of her singing with Cat.

"How are you going to manage Cat’s re-hearsal on Tuesday night without him guessing something’s up?"

"The same way we normally do, with Sonia from the back-ing group."

"But..." Jody began, only to be interrupted again.

"Don’t worry, honey. Everyone in the group knows about your part in this and are sworn to secrecy. I guess," he added, "they, like me, are keen to see the old Cat back. It hasn’t been easy for them these last few months putting up with his never-ending bad moods."

"He’s been that bad?"

"He sure has. Now, if you’re ready, we’ll go and try again. This time I want you to stand in the wings - as you will be on the night - and start singing from there. I’ll go on stage and join in when you get to the place where Cat will start sing-ing. Okay?"

"Okay." Reluctantly, Jody agreed. Getting to her feet, she began to follow Kane from the room. Then suddenly something that he had said sank into her brain. "Kane, come back here."

Kane, half way out the door, turned and came back into the room. "What’s the problem?"

"Did I hear you right just now, when you said you’d join in?"

"Sure."

"You sing? How come I’ve never heard you before?"

"Because my voice is very much over-shadowed by my two other brothers."

"But you don’t sing on stage?"

"No! Never that!" Kane seemed embarrassed by her per-sistent questions, and was obviously hoping that she would stop asking them. But Jody wasn’t about to do that. When he saw that she was determined to have an answer, he heaved a sigh and continued. "There’s a group that I oc-casionally do recordings with, but no one other than the group in-volved and Joseph know about it."

"And the name of the group?"

"Oh, Jody, leave it, please!" Kane begged, tensely.

"Nope. Come on, the name."

"Racor!"

"Racor!" Jody couldn’t hide her astonishment. "But Kane, that’s one of the biggest groups in Australasia. Why didn’t you tell me before?"

"It wasn’t important." Kane brushed aside his talents. They weren’t at stake at the moment, Jody’s were. "Can we get back to your problems now? We’ve got a show to rehearse, you know."

"Oh, hell, so we have. Let’s go."

"Great." Kane moved out of the dressing room and back onto the stage.

"Racor! I don’t believe it," Jody murmured to herself as she walked towards the stage.

But several minutes later, she believed. Although Kane’s voice was not as strong as Cat’s, or as softly nasal as Johnny’s, it had a certain husky appeal to it. An appeal which had made "Racor’s" popularity country wide.

This time, because of Kane’s participation, everything seemed to go perfectly, giving even Jody cause to feel proud at what they had achieved.

Dismissing the rest of the group with the proviso that they be there at the same time the next day, Kane urged Jody to hurry and gather up her things and he’d drop her home.

Once seated in the car, he didn’t immediately start the engine but turned to face Jody.

"That information you’ve managed to wheedle out of me. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make it public."

"Of course I won’t. But why do you want to hide your talents under a bushel? You’ve got a terrific voice and you could be as great, in your own way, as Cat is in his."

"So Joseph keeps telling me. But I don’t want a career singing. Management is my side of the business and that’s the way it’s going to stay."

"Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret. But someday..." Jody began only to falter to halt as Kane shook his head and frowned.

"No, Jody, never." Quickly, he reached forward and started the car, successfully closing the subject before she had time to continue with it.

"I hope Cat takes my appearance on his show the right way."

For a moment, Kane didn’t answer as he wove the car in and out of the late night traffic, but when he had a break, he said, "Of course he will. How could he fail too?"

"Easily, Kane. Very easily." Jody shuddered apprehen-sively as she imagined Cat’s rejection.

"Forget it. It’s not going to happen. Oh, by the way, before I forget, I have orders from Mother for you. She would like you to come for the weekend. She says it’s too long since you were last up to see her and Dad."

"It has," Jody agreed. "But I’m afraid I can’t make it this weekend. I have fittings for my dress, plus an engagement party I must attend. Will you thank Mahia very much for me, please, and tell her I promise I’ll come up on Sunday."

"You’d better. She’ll be disappointed if you don’t and so will I. I’m dying for you to meet Tessa." Kane’s face lit up in a smile as if he was picturing the face of his wife.

"Your wife? I’d forgotten all about her. I hope she doesn’t mind you spending so much time with me!" Jody exclaimed.

Kane shook his head. "Of course she doesn’t. She’s as eager as I am to help you and Cat. In fact, this whole thing was partly her idea."

"It was?"

"Sure. She’s known Cat as long as she’s known me, and she hates what he’s become."

"But how does she know about me?"

"I told her, how else?" Kane teased, deftly avoiding the punch she swung his way.

"Does she know...?" Jody’s voice faltered to a halt.

"Mmm, she knows, and she won’t tell him if that was what was behind that question."

"What must she think of me?" Embarrassed color flooded Jody’s face.

"As far as I know, she doesn’t thing anything at all about it. She’s not the sort of person to look down on someone who makes a mistake."

"Thank goodness. The rest of your family have been so fabulous. "

"Well, put your mind at rest. My darling wife is not going to disapprove."

"You love her very much, don’t you? I’m glad you’ve found someone, Kane."

"And realized her worth."

"I never said that!" Jody denied that she had been thinking any such thing.

"No you didn’t, but Cat did, just before we set the date. He knew how I felt about you and I think he thought that I wasn’t fully appreciative of Tessa."

"But it was only brotherly love that you felt for me, Kane. Wasn’t it?" Apprehensively, Jody waited for his answer. Kane was so special to her, and his answer was important for their further relationship.

"Sure it was, and still is. Mind you, at the beginning I wasn’t so sure. But luckily for us both, when I saw Tessa again, I realized that that was all it had been. I’ll always be your friend. No matter what."

"Thanks, Kane. It’s good to have a friend like you and even more so, a big brother to help me out of jams." Jody leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek in gratitude for all he had done for her and continued to do.

"By the way, about this engagement party you’re going to, who’s taking you?"

"I’m going by myself."

"Like hell you are! I’ll arrange for Johnny to take you."

"But you can’t, Kane!" Jody protested. "He might have already planned his Friday evening."

"He hasn’t. I heard him moaning at breakfast this morning that he had a free Friday and Saturday and didn’t know what to do with them. He’ll jump at the chance to take you. Mother tells me he’s quite your devoted slave when you’re out there."

"Yes, he does hang around, but in the nicest possible way." Jody grinned, remembering how he had been impossible to shake off the last time she had visited Mahia.

"Then it’s settled. I’ll get him to ring you for the time, etc."

"Thank you, Kane. I don’t know what I’d do without the support I’m getting from you and your family."

"We want to help you. If it hadn’t been for one of our members, you wouldn’t be in this predicament." Gently Kane patted her stomach. "And," he added, "you wouldn’t be as unhappy as hell!"

"Perhaps not. But if I hadn’t met Cat and fallen in love with him, then I wouldn’t have met your family and become such close friends with all of you. For that, I’m very grateful."

"Me too, Jody. Me too."

****

Jody noticed that Johnny Grant caused heads to turn when he walked into the engagement party beside her. She couldn’t blame those people for staring at him. As an up and coming pop singer, he had quite a following amongst the younger set of Auckland, and those of them present didn’t fail to recognize him.

Seated to one side of the room with some friends she hadn’t seen for some time, Jody studied the boy as he chatted with his admirers. She hid a smile as she watched him ac-cepting, as if it was his right, the homage that was being paid him. He was so like his older brother to look at - yet so unlike him in lots of ways. It wasn’t hard for Jody to imagine him in a few year’s time. High on the same pinnacle as Cat was riding on now, and as good but never better than him.

Just eighteen and very mature for his age, he had a long way to go before he reached either of his older brothers’ charisma, good looks, or talent. But he would make it, and without trading on Cat’s name or fame. Like Kane, he had proved this by going un-der another name, taking his grandmother’s maiden name of Pokare for his profes-sional use.

Jody hoped he did well. If sheer cussedness and determina-tion were anything to go on, then he was well on his way to fame now. Refusing all Cat’s and Kane’s offers of help, he had traded only on his own talent and nothing else. It hadn’t been easy for him or his group, but they had finally made it. Now they were very popular and in constant demand all around the night spots of Auckland.

It seemed inevitable that at some time during the evening Johnny would be asked to sing. Jody, who had not heard him per-form live before, was slightly apprehensive about listening to him, in case he sounded too much like Cat and brought back painful memories Then she remembered a recording Kane had played for her, featuring Johnny and his group, and her fears were laid to rest. Johnny’s soft nasal voice was nothing like Cat’s.

For Johnny the evening was a resounding success.

"I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to come with you, Jody."

"My pleasure. It was nice of you to be my escort."

"Any time. You know I’m always here for you, as are the rest of the family. I’m only sorry that I didn’t spend as much time with you as I should have during the evening."

"Find yourself a new girl, did you?" Jody teased. Johnny had the grace to blush but covered it well with a charm-ing smile that reminded Jody acutely of Cat.

"And how!" he exclaimed. Swinging open the car door, he helped Jody to alight. "She’s gorgeous."

"And thinks you are, too, if the looks she was giving you are anything to go on. When do you see her again?"

"Would you believe in an hour?" Johnny admitted shamefacedly, the color rising in his face once more.

"Emulating your brother," Jody murmured, still with the teasing note in her voice, but with just a hint of seriousness as well.

"Sort of," Johnny admitted, "except..." he began, then stopped as he realized that he was about to put his foot in it.

"Except that you don’t aim to get her pregnant," Jody finished for him. "Don’t worry, I’m sure Cat didn’t mean that to happen either. Things got out of hand, and we forgot about the consequences. I hope your new girlfriend is a lot more sensible than I was."

Now that he had lost his embarrassment about his forthcoming date, Johnny seemed more than willing to talk about why he was going to meet this particular girl again. "It’s not only sex, Jody. Just like it wasn’t with you and Cat."

Jody shook her head. "You’ve got that part wrong, Johnny. For him it was sex all the way, nothing else." She paused briefly be continuing. "How did you guess he was the father?"

"Easily. I saw you together, don’t forget. I know how smitten both of you were with the other. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. You know," he added seriously, "it wasn’t just sex with Cat either. I’m prepared to swear on that."

"Thanks, Johnny, for your reassurance, but I’m not so sure you’re right. Well, I’d better let you get back to your friend. I’ll see you tomorrow."

Pushing the door shut, Jody stepped back onto the pave-ment. "Be careful, Johnny."

"I will." With the exuberance of youth, Johnny sketched her a cheeky salute, then with a squeal of tires, headed back into town.

Slowly, Jody made her way inside and upstairs to her flat, her thoughts on the boy who had just dropped her off. How like Cat he was in his attitude to women. Meet them, charm them, love them, and hopefully not get caught out!

Cynic, her conscience taunted. That might be Cat’s at-titude, but it’s certainly not Johnny’s, as he’s just proved to you. Just because you were captivated by one charismatic man doesn’t mean the whole family’s tarred with the same brush.

****

"Well, Jody, is it to your liking?"

"Oh, Mrs. Janson, it’s superb. You’re a genius."

"Hardly that." The woman blushed with pleasure at the compliment. "But I am pleased with the way it’s turned out."

"And so you should be."

Twirling from side to side, Jody surveyed her reflection in the mirror. She couldn’t believe that it was her image staring back at her. She ran her hands down over the soft apricot material, reveling in the smooth luxurious feet of it against her skin.

Again her eyes returned to the mirror, and this time she took more notice of the actual style. Simplicity itself, it was nevertheless a master of disguise. Low round neck, back and front, and falling from both into a myriad of tiny pleats that hid every contour of Jody’s body. Long full sleeves, nipped in at the wrist with wide bands, completed a very beautiful, very flattering dress.

"Do you want to see Cat’s suit while you’re here?"

"Oh, yes, please." Jody couldn’t keep the eagerness out of her voice.

Crossing to a sheet-draped hanger, Mrs. Janson threw back the covering and pulled out a dark brown and cream suede suit.

Again, simplicity was the keynote - the material being the focal point. The whole outfit consisted of three pieces. Dark brown slim line trousers, with a matching battledress jacket and a silky cream shirt.

Jody’s eyes swept over the suit, focusing longest on the shirt. She could almost see Cat standing before her, wearing it. His dark tanned chest exposed to view by the deep vee neckline. His strong brown wrists peeping out the end of the full sleeves. A shudder shook her body, as in her im-agination her eyes slid down the full length of that well remembered body to come to rest on hard muscular thighs.

"Jody!" Mrs. Janson’s voice came from afar and with an effort, Jody dragged her thoughts back to the present.

"Sorry. I was miles away. Is my frock ready to take?"

"Sure. It’s finished, so there’s no reason for me to hang on to it."

"How can I ever thank you? You’ve done wonders. Cat’s never going to guess, is he?"

"Of course not. That’s the idea behind this particular style. That he doesn’t suspect a thing."

"And it’s worked! Thanks again." Slipping out of the frock, Jody pulled on her day clothes before turning to take the plastic covered suit bag from Mrs. Janson.

"I hope everything goes well for you and Cat. He’s my most favorite male and I’d like to know he was happy again."

"If I can help to do that, then believe me I will," Jody assured the woman. Bending, she pressed a light kiss on the older woman’s cheek before picking up her bag and leaving the house.

****

"Well, Jody, are you ready for your big night?"

"No, Kane, far from it. Can we run through everything again?"

"Sure thing." Settling back on the sofa, Kane began to run through once more, the arrangements he had made for the night of the concert.

"Once the show’s under way, Johnny will come for you. That way there’s absolutely no possibility of Cat seeing you before we want him to. That should be about nine o’clock," he added. Picking up a sheaf of papers he consulted the lines of print. "When you arrive at the theater, I’ll meet you and take you to a dressing room I’ve organized for you. There you’ll be able to relax and stay out of sight."

"But Cat comes off at half time. Won’t he see me then?"

"No. That’s the reason I’ve put you in a room well away from him and the band."

"Good. I’d hate to spoil your surprise."

"You mean your surprise," Kane reminded her.

"Whatever!" Jody brushed the semantics of the situa-tion away as if they weren’t important. "Then what?" she prompted.

"Once Cat’s back on stage, then you can safely come out and stand at the side and listen to him, if you’d like to."

"Of course I want to. It’s ages since I heard him sing, and since I already know all the songs he’s going to perform, I’d like to be around to hear them in person. I’m still not sure that making all the last segment romantic numbers is right, though."

"Even though you’re singing them with him?"

"Especially because of that. I feel its going more than a little overboard."

"So what! By the time the songs are finished, he’ll have no doubts about how you feel about him. Which is how I planned it."

"And everyone in the audience will know, too," Jody ad-mitted dryly. "Public courtship, no less." Then, before he could comment, she added, "Carry on."

With a laugh, Kane continued. "There’s not much more to tell. When it comes time for you to join Cat I’ll give you the off-stage mike and as soon as the music begins, you take it from there. Just as we’ve rehearsed. Scared?" he asked as he saw the tense look on her face.

"Terrified! There’s going to be so many people out there. What if I mess up?"

"You won’t. You’re word perfect. Stop worrying."

"You’re starting to convince me. Keep it up."

"Good!" Getting to his feet, Kane picked up his jacket and slipped his arms into it. "I’d better be going or my brother will be wondering where I’ve got to."

"How is he?"

"Whoopee! You’ve finally asked. I don’t believe it." Picking her up in his arms, Kane swung her around in wild circles. "I really thought that you’d never ask."

"Well I have! So now are you going to answer me?"

"He’s functioning. That’s the best I can say."

"I don’t get it. Functioning? What kind of answer is that?"

"It’s the only way I can describe it. He’s living from day to day. Going through all the motions expected of him but not with any willingness. He’s as tense as a violin string and twice as moody and bad-tempered as he’s ever been. I’m really worried about him."

"His rehearsal, was it up to his usual standard?"

"Sure, as good as ever, although he doesn’t approach it with the same enthusiasm as he did."

"But he loves what he does?"

"And he loves you more! There’s something I’d like you to do for me." Reaching inside his jacket pocket, Kane took out a small cassette and handed it to Jody. "After I’ve gone, play this. I think you’ll find I’ve been telling you the truth about Cat’s feelings for you." Without another word of explanation, he turned and left the flat.

Puzzled by his words, Jody turned the cassette over and over in her hands as if to find some clue as to what it con-tained. But the outside gave nothing away. Crossing to the stereo, she slipped it into the deck, adjusted the dials, then sank down onto the nearest chair to listen.

Her shocked exclamation wiped out the words that were being spoken, and getting to her feet, she rewound the tape and turned up the volume. This time the voice did not come as so much of a surprise and she was able to hear every word of what was obviously a rough tape of a new album.

Loud and clear, the husky voice intoned, "This album is dedicated to a lady I met while home in New Zealand. While I love you all out there, this lady means more to me than anyone else on this earth. Pounamu, this is for you. Aroha-nui Kia Koe."

Tears began to slowly wend their way down Jody’s face. Im-patiently, she brushed them away. Now wasn’t the time for tears. Now was the time for listening and absorbing. Song after song echoed around the room. Each one a love song, and each becoming more intense as the tape wound through, until the final song burst into the air. This was the clincher. Tears coursed down Jody’s pale face. For a long while after the tape finished, she sat staring at the stereo and relived what she had just heard.

Then, getting to her feet, she crossed to the phone and dialed Kane’s mobile phone. Several seconds passed before it was answered.

"Kane Grant speaking."

"Kane, it’s Jody."

"Jody! You’ve listened to the tape?" Kane sounded anxious, and well he should be, Jody thought, after what he had just done.

"Yes, Kane, I’ve listened to it."

"And you got the message?"

"Yes. I don’t understand Maori, but I can guess what those words mean."

"They say ‘I love you’. Now do you believe everything I’ve been telling you about Cat’s feelings?"

"I believe."

"Good."

"Thanks, Kane. I’ll see you tonight."

"For sure. Bye."

Thoughtfully, Jody turned back to the stereo and the now dormant tape. For a long moment she stared down at it, then flicking the "on" switch, let the music pour into the room once more. Over and over again she played it. Each time gaining more from it, until any lingering doubts she might have about Cat’s feelings for her disintegrated.

****

Hour after hour dragged by as Jody tried to occupy the time before she was to see Cat again. She dusted, polished, vacuumed, read a magazine, knitted, listened to records, but nothing seemed to take very long, or hold her interest for any length of time.

Desperate for company, she climbed into her car and turned it in the direction of her parent’s house... At least there she would be able to take her mind off the ordeal ahead of her and spend time with her stepmother and new baby brother.

After a short stop at the local shopping mall to buy a small gift for Paul and a delicious cream-filled sponge cake for Sandy, Jody made her way to their home.

Sandy was sitting in the garden enjoying the sun when Jody arrived, but the minute she saw her stepdaughter come around the side of the house, she got to her feet and ran to her, enclosing her in a warm, affectionate hug.

"It’s great to see you. How are you?"

"Fine, and you?"

"Oh, I’m great."

"And Paul?"

"He’s good too, and at the moment sound asleep in his pram. I hope," she added.

"I brought him a small toy," Jody held out the paper-wrapped parcel.

"Spoiling him again," Sandy teased, taking the parcel and pulling off the paper to expose the small multi-covered rattle hidden inside.

"Of course." Jody defended her action. "Why shouldn’t I spoil him? He’s my only brother."

"And you’ll soon have a baby just like him."

"Yes."

"Is something wrong, honey?" Sandy, her face creased in a worried frown, pulled her step-daughter down onto the double swing beside her. "You don’t sound very happy."

"I guess I’m not."

"You’re worried about this concert tonight, aren’t you?"

"Just a little, but I’m more worried about how Cat is going to react when he finds out I’m pregnant. He was caught once before in exactly the same way, and I’d hate him to feel trapped again."

"Surely that won’t happen. Especially if he loves you."

"Oh, he does. Kane managed to convince me of that."

"Then don’t worry. Things will work themselves out."

"I do hope so. I don’t think I could stand to go through all this anxiety only to be disappointed in the end. I’m not sure I’d be able to take it again."

"Hang in there, Jody. You’ve come this far, the end is in sight."

A cry from the pram parked nearby attracted their attention. Jumping to her feet, Jody rushed over to the pram. "May I pick him up?"

"Of course." Watching the warm, affectionate look that came over Jody’s face as she bent and picked up Paul, a warm glow settled over Sandy. Whatever happened in Jody’s life, one thing was certain - her baby would be well loved and wanted. She sighed. Oh how she hoped things worked out for her.

"Isn’t he adorable, and growing so fast." Jody, the baby snuggled against her neck, sank back onto the swing.

"Very fast."

Jody hugged her brother tighter, loving the warm baby smell of him and the way he gurgled happily as she dropped affec-tionate kisses on the top of his head.

"Time for a feed, I think." Sandy held out her arms for her son, and with a last affectionate hug, Jody handed the boy to his mother. "Shall we go inside?"

"I think it’s time for me to leave, Sandy, much as I’d like to linger. There’s really quite a bit I have to do before tonight."

"Okay, honey. Best of luck, with everything." Bending, Sandy pressed a light kiss on her cheek then turning, walked toward the house. "We’ll see you at the concert tonight."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Are you just about ready, Jody?" a voice called from the direction of the lounge.

"Sure, won’t be a tick." For the thousandth time Jody checked her appearance in the mirror, unconsciously smoothing her hands down over the beautiful apricot dress. Then knowing she couldn’t improve anything by lingering, she picked up her jacket and hurried out to the lounge where Johnny was waiting for her.

"Fantastic!" The word came out almost breathlessly, as if Johnny couldn’t believe what he was seeing. "You’ll knock everyone, including Cat, for a six!"

"Thanks." Unused to such spontaneous enthusiasm, the compliment sent color flooding into Jody’s face. "Shall we go?"

"Sure." Swinging open the door, Johnny ushered her through it, then closed it and hurried to catch up with her. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he escorted her into the lift. Once they reached the lower floor, he saw her seated in the large comfortable car before hurrying around to climb into the driver’s seat.

In what seemed like no time at all to Jody, they were stopping outside the theater and Kane was hurrying to meet them. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out onto the pavement.

"Wow!" Like Johnny, Kane’s expression was one of ad-miration. "Cat will love it."

"Is he all right?" Jody ignored the compliment, intent on finding out just how Cat was faring, now that he was on stage.

"Sure. He’s fine. As tightly strung as a violin string, but otherwise he’s fine and performing up to his usual standard."

"And he doesn’t suspect."

"Not a thing. Sonia filled in again this morning at rehearsal, as if she was doing tonight and everything went terrifi-cally. As usual he didn’t miss a beat."

"Just like he doesn’t on the tape," Jody murmured, her thoughts returning momentarily to the words and music she had listened to over and over again, since Kane had given the tape to her.

"Yes, just like that," Kane agreed. Then with a smile he held out his hand. "Come on, its time to go inside."

"I’m scared!" The words burst out of Jody before she had time to stop them.

Sensing that scared was a mild word for what she was really feeling, Kane drew her into his arms and hugged her tight. Resting his head against the top of hers, he whispered, "Everything is going to go just as we planned. If something does go wrong, which it’s not going to, I’ll be right there, ready to help you."

For several seconds he held her in his comforting grip, then stepping back, he held out his hand again and said, "Let’s go."

The concert was well under way and as Jody and Kane crept into the theater they heard a burst of loud applause, fol-lowed by several seconds of silence before the band swung into another song. Jody longed to stop and listen, but Kane wouldn’t allow her to linger and hurried her on to her obscure hideaway.

Handing her a pile of magazines and with instructions to lock the door after him and to open it only to him, Kane left to wait for Cat’s half time exit.

Left alone, Jody couldn’t settle. Time dragged by. Each minute seeming to tick slower than the last, until she felt as though she had been shut in the small confined space for hours. Every now and then she would hear the sound of applause, and each time she heard it she wondered if it was nearly time for her to leave. But then she would hear music start up again, and would know her time hadn’t yet come.

Finally, when she thought she would go stark raving mad if she had to wait another minute, there was a soft knock at the door and Kane asked to be let in. Flinging open the door, she stepped back to allow him to enter.

"Ready?"

"You mean, it’s now?!" Jody breathed tensely, her nerves tightening to fever pitch.

"Yes, honey. Cat’s got two more songs to sing, then it’s your turn. Do you want to come and listen?"

"Of course." One final glance in the cracked, spotted mirror above the dressing table, then Jody turned and followed Kane from the room.

Heads turned to stare as she slowly made her way to the side of the stage. Those that knew what was going on whispered good luck, others just smiled in admira-tion at the figure she made.

Keeping her well to one side, Kane positioned Jody so that she could see and hear what was going on on-stage, but could not be seen from it.

Throat dry and sore, hands shaking like a leaf, Jody turned her attention to the man on stage.

As she watched, the lights dimmed and Cat, back to the audience, head bent, began to sing a romantic and very moving version of a Kenny Rogers standard. In that very special husky tone he seemed to reserve specifically for this kind of song, he captured the audience anew. When on the chorus line he turned to face them, and they could see the sparkle of tears in his unusual eyes, they were hooked.

Tears flashed into Jody’s eyes, but she quickly blinked them away in case she missed anything of the performance on stage. For a while she concentrated only on the song, then her attention turned to the man himself.

Kane, standing protectively close to Jody, his arm around her waist, noticed the way her eyes raked Cat’s body, and the worry lines that appeared between her brows as she saw how thin and drawn the man looked.

"He’s as good as ever," she whispered. "But there’s something missing."

"It’s the vim and verve he normally puts into each per-formance. Those of us who are close to him notice it, but I doubt that anyone in the audience does."

"They’re loving him."

Jody’s gaze went back to the man she loved, sliding up and down the too-thin body. A body that she was intimately familiar with, but that had changed so much.

He was thin. Too thin. He looked weary. Even his tawny-gold hair seemed to have lost its usual healthy sparkle as did his unusually colored eyes. Jody’s gaze returned to his face. He looked so tired, so drawn, as if he had no vitality and was running on reserve energy alone.

Anxiously, she turned to Kane and leaning closer so her voice wouldn’t carry onto the stage, whispered, "You’re sure there’s nothing wrong with him?

"I think so. Why?" Kane’s eyes swung to the stage.

"He’s so pale and drawn."

"Mmm, you’re right. He’s worse than when he first went on. Perhaps," he added, "it’s a godsend that you’re about to join him. He looks like he’s almost out on his feet."

"That’s what worries me. Is he going to make it to the finish?"

"With you beside him, he’ll make it." Kane reassured, then as the song came to an end he thrust the off-stage mike into her hands. Then from behind his back he produced a single perfect red rosebud.

"Give it to him the minute you reach his side."

"Oh, Kane." Tears threatened, but impatiently Jody blinked them away. "Thanks," she murmured, taking the rose.

"My pleasure. Good luck." Bending, Kane pressed a kiss to her cheek, then stepped back.

Taking a deep breath, and with the mike clenched in one hand and the rose in the other, Jody turned her attention to the stage and the introduction to the song she had been waiting for. Before she had time to think further, the music reached it’s climax and it was time for her to start sing-ing.

Her voice sounding clear and pure - with just a tiny hint of huskiness to it - echoed across the stage to the man leaning nonchalantly against the piano. As if he had been struck by lightening, he jerked upright, swiveling toward the sound, his eyes alert.

Slowly, her eyes focused on Cat’s face, Jody began to move forward until she was in his line of vision. A paleness had crept over his face. The hand holding the mike began to shake; but with a super-human effort and pure professionalism he managed to disguise the shaking by bringing his other hand up to cover it.

Then, as she moved toward him, her voice rising in song, Jody saw his lips moving and she could just make out the word "Pounamu" before a brilliant smile burst across his pale face. As if it had been well rehearsed, he began to move toward her, his hand outstretched. Jody, reacting to his silent invita-tion, stretched out the hand holding the rose and kept moving forward.

Mid-stage they came together, their voices blending as Cat gently slipped an arm around her waist and drew her close to his side. Rising and falling in unison, they crested the heights of the song together, creating an unprecedented ex-pression of togetherness.

To those watching from the side of the stage, it was like seeing a miracle happen. Before their eyes, Cat’s image changed. Gone was the tired, drawn, lackluster man, and in his place was the old Cat. Alive and full of vitality.

Emotion after emotion flooded over the watching people. Both front and back stage, they were awed by what they saw, even to the point where one woman in the audience couldn’t contain herself any longer, and she let out a loud sob.

Kane, watching from the side of the stage, had tears running unheeded down his face. He had wrought a miracle. Everything that had gone before was worth all the pain to see this happening.

But the couple on stage where unaware of what they were doing to the people around them. Caught up in their own web of emotion, they were conscious only of each other and the music.

The dying notes of the song echoed around the dark auditorium and with a gesture that endeared her into the hearts of everyone present, Jody pressed a kiss to the petals of the rose and handed it to Cat. Cupping his hands around the rose’s stem and Jody’s hands, he lifted it toward his mouth and in turn placed his lips against the soft petals.

Applause thundered out. One by one, the audience rose to their feet, tears in more than one pair of eyes, both male and female.

Under cover of the applause, Cat bent and whispered, "Thank you, honey, that’s the best surprise I’ve had in quite some time." And there in front of their appreciative audience, he bent and pressed a long kiss on her lips, murmuring as he released her, "Will you stay?"

"Yes," Jody whispered back, her eyes glowing with love.

The rest of the concert was anti-climatic for the couple on stage, but the audience loved every minute of it. Refusing to let them go until they had given them at least two encores. But finally Cat called a halt.

Blowing them all a loving kiss, he took Jody’s hand and rushed her from the stage. Long after they had departed, the crowd carried on calling to them to come back, until Kane as MC had to beg them to leave.

"Come here, darling."

Safe within the confines of Cat’s dressing room and away from curious eyes, he held out his arms to Jody.

But now that they were alone, Jody’s doubts began to return. She started to move toward him then stopped several feet from those outstretched hands. A frown furrowed Cat’s brow at her hesitation.

"What’s the matter?" he asked tensely, closing the gap between them but not touching her.

"N...Nothing, nothing at all."

"Then why did you stop?"

"I think we should talk." Jody ignored his question as if it had never been spoken.

"Later! First we’ve got other, better things to do." Without waiting for her reply, Cat slid his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, his lips finding hers in a gentle but passionate kiss.

As if he couldn’t get close enough, his hands began to mold her body to his, his kiss deepening as chest touched chest, thigh touched thigh and leg entwined with leg. Suddenly all movement stopped.

Abruptly, as if he had been stung, Cat’s head jerked upward. His hands dropped from around Jody. Pale to the point of grayness, he stared down at her body, then before she could stop him, one hand slid across her stomach.

Before her eyes, his face seemed to twist into a mask of disbelief, beads of moisture breaking out all over it and running in rivers down his cheeks. Hand still pressed to her stomach, a strangled cry broke from between his lips. Without a word he pulled back his hand, pivoted on his heel and dashed from the room.

Stunned by everything that had happened in such a short space of time, Jody groped for support, finding and sinking into a chair near the mirrored dressing table. Tears of misery forced their way through her tightly closed eyes. In despera-tion, knowing breaking down wasn’t going to help, Jody knuckled those tears away. But still they persisted and finally she gave up trying to stem the flow. Burying her head in her hands, she let them fall.

But through her own distress, she heard sounds of even more violent upheaval. The intensity of it stopped her tears mid-stream and sent her hurrying down the corridor in search of the distur-bance.

Angry upraised voices drifted on the air, becoming louder as Jody got closer to their source. At the end of the corridor was the room that Kane used as an office and when she reached it, she was dismayed to find that it was from here that the loud noise was coming.

A gasp of shocked incredulity burst from her lips as she surveyed the scene before her eyes. Standing in the center of the room hurling insults at each other were Kane and Cat. Knowing that these two rarely had a hard word to say to each other, she began to wonder what had started such an angry confrontation. She didn’t have long to wait to find out.

His face pale and drawn, the sweat pouring off it in great rivers, Cat grabbed his brother by the collar of his shirt and in a voice that almost snarled, demanded, "But why the bloody hell didn’t you tell me? Don’t you think I had the right to know?"

"Calm down, Cat, please." With difficulty, Kane ex-tracted himself from his brother’s grasp and took a step away. "The reason I didn’t tell you was that I didn’t know."

"Don’t hand me that bull. Knowing how you and Jody al-ways seem to get together, I can’t believe she didn’t tell you."

"If you’d let me get a word in edgewise," Kane snapped, losing his grip on his own temper, "I’ll explain."

"Okay, so talk!"

"I didn’t know Jody was pregnant until I got back here, and only then because I went around to see her to persuade her to see you."

"Bull!"

"It’s not bull, Cat, it’s the truth. If you don’t believe me, ask Jody."

"I will!" Spinning on his heel, Cat headed for the door only to come face to face with Jody. "Well?" he demanded, his face flushed with anger. "Is it true?"

"Yes." The single word was filled with remorse and sadness, conveying to Kane at least just what witnessing this sort of scene had done to her. Gathering her strength and courage together, Jody took a deep breath and continued. "I’m sorry you’re displeased about it. I told Kane that you would be, but he insisted that I was wrong."

"Displeased! What the hell are you talking about?" Cat demanded angrily, moving closer.

Jody shuddered in trepidation. He looked so angry. So violent, as if he wanted to punch someone out. Defensively, she clasped her hands across her body protecting the baby within. "You’re not happy about the baby."

The shudder cooled Cat’s anger. With shaking hands he pulled hers from their defensive position and took them between his.

"I’m not upset about that, sweetheart. What upset me was the fact that you couldn’t bring yourself to tell me about it, but had told Kane. It blew my mind completely. I’m sorry you thought otherwise."

"He didn’t know until a week ago. Honest."

A convul-sive shudder shook Cat’s tall, thin frame and without speaking further, he slid his arms down over her back and pulled her closer. For a long moment he gazed down into her face, his eyes alight with love and adoration, then with a groan he pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. Neither of them heard the other man cross the room or the sound of the door closing.

A long time later they came up for air. Each taking long gasps of oxygen but making sure that they didn’t lose con-tact with each other. Holding her hand, as if he was scared she was going to disappear again, Cat pulled her down onto the large comfortable chair occupying one corner of the room.

"I’m sorry you thought I was angry about the baby. Please believe I’m not."

"I was so afraid you’d be angry."

"Never. I just wish you’d told me earlier."

"I couldn’t. I was too afraid that you’d reject me and it."

"Honey, there’s no way that I could do that. Perhaps I can show you instead how I feel."

With a sigh, he pulled her into his arms, his lips finding hers in a passionate but gentle kiss. Emotions soon got the better of both of them, and soon hands began to move over bodies in gentle but telling caresses.

Shakily, Jody pull herself free and pushed to her feet. She took a step away from the chair, running slightly unsteady hands over her heaving chest as if to force air into it.

"Let’s get out of here." Levering himself to his feet, Cat grabbed hold of Jody’s hand and headed for the door.

"Kane... Where the hell are you? For God’s sake, man, can’t you hear me? Kane!"

"Don’t yell, Cat, I’m here. What’s the problem now?"

"We’re leaving."

"For where?"

For the first time in many months, Kane saw a genuinely amused smile break out across his brothers face, lighting up its taut lines. "That’s for us to know and you to guess."

An answering smile lit up Kane’s face. At last his brother was back to normal. "Okay, so you don’t want me to know. Fine! When can I expect to hear from you?"

"Tomorrow sometime, if you’re lucky."

"I’d better be. Don’t forget you fly out Monday and there’s a lot to do before then." Momentarily, Kane saw a cloud pass over Cat’s face, but it was quickly shuttered and replaced with a happy smile.

"I won’t."

"Good." Kane’s eyes flashed to Jody’s happy, glowing face, then back to his brother’s equally happy one. "Have fun," he teased.

"Oh, we will." Again that illuminating smile flashed across Cat’s face. "Thanks for everything, buddy." Then without further ado, Cat guided Jody from the room and towards the back entrance.

Several minutes later they were pulling to a halt in front of Jody’s flat. Locking his door, Cat hurried around to the passenger side and with infinite tenderness and care, helped her from the car. Taking her hand and keeping it clasped tightly in his, he completed locking up.

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" Jody asked nervously, the minute the outside door closed behind them.

"No thanks, darling. All I want is you and your love." Cat’s dark, glowing eyes raked her body appreciatively.

"Like this?" Jody indicated her burgeoning body.

"Especially like that." Cat’s words left her in no doubt that it made not the slightest difference. Swinging her up into his arms he strode towards the bedroom. Laying her gently on the bed, he kicked off his shoes and joined her.

Propping himself up on one elbow, he gazed down into her happy, glowing face, his own glowing with equal happiness. As if he was unable to contain himself and his emotions any longer, he lowered his head toward her.

Emotion of every kind flooded through Jody, as she felt the touch of those hard hands being so gentle with her. This was what she had been waiting for. To be reunited with the man she loved.

"I love you," she murmured as his lips descended towards hers.

Momentarily, Cat hesitated, overcome with emotion. "And I love you my Pounamu," he whispered against her lips.

Jody’s heart filled to bursting point. He had said it! Finally.

Her hands slid up his shoulders and around his neck, entwining in the silky hair at its base and pulling his head even closer. "Show me!"

Murmuring words of love in both Maori and English, Cat proceed to do just that. Trailing kisses across her face and down her neck and every now and then returning to press a hard kiss on her lips.

And all the time he was mesmerizing her with his kisses, his hands were active as well, undoing the tiny buttons at the front of her dress and sliding it off her shoulders.

Gently, as if he was afraid of hurting her, Cat ran a finger over the tip of her breast. The center rose up to greet that caressing touch, hardening as his finger and thumb slid around it in a gentle but erotic caress.

A gasp of desire burst from between Cat’s lips. Eyes darkening with the intensity of his emotions, he lowered his head to the exposed flesh, his lips surrounding the dark aureole in a gentle kiss.

But Jody didn’t want him to be gentle and pressed his head closer, her nails digging convulsively into his shoulders as he took the hint and began to nibble gently at the taut flesh.

"Undress me!" he begged, his husky voice made even huskier with the emotions he was feeling.

Jody needed no further encouragement. With shaking hands, she began to undo the buttons at the front of his shirt and the ones on the cuffs of his sleeves. Then as he shrugged out of it, her hands went to his belt and the zip at the front of his trousers.

Cat, impatient for her to be done, stayed her hands and completed the action himself. Slipping the trousers down his legs, he stepped out of them, dropping them onto the floor and following them a minute later with his briefs.

Naked as the day he was born, he knelt back onto the side of the bed and pulled Jody upright. Soon her clothes went skidding after his.

Love and desire flashed from his eyes to the woman lying trembling beneath him. With a hand shaking so badly he could hardly control it, Cat reached out and touched Jody’s stomach. Possession and a thousand other emotions stamped their mark on his face, as he gently caressed the stretched skin, before bending and kissing it’s smooth surface.

"I’m so sorry about doing this to you, darling." he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. "I never meant it to happen."

"Don’t be sorry," Jody’s voice cracked with the same emotion. "I wanted your child."

"But not like this?"

"Any way!"

"Oh, darling." Tears sprang into Cat’s tawny eyes. Overcome with emotion, he pressed his head into her chest. Torn apart by what was happening to her normally strong lover, Jody’s arms went around him in a measure of comfort. But despite her concern, shudder after shud-der rippled through his thin, tired body, until he lay ex-hausted and spent against her.

But as he returned to normal, Cat’s exhaustion soon turned to desire. Slowly at first, he began to caress Jody. His fingers sliding into and exploring places that only he had been before, and finding new places as well.

"Please, Cat..."

"Slowly, honey, we’ve got plenty of time." Cat’s hands did another foray of all the nerve ends that sent Jody completely off the edge.

"No, now..." Reaching out, Jody pulled him closer. With a sigh of surrender, Cat gave into her demands and gently slid into her body.

Wave on wave of pure, unadulterated emotion rushed through the entwined bodies as they took each other over the crest. But for Cat, too long without fulfillment, the climax came too soon and he went over the top without Jody.

"Oh my god, oh my god," he kept murmuring, tears run-ning down his tanned cheeks. "It was too much. I’m sorry, darling, so sorry." Again his body shook convulsively, and again Jody found herself comforting him.

"Hush, darling." She murmured. "Everything’s fine. Truly."

And she meant it. For despite not reaching the ultimate climax, she was still feeling wonderful. Just being with the man she loved and knowing he returned that love was all that mattered.

"I love you, my Pounamu." Cat’s shudders stopped and he began to relax against her. "Don’t ever leave me, darling. I’d die without you by my side."

"I’ll be here always." Sleepily, Jody snuggled down into his side, her arm stretching across his broad chest. "I love you so much," she whispered, then was almost in-stantly asleep.

Some time during the night, Cat woke cold and cramped. Quietly, so as to not disturb the sleeping woman, he slid out of bed and found the fallen bed covers. Pulling them back up over them, he crept back into bed and snuggled into the warm body next to him. But sleep was elusive and propping him-self up on one elbow, he gazed down at Jody sleeping so peacefully beside him.

How he loved her. This small, blonde, green-eyed angel who had wound herself around his heart so that he couldn’t live without her.

A smile flitted across his face. How good it was going to be to have this beautiful woman by his side, and to know that soon he would have another child. His thoughts flitted to his daughter. She’d be pleased about these new develop-ments. She’d been urging him for years to get married again and give her more brothers and sisters.

Suddenly the truth hit him. He jack-knifed upright. With all that had happened between them he had completely forgotten to ask Jody to marry him. A shudder shook his body.

"Perhaps," he tortured himself, "she won’t accept." Another shudder shook his body, as he thought of losing Jody again. He just couldn’t take that. Not again.

Despite his quietness, his movements disturbed Jody. Slowly she forced her eyes open and focused on Cat’s hunched, dejected figure. His preoccupation and the sad look on his face puzzled her. Stretching, she sat up and snuggled into his back.

"Problems, darling?"

"Oh, Jody, I’m sorry for waking you. I didn’t mean to."

"Tell me what’s wrong. You look so sad."

"And I feel it. I suddenly realized that I hadn’t asked you to marry me. Then the thought crossed my mind that you mightn’t want to."

"Are you asking me now?"

"Yes, honey, I am."

"And I accept."

"Oh, thank God." Cat’s sigh of relief struck at the core of Jody’s heart.

"You doubted my love for you?"

"No, never that. I just wasn’t sure that you’d want to commit yourself to me for the rest of your life."

"Oh, yes, Cat, forever and beyond."

"Thank you," Cat whispered emotionally, pulling her into his arms. "Aroha-nui Kia Koe Atahua te Pounamu." I love you my beautiful Pounamu.

THE END