And if Drew objected?
Well, so what? She didn't have to follow the same rigid, controlling path in life that he was obviously hell-bent on!
She thought about the sum Jennie had mentioned. It wasn't a fortune exactly, but it was still a lot of money. What would Marco have said? She unlocked her front door slowly. She didn't have to decide tonight.
She would sleep on it.
CHAPTER TEN
IT WAS midday when Shelley opened the front door in response to the furious ringing of the bell. 'Drew!' she exclaimed in surprise more than anything, and then, 'Drew!' in confused alarm as he pushed his way past her, straight into the sitting room.
She calmly followed him in there because she had been half expecting such a visit. And whatever he wanted she was going to keep her dignity. If he told her that the kiss at the party last night had all been a mistake, she was going to shrug her shoulders and say that what he did was his business, and nothing to do with her.
Of course, the fact that it was now midday probably meant that it had been anything but a mistake. No doubt he had only just dragged himself from the Pelvis's bed. Those looked pretty dark shadows underneath his eyes …
She folded her arms across her chest and fixed him with a questioning look. 'Yes, Drew? And to what do I owe this charming entrance?'
He seemed to be having difficulty keeping his breathing under control. 'Did you or did you not,' he said, biting each word out carefully, 'lend Jamie a substantial sum of money early this morning?'
She frowned. 'That's my business-'
'No!' He cut across her words with deadly intent. 'No, no, no! That's just where you're wrong, kitten! It involves my sister, and therefore it involves me-and that makes it my business!'
'And? What if I did?'
'Well, then-' he sucked in a low breath '-I'd like to know exactly what you think you're playing at.'
The look of righteous fury which had darkened his face so that he resembled some kind of devil made her feel slightly uneasy. But not for long. She was not going to be intimidated by him.
'I'm not playing at anything!' she snapped. 'I knew what the financial situation was with Jennie and Jamie and I knew how unhelpful you had been-'
'What did you know?' he snarled.
'That you had refused to invest in a sure-fire scheme to make money! I've looked at the boat and I'm surprised at you, Drew-you more than anyone should know that a lucky break is all you need some time!'
He shook his head. 'But that's where you're completely wrong, kitten-I did it all myself! I didn't ask anybody to cushion my way with handouts-'
'Which is one of the reasons we split up, isn't it? Because you nearly killed yourself in the struggle to make yourself the man you are today! Only we didn't have a baby, did we, Drew?'
His mouth tugged into a grim line, but his voice sounded oddly restrained. 'No. We didn't.'
'And we didn't have anybody we could go and ask for money either!'
'And if we had, do you think I would have gone out-cap in hand-looking for capital?'
Shelley sighed. That was the trouble. No. She didn't. He was a stubborn, stubborn man! He had done it all on his own-but at what price?
'That's irrelevant!' She pushed away an irritating strand of newly grown hair which kept flopping into her eyes. 'I happened to have some spare cash which I wasn't using and I thought, Why not put it to some good use? So I went down to the boatyard and saw the boat in question-I even spoke to Gerald O'Rourke who wouldn't stop praising Jamie's maritime qualities-and you know what an old cynic he is! The boat was a good price-Jamie can't lose on it.' She shrugged her shoulders. 'I can't understand what your problem is, Drew. I should have thought you would have been glad to make your sister happy!'
He shook his dark head angrily. 'What a naive and gullible little fool you are, Shelley! If that were the case, then why the hell do you think I didn't loan him the money myself?'
'Bloody-mindedness?' she challenged.
'You know, I feel sorely tempted to throw you over my knee and wallop the living daylights out of you-'
'You wouldn't dare!'
'No, you're right-I wouldn't!' He sucked in a breath. 'Don't you think I know my sister's partner a little better than you do after-what-three meetings?'
'I-'
'And the reason I've never loaned Jamie so much as a bar of soap is because he seems unable to do anything other than fritter it away-like a student determined to blow his grant in one evening! As he has demonstrated once again.'
Something in his voice was beginning to alarm her. 'Wh-what do you mean?'
'I'll tell you exactly what I mean! I mean that the boat is sitting in the boatyard in the same place as it was yesterday and the day before. And that Jamie seems to have disappeared with all the money you loaned him. No one's seen him-not his mother, not the boatyard and not, most importantly of all, Jennie and his daughter.'
'Oh, no,' she whispered.
'Oh, yes,' he contradicted darkly.
'So what do we do?'
'We?' he mocked. 'Shouldn't that be I? I should leave you to sort out the whole bloody mess you've created for yourself!'
'Go on, then!'
'Oh, no!' He shook his head. 'I'm going out to find him and I'm going to bring every single penny back. For Ellie's sake more than anything.' He scowled. 'Having a father in jail for obtaining money by deception is not what I'd call the best start in life. But I'll tell you another thing, Shelley Turner-'
She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, sensing trouble. 'What?'
'That I don't believe you were simply motivated by a need to help Jennie and Ellie. I don't think you're that good a person!'
'Oh, don't you?'
'Not right now, no! I happen to think that your action was driven by a need to strike out and hurt me-'
'No!'
'Yes!' he snarled. 'You knew that I was opposed to the loan, but you went right ahead with it anyway. As an act of revenge it was pretty spectacular!'
'And why would I want to do that?'
'Think about it, kitten,' he said, as he fished a gleaming shoal of car keys from the pocket of his jeans. 'Just think about it!'
Shelley would have plenty of time to think about it in the next twenty-four hours, but first she knew that she had to go next door to see Jennie.
Jennie was red-eyed from weeping.
'I'm so sorry,' breathed Shelley.
Jennie shook her head and sniffed. 'It's my fault,' she moaned. 'I made out that Drew was just being tight, when really it was more to do with the fact that I couldn't face up to Jamie's spendthrift ways. If only you'd told me what you were intending to do, Shelley!'
But she hadn't known herself-and if she admitted to impulse that would make it a hundred times worse. 'Jamie made … No, someone can't make you do anything,' she amended. 'He asked me not to tell you. Said he wanted to buy the boat and wrap a big ribbon round it for you. And he also said he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for long. That's why I drew the money out in cash.'
'Cash!' echoed Jennie, going positively pea-green. 'Oh, my word! What if he's spent it all by the time Drew catches up with him?'
'If Drew catches up with him,' said Shelley grimly.
'Oh, he will. You can be very sure of that.'
'Well, in that case-' she swallowed down her guilt as she thought about how her stupidity and her stubbornness might have reduced her savings by a third '-I'll just have to put it down to experience.'
The hours ticked by with agonising slowness, but she didn't dare leave the house in case there was any news. She was unenthusiastically thinking about preparing herself some supper when the doorbell rang and she rose to her feet, hardly daring to hope.
Her heart leapt at the sight of the broad-shouldered shadow standing outside, but her face was cautious as she opened the door to him. He had been seething with rage earlier, and although he might have felt that his anger was justified she wasn't sure if she would care to repeat the experience.
She drew a deep breath. 'Hello, Drew,' she said quietly.
'Can I come in?'
'Of course you can come in.' She stepped aside, not daring to speak.
It wasn't until they were facing each other warily across her sitting room that she summoned up the courage to ask. 'Any news?'
'I've found him,' he said flatly.
'Oh, thank God! Is he okay?'
Drew shook his head in disbelief. 'The man walks away with a great stack of your cash, without any intention of using it for the specified purpose of the loan-and you ask me is he okay?'
'Someone could have robbed him and beaten him up!'
'Shelley!' he howled, and then, unexpectedly, he smiled. And kept smiling. 'Yes, he's okay! Fortunately, I caught up with him before he managed to work his way through more than a couple of hundred pounds of the money. He told me that he was planning to come back anyway-but he was drunk when he said that, so I don't know if it was true.'