A Risky Business Read online

  'No, you shouldn't have,' he said, his voice hard. 'I've been looking forward to seeing you all week and this is the kind of welcome I get.'

  'I know, I'm sorry.' Merle pushed her hair back form her forehead. 'It… it must be the heat. I guess it makes me grouchy.' She smiled at him tentatively. 'I really do need a swim, and afterwards… we never did have our dinner in Medicine Hat. Why don't we go tonight?'

  He eyed her, the remnants of anger still evident in his face. After a moment he grudgingly agreed to her suggestion and left the room. When the door closed behind him, Merle sank down on to the edge of the bed and placed her head in her hands. He had left… but not until after he had kissed her. Nausea welled inside her and she jumped up and went into the bathroom. Taking up her toothbrush, she spread it with toothpaste then scrubbed her teeth until her gums were bleeding.

  Going back into the bedroom, she wondered how she was going to make herself go out to the pool and see him. Leon was right about her. Oh, maybe she wasn't a camp follower, but she was little better than a common streetwalker. She was selling her body, using her sex to obtain information; not that she was sleeping with Greg, not that she would ever sleep with him. The idea gave her the shudders—just like the memory of his kiss did.

  Suddenly she knew what she had to do. She couldn't stand it if he ever kissed her like that again. Gold mine or no gold mine, she was bailing out of this mess. She would go out to the pool right now and tell him she wasn't going out with him again. And if he caused a scene, well, he would just have to cause a scene. She had had enough.

  Determined, Merle rushed to the door. She had it open before she stopped, then slowly closed it again, leaning dejectedly against it. 'Damn it,' she cursed softly. She couldn't just walk out there and baldly say, 'Sorry, Greg. You make me sick and I don't want to see you anymore.' He hadn't done anything she hadn't asked for. When he had kissed her so intimately she hadn't pushed him away but had stood passively in his arms.

  Unhappily, Merle went back to her seat on the bed. She was still going to break it off, but she owed it to Greg to at least be tactful about it. She might not like him very much, but he didn't deserve to be callously hurt. Getting up again, Merle went to the bureau and rummaged in a drawer for a swimsuit. She would go swimming with him, then make some excuse for breaking their dinner date. Hopefully, he would be going back out to the rig tomorrow and she would have a few days' grace before he had any more time off. By then maybe she would have formulated some plan for letting him down easy.

  A few minutes later Merle inspected her appearance in the mirror. The navy blue maillot she had chosen to wear was less revealing than the white bikini she usually wore, but it still looked better on her than she would have liked. Its dark colour made her hair look even blacker, bringing out the blue lights in it. Eyeing herself critically, she noticed she had lost a little weight since starting the job. With any luck, maybe she would lose some more and become so skinny Greg would lose interest without her having to reject him. On that thought, she picked up her towel and left her room.

  To her relief there were a couple of children playing in the pool when she reached it. A young couple, probably their parents, were sitting on loungers watching them. At least she wouldn't have to go swimming with Greg alone. For a moment she thought she might even be able to avoid it altogether as she didn't see him anywhere. Then, at the far side of the pool, she noticed a lounger facing away from her with the shadow of a reclining man outlined beside it.

  She might as well get it over with, she thought, and walked towards the figure. Years later she would still be able to recall the jolt she received when she reached the lounger and saw Leon Crane looking up at her with cool green eyes. More than once when she was out in the field, she had accidentally brushed against an electric fence, and the sensation that shot through her mid-section on seeing him was very similar.

  Merle stood staring at him, unable to tear her eyes away from his or utter a word. Then, the whole humiliating scene played out on the prairie the other afternoon started running through her head and a slow blush inched up her cheeks.

  'Hello, Merle.'

  She swallowed with some difficulty. 'Hello.' Her voice came out as a whisper.

  'Is something wrong? You seem surprised to see me.' His eyes crinkled at the corners.

  Merle tore her eyes away from him, looking around somewhat wildly. 'Y-yes, I… uh… guess I am. I was expecting to see Greg.' She saw his eyebrows shoot up and added defiantly, 'We were going swimming.'

  'Is that so?' Leon sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the lounger. It was a graceful movement for such a large man and Merle watched him dry-mouthed. His swimming trunks were very brief, stark white against the deep tan of his body. Compulsively, she stared at the ripple of muscles under bronzed skin as he flexed his shoulders slightly. He might not be the handsomest man she had ever seen, but there was a compelling attraction to him, an animal maleness that sent awareness snaking through her bloodstream.

  'I meant what I said the other day, Merle. I don't want you hanging around Larson.' Though the words were spoken softly, there was an underlying firmness to them that warned her of his determination to be obeyed.

  He stood suddenly, and involuntarily Merle took a step backwards. Her instinctive reaction to him annoyed her. She was not by nature timid, and that Leon had the power to disconcert her so easily sent anger surging through her. She would not let him intimidate her! He had already made a fool of her once and she wasn't going to let him do it again.

  Her head tilted at a defiant angle, the muscles of her jaw tightening with determination. 'I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I please myself. If I want to see Greg Larson, then that is exactly what I will do.'

  He came to stand directly in front of her, and she forced herself to stand her ground. 'You think so?' he asked silkily. His hand reached up and traced an imaginary line from her ear lobe, down her throat to the swell of her bosom before dropping to his side again. 'You're not seeing him now. He went back to work.'

  Her tongue slipped out to wet her lips. She found it difficult to breathe let alone think when he was standing so close to her. His touch had sent her thoughts into total chaos.

  At her prolonged silence, he continued softly, 'I'm sure I can entertain you just as well as he can. Why don't we have dinner together and I'll show you?' He lifted her wrist and his thumb caressed her pulse seductively, then he lowered his head to brush her palm with his lips.

  When he looked back at her, Merle stared up into his eyes for several seconds. Though she knew she shouldn't even consider going with him, she felt herself wavering. Going out with his boss would help her get rid of Greg. And in terms of usefulness, Leon would know just as much as Greg about the well, even more. On the other hand, Leon was obviously a lot smarter than Greg so it wouldn't be nearly as easy to mine him for information.

  Her indecision must have been reflected in her features, because he suddenly said, 'Would it help you make your decision if I said I was sorry for saying those things to you the other afternoon?'

  She searched his face, her brow pleated with puzzlement. The last thing she had expected from him was an apology. Had he changed his opinion of her? If he had, then why was he still insisting she stop seeing Greg? Was it because he had figured out the truth? Her face paled slightly at that thought. On the other hand, why would he want to go out with her if that was the case?

  'I'd like to have dinner with you,' Merle finally said. The only way of finding out would be to go with him. If he had found out she was scouting the well, she had to know. He couldn't stop her, but it meant the drillers could start throwing some red herrings in her direction and she would have to be alert for them.

  'Good. I suggest we drive into Medicine Hat for it,' he said, smiling down at her. Merle thought she detected a trace of triumph in his expression but when he glanced back at her after checking his watch, she decided she had imagined it. 'I have some business to attend to this afternoon, so I'll pi
ck you up around six-thirty.'

  'Fine,' she hesitated, then, 'why don't we meet in the parking lot?' He gave her a curious look, but nodded his agreement. She didn't want him to see her room. It wasn't that she had anything lying around that suggested she was scouting the well. What notes she kept in the room were carefully wrapped in the spare blanket on the wardrobe shelf, but nevertheless she was reluctant for him to get even that close to them. Besides, she had never finished putting her laundry away and the place was a mess.

  'I'll see you then.' With a slight wave of his hand he walked away, leaving the pool area.

  Merle had just decided she might as well go ahead with her swim, when she remembered the other part of his remarks. Business—she should go out to the site to see what was going on. She glanced up at the cloudless blue sky, the burning orb of the sun, then looked longingly at the pool. It was mid-afternoon and the temperature was in the nineties. It would take her at least two hours to check the site, longer if she had to spend much time watching it.

  On the other hand, she could just drive by it. She would be able to tell if they were still shut down, and if that was where Leon had gone. But Leon did know she drove the Blazer and if he noticed her driving past he was sure to mention it.

  'Oh, the heck with it,' she muttered, going to the edge of the pool and diving in. She could always go out after she got back from her date with Leon. If it looked like she might have missed something, she would pump Greg about it the next time she saw him.

  She spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool trying to keep cool, then left it to get ready for her date. It didn't take long. After all, it wasn't as if she had to spend hours deciding on what to wear. She had only two dresses with her, having left the bulk of her wardrobe at her apartment in Calgary. The one she chose to wear,' an apricot shift with a halter top that left her back bared to the waist, was definitely the dressier of the two. It was made from pure silk and cut with the flare that only a top designer could achieve. The warm colour accentuated her tan and, with her dark hair, gave her an exotic look that spelled 'class'. It had been wickedly expensive, Merle recalled, her eyes sparkling with remembered extravagance.

  She picked up the flagon of Joy perfume and shook out a few drops to dab on her pulse points. Holding it to the light, she saw the bottle was nearly empty. As soon as she got her next paycheque she would have to replace it. Her mother was always on to her to open a savings account, but to Merle's mind there wasn't much point in working if you didn't treat yourself to a few luxuries now and then.

  When she reached the parking lot a few minutes later, she didn't see Leon immediately, though the Ferrari was parked near her Blazer. Glancing at her watch, she saw she was five minutes early, and wondered whether she should go back to her room and wait a few minutes. Being unpaved, the parking lot was dusty, especially at this time of day when the tourists were starting to pull in for the night.

  She had just decided to go back inside, when she saw Leon come around the rear of the Blazer. That he had been examining the vehicle, peering into the windows, was obvious. Leon saw her and, when he motioned her to join him, she had little recourse but to walk over to him. Her heart was beating rapidly when she reached him, but she managed to keep her consternation out of her expression as she returned his smile.

  'I was just having a look at your truck,' Leon commented, turning his head away to peer into the rear window.

  'Oh.' It took a lot of effort to get even that single syllable out.

  'It has a lot of cargo space with the rear seat removed like that. I need a different vehicle,' he explained. 'The Ferrari is great for the city and the highway, but the dirt roads around here are pretty hard on it. I was going to use one of the company pick-ups but I like the look of this. How do you find it?' He turned back to her.

  'I really like it.' Her relief was reflected in the brilliance of the smile she gave him. 'The four-wheel drive is handy and like you say, you can carry a lot of equipment in it.'

  'Yes,' he nodded thoughtfully, eyeing the camping equipment in the rear of the truck. 'I certainly couldn't get that lot in the boot of the Ferrari.'

  'Boot?' Merle frowned, then laughed. 'Oh, you mean the trunk. Sometimes I forget you come from England.'

  'You mean I'm losing my accent?' One eyebrow lifted in amused enquiry.

  She shook her head, laughing. 'Not when you say something odd like boot.'

  'Odd?' His tone was affronted but his eyes held a mischievous sparkle. 'I'll have you know, I speak the Queen's English. I can't imagine why you colonials refuse to learn the proper names for things,' he said haughtily, peering down his nose at her.

  'I'm terribly sorry, sir,' Merle affected a curtsey, attempting to copy his accent. 'In future I shall only call it a boot and the hood will become the bonnet. Now, what should I call the jockey box?'

  She started to giggle when she saw she had him stumped. After a moment, he joined in, then asked, 'Okay, I give in. What in heaven's name is a jockey box?'

  Merle pursed her lips, her eyes twinkling. 'You don't know? I don't think that I should tell you. After all, if you haven't bothered to learn the proper names for things…?' She shrugged, helplessly.

  'Merle,' he warned sternly, stepping towards her. He grasped her shoulders in a gentle hold. 'I have ways of making you talk.'

  'Your German accent is terrible,' Merle laughed up at him. 'Not the least threatening.'

  'It can't be worse than your attempt at what I assume was an English accent,' he retaliated, smiling down at her. Their eyes held for several seconds, and the amusement left her face. Damn, he was attractive. His hands were warm against her bared shoulders and awareness rippled down her spine. Her heart thumped heavily in her breast as she saw the smile fade from his lips and his eyes darken. He felt it, too: the electric tension that had sprung up between them.

  A car horn blared behind them, startling them back to awareness of their surroundings. 'Hey, buddy, you're blocking the drive!' The driver of the car had rolled down his window to shout at them. 'Get her to the room before you start fooling around.'

  Leon shot the man a hard look, then taking Merle's elbow led her to the Ferrari. Her cheeks were flushed, her face averted as he helped her into the passenger seat. It was foolish to let the man's crude remark embarrass her. After all, they hadn't been doing anything. Leon hadn't even been embracing her, let alone kissing her. They had only been looking at each other.

  Part of her embarrassment was that it had reminded her of Leon's opinion of her. She still didn't know whether he had changed it or not. Was he thinking she was the sort of woman who went to motel rooms with men? She shot him a quick glance. His head was turned away from her as he checked for oncoming traffic before entering the highway. When he turned back, Merle quickly looked out the side window.

  They rode in silence and after a few minutes, Merle felt some of the tension drain away from her. If he wasn't going to comment on the man in the parking lot, she certainly wasn't going to bring him up.

  The car was extremely comfortable, the fine leather upholstery and plush carpeting luxurious after the practicality of the Blazer. She certainly hoped that Leon's only interest in the Blazer was because he was thinking of getting one. It wouldn't be a major disaster if he learned her true purpose for being in the area, but she still didn't want him to know. Sliding him another glance, she admitted it wasn't only that remaining undercover made her job easier. She was attracted to Leon and even if nothing could come of it, she didn't want him to know she was working against him.

  They had gone several miles before Leon broke the silence. 'You never did tell me.'

  'Tell you?' Merle pulled her eyes away from the passing scenery to look at him.

  'What a jockey box is?'

  'Oh, it's the glove compartment.'

  'You mean the glove box,' he corrected, smiling across at her. Though she returned his smile, somehow their earlier comraderie had vanished, the joke gone flat. Merle settled back against her seat a
gain, aware that the ensuing silence was faintly oppressive.

  A few more minutes passed, then Leon said, 'You're very quiet. What are you thinking?'

  Merle turned to look at him. What would he say if she told him she was wondering why he had asked her out? Had he invited her because he had changed his mind about her… or because he hadn't? Was he planning to take up where he had left off the other afternoon? But, she couldn't voice those questions, so instead she said, 'Actually, I was thinking I'd take a day off and drive up to the Badlands while I'm in the area.'

  'Have you been there before?'

  'Several times, I find it a fascinating area. All the hoodoos and pinnacles give it such an out of this world atmosphere.'

  'Yes,' Leon agreed, 'it's amazing what wind and water can do, creating sculptures that rival some of the great art works of man. In some places around there, erosion has exposed strata that was laid down seventy million years ago. What area were you thinking of going to?'

  'I thought I'd go up to Dinosaur Provincial Park. The views are spectacular in that area as it's about eight miles from rimrock to rimrock. I always like to visit the museum displays, too. Buildings are erected right where the dinosaur skeletons were uncovered in the rock. It's kind of fantastic when you realise you're looking at the remains of something that lived over sixty-five millions years ago.'

  For a few minutes they discussed the attractions of the park, which Leon had also visited, then he asked, 'Are you going to see if you can find some dinosaur bones on your own?'

  'Of course,' Merle grinned at him. 'That's one of the draws of the area. There are fossils lying all over the place, not just from dinosaurs.' Collecting fossils was one of her favourite hobbies and when Leon admitted he also had a collection, the conversation flowed smoothly for the remainder of the drive into Medicine Hat as they compared notes.