Wade's Woman Read online

  Pushing away from the door, she sat on the edge of the bed, trying to gather her wits. What should she do? Should she tell Ryan? Her eyes moved around the room as she fought her rising panic. Tony had been here, she was sure. He had taken intimate items of hers to frighten her. And it was working! Her glance fell on the photo mounted in a heavily embossed frame sitting on the bedside table. It was of Ryan holding a younger Emma in his arms, both of them laughing into the camera. Peering more closely, Tara saw that the glass had been removed and that Ryan's face had been mutilated with the criss-cross strokes of a pen.

  Her hands trembled as she stared at the ruined picture. Tony was showing that he had been in their room, had looked at and touched their things. And finally showing that he had the power to destroy her marriage. She would have to tell Ryan now, and the police. There was no other way.

  She jumped violently as the phone by the bed rang loudly and insistently. Some instinct made her grab the receiver before Molly could answer the extension downstairs.

  "Tara Wade speaking.” Her voice was low as she tried to control her shock and fear.

  "Yes, I heard you'd got married, Tara, my sweet. That's unfortunate.” It was Tony; she would know his voice anywhere.

  "What do you want, Tony? I know you've been here. I'm ringing the police.” She spoke sharply although her heart was beating so loudly she was sure he must be able to hear it.

  "Tara, darling. There is no need to be so dramatic. Heavens above, the last thing I want to do is to harass you, particularly now you have a husband and a couple of kids...” He paused for effect.

  "All mother and I want is to sort out your father's estate,” he continued. “Will you meet me so we can discuss it and come to some sort of agreement? I promise then that you'll never hear from me again."

  Tara hesitated. Tony was at his most charming and persuasive, as she knew he could be. Hadn't she nearly fallen for that charm two years ago? But if he meant what he said, perhaps they could come to an arrangement. After all, he could no longer bully her into marrying him.

  She thought quickly. How she could see him without arousing suspicion from the nosy but well meaning town folk of Glenroy Crossing?

  "I'll meet you in Marlston at the Blue Moon Café at two o'clock.” Even as she made the appointment, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. But Marlston was far enough away, and she had promised Lauren that she'd pick up some surgical supplies from there in the next couple of days. She would sort this matter out once and for all with Tony. She couldn't keep running and hiding from him. Ryan would be none the wiser. He had enough on his plate with terrible problems of his own.

  "That's fine with me, darling,” Tony replied silkily. “See you there."

  The line went dead and Tara stared at the receiver. I can't believe I've agreed to this. But I have to stop this persecution. Even if Ryan wants to end our marriage in the future, I need to be free of Tony and his ghastly mother, my stepmother.

  Tara checked her watch. It was twelve thirty already, and both Ryan and David would be busy in the surgery with the patient lists. Fortunately, it was one of Tara's days for home visits and she was due to go to the Norman's this afternoon. She would still have time to go there after she'd met with Tony.

  Rinsing her face in the bathroom sink, Tara patted it dry. She looked pale and scared. Tony would know that he still had power over her. It showed in her eyes, in the trembling of her mouth and her vulnerable expression. She took a few precious moments to put on some eye makeup, blended blusher into her cheeks and coloured her lips with a brighter than usual lipstick. She straightened her coat with a determined tug. Blast you, Tony! You are not going to intimidate me. She rushed along the passage and straight into Ryan's arms.

  "Whoa! Where are you going to in such a hurry?” he laughed, grasping her arms to steady her.

  "I'm ... I'm late for the Normans,” she blurted out, ducking her head to avoid eye contact with him.

  Ryan frowned. “I thought that was later today,” he said, lifting her chin, his narrowed gaze taking in her newly made up face.

  "Um ... it is. I promised Lauren I'd pick up some supplies first in Marlston,” she mumbled, her eyes glued to his mouth.

  "Well, the road reports are good, but drive carefully, won't you?” Ryan pressed a kiss on her soft lips and frowned again as Tara hurriedly drew back.

  "I'll see you this evening,” she called as she closed the front door behind her. Standing for a moment she felt overwhelmed with guilt. Why hadn't she told Ryan then? But how could she expect him to understand the complexities of her relationships with Tony and Julia.

  Tony stood politely as she hurriedly entered the Blue Moon Cafe just over an hour later. You could hardly have missed him. He was a tall man, almost as tall as Ryan, but with light brown hair and blue eyes. He was handsome on the surface. It was only when he revealed his nasty, bullying nature that another kind of man emerged. But right now he was on his best, most charming behaviour as he held her chair for her to sit down. He'd chosen a table near the large plate-glass windows over-looking the street, which made Tara hesitate. But she was only having a coffee with the man, for heavens sake!

  "It's good to see you again, Tara. I'm glad you've still got your beautiful long hair. I've always loved your hair. In fact, I love everything about you. I still have no idea why you ran away from me,” he said, after placing an order with the hovering waitress.

  "You should have a very good idea why I left, Tony, and you have continued to spy on me now that you've found me, so don't act so innocently. You were at the ski resort and you've also been in our house. I know you have.” Tara decided that the best form of defence was attack and she felt a fleeting moment of satisfaction at the look of surprise on Tony's face.

  He held up both hands in mock defence. “Yes, I admit to that and I'm sorry if I've upset and offended you. Quite honestly, I didn't know how to handle the situation."

  "Don't give me that! You handled it the way you've handled everything in the past two years ever since my father married your mother. By bullying and harassing me to marrying you. You can now add stalking to that list."

  Tony leaned towards her, his face inches from hers. Tara refused to move back; refused to show she was afraid. “Matthew died leaving my mother, his wife, destitute and giving his precious, spoilt daughter everything! His house, his property and all of his money."

  Tara stared into Tony's malevolent blue eyes knowing she would never win this argument. She had lost count of the number of times they had fought over this, both Tony and Julia shouting at her, trying to bend her will to theirs.

  But she was damned if she was going to sit there and once again listen to Tony saying terrible things about her father. Keeping her voice low, she hissed at him, “Julia was cruel to my father and you know it. Why, in those weeks before he died, she didn't bother to nurse him. He wasn't fed or washed and he was treated in the worst possible ways imaginable. I know because he told me and that's why I ended up staying home from work to look after him. You were both waiting for him to die so you could get your greedy hands on his money. He knew it and that's why he decided to make me his beneficiary."

  Tara's eyes filled with tears as the impact of her father's dreadful, lingering death hit her again. Would the hurt and agony of that time ever go away?

  She flinched as Tony's hand stroked her cheek. “It didn't have to be like that, Tara. When Julia and Matthew first met and married, I was sure the two of us could make a go of it. I know you loved me."

  "That's not true! Yes, I liked you well enough in the beginning but I never gave you any reason to think there could be anything romantic between us.” Tara's eyes blazed into his as he calmly sipped his coffee.

  "You're wrong,” he said coolly. “You were still hurting from the break-up with your fiancé. You never gave us a chance."

  "Mark and I parted amicably. I've told you this. We weren't suited, just like you and I weren't suited."

  "So you have to
do something really stupid like marrying some country hick GP. God knows why! We had so much in common and could have been happy. We worked together at the hospital and could have gone on living on the property. Julia would have been secure for the rest of her life, which is only what she deserves. She is getting old, Tara and becoming frail. Now, because you're about to evict us, I'll have to find another house for Julia and me and cause her no end of distress. I think the upheaval will kill her. You'll be responsible for her death!” He moved his face even closer. “You may treat me like dirt and think you're too good for me, but Julia was Matthew's wife!"

  Tara swallowed, his outpouring striking fear in her heart. Nothing had changed. He was still a dangerous bully. She decided to try a compromise. “I will let you and Julia stay there as long as I can but you know my father made me promise to sell the house and land..."

  "You won't need to do that, if you'll come back and live with us.” Tony thumped his fist on the table causing the cups to rattle and some curious glances from the few other people in the café. “Matthew made you promise so he could spite my mother. He was vindictive to the end. Julia should never have married him, but she thought Matthew truly loved her."

  Tara played with the teaspoon, tapping it gently against the saucer. It was true that a few days before he died her father had told her she was his sole beneficiary and had made her promise to sell the property. He had explained in detail the hell of his short second marriage and how he had realised that Julia and Tony wished him dead. At the time Tara knew that what her father had planned would cause uproar with Julia and Tony and she now understood why Tony had been so desperate to marry her.

  "Do you love this guy, your new husband?” Tony broke rudely into her thoughts.

  "Yes, I love him,” Tara answered without hesitation, looking directly into Tony's face. As she spoke, the realisation hit her with such a force she was sure it must show on her face. She knew that she loved Ryan and wanted to live with him for the rest of her life if he wanted her. She hated Tony and Julia for what they had done to her father and wanted only to get away from them. And there was only one way to do it. Tears hovered on her lashes as she thought again of her father. Dad, please forgive me for breaking my promise but I know you will understand.

  "Well, he's on to a good thing, isn't he? He not only gets a beautiful wife, but also a very rich one into the bargain. You must both be laughing your way to the bank.” Tony's manner had turned nasty again. “But if you think I've been stalking and harassing you, then you haven't seen anything yet. Sort this out or I will make you and your husband's lives a misery. I'd be happy to start by making up a few more explicit emails about you and sending them to the good doctor. I'm sure he'd enjoy reading more about the teasing whore he married."

  Tara gasped. She could see now that nothing was going to stop Tony getting what he wanted and she needed to protect her family. They were more important to her than any money; they were all she cared about. Her mouth tightened as she tried to hide her hatred of Tony.

  "This afternoon I will contact my lawyer and arrange for everything—house, land and money—to be signed over to you. In return, I never want to see you or hear from you again.” As she said it, Tara felt a great weight lift from her shoulders. At last she would be free.

  As for Tony, such was his greed that his expression lit up with delight and, grasping her face between his hands, he kissed Tara long and hard on her mouth.

  "You've made the right decision, my sweet,” he cried as Tara pulled away, a mixture of horror and disdain written across her features as she stood up, pulling her coat protectively around her.

  "I'll contact you as soon as I receive the documents from the lawyer. It will only take a few days,” she said sharply wondering if she was in danger of passing out in front of him she felt so horrified and sickened by his greed.

  Tony stood also. “You have my mobile number, I'm sure. I'm actually staying at the Great Alpine Ski Resort having a little holiday. I will expect to hear from you very soon, Tara.” His voice carried a warning as Tara turned to leave. “Don't let me down, darling,” he threatened with a cruel smirk. “Or I'll take pleasure in completely destroying your nice little game of happy families."

  Tara shivered as she drove away. She knew it wasn't because of the cold, but rather a reaction to the dreadful meeting with Tony. She turned the car heater on full blast and gradually began to relax. God! Why hadn't she done this when her father had first died? It would have saved so much agony, and he would have understood. To withstand the perpetual harassment day and night from Tony and Julia had been almost more than she'd been able to bear.

  Tony's quest to marry her so he could gain control of her father's fortune had even continued at the hospital where they both worked. Tony was employed as an administration officer, but that hadn't stopped him from seeking her out in the wards or tracking her down in the cafeteria. He was always there. Her work colleagues thought they were an item involved in a lover's tiff as she constantly tried to avoid him.

  When she had taken time off work to nurse her dying father, then Julia had incessantly berated her, planning and scheming for the time when her father would die. Tara could feel tears running down her cheeks as she turned on to the Glenroy Crossing road. Blindly she pulled over on to the hard edge of the roadside and reached for the tissues in her bag. After she had dried her eyes and blown her nose, she felt much better and even gave a rather hysterical laugh of relief. She was nearly through this ghastly nightmare.

  She sat thinking through the scene in the café and automatically rubbed at her mouth trying to rid herself of the feel of Tony's lips on hers where he had kissed her in delight of at last breaking her down. At least it proved he didn't care about marrying her. He was only interested in the money.

  Pulling out her address book, Tara scanned for the lawyer's phone number in Melbourne who had handled her father's estate. Within minutes she had phoned him on her mobile and made arrangements for the transfer of everything into Tony's name. The lawyer had certainly been shocked at her decision and questioned her closely about it, but Tara was determined to go through with it. The lawyer said he would arrange to send the papers by registered mail as a matter of urgency. Tara would need to have a person in public office, such as a police officer, to witness her and Tony's signatures on the two documents.

  She breathed a sigh of relief as she finished the call. To be free of Tony and to save her marriage would be worth every cent.

  Driving on, she felt calmer. By the time she'd turned to drive down the bumpy, snow-covered lane to the Norman's cottage, she was in control. The elderly couple was delighted to see her and she spent some time checking Harry's blood sugars and recording his other obs. She made sure that Edna had plenty of anti-inflammatory tablets to help with her arthritis and enjoyed a cup of tea and a piece of Edna's fruitcake. By the time Tara managed to get away, it was dark and beginning to snow.

  Tara cursed under her breath as she jumped into the vehicle and fastened her seatbelt. She decided she would phone Lauren and re-assure her that everything was fine, when the mobile suddenly rang.

  "Yes?"

  "Where are you?” It was Ryan's crisp voice that answered. He sounded angry. “The weather is turning bad. You should have been back an hour ago."

  "I'm just leaving the Norman's, Ryan. I won't be long.” She was sure she sounded guilty.

  "Be careful,” came the abrupt reply and then Ryan rang off.

  Tara arrived at the house an hour later. She parked the car in the garage and made her way through the back door. It had been a more nerve-wracking drive home than she cared to admit, with the snow falling heavily for the latter part of the journey. She'd had to slow to a crawl, afraid that she would have an accident otherwise.

  The house was warm and welcoming as Tara hastily pulled off her outer clothes and boots. She was surprised to find Molly in the kitchen preparing dinner for the two children.

  She gave both Emma and Ben a hug and
then turned to the housekeeper. “I'm sorry to have kept you, Molly. Isn't Ryan here?"

  Molly gave her a resigned look. “Yes, but he didn't want me to go until you arrived in case he was called out and there was no one to stay with the kids."

  "Oh, I see."

  "He's in the study, but I should warn you, Tara, he's in a strange mood."

  Tara patted Molly's arm. “Don't worry, I'll go and see him, then take over cooking the dinner. Won't be a moment."

  With a sinking heart she made her way to the study. Surely Ryan couldn't be angry with her? Something else must have happened. Ryan was seated at his desk but stood up and, leaning one arm against the mantelpiece, watched her as she closed the door.

  "Sorry I'm late, Ryan,” she said softly, her eyes absorbing his brooding, dark expression.

  "I won't beat around the bush, Tara. When we arranged to marry, you asked me to be discreet regarding any relationships I might have, and I agreed."

  Tara nodded, wondering where this conversation was heading.

  "I didn't realise at the time that I should have requested the same courtesy from you."

  "I don't understand."

  Ryan turned and stared into the fire. “You were seen with your lover today. You were seen kissing and fondling each other openly in some café in Marlston."

  "But..."

  Holding up his hand to silence her, Ryan continued in the same cool tone. “I don't care particularly if you've arranged for your boy friend to come here, but I do care how it appears to other people and how your behaviour may hurt my children."

  "Ryan, you've got this all wrong.” Tara placed her hands to her face in dismay as she stepped towards him.

  "I don't think so. The person who told me is very reliable. I just want you to know that you won't have to bear with this marriage for much longer. The custody hearing has been confirmed for next Friday. After that, I want you out of my life for good."