Cinderella's Guardian (18 page)

"Jennifer Reid." She could hear the snarl in her voice but didn't care. The woman was trying to steal her man out from under her. And that would not do.

"Yeah, that's the one. They've been spending a lot of time together. Can't possibly be only appointments about Tina's welfare. Word is, they're dating."

Robyn's vision clouded with the sudden intense desire to go out and hurt Jennifer. How dare she take what was hers!

"What are you planning on doing now?"

"I need to approach Dale when he's alone. But getting him alone is going to be tricky..."

"Well, I also managed to find out that he's taking the afternoon off work tomorrow. He's taking Tina out for a picnic apparently. I bet Conner and Jennifer will tag along, but you might still get him on his own at some point."

"Or you could do something to hold up the others, allow me a few moments with my man."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

The sly grin on Barbara's face was surely a reflection of her own. Finally she would get what was rightfully hers.

~ * ~

Conner stood back to allow Tina to lead the way. The agent was inside waiting for them. She stopped on the back veranda and looked away from the house.

"Look at that view, Conner. Can you imagine waking up to see that every morning?"

He came up beside her and ran his hand through her hair before resting his hand possessively around her neck. "Yeah, I can and so long as you're looking at it beside me, it'll be paradise."

He thoroughly enjoyed the pink tinge on her cheeks as Tina wheeled the rest of the way inside the house. He followed behind her and met up with the agent, Marlee, inside.

He dutifully followed behind the women as Marlee gave them the spiel for each room. Conner already knew everything he could about the house. He'd thoroughly researched its history and all of its features, but Tina needed to hear it all. He needed to watch for her reaction to the house. He had a feeling she'd agree to anything just to keep him happy. He had been very fussy about choosing them a home.

At the end of the tour, Marlee left them alone to chat.

"So, what do you think?"

"The whole house is beautiful, and I can get everywhere in the chair. Not that I'll be in it for long, but still."

He swiftly bent down to kiss her lips. "And the view is amazing."

"Hmmm, yeah that too. I like the kitchen, it's all open plan with plenty of room to entertain but it's not so big I'm going to be spending all my time cleaning the damn thing."

He chuckled at her reasoning, she could be so endearing with her logic some times.

"So you'd be happy if I bought it for us then?"

"What do
you
think about it? You barely paid any attention to what Marlee was saying."

"That's because I didn't need to, I already knew everything she told you. This place had my tick of approval before we arrived today. I was simply waiting for yours before I put an offer in."

"I can only guess how much you know about this place by now. You'd probably be able to tell me how many nails were used when it was built."

"Not quite, baby doll, but pretty close. Shall we go round up the agent and buy ourselves a house then?"

"Sounds good to me!"

The huge grin and sparkle in her eyes made him feel like he was ten feet tall. He loved nothing more than seeing his mate so utterly happy, especially when he was responsible for it.

It didn't take long for Marlee to put their offer to the owners, she was even kind enough to explain about the house fire and request an earlier settlement than they had stated. Having already moved out, the owners were more than happy to have a quick settlement. Conner was incredibly grateful his father had encouraged his sons to save as much as they could from an early age. He had the hundred fifty thousand dollars required to buy the property in his bank account so wouldn't need to worry about a loan.

In a matter of hours they had the details all sorted. Settlement would be in thirty days, and the owners didn't mind them moving in beforehand. Marlee suggested a rental agreement for the four-week period, just to cover all the bases legally speaking. Unbelievably, he walked out of the real estate office with the keys to the house.

Amazing.

"Well, we certainly have something to tell your father at the picnic now. Then we get to go furniture shopping."

Tina laughed nervously. "I can't believe you just bought a house."

"
We
just bought a house, sweetheart."

"C'mon lets go meet up with your Dad and celebrate."

Conner vibrated with joy as he helped Tina into the car, he would definitely have to go for a run later. He'd ring Dom after their dinner and see if he wanted to go out tonight, after Tina was safely home with his folks. With all the stress and excitement going on in these last few weeks, his leopard was desperate to be set free.

Conner enjoyed breathing in his mate's scent during the short drive to the picnic spot where they were meeting Dale. It was at the top of a cliff that dropped off into the lake. The cliff wasn't too high up from the water, but had a great view and would suit them perfectly. It had a car park nearby and a small, grassed area between the scrub and the cliff edge where they could relax and enjoy their early dinner before watching the sunset.

His contented and happy mood quickly vanished and was replaced with a feeling of dread as they approached the car park. There were large yellow scrape marks and dents along the passenger side of Dale's black Hilux. It looked like the vehicle had been rammed from an angle. Conner guessed they'd been driving through a Y junction, when someone came down the adjoining road and ran into them.

"What the hell caused that?" He could hear the rising panic in Tina's voice.

"I don't know, baby doll. But I'm guessing Robyn found your Dad."

He jumped free of the car, left the chair behind and gathered Tina in his arms before he locked up and headed to the picnic spot.

"Why didn't you just put me in the chair and wheel me?"

"Well, you know how I like you in my arms, so any excuse. And the chair would just get stuck in this path. It's easier for me to carry you."

He gave her temple a light kiss as he continued his way through the scrub. He heard Dale's angry voice before he saw him. Dale was definitely not in a good mood, which Conner fully understood, considering the state of his car.

"Hell yeah I'm filing a report. The crazy bitch ran straight into us! I'm just thankful the junction was at such an angle, if she'd hit us straight on at that speed, Jennifer would have been seriously injured or killed."

Tina cringed in his arms at her father's harsh voice. They entered the clearing to find Dale standing protectively beside Jennifer with one hand on his hip and the other holding a phone to his ear. Jennifer was sitting with her knees up and her arms wrapped around them. She looked uninjured but definitely shaken up. She faced them as Conner stepped into the open, alert to any danger. Conner could sense her leopard close to the surface, ready to pounce in order to protect.

"It's just us. What the hell happened?"

"Barbara happened. She's as crazy as Robyn. She was stationary at the lights, then I guess when she saw me in Dale's car it flicked her switch and she floored it straight into us. I looked out as I heard the wheels squeal. Her car stopped after the impact, but we weren't hanging around to take names and numbers. You should have seen her face. Even professionally I've never seen anyone with that level of rage."

With a growl, Dale hung up the phone. "The cops went around to the accident scene and picked up Barbara, still trying to get her car started after hitting us. So that's one down. Robyn's still on the loose though. Damn it. How can one woman cause so much damn trouble? It's getting bloody ridiculous."

"You're Robyn's obsession, Dale. She believes you are hers and she'll stop at nothing to get you. She is a very ill woman. No doubt she'll be diagnosed as having a psychotic break when she gets caught. Thankfully, it would be a conflict of interest for me to treat her."

Jennifer shuddered and Dale was quick to drop to her side and wrap her in his arms. Conner didn't fail to notice how she leaned into the embrace. As a widow-mate, Jennifer was free to date whoever she wanted. Conner was happy to see her hook up with Dale. They'd both been dealt a rough hand when it came to love and would make a good couple.

Conner gently placed Tina on the picnic rug before settling down beside her.

"Are you two sure you're okay? I mean, we can postpone this to another day."

"No, don't be silly. We're fine, just a little shaken up. Please, tell us about the house you were going to look at this morning."

He watched as Dale stood again and resumed his pacing, Tina gave her dad a worried glance before she started telling them all about the house.

"Sounds like you really fancy the place. Have you put an offer in on it?"

Dale seemed to relax as he joined the conversation, but continued to stand while they all sat.

"Well, we did more than that. The owners have already accepted our offer, and as the house is empty we're moving in as soon as we can get some furniture together. We'll be renting it for a month until the settlement goes through."

"Wow! Well, congratulations. I'm glad things are finally going well for you, Tina. And Conner, I can't thank you enough for looking after my girl like you have."

Looking to the ground, Conner felt heat rise in his cheeks. He didn't deal with emotion well. Tina brushed her knuckles over his heated skin, lessening his embarrassment. "It's my pleasure, Dale. She's my whole world."

Conner was still squirming under the attention of his mate's father when he caught the scent of Robyn. He leapt to his feet as a shrill high-pitched scream ripped through the air. Before he could make a move, Robyn came out of the tree line and collided into Dale. Unprepared for the impact, Dale reeled backward and they both went over the cliff, splashing into the lake below. Tina screamed and started to pull herself toward the edge. He snatched her up before he glanced around for Jennifer. He just caught a glimpse of her as she pounced off the cliff in leopard form to the lake below.

He brought Tina to the edge, as close as he dared and searched the water below for any sign of Dale, Jennifer or Robyn. Thankfully the cliff was only a few meters high. It hadn't been a huge fall for them. The lake was deep in this part so he wouldn't have hit the bottom and hurt himself, however the risk of drowning was very real. Conner watched as Jennifer swam to shore. Dale had a tight grip around Jennifer's strong neck, his hands buried deep in her fur.

"There they are! I see them. I was so worried when he plunged over the edge."

"Yeah, baby. He'll be fine. Leopards are strong swimmers. No way would Jennifer let him drown. Let's get down to them."

She nodded and clung tighter to his neck, never taking her gaze from her father as he moved down the path toward the shore below.

Chapter Eleven

Robyn hadn't thought. She'd just acted. Seeing that bitch Jennifer so close to her man clouded her vision red in rage. Then Conner flew up to his feet and looked straight at her hiding spot with death in his gaze. She knew her time was up so she'd run to Dale. It wasn't so much a plan as it was simply running on instinct.

Turns out her instincts suck.

As enjoyable as it was having her body pressed against Dale's for those few seconds before they flew over the cliff edge, Robyn wasn't sure it was worth it. Dale had now shoved her away from him and she was freefalling on her own.

With a loud splash, she hit the icy cold water of the lake and sank below the surface. Kicking frantically she struggled to make her way to the top. Holding her breath, she pulled her thick jacket free from her body then swam to the surface. She broke free from the water with a gasp and without looking around her, made her way to the closest shore. Her brain on survival mode she didn't even think of Dale until she was pulling her tired body from the icy water and onto the small stones that made up the lake's edge.

Fear froze her lungs as she flicked her head around and searched for any sign of him.

"Dad!"

Tina's panicked filled voice reached her and Robyn turned to watch the shore on the other side of the cliff. The breath she was holding whooshed from her as she tried to process what she was seeing.

"What the hell?" she mumbled to herself.

A large black and white cat—easily the size of a leopard—was standing over Dale who lay on the shore. The cat's large head lowered toward him and Robyn's hand reached out for him as a sob caught in her throat. The animal was going to kill him and she was too far away to do anything about it. As Conner came up to the pair with Tina in his arms, the beast stepped back and sat close by.

"What the hell is going on over there?"

Dale sat up coughing, and Conner lowered Tina to the ground by Dale's side. Jealousy ripped through her as Dale gathered Tina into his embrace.

It should be me he holds that closely.

Conner shrugging out of his shirt caught her attention. Frowning in confusion, she watched as he walked up to the cat. He was no doubt saying something to it, but she couldn't hear from this distance.