LITMIR.BIZ

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intrigued by Kirri's relaxed manner and her willingness to talk to him. It was in such contrast to her behaviour at the gallery. 'Weren't you happy at home?'

      Kirri hesitated, torn between a natural reticence to divulge such private memories and the surprising need to share exactly that with this man. 'Oh, yes. It's just that Dad had offered to introduce me to the art world in Sydney. He's an artist and that's all I'd ever wanted to be. Mum wasn't happy about it.' A smile curled Kirri's lips, and her eyes twinkled in memory. 'She made sure I had a return air ticket. Then I was accepted to do Art at Uni in Cairns so I was only gone two months.'

      'Did she want to keep you from your father?' Daniel knew there was anger in his voice, and sensed her tensing away from him.

      'No.' Kirri realised she'd answered sharply, but she was surprised by the personal nature of the question. She looked closely at Daniel. The pain in his eyes now seemed more emotional than physical, and she wondered if his anger had come from a childhood hurt. Still, she felt obliged to defend her mother's actions. 'My father had made my mother's life miserable when they were married and she didn't want me to get caught up in his way of life.'

      'But you still shouldn't keep a child from her father,' Daniel persisted, and watched the hurt tighten Kirri's face.

      'Sometimes …' she murmured, the rest of her words stilled by a nurse pulling the curtain aside and a trolley wheeled in by a wardsman.

      As a nurse pulled the blanket aside Daniel muttered, 'I can walk to X-ray.'

      'No you can't, mate,' a burly wardsman grinned, 'hospital rules. But if you'd like to slide across to the trolley while we help, we'd appreciate it. You don't look like you'd be easy to lift.'

      Daniel looked at Kirri, watched her lose the battle to suppress a grin, and sighed his defeat.

      'We won't be long,' the wardsman said to Kirri as Daniel settled gingerly on the trolley, 'there are magazines in the waiting room if you want to read while you wait. They're pretty old, but you might find something interesting if you're lucky.'

      As they sped down the corridor the wardsman casually remarked to Daniel how attractive his friend was, and as he continued to drop none-too-subtle hints about Kirri, Daniel's temper began to fray. It was a relief when they finally reached the X-ray department and the wardsman's chatter was replaced by the quiet professionalism of the radiologist.

      Kirri had studied Daniel's face as she'd sat beside his bed in the Emergency Ward. In his unconscious state he no longer looked troubled, and even, for such a big man, strangely vulnerable. She had begun to relax then, no longer wary of him.

      But as the trolley rumbled back towards her now she could see the American looked decidedly irritable. He eased his bruised body back onto the bed, and she realised the reason for his mood. The wardsman was still talking, and with Daniel's concussion it must have been a bit hard to tolerate.

      The wardsman moved away and a sigh of relief rumbled through Daniel's chest. Kirri tried hard not to grin. But as Daniel looked at her, his mouth curved in a slow smile that made her throat constrict. It was the smile of a man to whom laughter didn't come easily, and she suddenly realised how badly she wanted to make him laugh.

      'It's a wonder they don't have to vaccinate the patients against him,' she said, nodding to the wardsman's retreating back. Again that slow smile lifted Daniel's lips, and Kirri felt a surge of desire that shocked her with its force. Daniel's eyes suddenly narrowed as though he'd picked up on her reaction. Heat flushed her cheeks as she read an answering desire in his eyes. Then his brows squeezed together in pain and he slumped back on the bed.

      'Are you all right?'

      He started to nod, changed his mind. 'Yes. I just need something for my headache and then I'm getting out of here.'

      'Tomorrow, perhaps, Mr Brand.' The doctor stepped up beside Kirri. 'I've just had a look at your x-rays and nothing appears to be broken, but you were unconscious for at least twenty minutes. We'd like to keep you overnight for observation.'

      'I'm sure you have more urgent cases than me needing your bed space, Doctor. If you'll just give me some painkillers, my friend might take me home.' He looked quizzically at Kirri. 'How did you get here, anyway?'

      'I drove.'

      'Good. I'm staying not far from your gallery. Would you mind dropping me off on your way back?'

      'But the police wanted to interview you as soon as you were conscious.'

      A stubborn scowl marked his forehead. 'I'll phone and tell them where I'm staying. They can come there. Or I'll go to them.'

      'Thanks for the lift back, Kirri.'

      Daniel shifted awkwardly in the van's hard seat and tried to make his next words sound casual, but he studied Kirri's face as she concentrated on negotiating the traffic in the busy thoroughfare. 'Why did you come to the hospital?'

      If he missed the flare of annoyance in her eyes, her response soon let him know she'd been offended by his question.

      'Wouldn't you have done the same?'

      Once he would have followed her to the other side of the world, he had loved her so much. But her betrayal had hurt him badly. She slipped him a sideways glance, a slight frown crinkling her forehead, and he wondered again if she truly had forgotten him. If she had, then coming to his aid like this was a remarkably kind gesture. The thought warmed him, and coloured his reply.

      'If I thought you needed my help, yes.'

      The inflection in Daniel's voice made Kirri hesitate slightly before she explained. 'You'd said you were alone. I didn't know how badly you were hurt.' She shrugged, suddenly anxious to dispel the idea that she was overly interested in him. 'I couldn't leave a visitor to fend for himself when he'd been injured. It's bad for our tourist image.'

      Her flippant remark annoyed him. His head felt as though his skull was being compressed and it did little for his mood. Suspicion nagged at him. By nature he was a quiet, even-tempered man, but the past two years had tested his patience to its limits.

      'Was that the only reason?'

      She was silent for so long he thought she wasn't going to answer. When she did he was surprised by the seriousness of her voice. 'I know what it's like to be alone in a strange town and be in need of help.'

      His interest quickened. 'What sort of help?'

      'It doesn't matter now. It was a long time ago.' She flashed him a brilliant smile and the fun-loving spirit that had first attracted him to her was there in full. 'We're nearly back at Noosa. You'd better direct me to where you're staying.'

      'I bet you have a great view from here.' Kirri swung into the driveway Daniel had indicated and switched off the ignition. She gazed at the timber house perched on the side of the steep hill overlooking Laguna Bay. 'Are you renting?'

      'No. A business associate owns it. He'll be joining me in a few days.' He turned his head carefully, pleased that the nausea was slowly ebbing. Kirri's old van would have had trouble with fast acceleration, but even so he could tell she had deliberately driven with great care not to cause him too much movement. 'Come in and have a look at the view.'

      Wariness crept into her clear eyes. For a moment he thought she was going to refuse, then her expression brightened. 'I guess I can get you a cup of coffee and make sure you're going to be okay.'

      He reached for the door handle. 'I'd appreciate that.'

      He'd appreciate it all right. It would save him having to walk back to her art gallery the next day. He'd hired a car after flying up from Sydney, but trying to find an empty parking space in the Sunshine Coast's most popular street was guaranteed to end in frustration, and he'd felt enough of that today. And if his head was no better tomorrow he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate enough on driving on what to him was the 'wrong' side of the road.

      As she walked ahead of Daniel into the living room, Kirri softly whistled her admiration. Colourful sea print cushions scattered across a white leather lounge contrasted beautifully

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