Stolen Feelings

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‘Book?’ This did surprise Julie. Nothing had been said about a book.

‘Perhaps I forgot to mention it,’ he announced lazily.

Or perhaps it had been deliberate! Perhaps he hadn’t wanted her to know exactly how much work was involved; perhaps he had thought it would scare her away! And he desperately needed a typist, that much was very evident. ‘What is it about?’ she asked curiously.

‘What else but these islands?’ Again his whole demeanour changed, his eyes lighting with pleasure in the work he was doing. ‘There have been dozens of books written about the unique wildlife found here—I’ve written several myself, each one specialising in a different subject. This one is dedicated to my dear friends, the fur seals.’

‘It’s just about them, nothing else?’ she asked in amazement. How much could be written about such animals?

‘Just the fur seals,’ he agreed, the harsh angles of his face softened by a caring smile.

Julie wondered what it would feel like to have him smile at her like that? Best not to know. It could be devastating.

‘Apart from the catastrophic effects of El Niño,’ he continued, ‘they were brought dangerously nearly to extinction in the eighteen hundreds. One fur seal hunter boasted of killing five thousand seals in two months. Can you believe that?’ There was anger now, fury at the thoughtless acts of these men.

He showed her drawings too, and Julie looked at them in amazement. “These are good. Did you do them?’

He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

‘You’re very talented.’

He lifted his shoulders modestly. ‘As you can see, there is a lot of typing to be done; everything is behind, and I have a five-week deadline for my book. I still have the last chapter to finish, but that won’t take long.’

‘You certainly intend to keep me busy.’

Well-marked brows rose. ‘Isn’t that what you’re here for?’

‘Well, yes,’ he said, ‘but I did think I’d have some time to myself.’ And how she wished that she had not been so eager to sit down—it put her at a definite disadvantage.