Page 32 of Leather and Longing (Island Tales #3)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Adam opened the French doors that led from the library onto the veranda, drinking in the salty sea air.

He recalled the railing that had run around it when he’d last seen the house, and edged his way forward.

Sure enough, there was a wooden railing at waist height, its grain smooth and worn.

He leaned on it tentatively, testing to make sure it was safe.

A slight creak, nothing more. Adam leaned more heavily, listening to the seagulls soaring above his head, their shrieks loud and raucous.

Below him was the ever-constant sound of the sea.

Adam let it roll over him, filling his senses, comforting him, taking his attention away from whatever it was Paul was doing.

He listened to his watch. Paul had been in the office for about two hours, and apart from emerging to make coffee, Adam hadn’t heard a peep out of him. Not that the house had been silent. In the last half hour Adam swore he’d heard another voice coming from the office, mechanical in nature.

He tapped his fingers on the railing, straining to hear any extraneous sounds, but there was nothing.

Damn it, how much longer is he going to be?

In spite of his mood of heightened anticipation, Adam had to smile. He’d always been an impatient bastard.

He held his breath when the door to the office opened.

Finally.

Adam came back into the library and closed the French doors behind him. “Well?”

Paul chuckled. “If you sit down, I’ll share my morning’s findings. But first, I need something to eat.”

“Then we’ll sit in the kitchen,” Adam groused.

“You can talk and eat at the same time.” He walked through the room and into the kitchen, confident enough to feel his way with his hands instead of the cane.

He sat at the table, fingers laced in front of him.

“So, talk to me. How much money have you spent, for one thing?”

The fridge opened. “Cold meat and salad for lunch?”

Adam could hear the smile in Paul’s voice.

He growled. “Never mind lunch. I want to know what you’ve discovered.” His stomach rumbled and Adam glanced downward. “And you can shut up for a start.”

Paul was laughing at him, the little shit.

“Okay, I spent four hundred dollars on some software. That equates to about three hundred pounds.” There followed the sound of chopping, as if it was a perfectly reasonable amount.

“Bloody hell!” Adam exclaimed. “What does it do? For that price I’d expect it to make the dinner, do the dishes and send me off to bed with a mug of hot chocolate.” He snorted. “And blow me while I drink it.”

Paul guffawed. “It’s amazing. I’ve downloaded it onto the PC and your laptop. It helps you browse the net, listen to music, print, read print books and e-books, reads aloud what’s on your computer screen, helps you do word processing…” Paul came to a halt and resumed chopping.

“That sounds fantastic,” Adam admitted, a longing swelling inside him. The inability to access technology had been one of his chief regrets. His tutor at Torquay had wanted to guide him through what options were available, but Adam had shut him out. Now he was ready to move on.

Now he wanted to move on.

Motivation was everything.

“I’m not finished. I’ve gone into the settings on your laptop.

Using the Ease of Accessibility option, you now have a Narrator.

It reads out what appears in dialogue boxes, reads error messages…

” Another pause while Paul went back to the fridge.

“So if you combine the software and the Narrator feature, you’ll be able to read books and browse online for your research. You can do anything you did before.”

It was slowly dawning on Adam: he could write his books again. “Oh wow.” For a man with an extensive vocabulary, it was failing him miserably.

“I’ve gone into the settings on your phone, too.

You now have the option of hearing what’s on the screen.

And instead of pressing down to open an app, you press anywhere on the screen and you’ll hear where your finger is.

If it’s where you want to be, you double-tap to enter.

If not, you flick to the right or left. I’ve also downloaded an app—HeyTell—that turns speech into texts.

All you do is say your message aloud and it sends it as a text. ”

Adam knew he had a huge grin on his face. He felt so light in his body. “This is incredible, Paul.”

“I’m still not finished.” Paul chuckled. “I’ve also downloaded an app called Trekker Breeze. You use it when you go out.”

Go out? Adam stared in Paul’s direction, his mouth dry.

“It uses a GPS signal to tell you exactly where you are,” Paul continued.

“It announces names of streets, junctions, landmarks, you name it.” Adam could hear the smile in Paul’s voice.

“You’d be able to go out by yourself and find your way around.

” A brief pause. “That’s the lot, except for a couple of things I’ve ordered, but we’ll have to wait for those.

I’ve paid for them, not you, however.” Paul moved to the table.

“And there’s a ham and cheese salad sandwich in front of you. ”

Adam ignored the food. How could Paul expect him to think about food?

“I can’t believe how much you’ve accomplished in the space of a few hours.” He couldn’t wait to get started. He wanted to get on his laptop and get to grips with the software, the new settings, all of it.

Paul laughed. “It feels like Christmas, right?”

All Adam wanted to do was let out an almighty whoop of joy. “That’s exactly how it feels.” He had to swallow hard to suppress the shout of glee that was right there behind his lips.

“Now eat.”

Adam chuckled to hear the mock stern note in Paul’s voice. “Yes, sir,” he replied with a grin.

They ate in silence, Adam finding it difficult to focus on his food. He didn’t have the words to fully express his gratitude for what Paul had done. What struck him to the core was that Paul had done all this without being asked. He’d done it out of a desire to help Adam.

Then all such thoughts fled him.

Paul had accomplished all that within the space of a couple of hours. Adam had been back on the island since mid-July, a period of four weeks or so.

Why hasn’t my sister offered to help me? She could have found exactly the same information.

In the time it took for that thought to flit through his brain, Adam already had the answer.

Why would she? Adam had been brusque, downright rude on occasions, and had given her nothing but headaches with regards to the companions she’d hired for him. Why would she want to help him?

Because I’m her brother , damn it.

Adam swallowed the last mouthful of sandwich, his mind racing. He didn’t want to think about Caroline, not when there was something much more important to be done.

He had an assistant to thank, and he knew just how to do it.

Paul was moving about the kitchen, clearing up. Adam cleared his throat.

“You’ve done so much for me today, I’d like to do something for you.”

Paul halted. “You don’t have to do anything. This is my job, right? To be your assistant?”

Adam smiled. “My assistant deserves a reward for his efforts. No arguments, please.” His pulse quickened. “When you’re finished here, come into the library. I want you to pull out the three boxes from behind the couch.”

That hitch in Paul’s breathing was delicious.

Yeah, I have him pegged, all right. Paul is all about the kink.

It took mere seconds for the next thought to filter through his brain.

And if I want more than that? Where does that leave me?