by Jane Toombs
"How did you know Mokesh?" Pauline asked.
Davis explained, ending with, "So, before he died, he gave me an old map and that's why we came here."
"Can I see the map?" Pauline said.
When Bram got it for her from Davis's pack, she held it carefully, examining the drawings on the deer skin by the light of a kerosene lamp.
"Yes, old," she said at last, handing back the map.
"And real," Davis put in. "Mokesh said so."
Pauline nodded. "I met him once when I was very young. How good he found you, boy, before he had to die far away from home without a friend to give his map to."
"Are you Ndee, like him?"
Pauline smiled. "My past is mine, I share it with no one, not even Mokesh's friend. But I tell you one thing true, boy, the map will lead you to your heart's desire."
"My heart's desire?" Davis echoed, sounding surprised. "That's exactly what Mokesh said. I think he meant gold. Is that what you mean?"
Pauline shrugged.
"You're like Mokesh in a way," Davis told her. "He used to say things that he never would explain."
That made her chuckle.
"Maybe we could tell Coyote stories," Davis said.
"It's night, so that's the right time."
"Why don't you start?" Bram suggested.
"There's a bunch of them," Davis said. "The first one is how Coyote stole fire, so I'll start with that."
"A long time ago when the animals were people, no one had fire but the Fireflies and they wouldn't give it to anyone."
He went on to tell how Coyote had to outwit them to get a piece of the fire. "But the Fireflies and their friends chased him so he gave the fire to Buzzard. Buzzard got tired after while and passed it to Swallow, but then the Fireflies made rain medicine and the fire began dying.
"Swallow passed the few coals that were left to Turtle. Turtle put them under his shell where rain couldn't touch them. Lightning zapped his shell again and again, so that's why Turtle has those marks on his shell today. But he brought fire safely away so everybody could have it."
"Coyote sometimes did good," Pauline said. "But you must remember that Coyote stories have to be told in order." "That's what Mokesh said. I forget which one's next, though."
Pauline walked to the door and opened it. "Listen, I hear them telling us that's all for tonight."
Vala heard a single coyote's yip-yap, joined by another and then others into a howling chorus.
"Whoa," Davis said, wide-eyed.
"The moon's coming up," Bram put in. "That sets them off."
Bram's penultimate moon, Vala thought.
After Pauline closed the door, without any comment, she began singing in her melodious voice, a plaintive tune in a language Vala didn't recognize. Even though she didn't understand them, the words clearly dwelt on loss and pain and then the gradual return of hope. She'd never heard anything so moving.
"The winter song," Bram murmured. "Ending with the promise of spring." He and Pauline exchanged a long enigmatic look.
Vala glanced at Davis, waiting for his comment, then noticed his half-closed eyes. He was falling asleep in his padded chair.
Bram rose, reached for Davis, lifting him carefully, and carried him to the cot. Touched by Bram's thoughtfulness, Vala followed and tucked her son in, dropping a kiss on his temple.
"You sang him to sleep," Bram said to Pauline, who neither agreed nor denied it.
"I go to bed early," she told them.
Recognizing a dismissal when she heard one, Vala said goodnight and headed for the door.
Outside, there was the moon, huge and yellow, part way up the sky, masking the rugged landscape with its silver light. Trying not to let the romantic beauty of the night affect her, Vala said to Bram, "Penultimate or not, the moon looks full to me."
"Appearances can be deceiving."
She thought of Neal and sighed. He'd seemed so with it, his meanness concealed. She'd taken him for what he projected--a healthy mind in a healthy body type. How could she have been so fooled?
"I'll put the sleeping bags in front of the tent," Bram said.
To keep it convenient for her if she changed her mind? Since she'd made it clear earlier that sleeping under the stars was a maybe, she realized he'd taken her words to heart. What lay concealed under Bram's appearance of thoughtfulness?
She watched him lay the ground sheet on a flat area by the tent opening. Because the tent faced away from Pauline's cabin, this made the tent a barrier between them and the cabin. If they needed a barrier. She knew very well why they might, but she hadn't made up her mind what she should allow the night to bring.
He unrolled his sleeping bag onto the ground cloth, then, holding hers, he glanced at her with one eyebrow raised. Damn the man, he was leaving the choice up to her-- in the tent alone or out here with the stars and the moon. And him.
She hesitated, then nodded. Why deny what she wanted? No other man had ever made the world go away when he kissed her. She needed to be with Bram under the stars, not cowering in her tent. If this night together would be all they ever had, why turn down the chance to have this much?
As he rolled out her sleeping bag next to his, her breath caught. Would she regret her decision? No, it was more likely she'd regret it if she didn't take the chance. Her mind fastened on the gray sweat pants and top she'd been sleeping in and would have to wear tonight. Impossible to picture anything less alluring. Visions of diaphanous nightgowns flashed before her--not that she owned any. Something in red for daring? Or pink for passionate? Or, perhaps a cool blue.
"Found the Big Dipper yet?" Bram said from close beside her. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't seen him approach. "What?" she stammered. "Uh, no, where is it?"
He put his arm around her shoulders and pointed at the sky. When she leaned her head back to look up it rested against him. Warmth tingled through her, and she gazed at the seven stars making up the Big Dipper without clearly comprehending what she was looking at.
"Remember which two of them point to the North Star?" he asked.
Leaning against him, breathing in his masculine scent, she couldn't get her mind to focus. "I used to know," she said finally, looking at him instead of at the sky.
He glanced down at her, his eyes turned mysterious by the moon, holding a glint of that silvery light in them. Making a sound very like a growl low in his throat, he pulled her to him and covered her mouth with his. Her lips parted in welcome and the moon vanished, the stars, the mountain, everything but Bram.
Minutes later, or maybe hours, she couldn't tell, Bram, his arm around her waist, urged her toward the sleeping bags. "Moonlight becomes you," he murmured in her ear, his warm breath sending a shiver of delight through her.
Moonlight altered everything to unreality, she thought, feeling as though she were floating over the ground.
When they reached the sleeping bags, Bram crouched, zipped both of them open, reached for her hand and pulled her down so that they both lay on their backs.
"See the stars," he said softly, raising himself onto one elbow and looking down at her. "I see them in your eyes."
Whether or not the stars were reflected in her eyes, the truth was she was truly starry-eyed, relishing his every word, his every touch.
"All I see is you," she told him, reaching to place her palm against his cheek.
As he lowered his head to kiss her, he murmured something that sounded like "Lighting the fuse."
His kiss, hot and deep, sent tiny fires burning inside her. She wanted more and more, needed to be closer and closer. At the same time she wished the moment could stretch out and last forever.
Her hands tangled in his hair as she held him to her, their bodies fitted against each other. Her clothes vanished one by one as he caressed her where she longed to be touched. He undressed, too, and they clung together, flesh to flesh. Urgency thrummed through her as the fires inside her burned brighter and hotter. "Bram," she whispered against his lips, unable to say mor
e than his name.
When at last they joined together, she was quivering with need, the quivers changing to a rhythm that matched his. It was everything, it was, it was....
Her mind couldn't hold her thoughts and they exploded into radiating colors as she reached the peak and soared. Nestled close to Bram afterwards, the second sleeping bag pulled over them, Vala's drowsy comment was mixed with wonder. No one had ever made her feel this way before.
"Rockets," Bram murmured.
Vala blinked. "Rockets?"
"I was right about us."
If that made any sense. But, in a way, it did.
After a while, he said, "Sorry I yelled at you about coddling Davis. It can't be easy being a single parent."
"That's okay. You gave me something to think about."
"Let's think about this instead," he said, running a caressing hand over the curve of her hip.
She was more than willing to.
As she came down the second time, the last thing she remembered thinking was: So it wasn't a one-time phenomenon. When she woke the sky was still dark, with the stars shining overhead, but the moon had dropped from sight.
Her back was cuddled against Bram and, though he breathed in the deep, even rhythm of sleep, she could feel his arousal pulsing against her, sending an erotic message she couldn't resist.
Half-awake, Bram wasn't sure if he was having a fantastic dream or if Vala was really lying next to him, touching him. Her scent surrounded him, adding to the sensual haze he drifted in as she caressed his arousal.
When she pushed him so he rolled onto his back, he woke up fully, just in time to appreciate every nuance of feeling as she settled herself over him. She was so soft and sweet, her skin like silk under his hands.
It thrilled him that she'd taken control this time, initiating making love. Even as a kid he'd suspected Vala wasn't what she appeared to be on the surface--timid and self-effacing. Maybe that's why he'd been so intrigued by her. He'd wanted to get beneath that facade.
His thoughts melted in the heat of her driving him up and up until he caught her cry of completion in his mouth and exploded himself.
Laying with her in his arms afterwards, he said, "I knew we'd go up together like rockets if we ever got the fuse properly lit."
"But how do we get it unlit?" she asked.
At the moment, sleepy and temporarily satiated, he couldn't care less.
Bram roused when the coyotes started singing again at dawn. He lay for a moment, breathing in the crisp mountain air, enjoying the feel of Vala's warm body lying next to him. Before he could enjoy it too much, he slid out from under the covering sleeping bag, recovered his strewn clothes and donned them.
Davis wasn't likely to be out exploring early, so there was no reason to be concerned about the boy wondering why his mother and Bram were sleeping together naked. Pauline was a different story. Not that she'd care or tell anyone, but he didn't want her to know what was between him and Vala. This was private.
Pauline, not being born yesterday, would certainly suspect, but she wouldn't know for sure and, somehow, that mattered to him. What had happened between him and Vala was a secret he wanted to share with no one else except Vala. First of all he had to come to terms with it. As he walked toward the cabin, he realized he'd called it square on when he'd told himself Vala was different. In herself, and as far as he was concerned.
Sex with women was easy. When it was over, that was the end. Somehow, though, his night with Vala had been more than just plain sex. It scared the hell out of him.
Vala woke to daylight and saw Bram, fully dressed, walking away. Without a word. Even though she knew she wouldn't want them to be found lying naked together, it upset her that Bram hadn't so much as offered her a good morning kiss. Or even the words.
Over was over, is that what he meant to convey?
As she fumbled for her clothes, she tried to tell herself she didn't care. There'd been no promises exchanged, after all. Bram had asked her to look at the stars with him. A reluctant smile broke through her hurt--they hadn't seen much of the stars, had they?
Before she headed for the cabin, she zipped up the sleeping bags one at a time, rolled and tied them, leaving no evidence behind. Davis would never understand.
She wasn't any too sure she understood. Mostly she felt confused. When she hadn't expected more than the one night they spent in each other's arms, why did she have this aching feeling of loss when she thought there'd be no more? It frightened her.
Once inside the cabin it was clear Davis was feeling like himself again--except for a sore backside. He was torn between his eagerness to go on with the treasure hunt and the realization it would hurt to ride.
"We'll go along with Pauline," Vala told him. "She says you'll be pretty well healed by tomorrow. So we'll wait until then."
"But Bram told me you already found the bear. That's the second marker. So only two are left--the snake and the deer. We're almost there."
"They'll still be waiting for us even if we don't hit the trail until tomorrow," she said.
"I have things to teach you, boy," Pauline put in. "You were too sleepy yesterday to understand. Besides, pain doesn't make for a good listener."
"What things?" Davis muttered.
Pauline cast a pointed glance at Bram who was busy stirring oatmeal on the stove. Then she looked at Vala before fastening her gaze on Davis. "Secrets." She hissed the word at him.
His eyes widened. "Really?"
Pauline nodded. "As soon as we get rid of those two. They didn't bring me back the roots I need so they got to hunt for them today. Once they're gone...." She let her words trail off and smiled conspiratorially at Davis.
He smiled back, obviously impatient to be rid of Bram and her, Vala thought, admiring Pauline's deft handling of her son.
But when breakfast was over, cleared away and she and Bram were saddling the horses, Vala wasn't so sure it was a good idea for the two of them to go off alone together. Not that she expected or anticipated a repeat of last night, but for the first time since they'd met again in Apache Junction, she didn't feel at ease with Bram.
Once they were mounted, the trail he took only allowed for single horse passage. She followed, not attempting conversation. Pauline had given Bram the directions and her the basket with the digging and clipping gear. All Vala had overheard was Spanish something.
They rode farther than they had yesterday, through rocky defiles and between huge clumps of cacti, until Bram made a sharp right turn between two mesa-like rises. She was surprised to see a clump of paloverde trees. Before they'd only been visible in the ravines and crevices where they'd get the most water, but here they were on the flat.
Bram stopped in the midst of the trees where a tiny spring seeped out and ran into a shallow depression in the rock where it trickled over the edges. It wasn't big enough to be called a pool, but it was water and she gazed at it with avid interest. She hadn't had a decent wash since their second day on the trail.
"Bet I can read your mind," Bram said, dismounting and letting his horse have a drink, tugging him away and tying him to a tree before the gelding bloated himself.
Once Susie-Q had her turn at the water and was tethered, Vala said, "We don't get in that pool together."
"You don't get your back washed by yourself," he said, grinning at her.
"My back is the least of my worries. What if someone else is in the vicinity and shows up? One of us needs to stand guard."
"Not everyone knows about Spanish Horse Spring. A chance traveler isn't likely."
"Maybe not, but it's still no."
"That sounds regrettably final. Too bad. Ladies first, then."
"You can't look," she told him before starting to undress.
"Why not?"
Maybe it was unreasonable of her, considering what had happened between them during the night, but she couldn't bring herself to take her clothes off in front of Bram.
"I'm not used to--I mean, I'd be, well, embarra
ssed," she stammered.
He raised his eyebrows, sighed and turned his back to her. To make sure of as much privacy as she could in case he peeked, she also turned her back to him as she undressed. Naked, she splashed into the shallow pool.
"I forgot to give you Pauline's soap." Bram's voice sounded so close behind her that she whirled.
Soap in hand, he was just stepping into the pool--as naked as she.
Chapter 8
"You may not need someone to wash your back, but I sure do," Bram said, handing her the soap as he turned his back to her.
With him standing in the small, shallow pool next to her, no room was left. "I thought you promised you wouldn't come in until I was done," Vala scolded.
"I didn't promise, you made that assumption," he countered. "My rule is, no promises, no grief. You told me your objections and I appeared to agree, that's all." Deciding she'd been out manoeuvred, Vala muttered, "Never tangle with a lawyer."
Making the best of it, which wasn't all that difficult to do, she crouched and splashed water up along Bram's back. "Cold," he complained.
"You're here on sufferance. Don't disturb the back-scrubber with trivia," she warned as she soaped his back. Running her hands over his smooth skin and feeling the powerful muscles bunched underneath, she found, was really disturbing. She'd never realized touching a man could be so erotic. Hurriedly handing the soap back to him, she said, "I'm through. It's all over."
"That's what you think," he said as he turned and splashed water on her, then started soaping her breasts. "That's not my back," she complained.
"Lady, I wash whatever part's presented," he told her. "Nice parts, by the way."
"You're a wicked man," she said, concealing her amusement as she twisted away from him.
She slipped, grabbed at him and they both fell into the shallow water. Warmed by the high-altitude sun, the water was cool but tolerable once they got used to it.
"Not the biggest bathtub in the world," Bram said. "Nor the warmest water. Wait'll I get you in my Jacuzzi."
Vala, taken aback--when did he expect to do that?
She started to get up. Bram caught her arm and pulled her down again, this time on top of him. Holding her firmly against him, he kissed her.