Lynette Vinet

by Wild Eden Wicked

  Eden colored all the way to her hairline. “I was asleep. I didn’t realize what I was doing.”

  “Ah, I see. So you’re awake now.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Good.” His mouth descended upon hers, stifling her surprised gasp. The kiss was firm and domineering, filled with a warmth that sent heat to her chilled bones. He’d caught her off guard, but Damon always seemed to do that to her. She wanted to push him away, but there was something about the way Damon kissed her which drove everything out of her mind. She wanted to lie unmoved in his arms, but she found she couldn’t. Her arms wrapped tightly around the forearms which held her and, without meaning to, she pushed her buttocks into his aroused manhood.

  It was Damon who broke away. He let her go and rose to his feet in one motion. His eyes never left her face. “Get yourself together. We’ve still got a long way to go.”

  “Damn you,” Eden cursed under her breath when he began throwing dirt on the campfire. But she wasn’t certain if she cursed him or herself.

  Chapter 5

  Eden’s breath caught in her throat when she followed Damon to the edge of the cliff. Despite her resolve not to touch him, or even speak to him after he’d kissed her that morning, she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing his shirt-sleeve for support. Her head swam a bit as her gaze focused on the tumbling waters of Shotover Point, some thousand feet below them.

  Damon peered at her pale face and clasped her trembling hands. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?’’

  “No, I’m not,” she told him, forcing herself to look at him and smile bravely. She’d never thought heights frightened her before now, but then again, she’d never climbed treacherous cliffs, either. It wouldn’t do for Damon to see she was scared. They had passed other miners on the way up, and some of them had their wives with them. Damon had seemed to know all of them and had exchanged courtesies. Eden didn’t recall seeing fear in the women’s faces, and she remembered thinking they looked to be a hearty bunch with their stout bodies and plain gowns. A few eyebrows had lifted at her unusual attire, but no one had said anything disparaging. She truly envied the miners’ wives for their fortitude in staying with their husbands. If it wasn’t for the fact that Damon expected her to quit, she’d willingly turn tail and run back to Queenstown. But that meant a long and dangerous trek, and this journey was clearly proving her to be a coward. She contented herself with the hope that the worst part of it must be over by now. She’d simply forge ahead and make a new life for herself. After all, that was why she’d come to New Zealand in the first place.

  Bestowing a brave smile she didn’t feel upon Damon, she walked down the cliff beside him to a spot where a number of people were gathered. They seemed to be waiting for something. A few of the men kept an eye on a wire cable which Eden judged to be approximately three hundred feet above the rushing waters.

  A man with shaggy, gray-streaked hair affectionately pummeled Damon on the back. Damon grinned and introduced the man to Eden as Tom Creig, one of Thunder Mine’s employees. “So, you’re Shamus’s wife,” Tom said to Eden, shaking her hand. “We all miss the old coot.”

  “I miss him, too,” Eden responded, her eyes misting. It was so obvious to her that Tom and Shamus must have been good friends. Tom then called to a woman who stood nearby. Miranda Creig was a thin woman whose brown hair was partly gray and tied in a loose bun atop her head. She smiled at Eden upon learning she was Shamus’s widow.

  “You’re a mite younger than we expected,” Miranda said not unkindly. “But then Shamus was always known to have a way with the ladies, young and old. Just like Damon here. Huh, Damon.” Miranda nudged Damon good-naturedly.

  Eden noticed Damon was blushing like a schoolboy. An odd reaction, Eden thought, since she’d already seen him with a prostitute and knew he was suspicious of any woman, gently bred or not. Apparently he loved only his mine and money. Which was fine with Eden. She didn’t need Damon Alexander ruining her plans to begin a new life.

  “Here comes the Goose!” Tom’s shouts broke into Eden’s thoughts. He took off his hat and began waving in the direction of the wires above the river. It was then Eden saw something which made her heart nearly stop beating. Attached to the cable was a chair-like apparatus. It seemed to fly in midair like a large brown bird, and sitting inside it was a man who gleefully waved to the waiting group.

  “My God, what is that thing!” Eden’s words were nearly drowned out by the happy shouts of those nearby when the chair landed some distance from where she stood and the man disembarked, seemingly none the worse for wear. One of those who’d been waiting, a man whose largeness had given rise to joking earlier, took the vacated seat. The chair rocked precariously when it was lifted up and sent on its way across the river.

  “Don’t break the cable, Tiny!” someone called to the departing man. Tiny’s happy laugh echoed back to them.

  Damon was smiling when he turned his attention to Eden. “That’s the Gliding Goose,” he said, almost proudly. “Shamus and some of the miners rigged it up years ago. It’s the only way across to the other side.”

  Eden’s mouth went dry with fear. “You mean we have to take that across the river? I have to get on that thing by myself?”

  “Aye. It’s good you’re not afraid of heights,” he told her. She saw a challenge in his expression, but at that moment she didn’t feel up to meeting it, so she said nothing. Instead she watched as the Gliding Goose returned a number of times to ferry those from the other side of the river to where they stood, then picked up the people who waited with them. When it was Miranda’s turn, she nimbly took her seat. The miner’s wife didn’t seem concerned at all, apparently finding nothing unusual about being in a chair that hung hundreds of feet in the air above a rushing river.

  But Eden’s palms perspired. She knew her time was coming soon, and she couldn’t believe she actually was going to sit in that horrible, unsafe-looking thing and almost fly to the other side. What had she gotten herself into? Had she come this far only to fall to her death?

  Damon came and stood alongside her. Tom had just departed and they were next in line. “There’s nothing to worry about, Eden. The chair has never fallen, and the cables have never broken. Shamus and the other miners made certain of its safety when they built the Goose. If Shamus had thought there was any danger to you, he wouldn’t have told you to come.”

  “I’m not afraid.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Yes, I’m afraid!” Her voice was a hiss. “I’ve never been so afraid in my whole life. At this moment, I wish I’d never left San Francisco and come to this primitive place. Is that what you want to hear, Mr. Alexander? Are you happy now?”

  “If you want, I can take you back to Queenstown.”

  “Not on your life,” Eden ground out from between her teeth. “The only place I’m going is across the river—on the Goose.” Where that bit of false courage came from, Eden didn’t know. Damon grinned down at her, and she could swear she saw some sort of pride shining in his eyes.

  All too soon the Goose was back. Eden’s courage deserted her, but she walked to the monstrous thing on rubbery legs while Damon spoke to the man in charge of the cable. The man nodded to her and doffed his cap.

  “What’s happening?” Eden asked.

  “We’re going together” was Damon’s reply. Before she could ask how that was to happen, Damon sat on the chair and motioned to her to take her place on his lap. She shook her head; the shock of being so close to him frightened and excited her at the same time. Maybe she should go alone, even though she was afraid. That was preferable to letting Damon see her absolute terror, the stark fear which she knew would show on her face. But to have him hold her while they rode across the waters was so tempting.

  Her decision was made when the people behind her urged her on. “Go ahead, miss,” someone cried out. “We ain’t got all day here.”

  Within seconds, she found herself on Damon’s lap. He placed her legs at
an angle and settled her against him. Then a large strap on the chair’s back was buckled around them. When Damon wrapped his arms around her waist, the chair lurched forward and they were off. Eden closed her eyes.

  The late-morning breeze blew vigorously, and Damon took her hat off to clutch it in his hand. Wisps of her hair, coming loose from her long braid, framed her cheeks. Eden was aware of his breath upon her ear, the way her body fit so perfectly and snugly against him. She felt uneasy with her legs flying free in space and she couldn’t gather the courage to open her eyes.

  “It’s really pretty up here,” Damon told her. “You should look.”

  “I … can’t.”

  “Aye, you can do anything you set your mind to. I know you can. I’m holding you, you won’t fall. Go on. Take a peek, but don’t look down.”

  What was there about him that always broke through her resistance? No matter how much Eden longed to balk, to refuse, Damon always managed to make her do those things she’d thought were impossible, the very things she feared doing. She almost refused again, but Damon whispered into her ear, “Open your eyes, Eden.”

  She did so and sucked in her breath at the majestic and untamed beauty. The mountains, gloriously green and purple, surrounded them on all sides. An azure sky, bluer than any blue she’d ever seen, was so close Eden thought she could touch it. The Goose flew swiftly through space, and Eden knew how a bird must feel to soar high and free above the earth. “Oh, Damon, how thrilling this is!” Glancing quickly at him, she saw a hint of a smile on his lips.

  Eden didn’t want to close her eyes again for the rest of the short trip, no longer afraid of the Goose but of missing something wildly beautiful. She found she enjoyed the feel of the wind as it rushed through her hair and stung her cheeks. The landscape enchanted her with its soft palette of misty colors. And now, for the first time, she could imagine why Shamus had loved this land. It seemed there was no finer way to see New Zealand than from above.

  All too soon the Goose reached the other side. People gathered and waited while she and Damon disembarked. Eden felt a twinge of disappointment when the Goose took off with its next occupant.

  “So you enjoyed yourself,” Damon noted, keeping a protective arm about her as she made her way down the mountainside of Skipper’s Canyon.

  “Oh, yes!” Shining flecks of gold danced within the depths of her eyes when she looked at him. “It was wonderful. I can’t wait to ride the Goose again.” Her manner grew quiet then, and she masked her enthusiasm with a reserved expression. “Thank you, Mr. Alexander, for taking me across,” she said quietly.

  Damon stopped walking. He still held her hat, but instead of handing it to her, he placed it on her head. Brushing aside the stray wisps of red-gold hair, his sapphire orbs shone like cobalt. “You called me Damon up there. There’s no need to be so formal. Eden.”

  Was this some sort of a truce? If so, Eden was wary. Damon hadn’t wanted her as his partner. He still thought she had worked as one of LaRue’s girls. Did he realize now she wasn’t going to leave and must make the best of the situation? If that was the case, and he intended to accept her as his business partner, then Eden would relent. She disliked being so frosty, especially to a man as handsome as Damon. Besides, it wasn’t in her nature to hold a grudge for long.

  “You’re right. After all, we’re family,” she admitted.

  Damon flashed her a rich, warm smile. “How about some breakfast at the best restaurant in Skipper’s Canyon?”

  “You mean something other than stale biscuits and weak coffee? Maybe some eggs and bacon, with grits on the side?”

  “Aye.”

  “Then lead on … Damon.”

  Which is what he did.

  ~~~

  The restaurant Damon chose was immaculate. Blue-checkered cloths covered the tables and matched the dresses worn by the waitresses. Joanie, the pretty young woman with fluffy blond hair who waited on their table, seemed to know Damon well. Eden soon learned she was Tom’s and Miranda’s niece. As she poured tea for Eden, Joanie’s face dimpled into a becoming smile.

  “I know you’ll get used to New Zealand, ma’am,” Joanie assured Eden. “I was raised in England, but my uncle and aunt took me in when my parents died. For a long time I didn’t think I’d like it here—you know, with the Maori wars and the primitive living conditions. But times have changed. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

  “Don’t you want to travel, to see the world?” Eden asked after swallowing a mouthful of the best scrambled eggs she’d ever eaten. At least she thought they were the best; she was so hungry anything would have tasted wonderful.

  Joanie clutched the teapot tightly. “Oh, no. My uncle hasn’t the means to send me off anywhere. Sometimes I save enough from my wages to take a trip to Christ Church and visit my cousin, but really, I’m quite contented to stay here.”

  Joanie smiled at Eden as if she was a small child who didn’t understand what she was being told. Eden, in turn, didn’t understand why a young woman as pretty as Joanie had no desire to leave a mining town, why she seemed happy to work in a restaurant. All through the conversation Damon said nothing, merely wolfed down his breakfast. Joanie finally cleared her throat to gain his attention. “Have you seen anything of Mr. Patterson?” she asked. “He hasn’t been in here for quite a while.”

  “I’m certain you’ll see Nick soon,” Damon assured her with a broad smile. “He’s scheduled to bring Mrs. Flynn’s things to the mine, so I’d bet he’ll come in here for a plate of your best lamb stew before long.”

  Joanie giggled. “Yes, he does like the stew.” Then she blushed and shyly smiled before departing.

  Eden glanced from Joanie’s retreating back to Damon. “What was that about?”

  Damon finished his tea and threw her an assessing look. “What do you think?”

  “I’d think Joanie was smitten with Nick Patterson, but he’s old enough to be her father.”

  “She’s more than smitten. Tom told me she’s in love with Nick.”

  Somehow Eden couldn’t imagine why someone like Joanie would consider herself in love with a man like Nick. Granted, Nick was gentlemanly and kind, but he was so much older than Joanie. Most certainly she could have her pick of any young man. But then she thought about herself and Shamus and realized she shouldn’t judge others.

  “Does Nick know how she feels?”

  Damon nodded, a bit too briskly. “Joanie grew up calling Nick, Uncle Nick. He and Tom were very close. But one day things changed. Joanie was no longer the little girl who climbed upon his knee. She’d grown up and developed a crush on him. Nick couldn’t handle her calf eyes, and Tom figured it was time Joanie left Thunder Mine to make her own way before … something happened. Miranda’s cousin owns this restaurant, so Joanie was given a job and a room upstairs.” Damon pinned her with a penetrating glance. “It was all for the best, I’d say. Nick’s nearly forty-five, too old for a young woman like Joanie.”

  Nick was younger than Eden had originally thought, in fact he was younger than Shamus had been when they met. “Has anyone bothered to ask Nick how he feels about Joanie?”

  Damon looked at her as if she were daft. “Why should they?”

  “Perhaps he feels the same way.”

  A muscle twitched in his cheek, and his eyes grew frosty like blue ice. “Nick knows better than to fall for a young woman, unlike some people I could name.”

  “Shamus, for one.”

  “You said it, I didn’t.”

  “But that’s who you meant. I don’t sit in judgment of Joanie—or Nick, if he cares for her.”

  “Hah! You would feel that way, but there’s one big difference between Shamus and Nick, which I think you’ve overlooked. Nick is far from being the rich man Shamus was. He’s safe from money-hungry females.”

  “Like me.”

  “I never mentioned you.”

  But he had, indirectly at least. Eden felt her temper flare but forced herself to remain calm. What wa
s the use of raising her voice, of refuting Damon’s accusation? Once more, he had allowed her to think he might accept her, only to throw in her face what he considered to be her blemished past. He thought she was a gold digger and would never know she’d married Shamus to see him through his illness. He’d never know because she’d never tell him.

  She gave him a tight smile, hating his supercilious attitude. “I think there’s something you’ve overlooked with your self-righteousness, considering what I saw at the Greenstone Saloon.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “And that is?”

  “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Eden threw down her napkin and stood up. “When you’re ready to leave, you can find me outside. I think I need a breath of fresh air.” And with that, she fled the restaurant.

  ~~~

  Damon cursed himself for almost forgetting who and what Eden was. But the truth came back with a vengeance when he left the restaurant…

  Eden stood on the boardwalk with a man Damon instantly recognized as an acquaintance of his uncle. Bert Carruthers, an Australian, had panned for gold alongside Shamus years ago. He’d made a modest strike very close to Thunder Mine. Ever since then he’d pretended to be a gentleman by wearing flashy clothes, complete with a diamond stickpin in his lapel, and reeking of cheap cologne and whiskey. He thought he had a way with women, but in truth they laughed behind his back while eagerly grabbing for his money. It seemed Eden was to be his newest conquest, but from the look of things, she wasn’t interested.

  “Aw, come on, duck,” Bert cajoled Eden, standing much closer to her than Damon thought necessary. He chucked her chin, causing Eden to back away. Bert laughed. “I know you ain’t as cold as all that. I mean you look like a dirty mess now, but,” his eyes skimmed over her unladylike attire, “in a fancy red dress, I know you’re a looker. What you say? I got a lot of money and can make things real good for you. Come on, my girl, give old Bert a try.”