“And just how did you arrange it?”
“I told Albert I wanted to talk to people besides the residents of Madriga, and he said he’d have a Jeep here by eight o’clock for us to use, however we needed it.”
“Lou—”
“I never told him which villages we’d be visiting, and he never asked.”
“Lou—”
“Don’t you see that the Sonoran government wants to show the rest of the world once and for all that their intentions are genuinely honorable?”
“Lou!”
“What?”‘
Mason gazed at her for a long time, exasperation darkening his blue eyes. He pressed a palm hard against his forehead, shook his head and glared at her. “When do we leave?” he finally asked.
Lou smiled triumphantly. “Right now. Just let me get my things.”
When they went down to the lobby and inquired at the desk, they discovered Albert had indeed made good on his promise, and there was a Jeep awaiting them, all gassed up. Mason was sure it was yet another example of how Papitou’s people were trying to butter them up, but Lou was less suspicious. As she started to climb into the driver’s seat, Mason began to chuckle lightly.
She hesitated. “What’s so funny?”
“You actually think I’m going to let you drive?” Mason asked.
“I’m the one who’s been studying the map,” she told him. “I’m the one who knows where we’re going.”
“Yeah, well, scoot over,” he told her. “I’ve driven on Sonora before. Years ago when another group tried to overthrow Senegal’s regime. The island topography is tricky, and it’s easy to get lost in those hills. With you at the wheel, we might spend the rest of our lives wandering around the mountains. I’ll drive.”
Her lips thinned in irritation at being so easily dismissed again, but she conceded to avoid further delay. “Fine. I’ll be navigator.”
Although she thought she heard him mumble something to the effect of, “Like hell you will,” Lou remained silent. When she skirted the vehicle to take the passenger seat, Mason climbed behind the wheel, picking up the map and giving it a surreptitious study. “No problem. I know exactly where we’re going. Next stop, Palmyra.”
“No, wait,” Lou said, placing her hand over his when he went to shift gears, only to yank it back when she felt as if an electrical charge ran through her body. “I, uh… I wanted to go to Palmyra last,” she told him a little breathlessly. “Dorano is the village I’d like to visit first.”
“What difference does it make?”
“Dorano is the smallest,” Lou explained. “Palmyra is the largest. I was hoping to see if some kind of pattern in opinion emerged as a result of the population size in each community.”
“Why?”
His question threw her. “It just seemed like it might help me keep my research straight.”
“Okay. Dorano first, Palmyra last. Any other instructions?”
Lou shook her head.
Mason shifted into gear and the Jeep lurched forward. “Keep an eye out for rebels,” he said as they pulled away from the hotel, his expression indicating he was dead serious.
Lou took a deep breath. The only rebel she was worried about right now was the one inside her that kept behaving like a stranger. If she and Mason could just make it through the day without any references to what happened on the beach last night, maybe everything would go back to normal. Even though normal was the was the last thing she wanted to go back to. They only had a week left on Sonora, and there were two things she wanted to accomplish before they left. One was writing and filing the best news stories she could write. The other was settling things between Mason and herself once and for all. Whether that meant taking their relationship down a more intimate avenue or facing the fact that it would never go beyond the stalemate it had become, Lou couldn’t tell yet. She only knew some kind of resolution had to be made. She didn’t want to live the rest of her life knowing she hadn’t even tried. Before this trip was over, some changes would indeed be made.
****
“It’s got to be around here somewhere.”
Mason turned the map again and looked toward the setting sun. “We’re facing due west, right? That mountain to our left is Grand Frère, and the one to our right is Albignon.” He looked up again, scrutinizing their surroundings with a practiced eye. “Or is the one to our left Albignon and the one to our right Grand Frère?”
Lou couldn’t believe this was happening. They’d made it to all the villages she wanted to visit except Palmyra, and they’d been on their way to that one with time to spare when Mason somehow managed to get them lost. Now the sun was falling fast toward the horizon, and nights in the Caribbean came all too quickly. Once it got dark, they’d never be able to figure out where they were, and then they’d have to wait until morning to find their way back to Madriga. She didn’t relish the idea of no shelter, no protection, no light, and no food. Fortunately, they still had three bottles of water in the back seat, and if they were lucky, they might stumble upon a banana or papaya tree. Lou had a few snacks and very basic toiletries in her messenger bag, but it wasn’t much for a night in the jungle.
As Mason kept driving, she watched the sun continue its descent. All too soon, they were plunged into a purple twilight.
“We better find someplace to camp before it becomes pitch black,” she said, hoping her voice reflected none of the apprehension she was feeling. Not only would they be camping out without supplies, but she would be alone with Mason all night. Lou wasn’t sure which idea made her more anxious.
Mason glanced up, surprised to find the sun had gone down. He grumbled something about how Lou should have let him go to Palmyra first, the way he wanted to originally, and kept driving. Less than a mile ahead, they came upon a clearing well back from the road, and he deemed it an acceptable campground. He crossed the field to where it ended just before a dense thicket of foliage and parked.
“We’re back far enough from the road that no one passing by will be able to see us,” he said. “I don’t think anyone will stumble upon us. My biggest concern would be that they’d take the Jeep.”
Among other things, he added to himself. He glanced at Lou, and was amazed she still looked fresh and lovely, even after spending the day in the hot sun. He was as apprehensive as she was about having to spend the night away from Madriga. There were any number of things that could go wrong out here, the least of which could be potentially life threatening. There were poisonous snakes, insects the size of some household pets, exotic plants that could produce allergic or debilitating reactions. And those were the smallest of his worries. It was unlikely they would come across any rebels—there were only a few stragglers left, and they were probably anxious to remain hidden—but if they did manage to bump into any…
He refused to think about what the consequences might be. He wanted to kick himself for having gotten them lost. His navigational skills were phenomenal, his sense of direction flawless. It had only happened because Lou had been sitting so close to him in the Jeep, distracting him all day by wearing an outfit that revealed every last luscious curve she possessed. He’d almost driven them over a cliff at one point because the wind had blown her shirt open at the collar to reveal a pink, lacy bra beneath.
He bit back a groan. During the six years he had known Lou, it had never occurred to him she might wear the same kind of stuff that other women wore to turn a guy on. Between that realization and the memories of her sexy sleepwear the previous morning and her chaste kiss the night before, his thoughts had become way too centered on getting to know Lou and her lingerie a more intimately.
That was why he hadn’t been able to concentrate on getting them where they needed to go, and had landed them in their current predicament. He supposed if he were the kind of man to lay blame on others, he could say this whole situation was Lou’s fault for having become such a damned desirable woman. Unfortunately, he knew he had only himself to blame.
Wit
h their ascent into the mountains and the setting of the sun, the air around them had become a lot cooler. He didn’t want to draw attention by building a fire, but when he saw Lou hug herself and rub her bare arms to warm up, he decided there was probably no harm in making a small one.
“Come on,” he said. “Help me find some wood and we can build a fire.”
Lou smiled at him gratefully. “Okay,” she said. But something in her voice indicated she was less than comfortable in their surroundings, too.
“You realize of course that this is going to be an excellent adventure,” he said in an effort to ease her anxiety.
She looked at him dubiously. “Oh, sure.”
“Hey, when you go to your ten-year college reunion, how many of your classmates are going to be able to say they spent the night in a Caribbean jungle with a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist?”
Lou smiled at that, loving him all the more for making an effort to take her mind off of her fears. “You know, you never did tell me what you won that Pulitzer for,” she said.
“You never asked,” he told her.
“I’m asking now. When did you get it and what for?”
“Just before I met you,” he replied. “It was for a story I did on some orphaned kids in El Salvador, who were forced to commit crimes in order to survive.”
“I never knew you’d written any stories like that,” she said. “Human stories, I mean. I thought you focused on political issues.”
“I do now, but when I first started out as a reporter, I was more interested in the people and culture of the countries I visited.” He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before adding, “Like you are.”
Lou started to say something in response then paused when she forgot what it was. Mason was looking at her as if considering something that had never occurred to him before, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to interrupt his thoughts. Instead, she turned and went to look for wood as he had asked. A little while later, she returned with a small armful.
“Will this be enough?” she asked as she handed it to him.
“Plenty. I’ll just build a fire big enough to keep us warm for a little while.” He stooped to arrange the wood into a circle of rocks he had made in her absence. “I think there’s a blanket in the back of the Jeep. It’s not that heavy, but it might help.”
Lou went to retrieve the blanket, returning with her messenger bag and a bottle of water, too. Mason was in the same position as before, trying to nurture a tiny flicker of light into a substantial flame. She watched as the light began to grow brighter, warming his features and enhancing every elegant line in his face. He really was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. And he was so much different from the men she’d known growing up in Hack’s Crossing. And the guys she’d known in college. He was a rarity these days, a member of a vanishing breed—the decent guy. No matter how often he tried swagger around and flex his muscles, whether literally or figuratively, she knew deep down he was as sweetheart.
“I have a candy bar if you want to split it for dinner,” she said as she took her seat on the grass near the steadily growing fire.
Mason grinned. “I have something even better.” He reached just beyond the perimeter of the firelight and came back with a small bunch of bananas.
Lou grinned back. “Where did you find those?”
“There’s a tree full of them less than ten yards away. And as we both know, nothing goes better with chocolate than bananas.”
“Except for peanut butter.”
“Well, that goes without saying.”
By the time they finished their dinner, the darkness had become a blackness so thick, they couldn’t see more than a few feet past the fire that was now flickering halfheartedly. The air turned cooler, and the thin summer blanket Lou wrapped around herself offered little warmth. She scooted as close to Mason as she dared in the hopes of drawing additional heat from him. When he draped an arm across her shoulders to pull her closer, her desire to be near him outweighed her fear of her reaction, and she snuggled into him. His body was warm and hard, and she sighed in contentment at both his warmth and protection.
“So, how are you enjoying your first overseas assignment?” he asked.
She could hear the smile in his voice, but didn’t take offense. Things hadn’t exactly turned out the way she had planned, but all in all, she was doing what she wanted—pursuing a news story and getting closer to the man she loved.
“Actually, I’m enjoying it a lot,” she told him.
Mason looked down at her doubtfully, but she returned his gaze with assurance.
“I am,” she insisted. “This is like nothing I’ve ever done before in my life. It’s…exhilarating.”
“Exhilarating,” he repeated dryly. “Do you mean to tell me you never camped out in the mountains of West Virginia when you were a kid?”
“Oh, sure,” she said. “It wasn’t always horrible when I was a kid. I had lots of cousins up in Hack’s Crossing, and one of us was always having a sleepover or something. But that’s just it. I was always with my family, always in familiar surroundings doing the usual stuff. This is so exciting. I mean, this is my job now, Mason. You’ve probably been in situations like this a million times. But to me…”
Her voice trail off, and she wasn’t sure whether or not to continue.
“But what?” he asked.
She shrugged as she looked up at him, loving the way the firelight softened the ruggedness of his features and made his blond hair glisten with flecks of gold and copper. “I just never thought anything like this would happen to me, that’s all. I’m still not used to having a future ahead of me that doesn’t end at marrying too young and having too many kids.”
“You don’t want to get married?” he asked. “Or have kids?”
She didn’t want to tell him how much she did want those things. Eventually. Just not yet. Not the children anyway. So she only shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Maybe. Someday. But there are a lot of other things I want…need…to do first.”
Mason understood. When he was Lou’s age, he’d said the same thing. But that was eleven years ago. He was thirty-six now. Most of his friends had been married for more than a decade. Some of them even had kids in high school. Would there come a day for him that found him seated in the front row of a school auditorium as he watched his son or daughter pick up a diploma? It was something he’d never really thought about, but now that he did, the idea brought some unsettling feelings.
Just the thought of becoming an uncle in the near future made his heart hum a little more happily. When his sister Emily and her husband Mick first announced they were expecting a baby, Mason’s initial reaction had been one of disbelief. His kid sister was going to be a mother? It was too weird to think about. But the more he’d thought about it, the more sense it made. If anyone would be a wonderful mother, it was Emily. And Mick, despite his hulking size and hard-as-nails appearance, would be the softest touch in the world where his child was concerned.
Mason smiled. What would it be like to hold a tiny little baby in your arms and know it was part of you? His gaze wandered to the woman who felt so perfect, snuggled up against him. Lou would make a terrific mother, too, someday. He only hoped the man she married would appreciate her for everything else she had to offer, too.
When he thought of Lou marrying someone else, he frowned. Then he realized how he had phrased his thought, and his frown deepened. Lou married to someone else? Someone besides himself? Why would he think of it like that? Why would he ever entertain the notion that Lou would be married to him? Hell, he didn’t want to get married to anyone. At least, he didn’t think he did. But if that was the case, then what was with all his soul-searching tonight? If he was so opposed to getting married and having kids, then why was that what was on his mind?
He lifted his free hand to his forehead and rubbed vigorously at a headache that had sprung up out of nowhere. Lou noticed the action and stirred.
“What’s wro
ng?” she asked.
“What?” he replied.
“Are you all right? You don’t look like you feel too well.”
Mason dropped his hand back to his lap and stared at Lou for a long time. He looked puzzled, almost angry, for some reason. She had no idea why.
“What is it?” she insisted.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just some crazy thoughts, that’s all.”
“What kind of crazy thoughts?”
“Forget it.”
His tone indicated the matter was closed, and anything Lou wanted to say next she kept to herself. The dark night enveloped them, punctuated by the chirping of crickets, the chattering of birds, and a few sounds she was hard-pressed to identify. An involuntary shiver passed through her, and she pulled the blanket more tightly around her shoulders.
“Are you cold?” Mason asked, curling his arm more securely around her.
Actually, being this close to Mason, Lou’s body was virtually on fire. But there was no way she was going to tell him that. “A little,” she said.
“Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” he said. “You could put back one of the seats in the Jeep and stretch out.”
She shook her head. “I want to stay here with you.”
“I won’t be far, I promise.”
Again, Lou shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m wide awake.” As if to betray her, however, her mouth opened in an impressive yawn.
Mason chuckled. “Then just stretch out here and put your head in my lap. I’ll wake you up if any rebels or monsters come along.”
Lou made a face at him, but the invitation was too good to turn down. She was exhausted. She’d gotten little sleep last night, thanks to her feverish thoughts about kissing Mason, and the day had been a taxing one, both physically and mentally. Her notebook was bulging with information about peasant life on Sonora that she couldn’t wait to start organizing and analyzing. As she succumbed to the lethargy that threatened to overwhelm her, she stretched out on her side and placed her head on a hand she flattened against Mason’s thigh. His flesh was warm and hard beneath the soft khaki fabric, and she imagined she could feel his pulse humming below her ear.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 8