But what had really gotten her was his insatiable curiosity, a curiosity that matched her own. Once she’d made it clear that she wasn’t going to discuss his research project, he’d immediately turned his attention to the microbes. Which was what had prompted her to suggest the trip. Then she’d watched him around town, poking his head in everywhere he could and asking so many questions that everyone began calling him professor when they saw him.
Heather knew that she was on shaky ground ever since a few days ago when Brian had leaned over her shoulder to point something out on her computer screen and her heart had done a little flip flop. It had happened several more times since then and it scared her. She had no business developing a crush on Brian but that was exactly what was happening. Now she’d have to spend several days and nights out on the trail with him, just the two of them, and she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to handle it.
The truth was that it had been better when she hadn't liked him, those emotions were so much easier to deal with. These feeling were foreign to her, something she’d never experienced before and wasn’t sure she wanted to experience now. If it had been anyone else besides Dr. Brian Taylor she could have gone with the feelings, let herself have a crush, maybe even a little romance.
Shocked at where her thoughts had gone, she turned from watching the men unload the truck and went back inside. She had work to do if she was going to take off time to take Brian to the site, tests to finish and a load of paperwork to get done. Hopefully it would get her mind off of the man who had suddenly began to occupy more of her mind and her heart than she was comfortable with.
Chapter 5
Brian lifted the last bag into the trailer that was attached to one of the four-wheelers they’d be using on the trip, realizing that he felt better than he had in a long time. He was certainly in better shape than he’d been in before he caught Malaria, the exercise and fresh food had done what they were supposed to do and the new friends he’d made had opened his eyes to how focused he’d been in the Amazon. He now understood that he needed to make more time in his life for fun and companionship, that working the way he had been wasn’t healthy.
Looking over at Heather, who was giving Matt some last-minute instructions, he also realized that she was part of the reason as well. It was hard to believe that in his fevered state he’d thought that she was Barbra, Heather was nothing like her. He wasn’t sure when his attraction to her had begun, but somewhere along the line it had happened and now he felt powerless to stop it, wasn’t even sure he wanted to.
When she turned from Matt, she was smiling, her face lit up with excitement. “Are you ready? I haven’t been up to the site yet this year, I’m excited to see how it’s changed.”
“You bet,” Brian said, thinking that Heather really was beautiful, especially when she left her hair down. It fell in waves over her shoulders, so smooth and silky, he wanted to run his fingers through it.
“Do you know how to drive one of these things?” Heather asked, pointing to the four-wheeler.
“I think I can manage,” Brian said. “But I’ll let you take the one with the trailer, at least for now.”
“Sounds like a good plan, there are some marshy areas that can be a bit tricky until you get the hang of it. And don’t be surprised if we get stuck, it happens a lot,” Heather said, getting on her four-wheeler and starting it up.
As they drove away from Homestead Brian realized that it had been a long time since he’d been outdoors anywhere except the Amazon. He’d almost forgotten what the forests in Alaska were like, slow growing but majestic, they were very different from the tropic forests he was used to but just as green. It was refreshing to breathe the crisp clean air, the slight scent of salt reminding him that they weren’t far from the ocean.
Everywhere he looked there was plant life, so many varieties that he had to work hard to remember them all. Several times he made Heather stop so he could take a closer look at something that caught his eye, and before long he’d begun teaching her the names of the plants they saw. But he wasn’t the only one who had knowledge of the forest around them. Heather might not know the scientific names of the plants, but she knew which ones had healing properties or could be eaten. It became a bit of a game between them, he’d identify a plant by its scientific name then she’d tell him why it was useful or dangerous.
It was late afternoon when they reached a beautiful little clearing. “I think this might be a good place to stop for the night,” Heather said, getting off her four-wheeler and walking over to where there was already a fire ring built.
Brian looked around, took a deep breath of the pine scented air and said, “Looks good to me. I’ll start unloading.”
Heather looked at him skeptically, he could tell she was still afraid that he wasn’t completely recovered. “Just don’t push yourself too hard.” She said, rushing over to help him.
Brian was getting tired of being treated like he was an invalid. “Heather, I’m fine. Honestly, I feel better now that I have in a long time. I guess I owe you thanks for that, you’ve taken really good care of me, even if I didn’t make it all that easy sometimes.”
“Oh, umm… you're welcome,” Heather finally managed to stutter, clearly unprepared for either his words or the genuine gratitude.
They worked in silence after that, quickly setting up camp and starting a fire. They’d brought a prepared dinner with them, chili and cornbread which once heated over the fire tasted better than any gourmet meal Brian had ever eaten. As the sun began to set, he added some more wood to the fire and they watched the stars come out, the moon was only a sliver in the sky, making them shine all that much brighter.
Brian was comfortable with the silence between them, but he was also curious about Heather, she seemed so different than the other women he’d met, both socially and professionally. “Did you always want to be a doctor?” he asked, refilling her cup of coffee.
“No, when I was small, I wanted to be an astronaut or a ballerina and for a while I wanted to make fireworks,” Heather said, laughing. “But when I was in middle school I discovered biology and became fascinated with anything to do with the human body. Back then it was mostly a dream, few if any kids from our neighborhood ever managed to get that kind of education but my parents saw my intelligence and recognized the possibilities I might have if I could just get out of the neighborhood.”
Brian nodded as if he understood, but he really didn’t and Heather could see that by the puzzled look on his face. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think you understand what it’s like growing up where I did. The schools were so underfunded the best they could hope for was to send us off with enough education to get a minimum wage job, sometimes as many as half of the students had dropped out by senior year. The teachers did the best they could under very difficult circumstances but they just had no time for students like me, they had their hands full just trying to get everyone to graduation.”
“I’ve heard that things are bad in the city, but I had no idea how bad,” Brian said, beginning to understand.
“If you want my opinion, there’s a whole generation of kids whose lives could have been so much different if they’d had the kind of education they deserved. I was lucky, my parents weren’t willing to let me become a statistic so they both took second jobs to pay for tutors who filled in the gaps the school couldn’t,” Heather continued to explain. “I graduated two years early and got a full ride scholarship to Harvard, based mostly on the face that I was not only female, but African American. I fell in love with oncology during my residency and always thought that I would work as a researcher, but then the job in Homestead came up and I couldn’t pass it up.”
*****
Brian was silent for so long the cracking of the fire the only sound in the quiet night, that she began to think that she’d said too much. “My mother wanted me to be a doctor, felt that at least one of us three boys should go into medicine,” He finally said, his voice quiet.
“No, and she’s never quite forgiven me for not doing what she wanted me to,” Brian said, then added. “You see, Theo was going to run the company some day and Daniel, well he was her favorite so that left me. She wanted to be able to talk about her son the doctor, she didn’t really care what kind of doctor I became as long as she could brag about me.”
“But you did become a doctor,” Heather pointed out, not sure she understood.
“Ah, but not the kind of doctor she wanted me to be, she wanted to be able to refer her friends to me when they were sick or even better when they needed a little work done,” Brian said, shaking his head. “I’m not even sure she understands what I do, and she doesn’t want to understand. Once she asked me to go to one of her friend’s houses and diagnose a sick house plant, I was insulted and she didn’t understand why.”
He looked so sad Heather couldn’t help but reach out and take his hand in hers. “I’m sorry Brian, that must be hard. You’re a brilliant man who is going to accomplish great things and a mother, of all people, should see that in her own son.”
“I’ve learned to live with it, but I don’t see her very often, it’s just easier that way. I don’t understand her and she doesn’t understand me, the less we see each other the better.”Brian tried to sound convincing but couldn’t quite pull it off.
“Well, she doesn’t know what she’d missing, and I hope she figures it out before it’s too late,” Heather said squeezing his hand, smiling when he squeezed back.
They spent the rest of the evening watching the fire and talking about what they might find at the experimental site. Brian never let go of her hand and Heather decided that it felt nice but reminded herself that this was nothing more than friendship. A man like Brian could have any woman he wanted and he wouldn’t want her. Still, it was nice to sit and talk with him, and it didn’t escape her that when she was with Brian she wasn’t the least bit nervous like she was with other men.
She’d had way too many unpleasant experiences with men, blind dates that had ended in disaster, men who just couldn’t handle her intelligence or the fact that she was far more successful than they were. Since she’d moved to Homestead, she’d been perfectly happy to be single. There was more than enough to keep her busy, and if occasionally she got a little lonely at night, it usually passed. But since she’d met Brian, she’d begun to wonder if she was missing out on something wonderful, if maybe it was time to open her heart.
When they arrived at the site, Heather wasn’t surprised by Brian’s reaction to what he saw. “It was worse when I saw it the first time,” She said when they’d stopped their four-wheelers to look across the barren stretch of ground in front of them.
Brian looked at what was in front of him, the mine tailings and falling down buildings reminded him of a disaster sight. “What happened here? It reminds me of what it looks like right after they’ve clear-cut the jungle,” he said, shocked that something like this had happened in Alaska. “Aren’t there laws to stop this kind of thing?”
“Yes, but they have to be enforced to work, this is the result of years of corruption,” Heather said, the anger in her voice clear. “But Seth is doing everything he can to change that,” she added.
“I had no idea that he was dealing with this. I mean, he told me a little bit about it the last time we saw each other, but this is…” He trailed off, not sure how to explain how he was feeling.
“Infuriating, that’s the word I like to use,” Heather said. “Let’s head for the main camp, I’m excited to see what’s changed.”
At first all Brian could see was bare dirt, mine tailings, and a stream that was a strange color. But as they continued on the road that led through the area, he began to notice that there were little specs of green here and there. The farther they got from the mine, the better the land began to look and at one point Heather stopped her four-wheeler and pointed to a little tree growing all by itself in the middle of a completely barren piece of land. It was only about a foot tall but it looked much bigger out there all alone and Brian wanted to go to it, make sure it was getting what it needed.
It didn’t take them much longer to arrive at the base camp, a collection of tents and yurts that buzzed with activity. There were people everywhere he looked and his heart sank, his time alone with Heather had come to an end and he found that he was a bit sad. Almost instantly they were surrounded by people. Most seemed to know Heather and there was a lot of hugging and excited conversation. She introduced him simply as Theo and Daniel’s brother, and for that he was grateful, for just a little while it was nice to just be a regular person.
They set up their tents with the rest on a hill that overlooked the site, then joined everyone for dinner. Brian made sure to sit next to Heather at dinner, but soon she was engaged in conversation with a microbiologist she’d been working with and he found himself lost in the discussion. Normally it would have driven him crazy to be left behind in a scientific discussion, but the food was wonderful and the night warm and breezy so he forced himself to relax.
But it wasn’t long before an older man sat down in the empty seat beside him and introduced himself. “I’m Dr. Blankenship, Harry if you like,” he said, sticking out his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you Harry,” Brian said shaking his hand, then asked, “What’s your role here Harry?”
“I’m one of the botanists and I hate to sound like a groupie, but I’ve been following your work for years,” Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Brian smiled, the man had to be twice his age, certainly had many more years of experience. “That’s very flattering, but I’d like to hear about what you do here,” Brian said, deftly turning the conversation from himself, a skill he’d developed over the years to avoid talking about his work.
For the rest of the meal, Harry talked about his work with the native grasses and the genetically engineered species they’d been using at the sight, opening Brian’s eyes to an entirely new aspect of his chosen field. By the time they’d finished eating and headed off to bed, Harry had invited Brian to join him the next day for a first hand look at what they’d accomplished in the last four years. He’d hoped to spend the day with Heather, but it was clear that she had work that needed to be done. She’d sat making a list all through dinner, shooting him apologetic looks the whole time.
“Sounds like you have a busy day tomorrow,” Brian said as they walked to their tents.
“I’m afraid so, I wasn’t expecting to be this busy but you’re welcome to tag along,” Heather said, sounding genuinely disappointed that she’d be working tomorrow instead of showing Brian around like she’d planned.
“Don’t worry, Harry invited me to spend the day with him,” Brian said, then when she made a face, he laughed. “I guess grass doesn’t seem that exciting to you, but if they’ve really done what he says they have, this could be a huge breakthrough.”
“Well, as long as you aren’t bored, I guess it could be fun looking at grass all day. Just know that Harry counts every blade,” she said, nudging him with her shoulder.
As innocent as the contact was, Brian felt a shiver of desire spread through him and before he could stop himself, he’d pulled Heather into his arms and kissed her. When the kiss was over Heather put her fingers up to her lips then looked up at him with surprise. She sucked in a little breath, then looked away unable to hold his gaze.
“I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I’m glad I did,” He said, then began to walk toward his tent leaving her standing there. But he only got a few feet away before he turned back/ Covering the space between them in only a few steps he kissed her again then said softly, “Good night Heather, I’ll see you in the morning.”
*****
Heather tossed and turned most of the night, not sure what to think about the kiss which had made everything much to real. When it had just been a silly fantasy
she’d been able to enjoy it, but suddenly it had become much too real and she wasn’t ready for that, hadn’t seen it coming. Now she didn’t know what to think, had never expected her little fantasy to come true. But then she thought about what kind of man Brian was, what his goals in life were and knew that it would never work. He’d made it more than clear that he was heading back to the Amazon when this trip was over and she’d have to let him go, he was more than recovered.
That meant that she couldn’t afford to get involved with him, it would only end with her getting hurt, Brian just wasn’t the kind of man who would stick around. He’d always be out there in the world somewhere discovering new and amazing things and the last thing she wanted was to be the reason he had to come home. Or worse yet, a nice memory of the time he’d spent in Homestead. The only answer, it seemed, was to talk to him and explain that she just wasn’t prepared for a quick fling or whatever he had in mind. No matter how much she’d thought about the whatever, she’d have to put a stop to this and soon.
*****
Brian crawled into his sleeping bag a ridiculous smile on his face, piled his hands under his head and stared up at the ceiling of his tent. He’d been smiling since he walked away from Heather, so pleased with himself and her that he just couldn’t stop. She’d been shocked by the kiss but hadn’t pushed him away, Had in fact kissed him back the second time. That was part of the reason he was smiling, the other reason was the instant passion he’d felt between them, a passion like nothing he’d ever felt before. Somehow he’d managed to fall for her and he wasn’t sure that he minded at all, she was an amazing woman who would offer him the challenge he needed.
He wasn’t scared of her intelligence, or of her drive, that was part of why he was attracted to her. Of course that wasn’t the only reason, when she’d been in his arms he’d felt her luscious curves, curves she kept hidden under a lab coat most of the time. He’d known that they were there, had gotten glimpses of what lay beneath the layers of clothing but tonight he’d felt just what was under all those layers and couldn’t forget.
Unbreak My Heart_BWWM Romance Page 5