“Of course.”
Link tilted his head toward their gear, his posture an invitation. How loudly did she snore? It must be thunderous to generate so much hostility. Jacqueline felt her burning cheeks heat as she unbuckled the gear bag. Tempest emerged from the tent, glared in her direction then gave Link a sunny smile.
When she’d fled from her unseen stalker, she hadn’t appreciated how peaceful quiet could be. Tempest sashayed over to Link as if she didn’t have a care in the world. The girl hunkered down next to Link and proceeded to speak softly and giggle.
It was going to be a long two weeks and probably not particularly quiet or peaceful. Jacqueline sighed and began inflating the first canoe.
“Carmen and I are going for a walk,” Phillip announced, his can of pepper spray clutched in his right fist. Jacqueline’s lips twitched so hard, she turned back to finish inflating the canoe before anyone noticed. “Anyone want to come along?”
Tempest started shaking her head but when Link stood up and brushed his palms on his jeans, she scrambled up, saying, “Me! I want to go.” She jogged to Phillip and Carmen.
Link ducked into his tent almost immediately reappearing with his rifle. While he sauntered toward the others Tempest shifted from foot to foot in anticipation, then he handed his rifle to Carmen. Tempest’s look turned confused when Carmen shouldered the weapon as if she’d carried one before. “Be careful,” Link said. Carmen nodded and took a step toward the game trail. Link picked up his fishing pole, then moved in the opposite direction. Tempest took a step after him. He grabbed her by the shoulder and gave her a soft shove toward the others.
“No, I want to stay with you,” Tempest yelped.
Link shook his head. “Not this time.” He gently pushed Tempest toward his sister and Phillip. When she became agitated, Link leaned over and whispered, “They need your good eyes to keep them out of trouble.” He made a shooing motion. “Go.” Mouth flat, Tempest sulked after the others. Before she got caught watching, Jacqueline turned back to her project. A shadow blocked the thin light. “I want to explain about Tempest,” Link said.
“Don’t bother, she explained everything last night.”
“I see.” Link hunkered down and sat back on his heels. “What was her version?”
His presence made Jacqueline’s hands shaky. “Don’t you have something to do?” She looked meaningfully at his fishing rod.
“I heard about the threats Tempest made to you, and— ” He looked at the kid’s rigid shoulders. “You see how she acts.” He tried to get her to look at him, but she evaded his gaze. “Mind listening to my side?”
“What do you want to tell me?” she asked, focusing on the canoe as if it required total concentration.
Link stood up, paced to the riverbank, thrust his hands into his back pockets, then stared at a distant snowcapped peak with as much attention as she’d given the canoe. “Ariel thinks Tempest has a crush on me.”
He thought this was news? Jacqueline wiped her sweaty palms on her denim-clad thighs. “What do you think?”
“At first I wanted to laugh because the idea was so ridiculous, but then...” Link shook his head. He cleared his throat. “I’ve always thought of Tempest as a niece.” Link turned and looked her in the eye. “I love the kid, but not like that.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“I need your help,” he said. Jacqueline blinked in surprise. “Distract her,” Link said. “I need time to figure out a way to set her straight.”
Jacqueline stifled a laugh at the preposterous idea of the kid accepting her help. “In case you haven’t noticed, she hates me. There’s no way I can help with her. Ask Carmen.”
“I already did.” He gave the hikers a significant look. “Your interests are similar to Tempest’s, you could— ”
“Link, stop avoiding the issue. Be blunt. Tell the kid how you feel. Then tell her again and again and again. However many times it takes until she hears what you’re saying.” He took a step backward, as if she’d slapped him. She straightened and followed him. “Don’t just tell her with words; if … no, when, she does something that irritates you, tell her right then and there. Do not put up with her attitude in either word or action.”
“I don’t know if I-“
“Do not tell me you can’t.” She glared at him. “You can do it. You did it with me when I wanted to be left in Valdez.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” She took a deep breath and admitted, “You were right. Ignoring things only makes them worse.”
His expression looked worried.
Jacqueline took a deep breath and softened her tone. “When I was young I hated it when people tried beating around the bush or hiding their feelings.”
“I wouldn’t want to hurt her.”
“Then quit letting her believe a lie.” She massaged her temple. “You’re the adult. The one in control. So, quit letting her manipulate you. By doing so, you’re hurting both her and yourself.” He shook his head, she signaled him to be quiet and hear her out. “You’re repressing your true feelings. That’s never good.” Seeing his expression, Jacqueline sighed. “Sorry. I’ll put that soapbox away.”
“Don’t apologize for saying something I needed to hear.” He studied her. “What else do you think?”
He appeared serious. “I like Tempest,” Jacqueline lied. At least she could tolerate the kid for two weeks, maybe even without tipping her into the frigid water. “Obviously, you do, too.” He gave a curt nod, making her wonder how badly the kid was getting on his nerves. She took a deep breath of the crystal clear air, then asked, “Which is easier: facing the truth after a month of delusion, or after years?”
He scowled as if he didn’t like that idea. “You’re right,” he said, though his tone did not sound convinced.
“When I was young, I was obsessed with an actor.” Heat crept up her neck.
Link grinned. “Who?”
“No one I’ll admit to.” Jacqueline fanned away her embarrassment. “Anyway, my mother discovered I was writing this guy.” Link looked amused but mystified by her confession. “I wrote him a passionate letter every day.” It felt very hot under her collar.
“And?” Link’s eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Mom read a letter I hadn’t had a chance to post.” Jacqueline cleared her throat. “Specifically, Mom read it out loud, using a breathless tone.” Her entire face burned at the memory of her mother’s rendition and how asinine her overblown prose had sounded. It had been the most humiliating five minutes of her teenage life. Jacqueline shook her head at the memory, then with a laugh, transformed her embarrassment into shared amusement. “My sentiments sounded incredibly absurd.” She fanned her face. What an innocent she’d been. “Mom then pointed out the difference between an actor and the part.” Heat crept farther up her cheeks. “You see, I’d been posting love letters to a fictional character. The man who played the part had a reputation for being an obnoxious drunk and bully.”
“I guess we all had experiences like that.”
“You wrote love letters to a fictional character, too?”
He laughed as he made a ‘sorta’ motion with his hand.
A bush plane passed low overhead; Link glanced up and waved. “Looks like we won’t have the river to ourselves.”
Jacqueline shrugged off the irrelevant comment. “My point was that my mother loved me enough to tell me the truth and I’m certain it was better to learn the truth as soon as possible rather than continuing to act like a fool.”
“Do you have any ideas about how I can change her attitude? Your mother’s solution was great, but I don’t think it’ll work for me since I am who I am, not some Hollywood hunk of fiction.”
“How do you want Tempest to think of you?”
“As an uncle.”
An uncle … from what she’d heard, a vast majority of pedophiles preferred that title. She eased back to study him. “What does she do that violates your interpretation
of how an uncle should be treated?”
Link uneasily glanced down the path the other three had taken. No one was in sight. He grimaced. “She likes to hug me and kiss my cheek.” He hastened to add, “But she does that to all of us, so I guess it’s just her way.” He shrugged. “She’s always done it.” His brow furrowed. “It didn’t bother me when she was younger, but now...” He shook his head. “And then there’s the touching.” Link couldn’t meet her eyes.
Her blood chilled. “Touching?” Sensing the next few comments could lead her to the heart of the truth, Jacqueline used her softest, calmest tone. “Pinching? Punching? Fondling? Tickling? Petting?”
“All on occasion. Did you watch her just now? How she grabbed my sleeve and tugged on it to get attention. The way she always seems to have her hands on me is getting to be a pet peeve.” He scowled. “Plus, she likes to sit on my lap. She does it to everyone, but mostly to me.”
“So what you’re saying is that Tempest is a touchy-feely person and since you aren’t, it irritates you.”
He frowned. “I never noticed until Ariel pointed it out. Since she did...” A look of revulsion crossed his face.
Okay, so perhaps he wasn’t a pedophile, or he was one, who was trying to mask his true nature by claiming the kid was the problem. “You’ve known Tempest since she was small, and while you still see her as a kid, she no longer sees herself that way. Does that about cover what you’re trying to explain?” Link looked at her as if she held the answers to the mysteries of the universe and nodded.
“Pretty much.”
“Tell her,” Jacqueline said.
“What should I say?”
“Whatever you feel in your heart.”
Link closed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t think I can.”
Or he didn’t really want to. “You’ll have to sooner or later.” At least he would if the kid was actually the only one pursuing the touching. “Sooner is best.”
“Like honest is always best?” She nodded. He grimaced. “But how do I talk with her about this without hurting her feelings?”
“First off, you’re probably going to hurt her feelings one way or the other, so accept that as a given. Secondly, why are you willing to hurt your own feelings? Are they less valuable than hers?” Or was his excuse with the expectation that she wouldn’t see him for what he might be? “Wait until she does something that makes you uncomfortable, then speak up right then and there. Tell her she’s growing up, and the behavior is no longer appropriate.”
“Put that way, it sounds simple.” He studied her. “If someone you’d had an infatuation with had said that to you, would it have worked?”
“I’m not sure,” Jacqueline admitted. “It would now, and I don’t think I’ve changed that much since I was her age.” The corners of his lips twitched in a way that made her clench her hands. “But I’m not Tempest. I’ve always appreciated honesty, no matter how blunt and direct it is, but I don’t know what will work with her.” Link’s warm brown eyes begged her for a more precise answer. Was he trying to make it look like she’d be the guilty one if something happened … assuming it hadn’t already? “You know her better than anyone else within a couple hundred miles. What do you think will work best?”
“Hitting her with a 2 by 4 would be efficient,” he joked.
“Well, if you prefer blood and guts to hurt feelings…” Jacqueline made a big production of looking around their campsite. “Sorry, we didn’t bring any lumber and it’s too far north for driftwood.” To her surprise, Link laughed and hugged her. After so many lonely months, it felt wonderful to have strong arms around her. Before she thought about it, Jacqueline hugged him back. His arms tightened for a fraction of an instant before he let her go.
As she stepped back, Jacqueline had the compulsion to pat her hair and smooth her clothing. She hadn’t worried about those things in years.
Obviously, Tempest wasn’t the only touchy-feely one in camp.
7
Tempest shrieked, “Uncle Link!” He felt his body tense as he looked over his shoulder. Agile as a cat, the kid leapt over a rock, then hurtled down the narrow, rugged path, which mountain goats probably considered a superhighway. Carmen and Phillip, who were several yards behind, waved. Link waved back.
He turned back to Jacqueline, but she was walking away, as if trying to put as much distance between them as possible. He wanted to follow her, but her advice still rang in his mind, ‘You’ll have to sooner or later. Sooner is best.’ With a sigh, Link positioned his feet to withstand the inevitable assault, but didn’t put out his arms to catch her.
Tempest checked her momentum a fraction of an instant before she leaped at him. Her thin arms clamped around his ribs like the jaws of a bear trap, binding his arms to his sides. Her embrace felt completely inappropriate. Wrong. Nothing like the quick, friendly hug he’d given Jacqueline.
Arms glued against his side, Link wondered how long it would take Tempest to understand his unspoken message to stop. Link looked down at Tempest’s wind-whipped hair, hoping for a miracle. ‘What does she do that violates your interpretation of how an uncle should be treated?’ The better question was ‘what doesn’t she do?’ Jaws clamped against a tirade of frustration, he raised his gaze to the horizon where Jacqueline was skipping pebbles across a calm expanse of water. ‘When I was young I hated it when people tried beating around the bush or hiding their feelings.’ Link swallowed, then wrenched his arms free, gripped Tempest’s narrow shoulders and thrust her away. Burrs came off easier. “We need to talk.” Something in her eyes reminded him of a wild animal sensing danger. Tempest shook her head and tried to regain her hold on him. “Stop it.”
“No.” She lunged for him, but he was stronger and managed to hold her at arm’s distance.
She looked over her shoulder. When she turned back to him, fury filled her expression. “She poisoned you against me. I hate her.”
“Who?”
“That bitch, that’s who.” Tempest’s face turned purple with rage, her hands fisted, as she whirled out of his grasp and leaped toward the gravel bar.
Link lunged, barely catching her before she did something totally stupid. “Jacqueline has nothing to do with what I want to talk about.”
“Yes, she does.” It was like trying to hold a wildcat. “Everything was fine until you brought her home.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Her. I warned her I’d kill her. And I will.”
“Whoa up there.” Link tried to figure out what Tempest was screaming about. “I like hugs. But you are growing up and your hugs make me feel uncomfortable.” Tempest clawed at his hand, as if it scorched her shoulder. “I’ll let you go when you promise me you’ll leave Jacqueline alone.”
Tempest’s ears turned crimson. “You have to leave her alone, too!” She swiped at her eyes. “Don’t think I didn’t see you!”
“You need to listen to what I tell you.” Her body stiffened. “We need to talk about our relationship.” She looked from him to Jacqueline. “Tempest, I love you. You know that.”
“Yes.” Her wooden tone implied an unspoken ‘but’.
Carmen and Phillip’s footfalls were nearing. “This is between you and me. No one else.” He released one shoulder and held out his hand. “Let’s take a walk.” Tempest smacked his hand away, then turned to face him; her expression bespoke an internal battle. He held out his hand, again. Finally, she gave a jerky nod, but her clenched fists remained at her sides. Sensing that he no longer needed to hold her, Link relaxed his aching fingers.
Tempest took a step away from him. Her jaw jutted up. Link sighed. “If you want me to say what I need to tell you in public, so be it.”
Tempest’s eyes widened and she gulped. “No!” Tempest fled back up the path that, moments before, she’d trotted down with such gleeful abandon.
He sprinted after her.
When she dodged around Phillip, Carmen stepped off the path. Tempest stumbled as she dashed past.
Link’s longer legs closed the gap, and he nearly had her in reach when Carmen caught his arm. He tried to wrench free, but she yanked him off balance. “She isn’t going anyplace,” Carmen said. Again, he tried to pull free, but her grip held, her nails biting through his thick denim shirt. “Take a minute to think. What will you say when you catch her? Figure it out now. Then, in a minute, when you catch her, don’t sugarcoat it.”
“It’s not your business.”
“The circumstances make it— ”
“You asked to come.”
“Because I want your help.”
“With what?”
Carmen gave Phillip’s back a significant look, then leaned close to him. “Making a decision. Facing truths.” In a soft whisper, she added, “My problem can wait for a while.” She tilted her head toward the hilltop. “Hers can’t.” Carmen smiled. The pressure on his arm decreased. “Her problem is puppy love, but you’ll never convince her it’s not the real thing. She probably won’t understand for years.” She sighed. “Maybe … whatever.” Carmen made a helpless gesture. “I mean, how do you tell which sort of love is which?”
“Beats me. Maybe you should talk to Jacqueline. For a kid, she’s damned bright about relationships. One warning though, she asks questions you’re afraid to think about.” He sighed. “They’re also the ones that you need to know the answers to.”
Carmen gave him a lopsided smile. “Sounds like a chat with her is just what I need.” She handed him the rifle. “Go to Tempest and tell her what you must.”
How he could have forgotten something so basic when he was in bear country? “Thanks.” Link slung the carbine over his shoulder and jogged after Tempest.
He caught sight of her quivering emerald shirt a short distance up the trail. It looked like she’d dumped her clothing on top of a boulder. When he squinted, he realized she was bent double. Worse, her shoulders were heaving as if she were crying her eyes out. “Shit.” Emotions weren’t like mechanical problems that could be fixed by repairing or replacing a part. Link kicked a clump of lichen and wished people were more like emotionless machines.
Passion's Fire Page 4