Hallie's Destiny (The Donovans of the Delta)

by Peggy Webb

  “I was young and in love. At first I wanted to spend all my time with Robert. I gave up modeling."

  She stopped. She’d given up a lot of things—her school, her friends, eventually her freedom—and not because she’d wanted to. One by one Robert had cut those things out of her life, substituting the best clothes, the best clubs, the best house, the best car—everything that money could buy. And she’d been too young and naive to stop him. She was older now, wiser, and no man would ever take her freedom away again.

  She watched Josh pick up a stick and add it to the fire. When he settled back down, he was sitting so close to Hallie, their legs touched. He seemed so nonchalant, so innocent, that she was sure the move wasn’t deliberate. The thought didn’t make her a darned bit more comfortable, however. Josh was every inch a man. Just a casual brushing of his leg against hers felt intimate. It probably didn’t mean a thing to him, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She eased away from the contact, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

  He did. One eyebrow quirked upward. “Do I bother you?”

  “Absolutely not. I thought I’d add another stick to the fire.”

  “By all means.”

  She swept her hand over the ground, but there was not even a twig nearby. To save face she got up, found a small branch, and added it to the fire. Then, just so Josh Butler would be absolutely positive that Hallie Donovan wasn’t at all bothered by his charms, she sat down so close to him that one more inch would have put her directly in his lap. She felt the heat of him all the way from her hip to her ankle. She suddenly realized her ploy might backfire, but it was too late now.

  She heard his soft chuckle. “I find these camping trips to be pleasant outings. Very relaxing. Don’t you, Hallie?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Then why is your hand balled into a fist?” He reached for her hand and gently pried her fingers apart.

  “I like to keep in practice . . . just in case I have to use it.”

  He laughed. “I can assure you my intentions are strictly honorable.”

  She wasn’t used to being embarrassed around man. To cover her confusion, she dropped her gaze. Then she wished she hadn’t. If his jeans hugged his hips any tighter, he’d have to register his body as a lethal weapon. Quickly she looked up again. She could have died on the spot. He was watching her, and from the smile on his face, she knew that he’d seen exactly where she’d been looking.

  If he said anything, she vowed she would use her fist. Fortunately, he didn’t.

  “You said ‘at first’ you were content to be with your husband. What about later?” he asked.

  He made the transition to ordinary conversation so smoothly, she almost could have sworn nothing had happened between them.

  “No subject is more boring that the tale of a failed marriage. Tell me about yourself. Where is your home?”

  “North Alabama.” He quickly switched the topic back to her. “You never did get around to telling me what you do now.”

  “My face is too old for modeling anymore.”

  “Too old?”

  “I’m twenty-nine. Nobody’s clamoring for me. I stay solvent by doing a little leg and hand modeling. And I pick up cash doing a few other crazy things. Mostly though, I live free, unencumbered by nine-to-five jobs and material possessions. That way I can go where whim takes me.”

  “A Peter Pan existence. I almost envy you.”

  She turned to look into his face. “You? What can offer more freedom than trucking, traveling the open roads?”

  “Truckers have schedules to keep.”

  Hallie accepted his answer without comment. For a while they were silent.

  Beside them the lake made soft lapping sounds against the shore. An owl called from somewhere in the trees, and a shooting star fell across the sky.

  “Look,” Josh said, pointing skyward. “Did you see that, Hallie?”

  She tilted her head up. “Yes.”

  “Make a wish.”

  Josh saw her close her eyes, saw her long lashes flutter. She was beautiful, he thought. And much too tempting for any man to resist. His hand cupped her face.

  Her eyes snapped open, but she didn’t pull away.

  “I don’t know why they aren’t clamoring for that face,” he whispered. “It’s incredible.” His fingers caressed her skin. “So soft, so smooth.”

  “I’ve always loved having my face touched.” She closed her eyes, letting the pleasure fill her. She knew she was courting danger, but she decided to let the moment be, to take what it offered and try not to analyze the situation. She’d think about it tomorrow.

  Even with her eyes closed, she knew when Josh leaned closer. She felt his breath, warm against her cheek, and smelled his skin, clean and spicy

  “Hallie, did any man ever tell you that you look good enough to eat?”

  “No.”

  “Then they’ve all been fools. Good enough to eat. . .” His tongue flicked out and circled her lips. “. . . but I’ve already had supper.” Abruptly she felt herself being put aside, stuck back on the shelf as if she were a rejected doll. She had to brace herself with her hands to keep from toppling backward.

  Hallie’s eyes snapped open. Josh was getting up swiftly, towering over her. She wasn’t about to let him have the last word or the advantage. Jumping up, she stretched to her full five feet nine inches—ten counting the heels on her cowboy boots.

  “It’s a darned good thing. I certainly had no intention of being dessert.”

  “I’ve no doubt that you would be a delectable one, Hallie, but I’m not in the mood for sweets.”

  “If you do get in the mood, take my advice and go to a candy store.”

  Suddenly he reached out and caught her hands. Prying the fingers open, he lifted her palms to his lips. “I’m sorry, Hallie. I didn’t mean for the evening to end this way. It’s been too lovely to spoil. Forgive me?”

  “I always had trouble staying mad at men who look like golden lions.” She smiled. “But, in the future, I think it’s best if you stay on your side of the cove and I stay on mine.”

  “Agreed, Hallie. Take care.”

  “May the wind be at your back, Josh.”

  She watched until he was around the bend, then she kicked the tin pan she had used for a plate. It made a loud, satisfying twanging sound.

  Wolfgang and Ludwig came up to investigate. Hallie cuddled their big heads. “For Pete’s sake. I’m glad he’s gone. Good riddance, I say. What more does a girl need than her two best friends. Huh, fellows?”

  She began to prepare for bed.

  o0o

  Josh wasn’t around the bend before he started muttering to himself.

  “Where did all this nobility come from? I had her right there in my arms, ready and willing. She’s a grown woman. What harm would there have been? A brief fling is just what I need right now. But, no. I had to play Sir Galahad.”

  He stomped into his camp, jerked off his boots, and climbed into his bedroll. He figured if he tried to undress, he’d rip all the buttons off his shirt.

  He lay rigid, expecting sleep to claim him at any moment. He never had trouble sleeping when he was on the road. Insomnia occurred only when he was back home in Florence, coping with the business and taking care of his dad and his brother.

  He tossed and turned until the moon had begun to drop out of sight. “Damned good thing I left. Women are nothing but a pack of trouble.” With that final proclamation, he fell asleep.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Hallie woke up in time to watch the sunrise. She loved seeing the majestic way each day began, a sudden dawning of colors so glorious she knew God was in charge. A great sense of peace enfolded her as the sun spread its splendor across the sky.

  Afterward she fed her dogs and took her spinning reel to the lake. The morning was so still she could hear all the sounds of nature—the aria of a mockingbird greeting the day, the whirr of wings as a dragonfly passed close by, the soft sighing of water against the shoreline. B
ut there were no sounds from around the bend, no banging of pots and pans, no radio music, nothing to give her a clue about Josh Butler. For all she knew, he might have packed up in the middle of the night and gone somewhere else. Not that she cared. As a matter of fact, it would probably be for the best.

  She kicked off her shoes and waded out into the water. Standing thigh-deep in it, she craned her neck to see if she could get a partial view of Josh’s campsite, but the trees got in her way.

  “Well, shoot.” She couldn’t go any deeper into the water without getting her shorts wet, so she leaned out as far as she could. Her heavy hair pulled her hair ribbon loose, and the ends dangled in the water.

  Hallie straightened up, laughing at herself. If her brother Tanner had seen her trying to spy on Josh Butler, he’d have said, “Hallie, if you’re that curious, why don’t you go on around the bend and take a look?” If she were that curious, she probably would. She didn’t know why she wanted to see him anyhow. He was an aggravating man— charming, but aggravating.

  Hallie turned back to her fishing. Within minutes she had caught a nice-sized bass. She grilled the fish for breakfast, then whistled for her dogs. She climbed into her El Dorado and headed for the convenience store and her friend, Raymond.

  Raymond’s grin was so big, she could see the gold tooth at the back of his mouth. “Well, Miss Hallie, if you don’t look like a breath of fresh air. What brings you out our way? Camping again?”

  She hugged his neck and watched him turn red with embarrassed pleasure. “Yes. And fishing.”

  “Fish biting?”

  “They always bite for me, Raymond.”

  He slapped his knee and laughed. “They’re scared not to. Scared you’ll come plunging in that lake with a rope and lasso ‘em. You still rodeoing, Hallie?”

  “Every chance I get.”

  “I always thought that was a bit dangerous for a girl.”

  “I enjoy danger, Raymond.”

  “You just be careful, you hear. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to my favorite customer.” Raymond moved behind the counter and tried to put a businesslike expression on his face. “What can I do for you and the big fellows today?” He nodded toward the dogs.

  “It’s such a nice, windy day I thought I’d fly a kite. Do you have any?”

  “Has a cat got climbing gear? Have you ever known old Raymond not to have ‘most anything you want? The kites are right over here.” He led her to a small cardboard barrel that was bulging with paper kites. “Red, blue, yellow, green—I got ‘em all.”

  Hallie selected the gaudiest of the lot, a red and purple dragon with yellow streamers. With a jaunty wave, she climbed into her car and headed back to an open area near her camp.

  The wind was perfect. Her kite sailed through the air, trailing its streamers across the blue sky. She and the dogs followed it, Hallie laughing and the Danes barking, none of them paying attention or caring where the kite took them. Suddenly a capricious gust of wind lifted her kite, and, halfway up a cottonwood tree, it got stuck. She tried gently tugging, but the kite stubbornly remained in the tree.

  “There’s only one thing to do,” she told her dogs. Kicking off her shoes, she shinnied up the tree.

  o0o

  “You’re going to get yourself killed. How did you get so far up there?”

  The unmistakable roar of Josh Butler’s voice nearly caused her to lose her balance. Hallie parted the branches and looked down. He was standing under the tree, barefoot, hair tousled, clothes disheveled, beard shadow darkening his face.

  “You look like the devil. Where did you come from?”

  “My sleeping bag.”

  “It must be ten o’clock already.”

  “Some folks consider ten o’clock early. Some folks even consider it a wonderful time to sleep, unless there’s a convention of barking dogs and noisy women nearby.”

  “Sorry I woke you. Go on about your business. Don’t let me bother you.”

  The sight of Hallie up a tree was enough to bother the calmest male representative to the United Nations, he decided. Her long tanned legs were wrapped around a limb; her trim rear was emphasized by a pair of yellow shorts so tight, they looked like a second skin; and her hair had slipped from its yellow ribbon and was cascading down her back. She ought to have been labeled “dangerous and explosive.”

  He had a hard time concentrating on conversation.

  “And have your death on my conscience? No way. That branch you’re on isn’t big enough to hold a cat, let alone a woman. And besides, you’re never going to be able to reach the kite from there. Your arms aren’t long enough.”

  “I don’t need your advice. I’m doing all right by myself.” He watched as she wiggled farther out onto the branch. The move added about fifty degrees to the Texas heat.

  “Don’t you move another inch.”

  “Stop roaring. You’re going to scare the dogs.”

  “Hold on tight. I’m coming up to get you.”

  “I don’t need rescuing.” She watched as he grabbed the bottom branch and swung up. “Josh Butler, if you set foot in this tree, I’m going to shake you out like a ripe plum.” He kept on climbing. “You’re too big to be up a tree. You’ll fall and kill yourself.”

  “Then you’ll have the cove all to yourself.” He was halfway up the tree. He stopped for breath on a sizable branch and looked up to judge the distance between himself and Hallie. It was a mistake. The view of Hallie’s legs was devastating.

  Clenching his jaw, he quickly scaled the tree until he was close enough to reach her. He balanced on a large branch and braced himself against the trunk.

  “Hallie, I’m going to stand right here in case you slip. Now, I want you to back slowly off that limb and drop down onto this branch.”

  “You’re the most pigheaded man I’ve ever known. I’ve been climbing trees since I was six. I can get down from here with my eyes shut.”

  “Humor me, Hallie. It’s not that I enjoy rescue missions, it’s just that I’m too old to witness death and destruction without crying.”

  She grinned. “How old is too old, Josh Butler?”

  “Thirty-five. Now, will you please stop this cat-and-mouse game and come on down?”

  “You’re not going to leave the tree until I do?”

  “No.”

  “In that case, I guess I’ll have to.”

  She wiggled her way off the branch. He grabbed hold of her with one arm and swung them easily from the tree. When they were on the ground, he set her on her feet, stood back, and dramatically dusted his hands.

  “Don’t thank me, Miss Hallie. All in a day’s work.”

  “I had no intention of thanking you, Josh Butler. Who are you, anyway? You came down from that tree like Tarzan.”

  “I’m a man of many talents. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to show them all to you.”

  “Crawl back into your sleeping bag and rest easy. I wouldn’t want to see your talents if they were wrapped in gold and tied with a Christmas ribbon.”

  He reached out and cupped her chin. “You do think of the most delightful things. It’s a pity I’m a loner.”

  “If you don’t remove your hands from me in two seconds, I’m going to sic my dogs on you.”

  He kept his hand on her face. “Hallie, if I wanted you, nothing could keep me away. Certainly not two dogs.” Releasing her, he casually turned away. “Happy kite flying.”

  She wasn’t about to let him have the last word. “Happy fantasizing.”

  Josh Butler never even slowed his pace. The only response she got was hearty laughter. She couldn’t help but smile. After all, the situation was funny—both of them up a tree and her mistaking his rescue efforts for seduction.

  She sat down on the grass and put her arms around her dogs’ necks. “Josh Butler is quite a man.”

  Wolfgang and Ludwig thumped their tails in friendly agreement. With a sigh of pure contentment, Hallie lay on her back and lifted her face to the sunshine. A pa
ir of golden eyes and a rugged, solidly muscled body came to her mind. “Quite a man, indeed.”

  o0o

  Josh still was chuckling when he got back to his camp. “What a woman. ‘Wrapped in gold paper and tied with a Christmas ribbon.’” A fresh gale of laughter overtook him. “It’s a pity to let all that liveliness go to waste.”

  Talking to himself was new to Josh. “Must have needed this break more than I thought.” Walking away from a gorgeous woman was also new to him. He didn’t know why he kept skirting a casual involvement with Hallie. Maybe it was because he sensed something different about her. Perhaps it was because he admired her. Seldom had he seen a woman of such spirit. And he loved her sense of humor. “Darned if I can figure it out,” he said aloud.

  He had cereal and bananas for breakfast, then took up his rod and reel for a day of serious fishing. He wanted to make every day count. He’d allotted himself a week and a half away from Silken Moments, and he knew the time would pass all too quickly.

  Then he’d be back in Florence where every day brought a new business challenge and a new personal heartbreak. His brother’s alcoholism was getting worse. He’d sent George to clinics in Birmingham and Atlanta with no success. Josh gladly would give up his fortune to save his brother, but all the money in the world couldn’t cure George’s problem.

  He forced his hands to relax on the rod. George and his father were in good hands while he was away. Thank God for friends.

  The fish didn’t seem to be biting in the spot Josh had chosen. Around noon he moved upstream. The water sparkled in the sun. Josh shaded his eyes and looked around. Farther upstream he spotted a dark-haired woman. Hallie. He felt lighthearted just looking at her. His rod dangled from his hand, forgotten, as he watched her.

  Suddenly she turned her face his way, and he felt a sharp stab of disappointment. The face didn’t belong to Hallie at all. It was the face of a stranger.

  He turned his attention back to his fishing. But every so often, he glanced around to see if he could spot Hallie. He stopped for lunch at two, then took up his rod again. By late afternoon he’d fished the stream for two miles on either side of his camp. There’d been no sign of Hallie.