Dance with the Devil

by Sandy Curtis

  'Yes!'

  'Can you hold on?'

  'Ye…Oh, my God!' Fear slammed into her. 'The log moved!'

  Hadley's gaze shifted at her words and focused on her. The log moved again, still only a fraction, but he must have seen the horror on her face. He gave a gentle, sad smile.

  Then he released his grip on her wrist.

  In fascinated horror, she watched the current take him away. The log shifted again and she screamed Drew's name.

  'Emma! Grab the belt!'

  Her hand lifted as the belt snaked around the boulder. She grabbed it and slipped the loop formed by the inverted buckle over her wrist. The log slid from beneath her feet. She thrust Bethany high, kicked hard and felt the jerk on her arm as the loop tightened.

  'I've got it!' she yelled.

  She didn't want to watch, but she felt she couldn't turn her back on Hadley, to let him die alone. She looked back towards the chute and saw his bruised and battered face, still with that strange sad smile. He was making no attempt to swim away.

  Then the current sucked him down.

  Drew wondered how he found the strength to pull Emma back against the current. Every breath was agony and seemed to require a great effort. With the belt end wrapped around one hand and holding on to the branch with the other, he stretched his tired muscles to their limits and pulled her closer. Then he wedged his shoulder on the branch and his feet on the boulder and reached back for a better hold, pulling her until she was close enough to grab the branch. Only then did he allow relief to wash through him.

  With trembling fingers he touched her face and fought his need to bring her body against his and reassure himself that she was truly alive. Her eyes were saucer-wide, and he wondered if she felt as stunned as she looked.

  He took Bethany from her and they made their way back to the crevice. He stood on the tree trunk so Emma could climb on his shoulders, then onto the boulder. She tried to be careful, but it took all his strength to fight the pain and stay upright. He held Bethany up to her, and her icy hand closed over his as she took the child. She held it there a moment, as though reluctant to lose contact with him.

  'I have to change Bethany into warm clothing,' Emma whispered, and slowly released her grip. She clutched Bethany against her chest and moved as quickly as she could to where Drew had left the pack. She stripped off her wet shirt, then the baby's sodden clothing, and quickly examined her.

  Bethany let out a lusty wail and relief swept through Emma. Warmth was all Bethany needed. Quickly she dressed the baby in the last clean nappy and bodysuit, then, cradling her in one arm and carrying the pack in the other, she walked back to where she'd left Drew. Placing Bethany on the pack on the warm stones, she used the shade of a small shrub to shield the baby's face from the sun.

  Through an exhausted haze, Drew heard Emma return. She lay on the boulder, and held both arms down to him. It was harder to pull himself up than he thought, but he understood why. Now the need for action had passed, his body was finally acknowledging the trauma he'd put it through, and he was acutely aware he had exacerbated the damage to his rib. When he finally scrambled up beside Emma, he collapsed on the warm rock, waiting for his strength to return.

  'Drew? Are you all right?'

  Without answering, he held his arms out to her. She nestled gently into his uninjured side, put her arm around him and pressed her face into his neck. His heart ached at the coldness of her skin, and he gently rubbed her arm, her back. She was shivering, and so tense he felt she would fragment into tiny pieces if he held her tightly.

  Suddenly she began to shake. Her body rocked with sobs. With an effort he turned on his side and pulled her against him, caressing her face with soft, soothing kisses, whispering words of love and comfort. She was safe. That was all that mattered. She was in his arms and he would fight heaven and earth not to lose her again. And she loved him.

  Doubt suddenly ripped through him. He caught her chin with his hand and looked into her eyes.

  'Emma, did you mean it?' He stopped to draw in another breath. 'Do you love me?'

  Her long lashes were tipped with tears, but her lips parted in a smile. She touched his cheek and placed her fingers against his mouth as though stopping any further questions.

  'Yes. More than I thought possible.'

  He hugged her as tightly as his chest would allow, his need to show his love for her acute, his fervour heightened by the anxiety and trauma of the past twenty-four hours.

  Emma's blood rushed in her veins. They were safe, Hadley could no longer threaten them. She felt a terrible sense of guilt as she remembered the way he had let go her wrist and allowed the current to wash him through the chute. Her eyes filled with tears as she pulled away from Drew.

  'He let me go, Drew. He knew if he didn't, we'd both be swept away.'

  'I guessed that,' Drew whispered, touching her face as though to reassure himself that she was indeed real, that he wasn't dreaming.

  With one finger he wiped away a tear that slid onto her cheek, and she had the almost hysterical thought that what did one tear matter when she was dripping wet anyway.

  Shakily she got to her feet. She couldn't fall to pieces now; she had promised Mary to bring Bethany back to her and she'd be damned if she'd let the baby catch cold after what she'd just survived.

  'I left Bethany wrapped in her spare clothing, but I'll have to make sure she's warm. Can you get up?'

  'Sure,' he replied. She frowned as he rolled to the side and got on his knees to push himself upwards. It was an agonisingly slow procedure, and she realised that he would never be able to climb up the mountainside to get back to O'Connor Valley. He straightened and turned his ashen face towards her. As she listened to his breath wheeze in and out of his lungs, her heart contracted.

  In the tussle with Hadley, his broken rib must have punctured a lung.

  She pushed down the panic rising in her gut. Frantically she fought for the professional control that had seen her through other medical emergencies, but it took almost more effort than she could make. She loved this man, cared about him in a way she'd never thought possible before. She'd finally found someone who accepted her, who respected her dreams and shared similar ones. Who'd touched her soul and made love blossom.

  She'd be damned if she was going to lose him!

  'Will I be able to find some of those candlenut trees around here?'

  Puzzled, Drew arched one eyebrow at her. 'There could be. Why?'

  'Because as soon as I re-tape your ribs I'm going to light one hell of a fire and see if I can attract that plane we heard.'

  She looked at the amusement battling the pain in his eyes and smiled determinedly. If she had to, she'd set fire to the whole bloody rainforest to save him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  A slightly built, fair-haired woman stood silently on a rocky outcrop overlooking thick rainforest. For long, long minutes she gave voice to the feelings in her heart, then she slowly tipped the urn she was holding.

  The ash floated on the breeze and drifted down in lazy arcs towards the treetops below.

  The woman capped the urn and gazed towards the horizon, to where mountain after magnificent mountain lay shrouded in cloud.

  'Do you think she'll be sent to prison?' Compassion tinged Emma's voice as she gazed at Ivy's solitary figure. She could feel no anger towards Hadley's widow, only a sad pity.

  Drew shook his head, leaned back against his Rodeo. 'She'll probably get a suspended sentence. Although she didn't notify the police when Morgan kidnapped me, she still saved my life and she tried to help the investigation. Besides, I think a jury would find she acted in fear of what her husband might do to her.'

  'So now she's lost everything, her son, her husband.'

  'A lot of people have lost their loved ones because of Morgan.' Drew thought of Dario, whose funeral he'd been unable to attend because the doctors wouldn't allow him to leave the hospital. It was some compensation for him to know that Emma had gone in his place.
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  He smiled as he remembered her determination to light the fire to attract their rescuers. She'd created so much smoke it was a wonder it wasn't seen in Cairns. When the helicopter had flown them to Cairns Hospital she had been in her element, issuing orders and directing the medical staff until she was politely but firmly marched off to have her own minor injuries attended to. Chayse had told him that evening that Emma had declared herself his personal physician and insisted on being informed on every aspect of his treatment.

  He'd had little time alone with her in the next few days. An infection had developed in his punctured lung and he'd slept a lot as it battled the antibiotics he was given. Visitors took up a lot of his waking time. And when he had been released into her care, there had not been enough time alone to talk about their future.

  He helped Emma get permission to bury her father on a rise overlooking the stables he had loved. It was a small ceremony, with Emma's mother and stepfather and a handful of valley residents bidding farewell to a man who had not been able to accept the love he had been offered in life.

  Tom Johnson was now recovering at home, but Drew was amazed by the change in Mary when she came to the graveside, Bethany gurgling happily in her arms. It was as though having to take on the role of carer had given her a strength of purpose she had previously lacked.

  Afterwards, Drew had held Emma as she'd cried her grief for the last time. He'd told her again how much he loved her, and although she had said nothing about staying with him, she'd assured him that love was returned. For the time being that had had to be enough.

  Now, as she watched Ivy Morgan grieve for the man who had been her husband, Emma knew it was time to talk to Drew. In the past few weeks her priorities had undergone a complete turnaround, but she had yet to see if Drew would be open to the plan she envisaged.

  She turned to him, and her heartbeat accelerated as she gazed into his eyes and was reminded of the first time she had been arrested by their depth of colour. They hadn't made love since the night before Bethany was kidnapped, and her need for him was a constant ache. She touched his arm, aware of his instant reaction to her caress. The blue in his eyes flared deeper, the muscles under her fingers tautened as though his whole body was locked by self-control. Then he took her hands, his thumbs gently moving over her soft palms in surprising intimacy.

  'Emma, I need to talk to you.' Drew had the feeling Emma was going to tell him something, and he wasn't sure he was going to like it. True, she had reassured him she loved him, but he knew her determination to follow her dream, and he wasn't sure he could be gracious enough to let her return to her work without putting up a fight to make her stay.

  'Allan Baker's parents came to see me yesterday. Allan's in counselling and undergoing drug rehabilitation. They're hopeful he'll be able to get off drugs permanently. They've made a donation to The Centre for me to use where I see the need.'

  'Drew, that's wonderful. Do you have something in mind?'

  He hesitated. At first the idea had seemed far-fetched, and he wondered if he was simply trying to have some emotional hold on Emma, but the more he thought on it, the more possibilities he had seen for success.

  'Remember I told you about the cattle property where I learned about horses and tracking? Well, I thought about buying a property and giving the kids at The Centre a chance to learn more than pool hustling and spinning a ball through a hoop.'

  'That's a great idea. There's nothing like work to give people back their self-respect.'

  'I thought your father's property would be ideal.'

  Emma could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't sure how she would react to this. For a moment she did hesitate. Although she knew she would have to sell the property, a small part of her hoped it wouldn't be too soon. There were a lot of memories to say goodbye to.

  But somehow she knew her father would be pleased with Drew's idea. And it seemed appropriate that his land might give a second chance to young people who thought they had run out of chances. She hoped they would be more willing than her father was to take what they were offered.

  'Yes. I think it would be. And I'm sure the neighbours wouldn't object.'

  Drew's smile had a quickening effect on her libido, and she had to hold him back as he went to embrace her. She wanted to be able to think straight when she told him her conditions. 'Just as long as you realise a doctor comes along with the package.'

  'What - what do you mean?'

  'That I've told Médecins sans Frontières that I won't be going back to work with them.'

  Now it was her turn to smile as she saw the hope flare on his face. His voice was gravelly as he asked, 'What about your dream?'

  'People change. Dreams change. I've discovered I'm needed here. Perhaps with some early intervention the kids at The Centre who are involved with drugs can see they have other options. I'm sure Diane wouldn't mind some assistance.' She reached up, tweaked one finger in the dark curls revealed by his V-necked shirt and gently tugged. 'Or you.'

  She'd been able to stop him before, but nothing could prevent the passionate kiss that claimed her now. It was the sweetest surrender she had ever made.

  It was incredible, she thought as they finally eased apart, the wonderful sense of belonging she felt when she was with Drew. The completeness. A deep contentment settled over her. But she had more to tell him.

  'Drew, I found out this morning I'm not pregnant.'

  Her surge of disappointment as she had realised she wasn't carrying Drew's child had shocked Emma. But it had also confirmed the depth of love she felt for him. Now she saw that same disappointment echo in his eyes.

  He pulled her against him and she felt the evidence of how their kiss had aroused him. His voice was a sexy growl as he bent once more to capture her lips.

  'Sweetheart, we might just have to work on amending that.'

  CLAN DESTINE PRESS

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  and hopes you enjoyed the story.

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  First published in eBook form by Clan Destine Press in 2010

  PO Box 121, Bittern

  Victoria 3918 Australia

  Copyright © Sandy Curtis 2002

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (The Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of any book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-In-Publication data:

  Curtis, Sandy

  Dance with the Devil

  ISBN 978-0-9871604-6-1

  Cover Design © R&D Studios, Queensland