For the first time in her life she knew what it was like to have all the empty spots inside her filled. Although only hours had passed, already she missed Adam and his family.
Rambo was halfway through his bottle when Cornwall, who had been whimpering in his sleep, began to bark in earnest. Before Paige could respond, she heard boots stomping on her porch and the slam of the front door. She just had time to stand before Adam strode into the kitchen.
"I didn't expect to see you so—" She stopped at the grim set of his mouth. "What is it?"
"I need you to go to my house and stay with Granny and Jeremy. Can you do that?"
"Of course." She went to him, standing just inches away. "What is it?"
"Pat's been hurt. We don't know how badly yet. I'm on my way to the public hospital in Rotorua now. Granny's very upset."
"Was it an accident?" Paige saw the tension on Adam's face as he nodded, and she knew it was more then just concern for Pat. "Where was he hurt?" she asked quietly.
"In the thermals, apparently."
"Adam, no."
He exhaled, as if trying to rid himself of more than just air. "We think he went there during the hui. I took him home after he showed up drunk, but it looks as though he went bushwalking immediately after. His mother wasn't worried when he didn't come home again, because he's always going off."
"Who found him?"
"Your friend, Hamish Armstrong."
"Hamish?" Paige reached up to stroke away the deep worry lines in Adam's forehead. "I don't understand."
"Neither do I, but I will before this is over." He stepped back, away from the soothing touch of her fingertips. "I've got to go."
"Of course." She tried not to be hurt by his withdrawal. "I'll stay with Granny while you're gone. Is there anyone I should call?"
"No, I'll ring you from the hospital." He turned and started across the floor, but at the doorway he did an abrupt about-face. "Why did you leave without saying goodbye?"
She understood his withdrawal a little better. "Because I knew I'd never get the words out."
The lines in his face softened then. "It would have been better that way."
"Perhaps." She tried to smile. "But then you might have been stuck with me forever."
"I am stuck with you forever," he said in an amazingly good imitation of her accent. "Wherever you are, wherever you go. Don't you know that was what last night was about?"
And because she was beginning to know just that, she went to him and let a kiss say what she couldn't.
* * *
Pat was as drained of color as Hira's tears and the life-giving fluid dripping slowly into his veins. Bandages covered both arms and hid the right side of his head.
Hira turned her face into Adam's side. "He hasn't opened his eyes once. When they put the needle in his arm, he didn't even wince."
Adam stroked Hira's hair. "You need to go home. You need to rest."
"Not you, too! Does everyone think I'm a bloody doob? I'll go home when I know Pat's going to make it and not before."
Adam knew he could argue or cajole, but he also knew how useless it would be. Hira wasn't going to budge unless the hospital forcibly evicted her. "What do the doctors say?" He continued to stroke her hair.
"Both arms are broken. He has a concussion and a gash across his scalp that they had to stitch. He was badly dehydrated, and his body temperature was several degrees below normal. They won't be able to tell anything else until he wakes up." She paused. "If he wakes up," she finished in a monotone.
"No internal injuries?" he asked, ignoring the last. He couldn't reassure her when he wasn't reassured himself. Pat looked like a man walking with death.
"He was badly shaken up when he fell. They're monitoring him carefully."
"They could do a better job of it if you weren't sitting right here watching everything they do."
"Go away."
Left with little choice, Adam did just that. In the hallway he murmured his condolences to Pat's immediate family, then confronted Hira's parents. "She's not going to leave his side until he walks out of there with her."
Adam's brother Samuel muttered his answer in Maori, although his English was good enough to have won him a position at the University of Waikato as a lecturer in Shakespearean literature. Iris Tomoana didn't mutter at all. "That boy is no good. It's no surprise he almost got himself killed."
"Now's not the time to debate his virtues," Adam reminded her gently. "Does anyone know what happened exactly? Hira said Pat took a fall."
"We're just guessing. He was found at the bottom of a cliff," Samuel told him. He ran his hand through his hair. Samuel was a smaller, older version of his brother and a man who was most at home in a library. He had never shared Adam's love for farming or the thermals.
Adam could think of any number of places where Pat would never have been found if he had fallen. "Which cliff? Do you know?"
"We don't. The man who found him dragged him out to the road, so it couldn't have been too far in."
"Did anyone talk to the man?"
"The cops, I think. No one in the family."
Adam nodded. "That's about to change." He kissed Iris on the forehead and patted Samuel's shoulder. "I'll be back later."
Rotorua's rush hour was just ending as Adam pulled his car into the trickling stream of traffic in front of the hospital. He was at Hamish's hotel in only minutes. The lobby was almost empty, but he nodded to the woman straightening magazines in the gift shop as he made his way to the front desk.
He asked the pretty young woman there to summon Hamish, then drummed his fingers on the counter as he waited. At her nod, he made his way to a lobby chair and sprawled in exhaustion.
Twenty minutes ticked by before Hamish made his appearance. Adam sensed that he had delayed his entrance to show that he didn't like being disturbed. Adam couldn't have cared less; he waved Hamish to the seat in front of him without getting up.
"I seem to be spending my day helping the Tomoanas." Hamish sat, crossing his ankles and tucking his hands under his arms.
"It would be interesting to hear how you helped my cousin."
"You people have more cousins..."
"We people acknowledge our own."
"I spent my day taking care of one of your own."
Adam waited silently for an explanation.
"How exactly is that boy related to you, anyway?"
Adam observed the tiny beads of moisture on Hamish's brow and wondered why he was stalling. "He's family."
"Fifth cousin? Sixth?"
The beads of moisture were merging into full-fledged drops, although the room was only pleasantly warm. "It seems to matter to you," Adam said. "Why?"
"An interest in sociology."
"Study this, then. One drop of blood makes him family. Pat has at least two, and he shares my name. We're related in several ways, none of which you would understand."
Hamish looked down the length of his perfectly sculptured nose. "I probably saved his life today."
"For that, we're grateful."
"You probably want to know how it happened."
Adam smiled a little, a smile that was more a challenge than an acknowledgment. "I probably do. Shall we start with why you were there?"
"That should be obvious. I was exploring."
"Exploring land you don't yet own?"
Hamish shrugged away Adam's words. "I will own it, or rather, Pacific Outreach will. Duvall Development has a track record for not letting sentiment get in their way."
"We intend to persuade Carter Duvall with cold, hard cash, not sentiment."
Hamish's smile was thin-lipped. "Carter Duvall will be hard to persuade no matter what you use. He doesn't want to sell to Maoris." He shrugged. "Nasty thing, prejudice. But there it is."
Adam made certain his feelings didn't show in his face. "Just how do you know, Armstrong? Psychics? Fortune-tellers?"
"I just flew back from the States yesterday." His smile broadened. "Duvall and I
had several interesting chats. He's coming here sometime this week to make final arrangements."
Adam didn't let any emotion show. "And you celebrated your victory with a walk in the thermals."
"There were places I haven't been yet."
Adam raised a brow. "You went in without a guide? A careful man like yourself, Armstrong?"
"I had work to do." Hamish's smile disappeared.
"It must have been important work. Why was it so important?"
"You think you're the only one who has anything invested in buying this land?" Hamish snapped.
"Not at all." Adam smiled another challenge. "As a matter of fact, I happen to know just how much you have invested. We haven't gone to the States to do our research, but we have checked out some things in Oz. You've an interesting reputation there, Armstrong."
Hamish drew his arms tighter across his chest until Adam wondered if he would cut off his circulation. "Oh?"
"Oh. Let me see, how was it put? Something about Hamish Armstrong being Pacific Outreach's boy wonder until a certain deal in Fiji almost fell through because of his mishandling. I believe the resort here in Waimauri is known affectionately as Hamish's Last Chance. Does that cover it?"
"Lies."
"What important work were you doing, Armstrong? Finding ways to persuade Paige that the land shouldn't become ours again?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Where was my cousin?"
"Not far off the road. There's a cliff there, just past the geyser."
"How did you know about the geyser. Have you seen it play?"
"No. I... I've heard stories. That's why I went there today. I was going to watch and see."
"But you went past the geyser," Adam reminded him.
Hamish hesitated. "I heard a moan," he said finally. "I followed the sound, and I found your cousin lying face-down on the ground. There were rocks all around him, chunks of the cliff, I think. I carried him out. It wasn't easy," he added defensively.
"Did you think that moving him might not be wise?"
"I was afraid to leave him there alone."
"It's interesting," Adam said thoughtfully. "Paige and my son and I weren't far from Kaka geyser today ourselves. In fact, we passed right past the geyser and didn't hear or see a thing."
"Then he was doubly lucky I found him, wasn't he?"
"Under the circumstances, I'd say he was lucky to be alive." Adam stood, holding out a hand to Hamish. Hamish stood, too, and took it for a perfunctory handshake.
"I've won, you know," Hamish said, crossing his arms again. "I shouldn't take it too badly if I were you. Our resorts will bring jobs for your people. We'll need guides, entertainers, domestic help—"
"I don't see the deed in your hands yet, Armstrong." Adam let his gaze flick to Hamish's crossed arms. "In fact, I don't see your hands at all. When we shook, though, I noticed your palm was bandaged. Bringing Pat out must have been quite an ordeal?"
"Quite."
"You'll want to know when he wakes up and tells us what happened. I'll certainly let you know what he says."
"Right-o."
Adam smiled his third challenge and left.
* * *
Paige tucked a blanket around Jeremy, then sat on the edge of his bed. Mihi, exhausted from grief and worry, had fallen asleep an hour before. "I'll be sure to tell your father to come in and kiss you when he gets back."
"He always does."
"That doesn't surprise me." She smiled and brushed his hair off his face with the back of her hand.
"My mum didn't."
Paige's hand stilled against his forehead. "You remember?" She knew that Jeremy had been with Adam for a year and a half. He had been barely three when his mother had abandoned him.
He didn't answer the question directly; instead he covered her hand and brought it to his cheek. Then he shut his eyes.
"Would you like me to lie down with you for a few minutes?" Paige asked, pushing the words past the lump in her throat.
He moved over, his eyelids still squeezed tight.
Paige knew what an invitation looked like. Careful not to disturb their clasped hands, she stretched out beside him and closed her eyes, too.
Adam found them that way, the woman who didn't know what to do with children and the little boy who didn't know what to do with women. Both were asleep; both were smiling as if their dreams were good ones. He bent past Paige and kissed his son's cheek; then he shook her gently. When her eyes opened, he touched her nose with a fingertip. "So, you'll sleep with my son tonight, but not with me."
She slipped her hand from Jeremy's and turned over to rest it on Adam's shoulder. "First part of the night was his," she said sleepily. "The rest belongs to you."
"You don't want to go home?"
"Try and make me."
"What about Rambo? Will he need feeding again?"
"I went back and got him. He's down in the kitchen."
Adam tried not to smile. "Granny's kitchen?"
"I promised her I'd clean it in the morning before she gets up."
"What about his pen?"
"I never leave him in his pen after dark. I'm afraid he'll get scared."
"He's a lamb. Lambs live outdoors."
"He's a house lamb."
"And you're a loony."
"Do you make love to loonies?"
His heart sped up noticeably. "Only if their hair is as black as a raven's wing, and their skin as soft." He drew a line to her mouth. "Only if their mouths curve up at the corners exactly parallel to the tilt of their eyes."
"Only if they want you, too?"
He nodded. "Only then."
"I want you."
"Then you'll do nicely, won't you?"
"Much better than nicely." She sat up, careful not to shake the bed.
"I thought you weren't going to stay, kaihana."
She stood, smiling seductively. "Isn't there a Maori proverb to cover this?"
"Me te mea ko Kopu ka rere i te pae."
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth?" she asked, moving to stand right in front of him.
"She is like Venus rising about the horizon," he translated.
"Taku aroha ki a koe." She rose and brushed her mouth along the shadowed line of his jaw. "Shall I translate that?"
"We'll translate it together in my room."
They were halfway down the hall, arms around each other's waists, before she woke up enough to remember where he had been. "I forgot about Pat," she said, remorseful. "Is he all right?"
"No, but I'm hopeful. The physician in charge said that he's beginning to show signs of coming out of the coma. He's cautiously optimistic."
"How about his family? And Hira?"'
"They're holding up, and Hira is being as stubborn as Cornwall."
"Maybe stubbornness will help her get through the next few days without breaking down."
"Has anyone told you that you have a great deal of wisdom in that beautiful head?"
"No," she said, ridiculously pleased, "but you may."
"You have a great deal of wisdom." Adam stopped at his door and pulled her into his arms. "Wisdom, sensitivity, tenderness." He bent his head and swept his mouth across hers once, twice, and then again. "Passion."
Her hands met at the top button of his shirt. "Especially that." She slipped the button through the hole and smoothed one hand over his chest, tackling the rest of the buttons single-handed.
"Come inside." Adam backed slowly into his room, bringing her with him.
Paige's hands lingered at his belt buckle. She caressed his stomach with the backs of her fingers as she leisurely slid the tongue of the buckle from its hole and then back in again. "I've never undressed you before," she murmured against his lips.
"If you don't hurry, you won't have this chance, either."
She tilted her head to avoid his kiss. "Are you in a hurry?" She fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "Such an impatient man."
"I'll find enough patience when I need
it," he assured her. His smile was seductive. "But your patience might be tested."
She relished the flutters of excitement building steadily deep inside her. Slipping the belt loose, she fingered the fine leather before she let it hang from his belt loops. Then, slowly, she polished the snap of his pants between her thumb and forefinger. "Have you ever considered how many clothes you wear? So many fastenings: buttons, snaps, zippers, laces."
"Are we doing research?"
"We could compare mine to yours."
"Item for item?"
"That would be one way." She waited.
Adam's fingers brushed her breasts as they made a leisurely sweep to her throat. He counted as he coaxed each pearl button from its hole. "One." His hands lingered at her throat, glorying at the rapid pulse against his fingertips. "Two." Her skin was warm satin, rising and falling, accelerating with each breath. His head dove down to taste the spot where the cleft of her breasts began. "Three," he murmured against the soft mound of flesh spilling over the black lace of her bra. "Four." He felt her sigh, felt the way she leaned into him. He smiled, burying his face so she wouldn't know. "Five."
"Was that a five, Adam?" Paige unsnapped his pants and smoothed her hands under his briefs. "We're even now," she said in an unsteady voice.
His hands covered hers. "Not quite, kaihana," he admonished. "There's the small matter of your skirt."
She felt his fingers close around her waist. "It has one button. It's going to fall to the floor if you undo it."
Her prediction was correct. "What a pity," he murmured. "But you're wearing more underneath than I am. That will make up for my zipper."
Her coordination had suffered. His zipper took agonizingly long to unfasten, and, once unzipped, his pants still had to be smoothed over his hips. "Are your hands shaking?" he asked, his smile in his voice.
"Are your knees knocking?" she countered. "You're not holding still."
Adam covered her hands to guide them until his pants were at his feet. "My turn." He left her hands on his hips, gasping as they strayed to more sensitive territory. "Two can play that game," he cautioned. Her laughter was liquid silver, but it quickly changed to a moan as he showed her what he had meant.
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