A Rare Breed (6 page)

As Jake had predicted to Brit, the night was very long and relatively sleepless. He brought out two sleeping bags. The extra one had been intended for a colleague who could not make the trip at the last minute. Yolanda and Brit tucked themselves into the bags in the small tent. Rudi and Frank rolled up in blankets in the large tent. Jake made his bed outside under the stars.

Yolanda mumbled complaints to Brit for at least an hour. Then she announced loudly that she was cold and wanted to sleep with Rudi so she could cuddle with someone.

"Please, go ahead! Quickly!" Brit turned over and buried her head in the cover. She actually felt warm and secure and fairly comfortable in Jake's insulated sleeping bag and, if the ground
weren't so hard and rocky, she could probably sleep.

"I knew you didn't want me in here with you, all along," Yolanda muttered as she crawled out of the pup tent and made her way to Rudi.

That arrangement lasted about ten minutes before Frank declared that he wasn't sleeping with the Romeros. "I've never seen such spoiled, inconsiderate jerks!" He found a spot beside the low campfire near Jake.

Even after things had quieted again, Brit could hear Yolanda and Rudi grumbling to each other. She could hear Frank snoring. And she could hear other strange sounds that she couldn't recognize. She wondered if animals actually would disturb or attack the camp. As she dozed, Brit thought of the elusive, confident Jake Landry She recalled the electric spark of his smoot
h cop
per skin when she had touched the bear fetish at his neck. She imagined piercing black eyes with jet lashes, closed against dark skin. And she slept, dreaming of the brush of his lips against hers.

Chapter Three

Brit woke to strange noises. They were unfamiliar, as were her surroundings, and her imagination shifted into overdrive. Maybe it was wild animals; maybe looters, raiding the camp!

Heart pounding, Brit crawled out of her warm cocoon and peered through the thick gray morning air. The noises had come from Jake, looking rumpled and somewhat weary as he knelt before the campfire.

His lean form was outlined by cold blue shadows; his jet-black hair dominated the cool grays of morning. He wore jeans and a long sleeved insulated undershirt. She watched him take a seat on a rounded stone, hunkering over to absorb the sputtering heat of the small fire and to wait for the coffeepot to boil.

Brit was struck by the amazing notion that Jake looked, at that instant, like a man from an-other era, even from another world. Curiously, he appeared at ease, as if he belonged here. A strange impulse pulled her toward him, toward his ancient and interesting world.

She made a polite noise and joined him. Jake merely nodded a greeting. No words were spoken between them; none were necessary. They sat still and quiet, absorbing the exotic beauty of the early morning. In a short time, an opaque grayness gave way to a silvery glistening which faded into pale shades of pink as the sun rose steadily. Brit had never known there were so many colors in a sunrise.

"It's beautiful here this morning," she said finally in a soft voice.

"Yep," Jake agreed noncommittally. "Always is."

"Is it like this every morning? All these colors?"

"Um-hum."

"What makes so many different shades?"

"Light reflection off the minerals in the rocks. Iron and copper and bits of mica."

"Everything seems to be in layers." Brit's gaze roamed around the mammoth amphitheater.

"Layers of time." Jake's tone was hushed and solemn, as if he had the utmost respect for his surroundings. "It has taken millions of years to reach this point." He handed her a mug of coffee, brewed black and strong.

She inhaled, savoring but not drinking the steamy hot liquid. "It's strange here, almost as if we're in a time warp. Right now. Like we're caught in a place that never changes with time."

He gazed at her, a kind of appraising quality in his eyes. "You noticed. It especially feels that way when I work in one of the ruins."

"The Indian houses?"

He nodded.

Brit looked around. "Where are they? I don't see anything."

He swept his hand around in a vague gesture. "Hidden in caves in these canyon walls."

She stood up to get a better look. "Up there? I still don't detect any openings or caves."

"They're quite remote. I have to climb to them."

"Isn't it eerie to enter these homes where people lived hundreds of years ago?"

"Yes."

"I'd love to go in one of them." Her green eyes glistened as she thought about the prospect. "I would love to see the things you're talking about, Jake.

"He gazed at her and pursed his lips. For a moment, she thought he was going to offer to take her to one of the ruins. But before he could say a thing, the morning quiet was disturbed by Rudi's rambunctious greeting.

"So where does a guy get a cup of java around this joint?"

Brit watched sullenly as Jake poured a cup of coffee for Rudi. Another magic moment between them was gone, and she couldn't help feeling some resentment.

"Damn hardest earth I've ever slept on!" Rudi exclaimed with a laugh. "Course, I didn't expect it to compare with my expensive bed at home."

Jake stood by Rudi while they chatted. "In a few hours, we'll be able to notify the supply plane that you're here, and the pilot will relay the message. By evening, you'll probably be sleeping in the comfort of your own bed," Jake said.

"Ahh, music to my ears!" Rudi said. "Can't happen soon enough for Yolanda and me."

Brit wrapped her hands around her cup and felt strangely discordant with thoughts of leaving this place today. She squeezed her eyes shut. What in the world was wrong with her? Their one goal, since the wreck yesterday, was to get out of here. Now Jake was explaining how it would be done and how soon it could happen. Suddenly she felt as though the bottom had dropped out of her life. It made no sense whatsoever.

Then a bizarre idea occurred to Brit. She didn't care if she were rescued today. She wanted to remain here, to stay in this alien and beautiful land, with Jake. She wanted to be with him and get to know him. Completely. Jake was an interesting and elusive man, and she wanted to break his tough-guy facade. She wanted to see him laugh, to make his expression soften, to feel some kind of response from him.

Rudi's loud conversation woke Frank, who was sleeping nearby. Before long, the men were eating breakfast of granola bars and canned fruit and planning their hike to the clearing where the
supply plane flew overhead.

"Looks like a storm brewing." Frank gestured toward the sky.

Jake agreed. "By afternoon, we'll probably have a whopper of a monsoon."

"Monsoon?" Brit asked. "I thought they only had those in Asia."

"It's the same principle," Jake explained. "Heat builds, pulling moisture from the clouds, turning to rain by afternoon. Our monsoons can be vicious down here, but they don't last long. An hour or so and the storm's usually over. Well, men, let's hit the trail. Got a lot to do before the rains come."

Brit watched them until they disappeared behind a sandstone boulder. Even though she wanted to go with them, hiking without shoes was not a good idea, especially since their dest
i
nation was a good half a mile away. It was decided, then, that she and Yolanda would remain at camp.

Brit ambled past the large tent where Yolanda was still sleeping. Rudi had declared that Yolanda didn't need to get up at "this ungodly hour" just so she could wave a flag at an airplane. He could do that. Besides, this was way too early for her. She was accustomed to sleeping until noon.

Left alone, Brit decided to familiarize herself with the small camp set amid prickly pear cactus, yucca, cat claw, mesquite, and the shelter of large leafy cottonwood trees. It was a strange ecological mixture. She wandered around the small, neat camp, actually enjoying the peace and quiet of being alone and away from the Romeros' bickering for a little while.

Soon after the men left, Brit heard what she thought was an aircraft. The world at the bottom of the canyon was so quiet, so absolutely undisturbed, that anything as noisy as an airplane was a definite interruption. She tried to spot it, but low-hanging clouds prevented her from seeing the sky clearly. She wandered away from camp and down to the stream's edge. Funny how this whole area seemed nicer today than just yesterday.

She picked up a red pebble and tossed it into a small pool ringed by several strategically located boulders, as if they were placed there by some giant hand. She took a seat on a rock and trailed her own thin hand in the chilly water. This place was more like paradise than a prison. But it held them. They weren't here by choice. That made it a prison, didn't it?

Brit realized with a start that she was supposed to begin working on the movie set today. How often in a lifetime does someone get a chance to do that? This was to be the beginning of an exciting career and a brand new life. Yet here she was, stuck in the canyon. She couldn't help wondering if the producer realized she wasn't there today. Or if he even cared.

Surely everyone knew by now. The media had probably jumped on the story of Yolanda being lost in the canyon. And Frank had said that search and rescue efforts would begin when their chopper didn't meet the scheduled flight plan.

Michael was probably beside himself with concern over her. And what did she think of him? Of them together? The way she felt right now was much the same as yesterday and the day before. Only now she knew she had to officially break with him.

Brit picked up another stone and gazed at it centered in her palm. On one of their rest stops yesterday, Jake had explained that these red ones had lots of iron in them; the black stones were from some volcanic eruption millions of years ago. She tossed the stone into the pool and watched the ripples radiate outward to her.

Peeling off Jake's socks, she pulled the legs of her baggy jeans up and stepped into the shallow edges of the stream. The water was shockingly cold as it crept over her feet, and she realized that she felt dirty and in need of a warm shower. She squatted
down and washed her face, scrub
bing her complexion with the clear water. It was chilling, but refreshing, and she considered stripping and taking a bath in the stream while everyone was gone. The more she thought about it, the better the idea sounded.

Within minutes Brit had shimmied out of Jake's oversized clothes and was wading into the shallows of the pool. She splashed herself all over, delighting in the crude, but welcome bath. Her skin tingled from the icy water. It was refreshing as well as cleansing.

A hawk swooped overhead and screeched at her in its high-pitched voice. At first startled by the intrusion of a pair of eyes, she laughed and waved at the fantailed bird. Lifting her face, Brit let the gentle breeze caress her skin, drying it. The wind brought songs of unfamiliar birds as well as some familiar sounds . . . people talking.

Suddenly someone shouted her name. "Brit! Brit, where are you?"

The men were returning! So soon? And here she stood, bathing in the nude! She splashed through the knee-high water as she scrambled to get her clothes. But they were out of reach, draped on a rock all the way over at the pool's edge. Inadvertently, she had waded out near the middle of the stream where the water hit her mid-thigh. Scrambling, she reached for the shirt.

Jake's voice sounded alarmingly close. "Brit! Brit?"

Startled, she looked up. He stood on a rock ledge directly above her. Dark and towering, he seemed to dominate his world. Furthermore, he had a full view of the little pool—and of her, in the nude.

"Everything all right?" he called innocently.

Quickly Brit lifted the red plaid flannel shirt in front of her exposed body. "Until a minute ago, everything was just peachy!" Realizing the shirt wasn't covering her completely, she gestured angrily. "Can't I take a bath in privacy?"

"Sure, excuse me. I just . . . was worried about you. Didn't know where you were."

"Now you know."

He backed away, with no real apology that she could detect in his devilish grin. But his intense, stern expression had softened for the first time since they'd arrived. She'd gotten a response from him, but not the one she wanted.

Jake turned his back and pretended to be busy when Brit arrived back in camp. It wasn't that he was embarrassed at seeing her naked. On the contrary. He'd been delighted with the sight of her smooth, shimmering skin, still wet from her bath. He turned away because he didn't want her to see that pleasure still on his face. Besides, he knew she'd be furious. And, he admitted privately, rightfully so.

As Brit approached, the group was arguing, as usual. And Yo
landa was at the center. "No ex
cuses! How could you let him slip by? You had one thing to do, and you blew it!"

"Look, I didn't see you rolling out of the sack to make sure it was done right!" Rudi countered.

"You're back so soon," Brit said. "What happened?"

"Plane was earlier than scheduled. We missed him," Frank explained.

Brit frowned. "What do you mean 'missed him'? He came by. I heard him."