Safari Moon (13 page)

“What did Sarah say? Will she stay until the
wedding? I don’t think I can stand the tension much longer. It’s a
lie, Solo. What if she finds out and has a relapse?”

“Nyssa, don’t babble,” he said, grinning.
“Did you wake up with all this confusion in your head?”

“Of course I didn’t. It’s just
that--this--that all this has," she paused for breath. "It has made
me sick to my stomach with worry.”

“Relax pumpkin. I’m here for you. Tell me
what bothers you and I’ll fix it.” He clenched the little red box
in his hand and wondered if he should give the ring to her now.

“Can’t you find something else to call
me?”

“I suppose so.” She got
upset over the strangest things.
What was
wrong with “pumpkin”?

“You don’t get it, do you?” she said. “Don’t
give me names of endearment you don’t mean, and don’t call me
pumpkin.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. What
was it he didn’t get?

“I need to get dressed,” she said. “Don’t we
have to watch the wolves? And Solo, I don’t want to be reminded I’m
unfaithful and my fiancé knows nothing about it, nor do I ever plan
to tell him. And of course if he does find out, I don’t have one
excuse for my behavior. You should have found some other man’s
fiancée and propositioned her.”

“Don’t even think that.”

The telephone rang and even though Solo
wanted to stay and continue this conversation, he picked up the
phone. Old Robert was on the line and Solo didn’t like the sudden
and very explosive rise of jealousy he felt when he heard Robert’s
voice.

“It’s for you,” he said curtly then handed
the phone to Nyssa. He strode to the door but couldn’t find the
energy to leave so he leaned against it and smiled at her.

When she hesitated, he nodded. “Go on. Talk
to him.”

She held the receiver in one hand. “What do
I tell him?”

He watched her moisten her lips, watched her
hesitate and wince slightly before she brought the phone to her
ear. He wished he could hear both ends of the conversations.
Nyssa’s end sadly lacked information, and by the simple nods and
muttered responses, he wouldn’t learn much.

“Don’t let him hassle you and tell him as
much of the truth as you dare. All if you can. He should know that
you’re okay. Tell him about our engagement. I know I’d want to
know.”

She covered the mouthpiece with her hand.
“You’re impossible and you know I can’t tell him. If I do, he’ll
fly out here.”

“That’s what I’d do too. There are no rules
for this game.”

“Solo St. John this is no game,” she
whispered hotly, holding the phone away from her ear. “I don’t know
what to tell him.”

“Say you forgot to call and that you’ve been
busy. He’ll understand that you’re out here to work. Tell him no
matter what, he can not visit.”

“Well, that will keep him away.”

“Nyssa,” Solo tried again, “I think you
should learn to relax where old Robert is concerned. You don’t have
to live up to his expectations. Remember you’re a valuable,
beautiful person in your own right. About work--”

“Yes? What?”

Nyssa held the receiver in her lap. Even
from where he stood, he could hear old Robert’s voice drone on and
on. It made him smile to think Nyssa had forgotten Robert.

“Hang up, Nyssa. I won’t talk to you when
you’ve got another man on hold.”

“Robert--I’ve got to go now. It’s an
emergency.” She set the phone down softly.

He began to appreciate his grandmother’s
idea of a romantic dinner, and he had absolutely nothing against
Vanytha Harrington wearing his ring. In fact, he liked the
idea.

“Listen,” he said, “we’re not going to work
tonight. I’ve worn you out needlessly and we need a vacation.”

“Not work? But--”

“Hush. Now, I know the sooner we finish
here, the sooner you can get back to town and your fiancé. But we
can’t work nonstop because you’re exhausted, and we’ve a lot to
talk about, plans to make.”

“Solo, don’t.”

“Don’t what? Do you want to fly back to Bend
a married couple and have to answer your fiancé's questions?”

“Heavens, no!” She shuddered, and Solo took
that to mean she would go along with him tonight and discuss the
arrangements. Negotiations that would make everyone happy, if that
were possible, which he sincerely doubted it was.

“I’m fixing you dinner and you’re going to
relax.”

***

Considering he was stuck in Alaska, in the
wilderness, he’d done a good job of setting up a romantic dinner.
At least the chili was hot and the bread fresh.

He’d had to dig deep into his supplies to
find a nice bottle of wine, a Riesling which didn’t go very well
with the chili but would have to do. And did it matter that the
wine glasses were actually coffee mugs? He hoped not.

The long-stemmed red roses his grandmother
brought for them were in a tea pot on the center of the kitchen
table, looking slightly disabled but smelling--rosy.

Nyssa wouldn’t laugh but this was comical.
No, Nyssa was far too sensitive to other people’s feelings to laugh
but she might cry.

Solo decided to get rid of the flowers and
the wine but stopped when he saw the ring box. This meant so much
to his grandmother, the romance, the courting. If she could see
this travesty, she’d swear and his grandmother never swore.

Such a ragged looking table but it did have
a rough kind of charm. Perhaps this wasn’t such a terrible idea
after all.

He lit the only candles he could find in the
cabin. They were short and fat, far from romantic yet they fit. And
they did give off a warm glow that lightened his spirits and gave
him a strange kind of hope for the future.

The screen door creaked open and he could
hear the hesitant tread of her footsteps across the living room
floor.

“Solo? What’s going on?” she asked.

The mood called for warmth, he realized, and
for the first time in a few hours he felt satisfied. When she
stepped into the kitchen, she looked wonderful. The fatigue that
had settled around her eyes was gone, and he knew the walk had done
her a world of good.

“Nothing--at least,” he felt tongue tied and
foolish again--like a teenager with his first love. How on earth
did he tell her the dinner was supposed to soften her up so he
could give her his great-grandmother’s ring? “You deserve this. I
wanted you to relax.” Solo moved closer to help her with her
jacket, but she stiffened the instant he touched her. “Nyssa,
what’s wrong?”

“You surprised me.” Her voice trembled.

Nyssa had the most beguiling eyes--a come
hither look. Her eyes were a summer blue. They matched the color of
the sky, and they sparkled, reminding him that beneath the surface
of this prim and proper lady was a woman who wanted fun in her life
and more often than not had something devilishly wicked on her
mind.

She was dressed in semi-short navy cutoffs,
a soft shell tucked into them at the waist, very casual, outdoorsy.
Even here, in the almost dark room, she looked mischievous. With
candle glow outlining her figure, bringing out the rosy hue to her
cheeks, and the soft berry color of her lips, she was
beautiful.

He touched her elbow with every intent to
guide her to her chair. She appeared startled, frightened, so
unlike the way she usually looked at him, so different from their
friendly relationship.

He needed to kiss her yet it took all his
restraint not to.

All he had to do was slide his hand down to
the small of her back and pull her towards him. If he did, he could
hold her, bring his mouth to hers, and he could lose himself in all
that was so fine and good about Nyssa.

He needed her. Solo couldn’t ever remember
desiring anyone so much or with such intensity.

No matter how often this mysterious
magnetism between them escalated, he was determined to rid himself
of the feeling. How could he look at his pal and feel as though the
rug had been pulled from his feet? How could he desire her so
completely?

He could not surrender to his baser
instincts. Not with Nyssa.

Immediately, he stepped away, waving her to
a chair. Under cover of rearranging the pottery dishes, he tried to
regain his balance and slow his rapid heart rate.

“What are you cooking?” she asked.

“Chili.”

“That sounds good.”

Stiff and formal--this was not his
intention. She was supposed to relax before they ate, before he
gave her the ring. The atmosphere was all wrong. He knew it. She
knew it.

“Can I help?”

He laughed self-consciously, his mind
wandering again. “No.”

Damn
. How had he let things get so bad? Smothering? This wasn’t
at all typical of his relationship with her. Until now. Until he
wanted to make things romantic, until he wanted to impress
her.

For some reason, she suddenly didn’t look as
rattled as he felt. She sat down and waited for him as if nothing
were wrong, or different.

The steaming bowls of chili sat in front of
them, and he cut the bread for her before he handed her a piece. He
swirled his spoon around in his bowl then tapped the handle a few
times on the rim.

“Are we going out tonight?” she asked.

A simple question but he couldn’t think of
an answer. Of course they were going out. He had a deadline to meet
and this engagement could not stop his work, but they could enjoy
the dinner. “Yes,” he said. But then he remembered telling her the
opposite.

“We need to hurry, don’t we?”

“Yes,” he said.

Her spoon stopped half-way to her mouth. “Is
something wrong?”

Their gazes collided as he looked up and
into the soft blue of her eyes. He wished he could read her mind,
wished he’d taken more time to talk with Nyssa years ago so he’d
better understand her now.

“How is your chili?” he asked, when nothing
better to say entered his head. Solo cleared his throat as the
spoon Nyssa had held in check only a few moments ago reached her
mouth.

“Hmm--” She licked her lips. “There has to
be something wrong.”

“No. It’s just that I feel a little awkward.
I wanted to celebrate.”

“Celebrate?”

“Yes, well, we made it through the day.
Grandmother looks well, and I thought that since we’re officially
engaged--”

“In the eyes of your grandparents.”

“Well, yes. But it is official to them and
we have to act as if it’s the real thing.”

“You’re not making sense, Solo St.
John.”

She cocked her head and a few wispy strands
of hair fell from their pins.

“Nyssa, I want you to wear my ring.” Solo
placed the box in her hand and watched as she opened it.
“Grandmother and I discussed this. She gave me her mother’s
engagement ring and made me promise I would give it to you. If you
don’t wear this, she is going to ask questions.”

Nyssa looked horrified. A lone tear slid
down her cheek and she let the box fall to the floor. In slow
motion, she stood, her eyes blank. In another instant she was gone,
dashing wildly through the cabin into the night.

Blindsided, Solo sat frozen for a moment. He
heard the sound of the front door bang shut, the rapid steps of
tennis shoes pound on the porch, and the rain against the rooftop.
Strange, he’d been so caught up in the celebration he hadn’t
thought of the weather.

Automatically, he bent down and retrieved
the box.

Nyssa was outside in the dark and in the
rain. He shot from his chair and dashed after her. Once outside
Solo paused in mid-stride, his attention riveted, and his senses
honed to every sound.

The night was so dark and so cold. His heart
beat louder than the storm overhead. Sweat blended with the rivers
of water that streamed across his face and neck.

He could hear nothing.

Too many minutes passed. Unexpectedly, she
stood in front of him, trembling. Her hair was plastered to her
scalp her clothes to her body. His breath caught in the back of his
throat and still they stood motionless, staring at each other.

Finally, she said, “I’m cold.”

The spell shattered. Solo came to his
senses, racing to her before she blended with the rain. He swept
her into his arms then headed for the cabin and the bathroom in the
back.

“We have to get you out of these
clothes.”

“You too.” Her voice quivered while her body
trembled, wracked with shudders. “I’m sorry.”

“Here, let me help,” he said when it became
apparent her fingers were so numb she couldn’t get her clothes off.
He pushed aside her hands and fumbled with the endless buttons and
their tiny button holes.

“What about you?”