Safari Moon (16 page)

“Oh, that one.”

“Tell me the truth, Nyssa. Is that really
you or did my imagination run away with my mind? The entire city is
talking about Solo’s new playmate, and you’ve made me the butt of a
lot of jokes. Do you know what the caption reads? Do you?”

“No. Of course not.”

“It says you’re his wife!”

“I saw a tabloid run a picture of a giant
condor that flew off with a 747 too.” She wasn’t about to admit the
truth, and he shouldn’t jump to such outrageous conclusions without
learning the facts first.

“It’s true, isn’t it? You went to Alaska for
a honeymoon, not research. My God, Nyssa, couldn’t you tell me? I
know you and that wild man have been friends for a long time, but
Nyssa this is beyond the imagination. I feel like my world has been
turned upside down.”

“No. We’re not married.”

“Then why.”

“I--as to why, the story is too long.”

“Too long to be told over the phone?”

Of course, pages too
long
. But the gossip was going to be true
tomorrow. “Yes.”

She gripped the telephone receiver harder,
all ready with denials he’d believe. At least she hoped he’d
believe them because the alternative was far worse.

“I’ll have a ticket in my hand this
afternoon. I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“No!”

“Nyssa whatever is wrong with you, I want to
help. Clearly you’re in over your head and something is bothering
you. Your voice is shaky and at times you can barely get out a
whisper. I’m your fiancé for heaven’s sake.”

One of
two
. Nyssa collapsed onto the overstuffed
chair in the bedroom with the receiver still glued to her ear. She
was panting now as she switched the phone to the other
ear.

“No. You don’t need to come here. I’m
overworked as usual and not getting enough sleep--as usual. You’ll
only make things worse if you come. Listen, call me back in a week
or two and maybe we’ll be done and you can come for a short
visit.”

“You’re sure nothing is wrong.”

“No. Yes!”

“Which is it, Nyssa. I will not hang up this
phone until I’m sure you’re okay.” The hard edge to his voice
vanished.

She was so afraid she’d hurt Robert but this
wedding to Solo, this fake wedding, was so important to Sarah’s
health.

“Like I told you, I’m on edge. You woke me
from a sound sleep and accused me of the craziest things.”

“Sweetheart, I didn’t mean to upset you but
I had to hear your version. All the gossip revolved around us,
around you and Solo. I don’t care what people say, but I would like
to know the truth and if it concerns us I want to hear the news
from you. If the article isn’t true, I can look them all in the eye
and tell them they’re liars.”

“No. Don’t do that please. Just ignore them.
Don’t say anything. Robert, please. For me, stay out of this. I
mean--don’t say anything to anyone.”

After that speech, she had to give him a
clue. This wasn’t at all fair to him and she’d known that picture
would surface but she’d forgotten about it.

As she tried to think fast and come up with
a plausible story, she could only say, “I’ll explain everything
when I get home.” That was horrible. Yet she could not hang up
until she had his word. “You promise you won’t show up on my
doorstep.”

“I don’t like this, Nyssa, but if you
insist.”

“I do.” Why did she say that? Anything but
that. She sounded absolutely stupid.

“All right. I promise. But if I see or hear
anything else, I’ll be in Alaska and there is nothing that can stop
me.”

“Even this promise?” she asked.

“Especially the promise.”

“I’ll tell you all about the trip after I
get back. It’s so confusing.”

“I love you, Nyssa. And I’ll let you go back
to sleep. But before you do I want a promise from you.”

“Ok.”

“I want you to call me if you need me or if
anything goes wrong.”

“Promise.”

“Good girl.”

“Bye.”

Strange. Robert had never met Solo but she
could tell he didn’t like him. Solo was too flamboyant, too
roguish. Solo led life the way he wanted to, and unlike Robert he
followed his heart. Until now. Now she saw a different side to
Solo. Not that he hadn’t cared about people before it was just that
he’d never had to think of anyone else. Now he had his grandmother
to worry over and make happy.

It frightened her. When they split up, the
annulment would devastate Sarah more than anything else ever could.
Perhaps they were going about this all wrong.

Perhaps she was.

She’d followed him on this reckless
adventure, looking for a fulfillment she could never have--the
passion, the way of life that was Solo St. John. Robert offered her
a steady, permanent kind of happiness. Over the last few days she’d
learned something important about her relationship with Robert.

Robert couldn’t make her happy.

But she wanted a challenge and she wanted
passion. Was it so wrong of her to submit this once to everything
she’d desired for ten years now?

Chapter Eight

“If there aren’t any hovering helicopters
here tomorrow, he’s pulled off the coup of the century,” Candace
said dryly. “The Colonel bribed everyone we came in contact with to
stay silent, tried to bribe us too but we refused.”

Nyssa gaped openly at her friends who spoke
in hushed tones. They sat cross-legged on the bed, the door closed.
Sure enough, her two bicycle buddies arrived that afternoon on the
same small runway in the middle of nowhere. They traveled all the
way to Alaska to offer moral support and bring gifts.

“I don’t think Robert knows,” April said,
over a catalog of Greek restaurants she studied for the next
bicycle tour.

Nyssa flinched. “Robert doesn’t know because
this isn’t a real wedding.”

“What?”

Her two best friends were wide eyed with
astonishment. Juicy gossip, the society coup of the century, and
the wedding wasn’t a real wedding. “Solo and I decided we should
pretend. Oh, we’ll get married and everything but as soon as Sarah
is well, we’ll file for an annulment. Solo thinks his grandmother
needs a reason to get better, a reason to live. She’s wanted him to
marry and settle down for the longest time.”

“Everything?” April overlooked the reason
for the marriage. “The wedding night and the honeymoon too?”

Nyssa sent her a furious scowl. “You know
what I mean. It’s a marriage of convenience.”

“Oh, I understand.” April winked at them and
turned a page of the brochure she held.

“If any of the rumors about Solo St. John
are true, you won’t have grounds for an annulment,” Candace said.
“He’s supposed to be a real charmer, that one.”

Nyssa scowled again. Yeah, he did charm the
socks right off her, but she wouldn’t admit how easily to these
two.

“Sarah doesn’t look sick.” April turned a
page. “Hold it. This is the one. Look at this bed and
breakfast--perfection, has old world charm and running water
too.”

“You’re right. Sarah doesn’t look sick but
she did a few days ago and April, would you please put the catalog
away.”

Nyssa brushed their comments to the back of
her mind. What they said was true but Sarah wasn’t one to seek
sympathy and Sarah had been sick. Two weeks in the hospital--the
Colonel didn’t divulge why but the malady sapped the strength right
out of Sarah.

“Did you know your brother will arrive
tomorrow morning?” Candace asked.

Horror swept through Nyssa--shock, too. “My
brother?”

Both friends nodded solemnly. “Someone has
to give the bride away. Your brother was the logical choice.”

The event was far more real than she wanted
to acknowledge. Solo had promised. No one was to know and now her
brother would be here.

No, the wedding was a sham. She couldn’t
marry Solo in front of her friends and family. A slow torture
wasn’t too much for Solo St. John. Solo promised. He told her he’d
take care of everything.

Sarah knocked first but walked into the room
before the girls could reply, a long ivory dress held aloft, a
wedding dress.

Nyssa was stunned by Sarah’s generosity, “I
can’t wear that,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.

Solo stood behind his grandmother at the
opening of the door his eyes a dark morose blue as he resolutely
studied the scene in front of him. They hadn’t spoken since this
morning. His grandfather had hustled Solo around with this and that
chore in preparation for the wedding, she supposed.

But she didn’t want to think about tomorrow.
If she worried about the wedding and the consequences generated
from the vows, she’d feel as if she needed to escape. She couldn’t
run or hide. When the Colonel set things in motion, he did so in
grand style and nothing, not even a natural disaster could stop the
progress.

“Try the dress on. When grandmother asked me
what size you wore I had no idea what she planned, but now that I
know I approve.”

“Get out of here.” Solo’s grandmother gave
him a look that would send any real man running. “You know you’re
not supposed to see the dress before the wedding. Bad luck--you
know.”

Nyssa groaned again. She’d done a lot of
that lately. All she needed was another dose of bad luck.

“The dress is mine.” Sarah turned to Nyssa.
“I want you to wear the gown.”

Nyssa was sure she would
cry and cry hard. She was going to have a wedding dress, Sarah’s
dress. Since her parents died, she’d never thought anything like
this would ever happen to her, and it wasn’t right. The wedding was
a sham, bogus.
Damn.

There was no time to confront Solo, no
opportunity to tell him what a mess his well-laid-plans had turned
into. Sarah shooed him out of the room while he darted a quick,
helpless glance her way, but he dutifully left. “Talk to you
later.” He winked.

Once the door closed behind him, she felt
safer, a tad more secure. The dress hung from the closet door where
Sarah placed it before her grandson was prodded out of the room by
her own hand.

Nyssa ran her fingers down the length of the
dress, old fashioned yet in its own way still in style. The bead
work, sewn on in intricate, delicate patterns accented the bodice.
Tiny pearl buttons ran up the back of the dress and four fabric
roses anchored the train at the waist.

“It’s beautiful,” April said.

“Exquisite,” Candace added.

With tears in her eyes she turned to Sarah.
“I-I can’t wear the gown.” Her voice was thready, barely there.
Awed by the dress and the thought behind the gift all the tension
and the emotions she’d held in check overpowered her.

“Don’t be silly. Of course you can. Solo
commandeered one of your dresses to use for a model, and I know the
fit is perfect. I hired the best seamstress I know to alter it. Go
ahead. Try it on.”

“I don’t know.” She didn’t want to face the
implications. Nyssa couldn’t look Sarah in the eye if Sarah knew
her grandson didn’t want to marry her, and she couldn’t stand to
have her brother give her away. The dishonesty ate at her.

“I’ll come back later, dear, when you’re not
so busy. You have to try the dress on before the ceremony--just to
make sure. I can understand your hesitancy but there’s no reason to
refuse my offer.”

Sarah smiled warmly then left.

A few minutes later Nyssa could hear Sarah
and the Colonel in hushed voices outside her door.

A heavy silence filled the bedroom while all
three women stared at each other and waited for someone to
speak.

Finally, “From what I understand this is for
a good cause. No one will get hurt,” Candace told her. “You’re a
saint.”

“You don’t understand.” Nyssa massaged her
throbbing temples. “My brother will object and if I say the
vows--in his eyes--I’ll be married. Forever. Permanently.”

“You have to believe Solo when he says it
will all work out. You have no choice.”

“Oh yes I do. I’ll talk to Solo.”

She stepped into the front room but Solo was
gone--everyone was gone. The steady hammering from the front porch
told her the preparations continued in earnest.

Sarah noticed her first and somehow knew she
wanted to speak with Solo.

“He’s by the airstrip,” Sarah said.

“Thanks,” Nyssa said and headed down the
trail.

When Nyssa saw him, she hesitated. He stood,
straight and tall with his back to her, his hands stuffed into his
pockets. The wind ruffling through his hair, his flannel shirt
billowing behind him made him look rugged and a little rough around
the edges.

His posture while straight and stiff, gave
him a vulnerable appearance. Even as she watched him, frozen and
silent in the background, he must have sensed her presence. When he
turned, the smile he bestowed upon her made her heart leap, but
then the smile vanished. He looked hurt, bewildered too, if that
was possible.