Читать книгу The Unexpected Father - Kathryn Ross, Kathryn Ross - Страница 8

CHAPTER THREE

THE iridescent pearly light of dawn was streaking the African sky as Josh and Samantha loaded the truck for their journey.

The morning air was fresh and still cool. Samantha shivered slightly as she watched Josh putting a first-aid kit and large water and petrol cans safely in the Jeep. She pulled her cardigan closer around her slender figure, glad that she had decided to wear lightweight jeans for this journey—a journey that was making her feel more nervous by the minute.

She felt she had made a momentous decision in deciding to travel with Josh. She just hoped it wasn’t a decision she would have cause to regret.

Josh leaned into the car and opened the glove compartment. A cool flicker of light reflected on the cold steel of a hand-gun for just a moment before he closed the door on it again.

‘We don’t need that...surely?’ she asked breathlessly.

‘Probably not.’ He shrugged, then, turning, met her wide, horrified stare with calm eyes. ‘I don’t intend to use it.’

‘Then why have it?’

‘Because it might mean the difference between life and death,’ he said in a cursory tone. ‘Sometimes it pays to have a deterrent, something that will buy you time.’

Samantha wasn’t convinced; that much showed on her expressive face. Josh bent to pick up the suitcase that was sitting on the ground next to her and changed the subject.

‘Is this all you’re taking?’ he asked as he tossed the small case into the back of the Jeep.

‘That’s it.’ She shrugged a trifle self-consciously. ‘You don’t tend to collect a lot of belongings living out here.’

He smiled at that. ‘My ex-wife never travelled anywhere without three large suitcases—two for her clothes, the other for her fashion accessories.’

Samantha digested this piece of information silently. Josh was divorced...or rather he had been divorced... maybe he had remarried by now. It struck her at that moment that she knew very little about this man—a man she would be entrusting her life to for two days out in the middle of nowhere. She swallowed down the apprehensive thoughts.

Josh had been a friend of Ben’s; he must be all right. Besides, if it hadn’t been for Josh she would probably not be alive today, she told herself rationally. ‘Was your ex-wife a fashion model?’ she asked drily after a moment.

‘As a matter of fact, she was.’ He grinned at her.

Samantha wasn’t sure whether he was teasing her or not. ‘Well, she certainly wasn’t a nurse at Chuanga Hospital,’ she said with a shrug. ‘The only accessories you can lay your hands on here are bandages, and we’re fast running out of them.’

He laughed at that and slammed the back of the car shut. ‘On that happy note, perhaps we should hit the road and get out of here now?’

She nodded, her heart starting to beat a rapid, nervous tattoo again. It wasn’t just the thought of the danger that lay ahead of them on the road that made her nervous, it was the thought that she was leaving her job, the place that had been her home for over two years, and she was leaving to face an unknown destiny.

A door opened behind them and Sister Roberts came out with Nurse Kelly and several of Samantha’s work colleagues.

‘We thought we would give you a royal send-off.’ Joanne Kelly grinned at Samantha. ‘We’re going to miss you.’

‘Not too much, I hope,’ Samantha said honestly, her gaze moving to the sister anxiously. ‘I must admit that I feel incredibly guilty about this—as if I’m running out on you, that I’m letting you down by leaving.’

Sister Roberts shook her head. ‘You’re a fine nurse, Samantha and you have worked well for us over the years. We are grateful for that.’

The two women embraced. ‘Take care,’ the sister whispered as they pulled apart.

When Samantha turned to get into the Jeep she saw Joanne reaching to kiss Josh full on the lips. ‘Good luck,’ she was saying softly. ‘And if you ever come back this way, look me up.’

Samantha swung herself up behind the wheel. ‘When you are ready, Mr Hamilton,’ she said as she started the engine.

He grinned at that, but didn’t exactly hurry himself. ‘Thanks for looking after me so well, Joanne,’ he said, touching the nurse’s face with a gentle hand.

Samantha revved the engine and he turned and got in beside her. ‘What’s the matter, Sam?’ he asked derisively. ‘Anybody would think you were jealous.’

Irritation flitted briefly through Samantha as she put her foot down on the accelerator. ‘Of what?’ she grated sardonically. ‘You do like to flatter yourself, don’t you?’

He laughed at that, his laugh warm and attractive in the early-morning air.

Then she turned to wave to her colleagues and her irritation with Josh Hamilton was forgotten. She drove slowly out of the hospital compound, past the church where just a couple of days ago she had said a final goodbye to her husband, then down the narrow village street. A few schoolchildren standing along the roadside waved to them happily and shouted goodbye, their faces bright and smiling, their clothes shabby but well washed. Their laughing, playful voices drifted in the early-morning stillness.

As they left the village of Chuanga the sun was lifting higher in the sky, turning it from gold to crimson. Ahead the road was straight and undulating through the scrubland. Even though it was still early, heat shimmered against the horizon, like a molten wave of water.

The road was uneven and they bounced against the suspension as Samantha crunched through the gears.

Josh grimaced. ‘You may as well keep the Jeep in top,’ he advised drily. ‘You don’t have to worry about traffic lights or junctions, just a few wild animals who might decide to cross your path.’

She pushed her long hair back from her face and flicked him an impatient look. ‘I’m not completely stupid,’ she told him brusquely.

‘I hope not,’ he said laconically. ‘Otherwise I would never have asked you to drive.’ He picked up a pair of binoculars and trained them on the road ahead for a moment.

He’s so arrogant, she thought angrily. Joanne must be completely off her rocker to find such a man attractive.

Then the surface of the road changed to what amounted to a mere dirt track. ‘Keep your foot down,’ he directed her curtly as they hit the rough patch and she instinctively started to ease up on the gas.

‘Who is driving this car?’ Her tone was sarcastic.

‘You are.’ He grinned at her, his eyes moving over the soft curves of her body. ‘And may I say you are doing so beautifully?’

‘Don’t patronise me,’ she told him crossly. Then she found the car wheels spinning ineffectually as they became momentarily stuck in deep ruts in the road.

‘I hate to say, I told you so,’ Josh drawled. ‘But if you don’t keep your foot down that’s going to happen again and again.’

‘Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a know-it-all?’

‘I’ve been called worse.’

Gritting her teeth, she did as he said and the vehicle jerked along obligingly. As they drove, it felt as if the car was walking over the terrain, first one side then the other, negotiating small hillocks and deep gouges in the earth.

As the hours passed and the sun climbed higher in the sky the heat became more and more intense. Dust flying in through the open top of the Jeep caught on Samantha’s throat until it felt like sandpaper.

‘It’s like an oven out here,’ she commented rawly, unfastening the top buttons on her T-shirt in a vain attempt to let some cool air flood over her body.

Josh glanced at his watch. ‘Nearly midday,’ he murmured almost to himself. ‘We haven’t done bad.’

‘Thanks.’ She cast a sardonic glance in his direction at the grudging compliment. She was the one who ‘hadn’t done bad’.

Josh grinned, leaned over into the back of the Jeep and brought out a can of cola. ‘Can I tempt you to something refreshing?’

Samantha’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘Where did you get that?’

‘Corner shop,’ he answered drolly.

She frowned. ‘You know what I mean. Cans of that particular drink are like gold-dust these days in Chuanga.’

‘Strange how the most ordinary, mundane things assume enormous desirability when you can’t get them, isn’t it?’ He smiled. ‘This was a parting gift from Joanne. She really is quite a girl.’ He held the can out to her.

Was there an innuendo in those words somewhere? she wondered grimly. Did he mean that his laid-back, devilmay-care indifference was what made Joanne so keen...or was the heat making her read things into an innocent remark? Despite the fact that her throat felt parched and on fire, she had a moment of hesitation before accepting the drink. Something about Joanne Kelly’s blantant desire for this man irritated her immensely.

‘Are you referring, in your own modest way, to the fact that Joanne found you attractive?’ she murmured caustically as she tipped the can to her lips. The liquid wasn’t as cold as she would have liked it, but it was nectar to her parched throat.

A gleam of amusement lit his eyes. ‘Well, actually, I would never describe myself as ordinary or mundane, but...’ He shrugged. ‘As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’

‘Yes, there’s no accounting for taste.’ She handed the can back to him. ‘Do women usually throw themselves at you like that?’

‘Only on days with a Y in them,’ he said with a mischievous glint in his green eyes.

‘Very funny.’ She turned her attention firmly back to the road in front of them. ‘What does your wife think about it?’ she asked nonchalantly.

‘She’s my ex-wife. I thought I’d already mentioned that fact.’

‘I’m surprised you haven’t married again, what with all these women chasing you.’ Samantha’s mouth slanted in a wry smile.

‘The idea doesn’t appeal,’ he said, lifting his binoculars and scanning the horizon again. ‘Some men just aren’t cut out for marriage.’

Was he like Ben? she wondered suddenly.

‘Want me to take over while you get something to eat?’ Josh’s voice brought her attention winging back with a jolt.

‘Are you up to driving?’ she asked hesitantly.

‘I’ll manage. The road is pretty good here.’

If Josh described this road as good, she wasn’t looking forward to the bad bits. Driving here had been like driving across a motorbike assault course.

She pulled the Jeep to a halt and got out to change places with him. It felt good to stretch her legs; she hadn’t realised just how stiff she had got behind that wheel.

The air was hot and still, and a few grazing impala nearby turned to watch them warily, ready for flight at the first sign of danger.

‘It’s so beautiful out here,’ Samantha sighed as she settled herself in the passenger seat. ‘Hard to believe that there is so much fighting.’

‘Hard to believe man’s stupidity, you mean?’ Josh eased the Jeep forward again, his voice grim.

His tone of voice startled Samantha. ‘You sound angrey. ’

‘You bet I’m bloody angry, but what good does it do?’ He was silent for a moment. ‘All I can do is report on the atrocities I see and hope that a small seed of sanity will grow.’

The words surprised Samantha. She hadn’t pegged Josh Hamilton as the type who gave a damn. Suddenly she found herself wondering if that assessment had been unjustly harsh. ‘My experience of your colleagues has led me to believe that most reporters here are only interested in getting a sensational story,’ she murmured lightly.

‘Not wishing to sound rude, but you don’t strike me as the type of person to be experienced in very much except for what goes on at Chuanga Hospital,’ he quipped tersely. For a second he took his eyes off the road to let his gaze rake over the pallor of her skin, the soft, vulnerable slant of her mouth.

‘Like life and death, you mean?’ Her eyes shimmered frostily. ‘Mr Hamilton, I’ve lived in the middle of a civil war for over two years. Take my word for it when I say that I’ve learnt a few things along the way.’

‘I’m sure you have, but it hasn’t toughened you up, has it?’

She frowned. ‘I’m not sure I understand the significance of that question. Have you got to be tough to be worldlywise?’

He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Put it this way—you don’t look very streetwise. There’s something about you that suggests softness, vulnerability. You look as if you need looking after.’

Samantha was totally outraged at those words. ‘I can look after myself.’ Her voice shook slightly with the force of her emotion. ‘I can assure you that I’m a past master at it.’

He cast a speculative glance at her. ‘So Ben wasn’t the protective type?’

She looked away from him out towards the vast empty plains. ‘I didn’t get married to have a protector.’

‘No, of course not.’ His voice was cool and steady. ‘Why did you get married?’

Her head turned swiftly, her eyes cutting into his with furious intent. How had they managed to skate onto the thin ice of the subject of her marriage? She was damned if she was going to discuss such personal matters with a complete stranger. ‘The usual reasons.’ She bit the words out sharply. ‘Not that it’s any of your business.’

‘Of course not.’ He sounded totally unperturbed by her anger.

For a moment there was silence, and she thought that the conversation was at an end. Her heart was beating uncomfortably hard against her ribs.

‘By “usual reasons” I presume you are talking about love?’ he said after a minute or two, flicking those cool green eyes over her once more.

‘For heaven’s sake!’ she flared heatedly. ‘Of course I mean love!’ She swallowed hard, trying desperately to quell the rush of emotion flooding through her. She would rather die than admit to Josh Hamilton that Ben had never loved her, that their marriage had been a hollow sham. She had her pride. ‘You knew Ben. Do you think he would have married someone he didn’t love?’ She glared at him with the full force of her feelings.

Josh shrugged. ‘I suppose not.’ Then his voice changed and became surprisingly gentle as he met the shimmer in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Sam...I didn’t mean to upset you. That was crass of me.’

‘Doesn’t matter.’ Her voice was brittle as for a moment she had to fight against the tears that wanted to fall.

Conversation stopped for a while. Then Josh said kindly, ‘I put the food in the cooler unit behind you; why don’t you help yourself to something?’

The last thing she felt like doing was eating. ‘Maybe a little later.’ She leaned her head back against the car seat, trying to appear nonchalant, trying to hide the fact that her emotions were racing around in circles. ‘I’ll just rest for a while,’ she said lightly, and closed her eyes against the glare of the sun.

Inside, her mind was whirling around and around over Josh’s words. ‘Why did you get married?’ ‘Usual reasons... usual reasons...’ The words played over and over like a parody in her head. What would Josh have said if she had turned around and told him the truth—that she had married out of a desperate need for warmth and affection? He would probably have found that terribly amusing.

She opened her eyes, and to her embarrassment found her gaze colliding with his.

‘Aren’t you hungry?’ he asked gently. ‘You should really eat something.’

‘I suppose so.’ Her voice was unenthusiastic. It was only the thought of her baby that made her reach into the back to comply.

She held out some of the meagre rations to him but he shook his head. ‘You go ahead; I’ll have something later.’

Samantha ate mechanically, her eyes fixed on the far horizon. A herd of zebra caught her attention as they ran across the plains, their black and white stripes made hazy by the dancing heat so that they seemed to merge with the landscape as if they were a growing part of it. Slowly she started to relax.

She shouldn’t really have snapped at Josh the way she had, she thought with contrition. Since she had become pregnant her emotions had seemed to see-saw dramatically, making her feel things acutely. These days she was never quite sure if her feelings could be trusted or if they were merely distorted by hormones. Sometimes she wondered if this whole episode in her life was merely a bad dream...one that she would wake up from at any minute.

She glanced back at Josh. He was a tough-looking man, his features etched in a hard-boned face, his jaw square and determined. There was nothing dream-like about him; he was a rugged, vital male from the tip of his unruly dark head of hair down over his lithe, well-toned body. Dominant was the word that sprang to mind as she looked at him. Dominant and powerful—a man who was always in charge of a situation, who invariably got what he wanted.

Why had he got married? she wondered idly. Had he been wildly in love? For some reason she suspected that with Josh Hamilton there would be no half-feelings. He was the type of man to feel something totally.

‘Feel better now?’ he asked, turning to meet her eyes.

She nodded. ‘Sorry if I was a bit sharp before,’ she said huskily.

‘Don’t worry about it. It was my fault anyway. I guess asking awkward questions is one of those idiosyncrasies that a reporter never loses—even when he isn’t working.’

‘Well, let’s just forget it anyway,’ she said brightly, then changed the subject. ‘Would you like me to take over the driving again?’

‘I thought you would never ask,’ he said with a laugh.

After that they travelled in a companionable silence. The road wound higher as they reached the mountainous region of Charracana. At one point the dirt track was just wide enough for one car, and the drop on the left-hand side of the Jeep was sheer, giving dizzying glimpses of the dry river basin hundreds of feet below.

‘I’m glad this isn’t a busy thoroughfare,’ Samantha joked nervously as she negotiated the twists in the road with extreme care.

‘I’m just glad you’re a competent driver,’ Josh said with a gleam of humour in his voice. ‘Because I’m the one staring down at the drop.’

When the road dipped into the valley on the other side the sun was starting to go down in a blazing ball of violent orange. Josh suggested that they pull the car off the road and call it a night.

‘The road is worse a little further on,’ he said seriously. ‘I think we need to negotiate it in daylight.’

Samantha nodded. She had no wish to travel along roads like these in the dark. ‘Where do you think we should stop?’

He pointed ahead towards where the undergrowth was thicker. ‘Up by the trees. Pull it well off the road—that way it will be hidden if anything happens to pass in the night.’

A shiver of apprehension darted through Samantha at those words. She knew very well that he was referring to rebel guerilla forces. They were in very dangerous territory now. No man’s land.

As soon as she had pulled the Jeep to a halt, Josh got out and started to gather pieces of branches and greenery to drape over the bonnet of the vehicle.

‘May as well minimise the risk of being seen,’ he said as she got out to help him. ‘That way we can sleep a little easier.’

By the time the sun had gone down the Jeep was festooned with branches and leaves.

‘Pretty good handiwork,’ Josh remarked as he stood further back on the road to survey their efforts. ‘Shall we break out the dinner rations before putting our heads down?’

Samantha nodded and then glanced around at the dark undergrowth that surrounded them. ‘I’m going to have to pay a visit to the little girls’ room first.’

He grinned and held out a torch towards her. ‘Better take this and watch out for snakes. We have all the mod cons out here.’

Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. ‘I think I’ve just gone off the idea.’

‘Go on.’ He waved her towards the bushes and then added jokingly, ‘Don’t be long or your dinner will be ruined.’

‘Well, we can always reheat it in the microwave,’ she said, joining in the spirit of things as she turned away. Her smile faded a little as she moved carefully into the lush vegetation behind her. The thought of snakes and God knew what else made her decide not to go too far. She was back to the relative safety of the car in a few seconds.

At first she couldn’t see Josh, just the vague, camouflaged shape of the Jeep. Then he peered up over the branches. ‘I decided to book a table for two in here,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Can you climb in so as not to disturb our handiwork?’

‘I might just manage that.’ It took her a moment to hoist herself up and then swing her legs over the door. ‘Don’t leave the waiter a tip,’ she panted as she slid into her seat. ‘Damn bad table he’s given us.’

‘Good view of the conservatory, though.’ Josh handed her the dry biscuits that had become part of their staple diet at Chuanga since the supply trucks hadn’t been getting through.

‘Definitely no tip for the waiter,’ Samantha said as she bit into one. ‘The food here is terrible.’

‘I can’t understand it—I ordered us both a steak,’ Josh said with a shake of his head. ‘And, believe it or not, this place came highly recommended.’

‘Who by? Kermit the Frog?’ Samantha smiled.

‘Actually it was Fozzie Bear.’ Josh crunched into another biscuit and washed it down with water. ‘Hell, these are awful. Soon as we get back to civilisation I’m going to treat you to a good meal.’

‘Is that a promise?’

For a moment their eyes met and held.

Why had she said that? she wondered, her heart jumping nervously.

‘I believe it is.’ He reached out a hand and touched her cheek. It was a curiously tender gesture and it sent a shiver racing through her.

‘Of course, the offer is subject to availability,’ he said, moving away from her again.

Then Samantha just smiled. He was joking, of course. When they got back to civilisation they would just say goodbye and their ways would part for ever.

She leaned her head back to look up at the sky, her dark hair falling away from her face, leaving its youthful, classical features exposed to the silvery moonlight.

The night was incredibly beautiful—the stars were big and bright and clear, and the moon looked almost like a piece of costume jewellery, sparkling and too large to be real.

For a moment she found herself remembering how she had looked out at the sky the night of the mortar attack on the hospital. She had wondered that night which direction she should take next...what to do about Ben’s rejection of their baby.

It seemed that fate had decided those things for her. One direct hit on the hospital and her life had veered sharply on a path for home, in the company of a stranger she barely knew.

Who decided these things...? Had Ben’s death been written down in some book up in heaven? Was her fate written there too? She shivered at that thought. Of course her fate wasn’t written; life was what you made it. She remembered her mother saying that to her many years ago.

‘Are you cold?’ Josh reached into the back of the Jeep and pulled out one of the blankets to throw it over her legs. ‘The nights are colder up in the mountains.’

‘Thanks.’ Her voice held the edge of a tremor.

‘Eat up,’ he urged gently. ‘The management have sent a good dessert to make up for the main course.’ He held up a squashed chocolate bar.

She laughed. ‘You are full of surprises, Mr Hamilton.’

‘The surprise is that it hasn’t melted completely. At least the cold night air is good for something.’

Samantha smiled. She liked the way Josh could turn a dreadful meal, a dangerous situation into something light-hearted. She was about to reply when he suddenly moved, and his hand clamped firmly down over her mouth.

A wave of surprise flooded through her. If this was Josh’s idea of a joke she didn’t think it at all funny. She was about to struggle, make her discomfort and annoyance at such an action clear, when Josh whispered for her to be quiet in a tone that held no hint of a joke.

Cold fear trickled down her spine in that moment as she heard what he must have heard seconds before her: the distant sounds of voices.

Her eyes, wide and horrified, met his as those voices came closer and she recognised the native dialect of one of the fiercest warring tribes.

She knew that if they were found now, their time was up.