A Stirring from Salem (12 page)

Brendan could sense the undercurrent between Vince and Charley.

Charley was, after all, one of those girls who had “it.” At least the “it” Brendan was looking for. And if anyone had asked her, she’d have said the same about him.

The problem was that he could tell Vince had “it,” too. Vince had gone through the requisite party scenes in New York, London, and the South of France and had developed a reputation as not only a celeb photographer but also a confirmed womanizer. His reputation was as huge as his god-given “gifts.”

When he set his well-trained eye on a woman, she was helpless. And Vince had not often come across a female as desirable and unobtainable as Charley Gaines. Brendan had seen the way Vince looked at Charley during the shoot in the boma. It was a look indicating an interest in being more than just boss and assistant. It was the look of a predator with his prey. And since Brendan’s job was to protect his guests from the predators, he decided to offer to be their escort back to the suite.

When Brendan approached Charley and Vince and told them he’d be escorting them, Charley’s heart leapt into her throat. I’m not drooling, she said to herself as she wiped her mouth. But can he hear my heart beating?

Charley’s heart rate was so strong that she could have sworn the ngoma drums were still pounding. She also knew she had a stupid grin on her face, but she hoped the low light of the glowing torches kept Brendan from seeing it.

“Thanks,” Vince said. “But we know where we’re headed.”

“And I’d lose my job if I let you go alone, Mr. Castle,” Brendan answered. “You never know what dangers are lurking in the shadows around here.”

His steady gaze met Vince’s.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re trying to tell me something,” Vince shot back with a sly grin.

“We should get a move on, unless you’re staying for dinner,” Brendan answered. He was trying to be neither confrontational nor snarky. Whatever he felt about Vince Castle at the moment, he was still a paying guest at Londolani. “Not sure you realized the other guests are already here.”

Brendan indicated John and Marlena, now conversing with Wen and Jiao-jie who’d just arrived.

“Then let’s hit it,” Vince said, smiling.

Charley led the way, which brought her face to face with John and Marlena.

“This was all really fascinating, Charley,” Marlena said, smiling.

“Thank you,” Charley answered.

Why do I have to deal with this now? Charley thought.

“John Black,” John said, extending his hand to Vince. “Sorry if we’re at all in the way here.”

“I didn’t expect other people here during the shoot, but I guess everyone has to make money. Even the people who have it,” Vince answered as he ignored John’s gesture. “If you’ll excuse us, we still have a lot to do.”

Vince indicated for Charley to move on.

“Maybe we can link up tomorrow,” she said to John, though her voice held little conviction.

“We’ll see,” John answered. He was smart enough not to push. “Have a good night.”

“You, too,” Charley answered before nodding to Marlena.

The moment was awkward as Marlena merely nodded in return. Charley was very aware that Brendan had witnessed it all.

***

“I hear you’re shooting at the watering hole tomorrow morning,” Brendan said, making conversation as they headed to the suite.

“We are,” Charley answered. “Will you be there?”

The minute that came out of her mouth, Charley regretted it. I sound like I’m twelve, she thought.

“Tomorrow’s my day off.” Brendan smiled. “But I’m sure you’ll have a terrific experience. It’s the best place for spotting all kinds of wild creatures.”

“Guess that’s why we’re shooting there,” Vince said, shaking his head. “And here we are, my friend, so thanks again.”

Vince opened the handcrafted door and indicated for Charley to go in first.

“I’ll be right there,” she said, which surprised even her.

“Well, fine,” Vince answered. “But we’ve got a lot of prep for tomorrow.”

Charley nodded and Vince reluctantly went inside. She and Brendan were alone for the first time, and now she was flustered.

“Well, thanks for walking us back,” she said.

“My pleasure,” he answered. “I was impressed with how you handled everyone tonight. We all were.”

“Yes…all,” she said. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I know you can see there’s something going on between me and John and Marlena Black.”

“Yep,” was his simple answer. “But I also know it’s none of my business.”

But it is your business, she thought, gazing into his eyes. I’m not sure why yet, but it is.

“I lost both of my parents last year…” she said, her voice trailing off.

“And they stepped in,” Brendan answered for her.

“It’s not quite that simple,” Charley said.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I like them,” Brendan said. “Especially after what happened on the ride.”

Charley gave him a quizzical look.

“I don’t usually show anyone videos I’ve taken of other guests, but…” he said.

Charley was more curious than ever.

“We tell everyone to be careful when they have to ‘go,’ because this is Africa and there are no porta-potties in the wild. We’d finished our sundowners, and Marlena needed to ‘freshen up,’ so she did.” He smirked. “When she was done, I caught this on my iPhone.”

Brendan pulled out the iPhone and opened a video taken at the end of their stop for sundowners under a sprawling Umbrella Thorn tree.

Charley watched and her eyes widened.

There in living color was Marlena, walking calmly from a large thicket of bushes and totally unaware of the toilet paper streaming out of the back of her pants and the three massive rhinos trailing her.

“Oh, no…!” Charley couldn’t help but laugh.

“She was a real trouper, though,” Brendan said. “I got everyone back into the Rover with no problem, but that was one dangerous little moment.”

“Really?” Charley asked, not believing it.

“Worst-case scenario, she actually could have been attacked, maybe killed.”

The words cut through Charley like a knife.

“But she was fine, so apologetic and really down to earth about it. Won over my heart actually. She has a great story to tell, and so do I in my next briefing.”

“Wow,” Charley said softly.

“Charley!” they heard from inside.

“I’ve got to go in,” Charley said, her mind still reeling. “I guess I won’t see you tomorrow.”

“I should be around in the evening,” Brendan answered pointedly. “You be careful,” he added as he indicated Vince.

Charley realized Brendan was being protective, and she liked it.

“His bark is worse than his bite,” she answered.

“It had better be,” he said, flashing that drool-inducing smile she found irresistible. “We all carry handguns and have rifles in our Rovers, remember?”

Kayla was sitting at Steve’s desk going through her phone book when he finally returned home. She was so intent on what she was doing that she didn’t hear him enter.

So when he put a bouquet of hot orange and pink daisies with coral summer roses under her nose, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Steve!” she gasped.

“Sorry, Sweetness, it’s just little ol’ me,” Steve said gently.

Kayla took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair.

“I’m the one who’s sorry,” she said. “And those are absolutely beautiful, thank you.”

“Grown just for you.” He kissed her fully on the mouth and then grinned.

Steve’s grin had always gotten her, from the time she’d laid eyes on him more than twenty years earlier. He had that crooked, bad-boy smile that more often than not led to seduction. And the roses were indeed from the summer garden Steve had planted when they’d arrived in Hoedspruit a little more than two years earlier. Little did his friends from home realize that Steven “Patch” Johnson now loved getting his hands in the dirt.

“Let me put them in water,” Kayla said, touching his cheek.

Steve watched as she set her phone book next to the pile of mail he’d gone through earlier. The mail that included the bank statement he hoped she hadn’t seen.

As Kayla rose from the desk, she caught a glimpse of Steve’s clouded expression.

“Honey, is something going on?” she asked.

Steve hesitated for a nanosecond. Where did loyalty lie? With Bill, who he’d promised to keep the news of their decaying funds from everyone for now, or with his wife, whose passion was on the line?

“Nothing. Just thinking about how Joe’s getting to be a handful,” was his answer.

Was skirting the truth a lie?

“He is.” Kayla sighed with a hint of concern. “When I put him down, he still insisted it was the tokoloshi.”

“Kids and their imaginary friends,” Steve answered. “Who knows? Maybe he’ll be a great writer someday.”

Kayla couldn’t be as glib.

“Maybe it’s better that Violet is gone. As much as I love her, she’s so superstitious, and maybe that wasn’t good for Joe.”

“True, but who do we get to replace her?” Steve asked.

“So many people here need work that we’ll find someone. I hope. But I just went through my entire phone book and came up empty.”

“You said Beauty’s always been great with the kids at the clinic,” Steve reminded her.

Kayla let it sink in. Beauty could be a great choice.

“She’s in tomorrow. I’ll talk to her and see, but I’m not sure taking care of one small tornado of a boy is going to thrill her. I wonder what Bill pays her,” Kayla said.

I wonder
if
he pays her, Steve thought.

“In the meantime, can you watch him tomorrow, Steve?” She went on before he could answer. “If not, I’ll have to bring him with Marlena and me to the weavers.”

“We’ll work it out, Sweetness,” Steve answered. “We always do.”

“True,” she said, smiling softly. “We always do.

She moved across the polished wood floors to a cabinet above the sink. As she reached up to take out a heavy South African cut-glass vase, she winced, her hand going to her neck.

Steve watched as she filled the vase with water and arranged the freshly cut flowers and greens with the simple artistry of a florist.

“Beautiful,” Kayla said as she set the vase on the dining-room table and bent to catch a whiff of the fragrant roses. Her hand again went to her neck.

Before she could remove it, Steve’s hand was on hers. He moved it gently, massaging the aching area with his masculine fingers.

“Can you work it out?” Kayla said softly of the ache in her neck.

“I always do,” he repeated softly.

The very feel of his flesh against hers calmed her, and she began to relax immediately. His warm lips against her neck caused her to shudder.

“Much better…” Kayla purred and easily moved her head from side to side. Then she turned to face Steve and rose on her toes to kiss him deeply.

Steve responded, and their lips and tongues explored each other’s with a mixture of passion and purity.

There were no sounds except the rustling of nature and the quickening of their breath as Steve lifted her onto the dining table. Kayla wrapped her bare legs around the back of his thighs and pulled closer.

“How soundly is Joe sleeping?” Steve asked in what was almost a moan.

“Soundly enough to not hear us through two closed bedroom doors,” Kayla whispered.

Steve untied the belt from her cotton wrap dress and slipped his hands behind her. As he hoisted her up in his arms, Kayla wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his shoulders.

Steve lifted her from the table as if she was a feather and danced with her gently as he carried her to the bedroom. It was as if they could feel each other pulsing, the tempos matching as they glided across the room.

Above the soft chirping of the crickets they could hear the soft mating calls of the African gray parrots in the distance. Steve and Kayla, however, had already found their mates.

Marlena was sitting on the edge of their private rim-flow pool, her legs dangling in the cool water as she stared out into the night.

It was pitch black, which meant the bushveld was teeming with life through the dense foliage. The croaking of African frogs, the chirping of crickets, and a variety of unfamiliar animal sounds were complemented by the slight splashing sounds in the water.

Part of John’s rehabilitation was swimming, and he took every opportunity to enjoy it. Especially in the dense warmth of the African summer night at the feet of the woman he adored.

The gentle lapping of the water stopped as John’s face emerged from the water in front of Marlena. He slid up her well-toned calves to rest his head on her knees.

His hands slid along her bare thighs, and he cupped her hips in his strong but gentle hands. The touch of her skin excited him and she welcomed him, but he could sense some distance.

“It’s going to be all right, Doc,” John said as he looked up at her.

“Is it?” she asked.

“Are you sorry we came?” he answered.

“No…” she insisted. “Well, maybe a bit. But only because of Charley. Guess I didn’t need to say that, did I?” she added rhetorically.

“We had no way of knowing she’d be here,” John said. “And I don’t think we need to avoid her. We’re all adults.”

“She’s nineteen and obviously conflicted,” Marlena said. “And we aren’t her parents except for the biology of it, anyway. If Olivia and Ritchie were both still alive, it would probably be very, very different. But I feel responsible for her.”

“So do I,” John admitted. “But if she wants us in her life, we will be, and if she doesn’t, we’ll have to live with it. We’ve got one great set of kids as it is, you know.”

“I know.” Marlena smiled softly.

“You’re prettier when you smile, you know,” he said, cocking his eyebrow

“Everyone is,” Marlena answered, deflecting John’s attempt to connect with her.

“I’m pretty proud of whatever we offered genetically to that child, by the way,” John said. “She does have your smiling eyes.”

“She is amazing,” Marlena admitted. “And here we are in this glorious, still night, with nothing but the moon, the stars, and whatever’s feasting on the trees ten feet away, and I have the most wonderful man in the world naked in front of me, wanting me, and all I can think about is her.”

“I get that,” John smiled ruefully. “Maybe if you joined me in the water, it could help you focus on other things. Just for tonight.”

Marlena’s gaze met his. She adored this man, and she wanted to please him. She slipped her arms out of the short, light robe she wore and put her hands on John’s shoulders as he slowly slid her toward him and into the water.

The water was cooler than Marlena had imagined, but it heated up quickly between them as John drew her to him.

Her breasts pressed against his strong chest, and her arms slipped around his waist.

The water, so still, began lapping gently around them as they began to move in rhythm. With the buoyancy of the water, they moved effortlessly, weightlessly. Their water ballet began lyrically and slow, and then built. As Marlena melted into her lover’s embrace, the “prrrps” and loud hoots of the owls in nearby trees startled them. And made them laugh.

“Exhibitionist,” John teasingly scolded his wife.

“At least they liked it,” she said smiling widely. “And I know I’m prettier when I smile.”

“Let’s try to keep it then, Doc.” John smiled back warmly. “Now can we get out of here? Believe it or not, I’m getting cold.”

***

After a warm shower together, John and Marlena climbed between the crisp white sheets on the four-poster bed and lowered the mosquito netting.

Marlena snuggled into John’s flesh, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Better?” John asked.

“Better,” Marlena answered.

“’Night,” John said.

“’Night,” she responded simply.

Neither could see that the other was still wide awake. John was concerned about his beautiful wife, and she was concerned about their daughter.