Horizons (7 page)

“The man has the ears of a damned bat!”

In spite of her discomfort, Kelly giggled. “Small and pointy?”

“I heard that. Now hush!
Pay attention.”

“Aye-aye, sir!”

At the first roll call, everyone was still accounted for, with Alita responding peevishly,
“S
i
!
I now have more blisters than fingernails, but who is counting, eh? I hate this! If I’d wanted to roam the jungles, I could have stayed in Mexico.”

Not long after that, Blair let out a startled yell. Everyone immediately deserted his assigned position to rush to her aid, aborting the effort when she called out with a weak laugh, “Never mind! It was just a lizard! He dashed out from under a rock and scared the willies out of me. I think it was one of those things they call a skink, or maybe a gecko. Sorry.”

“Whatever it was, you probably scared it clean out of its hide,” Frazer commented. “I know you just took ten years off my life, hollering like that.”

“Are they edible?” Zach wanted to know.

His que
r
y met with united disgust and a clamorous chorus of “No!”

Onward they trudged. A minute or two following the second head count, Frazer announced, “Hey! I think I found more tucker!”

“Huh?” This from Gavin.

“Food,” Frazer clarified. “Something else to eat.” They all converged in his area. He pointed to a tree, from which hung numerous greenish globs up to a foot in length.

“What is it?” Kelly asked, looked up at the strange growths doubtfully.

“Breadfruit. The staple of the tropics,” Frazer explained. “I’ve eaten it before, on a stopover in Fiji, and
it’s not bad at all. Rather akin to a potato in taste, though it looks like a l
oaf of bread once it’s baked.”

“So that’s what it looks like,” Blair put in. “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never seen one. You’re supposed to be able to fry or boil it, too.”

Employing their sticks, Gavin and Zach knocked a few of them down. “We didn’t bring anything to carry them in,” Alita pointed out.

“No problem,” Zach said. “We can bundle them into Gavin and Frazer’s shirts, and Kelly’s jacket.”

As he approached her, Kelly warded him off. “No way, Jose. I’m keeping my blazer on.”

His brow furrowed. “Why? You’ve got to be sweltering in it. As a matter of fact, you look as if you’re about to expire from heatstroke at any moment.”

“Obviously, you’re not up on current fashion for women,” she told him. “I need the jacket because I’m wearing a camisole under it in place of a blouse.”

“So? What’s the difference? What’s a camisole?”

“It’s like the top half of an underslip,” Blair supplied helpfully.

Zach stepped nearer. His gaze traversed Kelly’s chest, lingering on the exposed triangle of camisole with acute interest and a definite gleam in his gold eyes. On closer inspection, he saw that the raspberry colored material, though not sheer, was light-weight and shiny, adorned with a wide row of lace across the top. He leaned close, his voice low and a husky as he murmured for her ears only. “I’d like to get a closer look at that camisole of yours. Later. If we could arrange a private viewing.”

Kelly stared at him, struck momentarily speechless by his unexpected advance, though she was normally quite adept at handling this sort of come-on. However, for the past five years she’d been rejecting them. Now, with this good-looking stranger, she was actually considering
accepting his suggestion, which was, in itself, sublimely stupid. From all indications he was a typical alpha male, too domineering and sure of himself for her peace of mind. Gorgeous, yes, but she needed another bossy, arrogant man like she needed the measles.

Then again, for the purpose of a brief, extremely temporary island fling, Zach just might fit the bill after all. What better than an attractive man to help rebuild her flagging self esteem?

Finally, she managed to kick her brain into gear and reply saucily, “Sure, You can take my camisole and sponge it out for me as soon as we find water. But I want it right back, and if you’re into cross-dressing, you’d better not stretch it or split the seams, or I’m going to be supremely ticked.”

Amusement danced in his eyes. “That’s not really what I had in mind. For now, though, can you tuck the bottom of your jacket into your slacks?”

“Why?”

“Just do it, okay?”

Turning aside, she unfastened her slacks, tucked the tail of her blazer inside, and quickly re-zipped and buttoned. The result was bulky and unattractive, and sure to wrinkle the linen fabric even more. She was still wondering, as were the others, why Zach would make such an odd request, when he reached forward and plopped two plump gourds down the front of her top. They sank to her waist, and lay there in an elongated lump.

Alita burst out laughing. “Hah! He has turned you into a kangaroo with a pouch!”

“A wee wallaby!” Frazer agreed on a chuckle.

“Don’t laugh too hard,” Zach advised, advancing on the steward. “You’re next.” He deposited two breadfruit into the man’s shirt, then turned toward the corporal.

Blair chortled. “I’ve always wondered what a pregnant
man would look like, and it’s just as ridiculous as I’d imagined it would be!”

Kelly was now caught up in the humor as well. “I wish I had my camera. When we get back to camp, I want a picture of this before you fellows unload!”

“You should get a picture of Alita, too,” Blair said. “I’ll bet her adoring public has never seen her so disheveled.”

“Speak for yourself, you grimy little elf,” Alita snapped back. “You look like one of the seven dwarves after a hard day’s work in the mine. And you
…
” She pointed a
jagged fingernail toward Kelly. “Your hair re
sembles a haystack. You look…”

“Like an adorable ragamuffin,” Zach broke in. He reached out a hand to ruffle Kelly’s mussed hair even more.

“Great!” Kelly mumbled, grimacing as her newborn notion of having a wild rebound fling with Zach bit the dust. Studmuffin had just called her a ragamuffin. And she had to admit that she felt like one. She was grungy from head to toe. Her hair was straggling, her clothes were torn, her make-up half melted away. Yep, she was every man’s idea of a real love goddess, all right! Which proved he’d probably only been teasing her before, with that remark about a private viewing, flirting casually with no real intent behind his words.

Which was a shame, actually. With her marriage on the rocks, and her feminine ego in tatters, statistically speaking she was ripe for a hot affair. Zach might have been the perfect antidote for what ailed her. Tall, dark, handsome, ruggedly built, with just the right amount of muscle— there was something about him, not machismo really, but a sort of raw male magnetism, that made her sharply aware of him, and of herself as a woman. Sort of weak in the knees, a little bit giddy, and most definitely attracted. Even
sweaty and grimy, he was amazingly appealing—while she looked like something the cat would refuse to drag in!

It figured. What else could she expect, the way her life and luck had been running lately? She was on a long bout of shooting nothing but craps!

Chapter 7

T
hey dispersed to continue their search for water. Half an hour later, having had no success, Zach called a halt. “I’d guess we’re midway across. We really should take the next sector to the south and head back.” He tapped his watch. “It’s getting too late to continue on, and we don’t want to be stumbling around in this tangle in the dark.”

“You can say that, again,” Gavin agreed. “Besides, we ought to get back and check on the others. Get another fire going and cook these breadfruit things. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my backbone is getting real friendly with my stomach. I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.”

“Hungry and thirsty,” Kelly contributed. “A big, juicy coconut sounds wonderful right now.”

They were still some distance from the shore when they heard the ruckus. Sydney was shrieking. Roberts was bellowing. It was a horrible sound, rivaling the hounds of hell, and it sent chills of terror through them all. Zach
broke into a run, loping over bushes like an Olympic hurdler. Gavin sprinted besides him, the others dashing and hopping along as fast as they could.

Zach tore onto the beach, making a beeline for the campsite. The first thing to make an impression was poor Sydney, clutched in a tight grip between Roberts’s legs, fighting to get free. Raw fury boiled through Zach’s veins as he ran to the child’s rescue. He skidded to a halt, ripped the toddler from Roberts’s hold, promptly thrusting her into Gavin’s arms, and plowed a fist into Roberts jaw hard enough bounce the man’s head off the tree trunk behind him.

“You animal!
” Zach roared, grabbing a handful of Roberts’s shaggy blond hair and yanking his face up for another blow. “What were you doing to that baby?”

By now, Kelly had reached them. In turn, Gavin handed Sydney off to her. Still trying to catch her breath, Kelly gasped, “What’s going on? Where’s Wynne?”

The rage in Roberts expression matched Zach’s. “Gone!” he roared, spitting blood. “If you’d gotten here sooner, you might have saved her. Damn y’all! I been hollerin’ forever, and tryin’ to keep the kid from runnin’ off! Why couldn’t ya come sooner? What took ya so damned long?”

They were all there now, all firing questions at him. “What do you mean, Wynne is gone?”

“Where did she go?”

“Why would she go off and leave Sydney?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Start from the beginning,” Zach told him, giving their prisoner another shake. “I want to know exactly what happened. How, when, and why.”

Gavin stepped in, tugging at Zach’s arm. “Back off, man. Give him a chance to explain.”

Zach released his hold on Roberts’s hair. “This had better be good,” he warned, his eyes blazing.

“Well, it ain’t,” Roberts countered angrily. “There ain’t a thing good about watching a crazy old woman walk into the ocean and drown herself, and not bein’ able to do anything about it cause you’re tied fast to a friggin’ tree!”

“What?”

“How long ago?”

“Oh, sweet J
esus!”

“No!”

“Yeah!” Roberts hissed past his split and swelling lip. “She checked on the boy a while back. Found he’d died, and somethin’ just sort o’ snapped, I reckon. Not that the old gal was playin’ with a full deck to start with. But she started mumblin’ to herself, prayin’ and such, staring up at the sky. It was when she took up this conversation with her dead husband that things really got spooky.”

“James?” Kelly inserted. “She was talking to James?”

“Not at him, woman! With him! Ain’t you payin’ heed? She’d say somethin’, then she’d listen a minute and nod and say somethin’ else, then listen some more. To see it sent the hair straight up on my neck! Then, after goin' on like that for a bit, she stood up, brought Sydney over to me, and set the kid in my lap. Told me to watch over her, and not to let the kid loose, no matter what. Then she just walked away, straight out into the ocean, like she wasn’t doin’ no more than takin’ a nice afternoon stroll!”

“My God!”

“Oh, that poor, dear lady!”

“Didn’t you even try to stop her? To reason with her?” If looks could kill, Frazer would have been dead.

“O' course I did, you lame-brained jackass! I hollered at her to come back, to sit and talk a spell. I told her I didn’t know if I could keep hold of the kid, tied down like
I was. I did everything but pull this damned tree up by its roots!”

“How long ago?” Zach put in again, his voice rife with urgency. “Where, exactly, did she enter the water?”

Roberts sneered. “Give it up, champ. You took too long. She’s been under for at least half an hour already. Way past savin’. And it’s your fault.”

His glare, directed first at Zach, swung to encompass the entire group. “All of you share the blame for this, you know. Yall think you’re so much better than me, but every one of you is a murderer now, same as me. You got her blood on your hands, ’cause if I’d been free I could have stopped her. Let that be on your conscience, and see how it sets. Think about it good and long. Think about how it was for Sydney and me to sit here and not be able to do a damned thing to save her! And thank your stars it wasn’t even worse, ’cause it was all I could do to keep Sydney from runnin’ after her, to keep her corralled until y’all could get here!”

Despite Roberts’s claim that it was far too late to do anything about Wynne, they dashed down to the shoreline. Blinking away tears, and shading her eyes from the glare of the fast-setting sun, Kelly scanned the rolling waves. “I can’t see her. Does anyone see her?”

“I thought I saw something bob up, way out there,” Gavin replied excitedly. Then, on a depressed note, “No, I think it was just a swell—the way the light caught the top of a wave.”

“Maybe we should try to swim out and look?” Zach suggested.

“Too dangerous,” Frazer put in swiftly, before Zach could put words to action. “The undertows around these islands are notoriously treacherous. Moreover, it’s going to be dark soon, and you won’t be able to see worth beans. Also, chances are if you did bump into something in the
dark, it would be a lot more menacing than poor dead Wynne.”

“He’s right,” Alita agreed with a shiver. “We can’t risk more lives, especially if she’s already past help.”

“At least we can search the shore, can’t we?” Blair contr
ibuted woefully. “Her body…
she might have washed ashore.”

They traversed the beach for over a mile in each direction, until it was too gloomy to see anything but indistinct shadows.

“We’ll try again in the morning,” Zach said, once they were assembled back at the campsite.

“It would be nice to give her a decent burial,” Kelly said sadly. “She was such a sweet woman, and you could tell she loved her husband to distraction. It’s all so tragic.”

“Which is why she went loco and killed herself,” Alita pointed out dismally. “I hope I never love anyone that much.”

“I hope I
do,
”
Kelly rebutted. “And I hope I find someone who loves me just as greatly. Not that I’d want him to kill himself over me, mind you. I just want him to care for me with all his heart.”

“What bothers me,” Blair put in, “is that, for all intents and purposes, Wynne committed suicide. Wouldn’t that have been against her religious beliefs, especially if she wanted to join her husband in heaven?”

Roberts spoke up for the first time since they’d all gathered together again. “I reckon she thought she got the okay from God, so I don’t guess He’ll hold it against her. Wasn’t like she was in her right mind. When I called to her to stop, she even turned and waved. Had this funny sort of smile on her face, like she was almost happy. ‘I’m going to meet my James now,’ she said. Then she toddled off again, ’til this wave came along and
…
and that’s the
last I saw of her.” The big man sighed heavily. “She never came up again. I don’t reckon she even tried.”

“You liked her, didn’t you?” Blair surmised quietly. “Beneath all that gruff talk of yours, and all that cursing, you liked Wynne.”

“Yeah,” he admitted, sounding abashed. “She reminded me o’ my granny. Real religious, always tryin’ to make you mind your manners, as true-blue as they come. Not many women like that anymore. Mary Beth sure wasn’t.”

If Kelly hadn’t been watching him closely, she might have missed the way his eyes misted slightly, how he bowed his head to hide it, blinking rapidly. On closer inspection, there were faint tracks in the dirt on his face, and his nose appeared more red. She couldn’t help b
ut wonder if the man had been cr
ying, and she was very touched by the thought. Maybe he wasn’t as cold, as hard-hearted, as they’d all assumed he was. And she could only imagine how traumatic it must have been for him to sit helplessly by, while Wynne drowned herself right in front of him. Not to mention that he had, despite being bound, kept Sydney safe from harm.

On impulse, Kelly turned to Zach and said, “Let him loose.”

Zach looked at her as if she’d just grown a second head, one without a brain. “What? Are you nuts?”

“I’m perfectly sane. I’d also like to think I’m a fairly reasonable, humane person.”

“But not too smart, apparently,” he told her bluntly. “Turning a self-confessed murderer loose in our midst would not be a particularly wise move. It’d be like buying your canary a cat to play with!”

Kelly just shook her head at him. “Can’t
you see, though? In trying to protect ourselves, we only made things worse.
Roberts is right. We all share in the responsibility of Wynne’s death.”

“Look, I know you’re feeling a little guilty right now. We all are,” he acknowledged. “But that doesn’t mean we should let compassion rule and go off the deep end.”

“He saved Sydney,” Kelly argued stiffly.

“So that suddenly makes him a saint?” Gavin asked incredulously. “Guess it’s true what they say about dumb blondes.” His dark eyes scanned Kelly’s figure in a frankly appraising way.

“
I
agree with Kelly,” Alita chimed in quickly, surprising them all. “Just look at his wrists. They are scraped raw. You can tell he fought to get free.”

“Sure, but to save Wynne or his own hide?” Frazer countered.

Alita struck a haughty stance, hands on her hips. “So where would he go if he was loose? Nowhere!” she declared, answering her own question. “We’re on an island,
estupido!
There is no place to run to, unless one wishes to go round in circles like a mad dog!”

“Which he well might be,” Zach reminded her. “I certainly wouldn’t sleep soundly, knowing he could creep up and bash me in the head some night.”

“Can’t we let him free during the day, and tie him up at night?” Blair proposed. “That way he could move around, get proper exercise, feed himself, and we still wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked in our beds.”

“We don’t have beds, but I get your point,” Frazer noted.

“For the sake of argument, what’s to keep him from attacking one of us in broad daylight?” This from Zach again. “Or from taking off and hiding in the woods, only to sneak up on us when we least expect it?”

“We could watch him during the day,” Kelly submitted. “Keep a constant eye on him. At six against one, the odds are in our favor. He needs some amount of movement, at
least, Zach. It’s criminal to keep him chained up constantly.”

“
Besides, we’ll probably be rescued within a few days, at most,” Frazer added, playing Devil’s advocate now.

Zach remained firm. “In that event, it wouldn’t hurt to keep him bound. He’s the actual criminal, after all, and hugging a tree for a couple of days isn’t going to hurt him.”

“I say we put it to a vote,” Kelly suggested, aware that Frazer was waffling and taking advantage of it.

“Do I get a vote, too?” Roberts inquired wryly.

Gavin sneered. “Get real. I say no, keep him tied up.”

Zach nodded. “Ditto.”

In quick succession, all three women voted to free him, but only during the day.

Frazer hesitated.

“Well, Fraz? What’s it going to be?” Kelly prompted. For good measure, she added, “What do you think Wynne would want us to do?”

“Dirty pool!” Zach complained.

“Free,” Frazer announced finally. “But not until morning. I want at least one night’s decent shut-eye.”

“You gonna be able to sleep, with that boy’s body lying there, and Wynne likely to wash ashore with the tide?” Gavin asked, his tone intimating that he wouldn’t be resting too well under those circumstances.

His comment reminded them that Wynne wasn’t the day’s only victim. Zach heaved a weary sigh, eyes closed as if in prayer. “Lord, when is this going to end?”

“Soon, Zach,” Kelly murmured, reaching out to touch his hand in commiseration. “Help will come.”

Blindly, he took her fingers in his and held tightly. “But will it be soon enough?”