Marked in Mexico (20 page)

“What do you think you’re doing? I don’t like that look in your eyes.”

“I feel a little more like kissing you now than I did when you jumped me by the river.” He tossed the toothpaste back on the table.

“I did not jump you. I was just—”

To hell with the boyfriend
. He pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers before she could get the rest of her sentence out.

She struggled for a moment, but as the kiss deepened, her arms slid around his neck and she leaned into him. She ran her fingers through his thick damp hair and felt her knees weaken. She never felt like this when Phillip kissed her. When he kissed her lately, she felt nothing but the desire to flee, but as Jack’s lips lingered on hers, she doubted she could move even if she had wanted to.

Just when she thought she might melt into a puddle on the ground, she felt his hands fly in the air. Jessica looked up to see Isabel rounding the corner of the house. Jack flashed a helpless grin at Isabel that had the old woman giggling.

“You instigated this,” Jessica said defensively.

“Who’s got their arms around whom?”

Jessica realized she still clung to his neck. She released him and shoved a palm into his chest as she backed away. Jessica was so embarrassed she retreated to the house to check on Megan before anyone could witness the color creeping into her cheeks.

Jack winked at Isabel and pulled the clean T-shirt over his head. He took the dirty water away and retrieved clean buckets from the rain-catchment tank before returning to the house. When he opened the door, he saw Megan sitting at the table holding a cup of coffee and eating a biscuit and relief swept over him. Jessica sat in the corner with Isabel, frantically snapping the ends off green beans and didn’t look up at him.

“Wow. You two sure cleaned up while I slept. I’m jealous.”

“There’s some fresh water for you out back. Whenever you feel up to it, Jessica can help you wash your hair. It does wonders for the spirit. I’d help, but women apparently can’t keep their hands off a man who helps them wash their hair.”

He heard Jessica snort from the corner, but she kept her eyes down and continued snapping. He looked up at Megan and she suppressed a laugh. He couldn’t believe how good it was to see her smile.

Dinner was odd, but surprisingly satisfying. Isabel had scrambled eggs and served them with sides of corn and green beans and tortillas. Jessica figured the meal was all she had and was touched she had shared her meager provisions with three bedraggled strangers. Jessica helped clean up while Jack took the corn silks and bean ends out to the pigs. By the time she finished drying the dishes, Isabel drug a rug into the bedroom and brought in blankets and two more pillows.

With little coaxing, Megan was convinced to go back to bed. The bed was narrow, but she insisted she and Jessica share and Jack could sleep on the floor. While Jack finished feeding the pigs Isabel tucked both women in as if they were little children and left the room.

“It feels so good to be clean and fed and in a real bed.” Jessica sighed as she rested her head on the pillow.

“I’m happy to get all the dirt out. I’m a real blonde again,” Megan replied. “I feel like I might live after all. I was having my doubts there for a while last night, when I got the fever and then those bone-wracking chills.”

“If Isabel doesn’t mind, I think we should stay another day. By then you’ll have taken all three doses of medicine and should be well rested and stronger,” Jessica said.

“It does feel good to be taken care of. If Jack thinks it’s safe, I’m game for another day layover before we head out again.”

“Every man’s dream come true
¾
to walk in on a slumber party and hear his name.”

He couldn’t help but smile. Megan and Jessica lay in the tiny bed in old-lady night gowns, chatting like a couple of school girls. He almost hated to move on, but if they stayed too long they might put Isabel in danger. They couldn’t stay in Mexico forever and the only way out was probably through Villahermosa.

“Jack, do you think it’s safe for us to stay another full day? One more day of food, rest, and chloroquine and I’ll bet Megan will be as good as new. She’s improved so much just in the day we’ve been here and I can’t tell you how much good today has done for my attitude, though Isabel’s pampering and hovering has made me miss my own mother.”

All three were silent for a moment. Through divorce, disease and a car accident they shared a similar emptiness. Though he didn’t think it was a great idea to stay idle for so long, Jack couldn’t deny Megan and Jessica the brief respite from the nightmare they had been living ever since they were abducted.

“One more day couldn’t hurt, but then we better move on. I’d hate to put our hostess in danger or take advantage of her generosity. Besides, I have an idea how you and I can move the outhouse tomorrow, so you’d better get some sleep.”

Jack turned out the lights and crept back into the kitchen. He checked the door and noticed Isabel had already secured the lock. Returning to the bedroom, he lay down on the floor, burrowed his head in the clean feather pillow and got his first real night’s sleep in a very long time.

Jessica thought she had died and gone to heaven. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d woke to the smell of brewing coffee. She carefully crawled over Megan, so not to wake her, and crept out of the room. She spied Isabel and Jack sitting on the front porch sipping coffee. She hated to interrupt, but then again, they couldn’t be talking about anything since neither spoke the other’s language.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and tiptoed out of the house, sitting down next to Isabel. She cradled her cup between her hands and sipped, enjoying the morning air and the pleasant sound of birds chirping happily in the trees. The place was so peaceful it pushed the recent horrors into the furthest recesses of her mind.

Jack had to fight the urge to laugh. He could only envision what this curvy, rich, city-girl usually slept in and doubted it looked anything like this. The full cotton nightgown reached Jessica’s ankles and the long sleeves gathered at the wrists. It was the closest thing to turtleneck sleepwear he had ever seen, but the bright embroidery work on the white fabric was lovely. She looked so young and princess-like in her flowing white gown, nothing like the frightened woman who could cold-cock a man with a cast iron pot.

Isabel rose to go fix breakfast. Jessica tried to get up to help, but Isabel pushed her back into her seat. Jessica considered arguing, but since they didn’t speak each other’s language it seemed pointless, so she sat and enjoyed her coffee, while rubbing one of Isabel’s scruffy dogs behind the ears.

Megan wandered out to the porch and took Isabel’s vacated place next to Jessica. Her long blond hair fell over her shoulders and nearly all the bruises had healed on her face. She was dressed in a nearly identical night gown, except the sleeves and hem rode up considerably on her taller frame, and Jack could no longer suppress his laughter.

“What’s so funny? This is just like what I sleep in at home,” Jessica stated.

“Me too. In fact, I wouldn’t wear anything else. Oh, except socks,” Megan added with complete seriousness.

“Somehow I kind of doubt that.”

Jessica shrugged her shoulders at Megan. “Let him have his fantasies.”

Megan lifted her cup to her lips and took a long sip, trying to hide her grin from Jack. She glanced over at Jessica and recognized the identical pose on her and could only imagine the gesture made the two of them look even more comical.

Jack watched as Megan and Jessica tried to contain their laughter. He wished this moment didn’t have to end. By this time tomorrow, they would be out in the jungle again, but they had to go. He only hoped this brief stop had given them back the strength and determination they would need to survive and find their way home.

Megan looked much better. She hadn’t had anymore bouts of fever since they left the river and she had taken her second dose of medicine. Her color had improved and her strength was returning.

After a frustrating attempt at dialog with Isabel, they were able to explain they wished to stay one more night and Isabel seemed happy to accommodate them. They ate breakfast and Jessica convinced Megan to sit on the porch and rest in the shade. Even though she looked better, Jessica knew the more rest and fluids Megan received, the stronger she would be after they left.

Jessica watched Jack from the porch as he eyed the tilting outhouse. He placed a hand on it and pushed and it nearly fell over. Isabel rushed over and stood next to him. Though Jack wasn’t a particularly tall man, he towered over the short Lacandón Indian woman. He leaned down and pointed and gestured and Isabel nodded. After an elaborate round of charades, Isabel took off and Jack turned and motioned for Jessica to come join them.

By the time Jessica reached Jack, Isabel had returned with a long length of rope. He gathered up three rounded poles that had been used at one time for the pig pen, but had long since fallen to the ground.

“Here’s the plan,” he began. “I’ll tilt the front back and you and Isabel can put this pole under it. We’ll do the same with the back. Once that’s done we’ll tie this rope around it and I think we can roll it to the new hole. Using the third pole, we can keep moving the poles as the outhouse rolls over them, always ensuring at least two poles are under the structure.”

The outhouse was light and they had no problem positioning the poles under it, but the stench was almost more than Jessica could stand. They tied the rope around the small building and Jack pulled while Jessica and Isabel pushed. Megan wandered over and would grab a pole as it came loose at the back and place it in the front. The process continued until they had managed to roll the building fifty feet to the new hole.

Once the building was set and leveled, they filled in the old hole and almost instantly, the stench dissipated. Isabel hugged them and Jessica could see tears clouding the old woman’s eyes and one tear slipped down her weathered cheek before she could brush it away.

Jessica was touched by the gratitude and wished she knew what had happened to her family, but the language barrier was too great, so she would probably never know. For now, all she could do was give Isabel a strong hug and hope the woman understood how much they appreciated her hospitality. In fact, Jessica was certain the old woman’s care had saved Megan’s life.

Isabel forced Megan back into the shade while Jessica and Jack repaired the pig enclosure with the poles they had used to move the outhouse. They couldn’t find a hammer or nails, so they used strands stripped from vines to tie the poles to the posts. Jack found a jungle plant he knew most animals found distasteful and rubbed it on the vines binding the poles to keep the pigs from eating them.

“Seems like we should get some kind of Boy Scout merit badge for this,” Jessica beamed.

Jack loved it when she smiled, accentuating her dimples. She looked so young and innocent it almost made him forget about how much danger they faced. She could be so sexy at times, but at the moment, with her ponytail, deep dimples and violet-blue eyes gleaming with excitement, she looked like a little girl on Christmas morning. He was torn between pulling her to him and kissing her or patting her head and telling her to run along to the house before she got too much sun. Before he had to choose, Isabel called to them.

They cleaned up and then joined her and Megan on the porch. Isabel had made a fresh pitcher of limeade and some shortbread-type cookies. The drink and the cookies were warm, but both were just as satisfying.

Jessica stretched out in the shade and enjoyed the tart drink. If it weren’t for the fact that they were on a run for their lives and would soon have to venture back into a dangerous world where they could trust no one, she would have loved this little detour. Isabel had been kind and caring when everything seemed so hopeless. She wished there was some way they could repay the kindness, but by the tears in Isabel’s eyes, readying the new outhouse had been a good start.

Jessica had already learned Jack was not one to sit idle for long, so she wasn’t surprised when he gulped the drink, devoured the cookies and left them on the porch. He went inside the house and quickly returned with Isabel’s machete.

“
Carne
,” Jack said as he pointed toward the jungle.

Isabel nodded her head vigorously and smiled. She bustled into the house, returned with a small, military canteen full of water and handed it to Jack.

He thanked her and explained to Jessica and Megan that he was going hunting. Jessica was too shocked to ask what poor creature he intended to hack to death with a machete and was unable to speak until Megan’s voice brought her back to reality.

“Good luck, Jack. We could probably all use some protein.”

Jessica jumped to her feet and raced after him.

“Wait! Isabel has eggs. We don’t need meat. We have plenty of protein.”

“I’m sure we’re eating her out of house and home. She’s been generous and I don’t want to leave her strapped for food when we go.”

Jack watched as her violet-blue eyes clouded with tears. “What’s really the matter? You’re not a vegetarian are you?” She hadn’t complained about the pork tamales.