On Wings of Magic (7 page)

With a sudden grin he said softly, “I loved the slippery dress last night, but this is even better.”

Kendall felt definitely hunted when an older woman passed by the doorway just in time to hear Hawke’s remark and tossed a startled, somewhat amused glance at Kendall. Resigned, Kendall recognized one of the women who had been by the pool the night before.

Did he
plan
these encounters, for God’s sake, or was she simply incredibly unlucky? Twenty-five years with a spotless reputation, and everything changed overnight. The thought roused a justifiable anger. “If you
don’t
mind, I’d like to go back to bed,” she said stiffly, realizing too late that her word choice had not been the best.

“I don’t mind at all.” He took a step inside the room, gray eyes glittering with laughter and something else. “In fact, I’d say that it was a perfect way to start the day.”

For a panicky moment Kendall felt almost overwhelmed by the hypnotic gray eyes. And then Gypsy solved the problem by swiping angrily at Hawke with a set of very impressive claws.

Forced to step back again or be branded for life, Hawke stared at the cat a bit ominously. “You,” he informed the irritated feline, “ought to be shot.”

Unimpressed, Gypsy growled low in her throat and attempted another swipe. Smiling sweetly, Kendall closed the door gently in Hawke’s bemused face.

Securely latching the balcony door, Kendall released her pet and then tried to recapture sleep. It didn’t work, of course. She had shed the damp pajamas, thinking wrathfully that if anyone—unnamed—woke her up again, there
would
be a show. But sleep eluded her.

Giving up after half an hour, she rose once again and took a shower, then dressed in cutoff jeans and a short-sleeved cotton shirt, tied at her waist. Slipping her feet into a pair of thongs, she found her purse. Automatically checking her wallet, she dropped her room key inside. She had to get away from the hotel for a while.

It wasn’t so much a conscious decision as a need. Absently, she found Gypsy’s food and water dishes, filled one with water and the other with some of the dry food she’d bought in Nassau the day before, and placed both dishes by the locked balcony door.

A few moments later she was leaving the elevator in the lobby, and hoping that Hawke was nowhere around. Since it was fairly early for most of the guests, the lobby was silent, and Kendall hurried toward the doors.

“Miss James?”

She halted and turned to face Rick Evans. “Mr. Evans.” Her voice was resigned. “Is something wrong?”

“No, of course not.” He looked a little uncertain as he reached her, his smile tentative. “It’s just—Miss James, would you mind very much changing rooms?”

She looked surprised, and he hurried on to explain.

“There was a mixup in our reservations, and one of the guests who requested two rooms on your floor has only one. He’s arrived earlier than expected, and since he’s a regular guest…”

Kendall smiled faintly. “I don’t mind at all. Shall I move my things now, or—”

“The staff will move everything for you, if that’s all right. I can see you’re on your way out.” He grinned slightly. “I may have to roust Hawke to move the cat, but I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Thinking of Hawke grappling with Gypsy’s temperamental nature gave the news an added plus as far as Kendall was concerned. Smiling, she handed over her key and accepted the one held out to her.

“It’s a suite on the top floor,” the manager elaborated, “but there’s no extra charge. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Miss James.”

“No trouble,” she said politely. Dropping the
key into her purse, she waved cheerily and then hastily made good her escape before Hawke could pop out of nowhere and create another embarrassing situation out of thin air.

Emerging into the early-morning sunlight, Kendall had no very clear idea of where she was going. She looked thoughtfully at the two cabs parked outside the hotel entrance and flipped a mental coin, then began walking.

The village was easy to locate, and she wandered down the shaded streets and window-shopped for an hour or so. Sometime later her steps slowed as she followed the path toward the dignified old church not far from the hotel. She could hear the laughter and shrieks of children at play, and the sound stopped her dead in her tracks.

She loved children and emotionally had adopted kids all over the world. It was always painful to leave them behind when her father was transferred and they moved on again.

Her father had warned her years before that she would tear herself apart over “her kids.” He had used it as an argument for settling down and having kids of her own, telling her that one day she would love a child too much, and be heartbroken at the inevitable parting.

It hadn’t worked out that way though—it had been the other way around. The child she had loved had left her, and Kendall was desperately afraid to become attached to another.

“May I help you?”

Startled, she focused on an elderly man whose gentle brown eyes and serene expression gave her a
very good idea who he was. The collar helped. “Father Thomas?”

“Yes.” The eyes moved over her in an unexpectedly shrewd inspection. “You’re Miss James.”

“Kendall,” she corrected him automatically, her surprise obvious. “But how did you know?”

He smiled. “Hawke brought Robbie back from the hotel yesterday afternoon and explained what had happened. I have to thank you, Kendall. If it hadn’t been for you—”

“Please.” Kendall smiled a little shakily, thrown by this man’s friendship with Hawke, although she didn’t know why. “If I hadn’t been there, someone else would have helped,” Another happy shriek drew her eyes irresistibly to the square whitewashed building behind the church. “Father—if you don’t mind, I’d like to spend some time with the children.”

“Of course, Kendall.” Smiling, he led the way to the surprisingly well-equipped playground between the church and the orphanage. Seeing Kendall’s expression, the priest explained, “Hawke provides a few extras for the children.”

Kendall didn’t want to hear that. Not that she wanted to deprive the children, but everything she heard about Hawke seemed to produce yet another bond between them, and that was the last thing she needed. She didn’t have time to worry over it, though, because she was surrounded by laughing children a moment later.

As always, Kendall lost track of time as she played with the kids. When lunchtime came, Father Thomas invited her to stay, and she did. But she almost regretted it when the priest spent the whole
time talking about Hawke. Interested, and yet troubled by the certainty that she was becoming involved with Hawke in spite of herself, Kendall listened.

Father Thomas spoke of his younger friend with great affection and respect. He told Kendall that Hawke had been decorated several times in Vietnam—something the priest had learned through a mutual friend, since Hawke didn’t talk about it—and wounded once while evacuating children from a small hospital under enemy fire. He told her about Hawke’s intelligence, his sensitivity, his concern for the people around him.

Kendall listened, her first impression of Hawke as a hard man fading away. And that, she knew, was dangerous. Knowing it did nothing to change it. Father Thomas drew a vivid picture of a man who felt more than he showed, who had seen—like Kendall—too much to be innocent. A man with chinks in his armor.

It was late in the afternoon when Kendall left the orphanage, thanking Father Thomas and receiving his assurances that she was welcome anytime.

Instead of walking directly back to the hotel, Kendall wandered slowly along a path until she came to the rocky cliffs on the north end of the island. She picked her way carefully, recognizing the area from her brief flight over the island in the small plane that had brought her from Nassau. Moving south, she reached a point where she could see the hotel in the distance, and look down from the cliffs to the beginnings of the sandy beach she and Hawke had walked the night before.

Kendall sat down a foot from the edge, deciding
vaguely to watch the sunset. But her thoughts occupied her, thoughts she had pushed aside after lunch with Father Thomas.

Hugging her knees, she listened to the roar of the surf and her thoughts. She had enjoyed the past fifteen years, the good times far outweighing the bad. But she felt … so weary. Not a physical weariness, but an emotional one. She had never known roots. The most stable thing in her life was her father’s love, and she had always lived with the knowledge that her father could be killed without warning.

It had made each moment precious, perhaps explaining her need to travel with him. But she couldn’t cling to her father forever. She was independent physically and mentally—but emotionally, the child inside her had not yet learned to trust other relationships. The child clung to its father as the only solid thing in a painful world.

Kendall knew herself. And she knew that it was time for her to let go of her father. His life was not hers. Her life was … what? Undiscovered, as yet.

It was a peculiar moment. She felt almost reborn. And scared. So scared. But several things were clear to her. She would no longer pretend—with anyone. The useful and easily assumed dumb blonde was gone forever. Hawke had been right; she was cheating herself, and others, by presenting a bland appearance to the world.

It was astonishingly clear to her. She wasn’t quite sure why. But instinct told her that it had a great deal to do with Hawke. It was one subject she wanted to shy away from, but Kendall forced herself to face it.

Because that was clear too. Hawke was important in her life. A man she had known just over twenty-four
hours. She still intended to fight any physical relationship, but her reasons were different now. Before, she had wanted to avoid any relationship. Cut and dried. But now she knew that that was impossible. She was drawn to him mentally as well as physically. The relationship—however it could be defined—existed.

But Kendall would not commit herself. Not yet. If she had seen too much to be innocent, then she had also seen how brief and uncertain life really was. It was not a pessimistic thought, but a calm understanding. If she gave her body, she would give her heart. And she would be very, very sure. Love was too precious to waste.

All at once she was vividly aware of the roar of the surf, the sun hanging low in a burning sky, the smell of the salty sea crashing against the rocks below her. And a new sense told her that he was coming. She wondered dimly at the sensation and what it indicated.

“Kendall?” His voice was quiet, almost hushed, as though the weight of her thoughts had touched him. He sat down beside her. “I was worried about you.”

“You have no right to worry.” Immediately, she wished that she could recall the shrewish words, but he seemed undisturbed.

“No, I suppose not. Still—I was worried. You shouldn’t wander around on these cliffs.”

Kendall rested her chin on her knees and stared out at the dying sun. “I’ve climbed mountains in Europe.” It wasn’t a boastful statement. Just a statement.

“Really? Did you enjoy it?” He was serious, not mocking.

Kendall flicked a glance at him, and felt a glimmer of humor lighten her somber mood. “No. Our guide had a bit too much out of his flask the third day out and dropped half our equipment over a ledge. That was the first climb. On the second climb, it rained for four miserable days, and I developed pneumonia. Needless to say, I gave up climbing.”

“You’ve had an adventurous life, it seems.”

“Very.” She hesitated, then went on, compelled by his presence or by the curious twilight between day and night. Her voice was calm and contemplative. “I’ve attended coronations and diplomatic balls. Ridden camels and elephants. Watched oil fires and revolutions. I’ve hiked through jungles and deserts. I’ve seen a world the tourists will never see.”

His head turned slightly, Hawke had watched her profile intently while she spoke. “And now?” he asked quietly.

Kendall felt an odd jolt somewhere inside her. Was it just a simple coincidence that he had asked precisely the question she had asked herself?
And now
…
what?
She shivered.

Immediately, Hawke rose to his feet and extended a hand to help her up. He stood for a moment, still holding her hand as he stared down at her. “I’ll expect an answer, Kendall—when you’re ready. But for now, let’s head back to the hotel. I think those kids wore you out.”

Following as he led her carefully away from the cliff, Kendall asked blankly, “How did you know about the kids?” And saw him shrug.

“I called Father Thomas about an hour ago—on
a hunch. He said you’d spent the day with the kids, and then headed this way.”

Falling silent, Kendall glanced down at their clasped hands for a moment, then looked away. When would he ask his question again? And how would she answer?

Chapter 4

Her new suite was a magnificent set of rooms on the top floor of the hotel, and Kendall could only wander a bit dazedly from room to room. She had left Hawke downstairs, since he’d been needed in the casino, and Rick had shown her to the suite.