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"Could you be mistaking gratitude for something
else?"
"What I feel for Caitlin is a hell of a lot stronger
than gratitude, Rob. I have no problem understand-
ing the difference."
Rob laughed. "How the mighty are fallen. I never
thought I'd see the day that Adam St. Clair joined the
lovesick corps."
Adam grinned ruefully. "Go ahead, rub it in. Af-
ter all, you being the boss means I can't retaliate."
"Tell me another one. My being the boss has never
slowed you down in the past."
"True," Adam agreed complacently.
"I want to see the woman here in the office no later
than two weeks from now. That's the most time I can
allow on this one. We've got to get some answers and
tie up the loose ends. After all, it's your neck they're
after. We need to know if your cover's been blown
before we can use you down there again. Surely she'll
want to cooperate to help keep you around."
"I can only hope."
"I have faith in your persuasive powers, St. Clair,"
Rob said, standing up. The meeting was now over, and
Adam had his orders.
Summer weather came early to the mountains.
Caitlin welcomed the opportunity to open her door
and windows to the warm air. Her flower garden burst
forth with riotous colors, as though to help lift her
spirits.
The weeks following Adam's departure had been
extremely hard for her. She felt bereft. The cabin was
no longer her haven. Instead it was a daily reminder of
his presence in her life. Everywhere she looked, she
saw him in front of the fireplace, in her bed, at the
table, even milking her goat. Caitlin tried to stay busy,
too busy to think about a future that didn't include
Adam.
She spent more of her time at the village, helping
with the newborn babies, visiting with the mothers and
listening to the rambling tales of the old ones.
The villagers insisted on teasing her about her
handsome novio, even though she insisted he was not
her sweetheart or fiance. They thought they knew
better. After all, hadn't they seen the way he looked at
her, the way he treated her when they had been to-
gether at the village? There were no words that could
refute what the villagers had seen with their own eyes.
Caitlin accepted their kindly teasing, knowing it
would do no good to continue to protest. Once they
saw that Adam would not be returning anytime soon,
if at all, the villagers would eventually ease up on the
subject.
Late one afternoon in May, Caitlin entered the
clearing where the little cabin stood. She was weary,
not only physically, since she had gotten little sleep the
night before, but emotionally, because she had been
sitting beside the bed of a woman old in years, but
young in heart. A woman whose death left a definite
hole in the lives of those who loved her.
And yet Caitlin had seen the peace that stayed with
the old woman until the end. Never had death seemed
more friendly than at that moment when the woman
quietly took her last breath and exhaled with a soft
sigh, a tender smile on her lips.
Caitlin knew she was sad for herself, not the
woman. She would miss their conversations, their
sharing of healing with local herbs, and the old wom-
an's wisdom that had been garnered over the years.
Never had her little clearing looked more peaceful
to Caitlin, more inviting. Quietly she led Arturo to his
stall and made sure that he was fed and had water be-
fore she quickly spread the feed for her chickens and
went into the cabin.
The evening rays of the sun followed her through
the door, lighting the shadows in the corners of the
room and illuminating the figure who stood in front
of the fireplace, waiting patiently for her.
"I told you I'd be back," Adam said quietly.
Seeing Adam again after the many weeks without
him, together with the emotional strain she'd just
undergone, were too much for Caitlin to handle at the
moment. She burst into tears.
He was beside her in two long strides. Scooping her
into his arms, he walked over to the bed and sat down,
holding her close. "What's wrong, my love. Tell me."
His soft words only caused her tears to flow more
freely, and she gave herself up to the luxury of Adam's
arms and the joy of being comforted. She had not
known when to expect him again. He could not have
come at a time when she needed him more. Now that
he was there, she no longer had to resist the ties they
had forged during his stay with her.
"I didn't kid myself that you would be overjoyed to
see me," he finally muttered, "but I didn't expect to
reduce you to tears."
She slipped her arms around his neck and hugged
him, holding him tightly as though afraid he would
disappear. When the tears began to diminish, she
leaned back slightly so that she could see him more
clearly.
The weeks away had obviously done him good. He
looked fit tanned and healthy. She'd never seen him
look better.
"Oh, Adam," she finally said. "I didn't know if
you would really come."
"You should know me well enough to know I al-
ways do what I say." He glanced down at her arms,
still locked around his shoulders. "I have the feel-
ing," he said with a slight smile, "that you didn't for-
get me." With a hesitancy that she found endearing,
he lowered his head and kissed her softly on her lips.
"Does this mean that you're glad to see me?"
She smiled and nodded.
He rewarded her honesty with another kiss. He took
his time letting her know how much he had missed her.
Caitlin felt the muscles of his back bunch beneath her
hands. She became aware of the strength in his shoul-
ders and arms that held her so fiercely against him.
Adam had come back. She recalled the number of
nights she'd lain awake, remembering what it had been
like to have him lying next to her in bed, and the many
nights when her dreams had been full of him. How
could she possibly resist him now that he was back
with her?
Adam seemed to be trying to memorize her, his
hands ceaselessly roaming up and down her back,
from her shoulders to her hips, as though reassuring
himself that she really did exist and wasn't just a fig-
ment of his fevered imagination.
Her response to his kisses encouraged him to con-
tinue and he eased back on the bed until they were
lying there, side by side, their mouths still clinging,
enjoying the taste and touch of each other.
As though they had a mind of their own, his hands
slid from her back and lightly traced a line from the
hollow in her neck down between her breasts to her
waist, then paused. Her quickened breathing seemed
to match his own breathlessness. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]