A Rare Breed (17 page)

He nodded and met her gaze. "Yep. It's been outstanding."

"I'll help you finish. I feel a kinship with the Anasazi, even if I don't know much about them. We've both enjoyed this spectacular place."

"It is special," he admitted.

As Brit walked behind him, she couldn't help wondering what would happen to them when this odyssey was over and she was rescued. Would she ever see Jake Landry again? Or would she disappear in Hollywood and he retreat to Flagstaff?

They walked in silence. Suddenly Jake stopped. "I hear a plane."

Silence. Dead silence. Then, a distant buzz.

"I hear it, too!" Brit felt a stab of panic in the pit of her stomach that traveled like cold steel up to her throat. She thought, for a panicky moment, that she would burst into tears. She knew she should be happy and hopeful, wanting to be rescued from this prison. But things were different now. This location was no longer a prison; it was Shangri-la. And she was in heaven in Jake's arms. She wanted to stay here forever.

But even the Anasazi left Shangri-la.

The now-definite buzz of a plane's motor had interrupted their beautiful silence.

Rudi spotted Yolanda on one of the rocks beside the camp pool and yelled as he made his way toward her. "Hey, babe! I've been looking for you. What are you doing here?"

Her head was bent over a book. "Reading," she said, not looking up.

"Reading? You?" he said with a chuckle when he got closer.

Yolanda lifte
d her head and glared at him de
fensively. "So what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's just that you never do."

"It's because I don't have time," she retorted as if he didn't know what filled every hour in her life. "Now I do. And I like it."

Rudi shifted and looked around uneasily. "Why don't you come closer to the camp to read?"

"It's nice here, Rudi. Nice and quiet."

"It's even quieter over there. No water rushing around."

She frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

"I just don't like this spot, that's all. Don’t trust it, especially after yesterday."

"Oh, how sweet, Rudi," she said with a smile. "It's perfectly safe today. The water's down. Anyway, I'm not going in, just sitting beside it. Come on, sit here with me. See how nice it is." She extended her hand to him, and he reluctantly took it.

"I’ll keep an eye on the water level. You never know when the damn stuff is going to rise."

"Now, Rudi, don't be paranoid. It's nearly back to normal and perfectly safe. Jake said it would go down almost as quickly as it came up. And it has. We just weren't careful. Next time-"

"There isn't going to be a next time!" Rudi almost shouted. "I will make sure of it."

"Okay, okay. Calm down. Listen. Let me read to you."

"What?"

"I want to read a passage to you."

"Isn't that Brit's book?"

"Yes, it's the one her great-grandmother Bonnie wrote. It's very good."

"What's it about?"

"Sort of a love story."

"Humph! No wonder you women—"

"Hey, there's also a murder mystery. And adventure. They're making a movie of it, so it has
to have something for everyone, right? Hollywood's got to make its profit from violence and sex."

"You got that right." Rudi shifted so he could be comfortable and watch for any rise in the river at the same time. "So this book is about violence and sex?"

"No! Course not. Just listen," Yolanda said softly. "Bonnie's Indian lover is Knife Wing."

"An Indian?"

"Yep. He's from the Zuni Pueblo Indians."

"Brit doesn't look like she's got any Indian heritage."

"She doesn't. This is about her grandmother's lover, not Brit's grandfather. He left Bonnie a widow and she took over running the trading post. Brit's mother was Bonnie's grandchild, daughter of Baby Sara in this book."

"Okay. Got it." Rudi leaned back on the rock and folded his hands beneath his head. "Go ahead. Read."

"I'm not going to read you the whole book. You can do that for yourself." Yolanda turned back a page. "Just listen to this one beautiful part.”

“
Knife Wing and I were alone for the first time last Sunday. Always before, the trading post customers, family, neighbors, or most certainly, Baby Sara had been with us
."

She paused. "Does that sound familiar, Rudi? We've always got somebody with us. We're never alone."

"You've got that right," he mumbled. "Go on."

She continued softly.

"
On Sunday, his sister, Tuni-wa, kept Sara, and he took me to a small lake hidden in the sacred mountains beyond the Zuni village that he called Place of Still Waters. It was completely tranquil and quiet, and the water was like brilliant turquoise. Knife Wing said his people had been coming to this place for hundreds of years for purity and renewal. I could see why, because it was quite spiritual, as if it had been made by the hand of God, just for
us."

Yolanda stopped again. "That's kind of like this place, Rudi, don’t you think so?"

"Hummm, I guess."

Yolanda turned the page and continued reading.

"
We tried not to agitate the silver-smooth lake when we swam. We whispered while we ate our picnic lunch, so we wouldn't disturb the beautiful silence. Later, as we sat beside the still waters, Knife Wing whispered I love you for the first time. And a special peace came over us, and I knew
that God meant for us to be to
gether
.”

“Isn't that sweet, Rudi." Yolanda closed the book and gazed at her husband. "We used to feel that way. Remember when we went to Madina Lake?"

"Babe," he said, touching her cheek. "I still feel that way. I just don't tell you enough. I get this chill up my back when I think that I almost lost you yesterday to this damn river. We came so close, too close for me."

"But it makes everything more valuable now. The beauty around us. The quiet. Each other. Isn’t it nice?"

"Yeah. But I can't wait to leave here."

"Me, too. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it while we're here."

"Yolanda, I don’t think you realize how valuable you are to me. How very precious."

"Why, Rudi, you haven't said anything romantic like that to me in a long time." She smiled sweetly.

"I want you to know how much you mean to me." He kissed her hand. "You mean everything to me, babe. Everything in the world."

"Rudi . . . you're serious." She reached to stroke his face. The man she had married years ago had turned into a hard-nosed businessman who managed their affairs and manipulated others around her, even manipulated her at times. But this man, sitting on the rock next to her, was more like the old Rudi. The one she had first loved.

"I'm serious about loving you, needing you." He sat up and, scooting closer, bent his head for a kiss, taking her lips with such fervor that he almost knocked them both off balance.

"Ummm ... I think I'll read to you more often," she murmured as she settled into the security of his arms and smiled into another kiss. They were lost to time and motion, locked in each other's arms in a soundless, beautiful world where love, though timeworn and battered, still flickered.

The soft shushing sounds of the water provided a soothing backdrop for the kiss that continued, long and hard, jolting Yolanda clear through to her toes. She was a young girl again, heart fluttering because the dark-eyed, handsome Rudi Romero had given her the attention she sought. She was that young girl, giggling with her girlfriends as she told them how he'd claimed she was the prettiest girl at San Antonio High. She was, again, the girl who joked about him and with him until the night he asked her to marry him and she had cried with emotion, from utter happiness. This man, who kissed like a million bucks, still loved her and she had never felt so fulfilled.

Above the white sounds of the water, came a different sound, low and rumbling.

Yolanda tried not to notice, tried to remain lost in the beauty of the moment. But the noise continued and grew into the definite sound of a motor. She moved, and Rudi lifted his head slowly. He had heard it, too.

"What is that?" she whispered, as if saying it aloud would interrupt what was happening be-tween them. But they'd already been disturbed.

"A plane. Maybe our—"

"No!" She pressed her fingers against his lips, those precious, beautiful lips she loved to kiss. "Please, no!"

"Why? You wanna get rescued, don't you?" He sat up and strained to see something in the heavens.

"No, Rudi! I can't! You know I can't fly anymore! My dreams!"

"Babe, you wanna leave this place, don't you?"

"Yes, but—" Fearfully she gazed upward. The sky was a clear blue dome with no sight of a foreign object. Nothing, but the drone of a plane.

Chapter Eight

Jake strode into camp with more energy than he should have, considering the day's activities with Brit. But he felt revived and enthusiastic for whatever lay ahead. With Brit's help, he had been able to accomplish a lot today and make up for time lost dealing with the rescue and his new charges.

The campsite appeared deserted at first. The Romeros were nowhere in sight. He turned around and called to Brit, "Don't see them." She trudged along a hundred feet behind him and did not look nearly as lively as Jake felt.

"Where are they this time?" Brit knew she couldn't rest until the always-snipping couple was found. She was tired and simply wanted to put her feet up and relax until supper was ready. In fact, what she would really like to do was curl up in Jake's arms and forget about eating.

From beside the river, Yolanda yelled and waved. She scurried toward them, talking as fast as she could. "I thought I heard an engine! Did you hear it, Jake? It was a plane, wasn't it? Or maybe a helicopter coming after us?"

Jake heaved his backpack down on a stump and raised both palms toward Yolanda. "Don't get excited, now. As I explained to Brit, that was just a tourist plane. They fly over whenever weather's good, taking their chances with the air currents. So don't get your hopes up."

Yolanda halted in front of him and stared for a minute. Then a slow smile spread across her face. It was probably the first occasion she'd actually smiled at him since they had arrived. "A tourist flight? Oh, good. Great, in fact! Of course, I should have known." She called to Rudi, who was making his way toward them, and clapped her hands a bit frantically. "Tourists, honey, tourists like us!"

Panting from the exertion of hurrying uphill to the campsite, Rudi joined them. "Hope they don't have our same experience and end up down here."

"Well, Jake dear," Yolanda said sweetly. "Don't get your ever-loving hopes up, either, be-cause even if t
hey send a rescue plane or chop
per or whatever can land down here, I'm not flying out of this hole."

"What?" This time, Jake was the one who stared. "Am I hearing right? You don't want to leave? Why?"

"I didn’t say that. I just said I'm not flying out of here. I’ll walk, with you as my guide."

Jake gave her a long look. "Okay, Yolanda, where did you get that notion?"

"I figured it out."

"Without consulting me?"

"I'm consulting you now." She grinned and moved her hands expressively as she talked. "No, I haven't lost my mind. You're right to think that I've wanted to leave from the minute I set foot down here in this giant hole in the ground. But not anymore. Not flying straight up, at least. Going down once was enough for me. You aren't getting me out of here that way."

Jake folded his arms and eyed her narrowly. "So, what's your plan?"

"Nothing specific. Whenever you're ready to go is fine with me."

"I have work to do before I leave, Yolanda."

She nodded as if she understood perfectly. Obviously she had given it some thought. "I trust you, Jake. You saved my life yesterday, and I believe you can get me out of here safely. I've decided that I want to walk out, not fly."

Jake was stunned into silence. He realized that he had been looking forward to their departure almost as much as they were. Now, Yolanda was saying it wouldn't happen. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from the person who complained the most and loudest. Now she was changing her tune. Puzzled, he glanced at Rudi.

"Hey, this is almost the first I've heard of it, too." Rudi shrugged. "She's got some problems with this flying business. But, you should know, I'm staying with my honey. We're together through thick and thin, always have been. So if they send a chopper for us tough cookies. I'll re-main with my lady, here." He hugged Yolanda and kissed her cheek.

Yolanda made some soft remarks in response to Rudi's outspoken support and patted his face.

Brit was amazed. As if Yolanda's bombshell about refusing to fly out weren't enough, there was this sudden display of affection between the two who had kept a running banter the whole trip. Then she realized that they were all looking at her. She was completely surprised by Yolanda's turn around. Although she and Jake had joked about getting rid of the Romeros, they both knew it was a fantasy. She had come with them and it was only logical to expect that they would leave together. But she hadn't even considered hiking out. And with Jake?