Discovering Sophie (19 page)

They reached the hut, and Sophie knocked on the door. Andre’s mother looked relieved to see a doctor. She spoke to Sophie with frantic gestures of her hands again, and Hector interpreted for her. Apparently, Andre had awoken and sipped a little bit of water but then refused to drink anymore. The fact that he’d kept the water down was another good indication he would probably be okay.

She went inside to assess Andre, and Hector said he would wait outside with Fred. The donkey was very ill-tempered today, and Hector was afraid he might run off. Sophie had brought her stethoscope with her and listened to Andre’s heart and lungs. She moved down and listened to his belly, hearing loud rumbling bowel sounds that signaled Andre would also be hungry when he awoke.

She took her penlight and lifted one of his eyelids to test his pupils. Andre moaned and shook his head. She started to check the other pupil when he sat up, his eyes wide open.

His mother clapped her hands and started talking to her son. Andre closed his eyes and put a hand to his head and moaned again. Then his eyes popped opened, and he started talking loudly to his mother, trying to get off the bed. Whatever he had said made his mother angry, and she started shouting back.

Sophie had no idea what was going on and hoped Hector would hear the commotion and come inside. While Andre’s mother struggled to push her son back down on the mattress, Sophie ran outside to seek Hector’s help. He was nowhere to be found. Fred was missing, and Sophie hoped the donkey hadn’t run off too far with their supplies.

Both Andre and his mother continued to yell at each other, but Sophie had no idea what it was all about. At least a little familiar with her surroundings, she knew Manuel’s house wasn’t too far from here. Deciding there was a good chance Jack would intercept her, she quickly walked toward the Carrero’s home.

Sophie hadn’t gone very far when she heard the low tones of a man talking. It sounded like Jack. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end when she heard the soft voice of a woman, followed by a giggle. Sophie pressed a hand to her stomach and crept quietly, peering behind a vacant hut.

Shock jolted through her when Elaina threw her arms around Jack’s neck and kissed him full on the mouth. A stunned gasp escaped her mouth, and Jack jerked away from Elaina and glanced over just as Sophie lost her balance and stumbled backward. Regaining her equilibrium, she bolted back the way she had come.

“Sophie!” Jack called.

Like she was going to stop. Why had she gone looking for him? It was none of her business who Jack Mathison kissed. He probably had a girl in every port—or in this case—village.

She heard his footsteps behind her.
Rats!
He was a fast runner. He caught her before she made it all the way back. “It’s not what you think,” he said breathlessly.

She wrenched her arm out of his hand. “I’m pretty sure it is.”

“No. It’s not. I didn’t kiss her.”

She gave a harsh laugh. “Jack, don’t lie. I know what I saw.”

He stepped forward, an intense look on his face. “What you saw was Elaina kissing me. I didn’t kiss her back.”

Was he serious?
“I don’t see how there is any difference.”

He cast a steely gaze at her, placing both of his hands on her upper arms. “Oh, there’s a difference all right. Would you like me to demonstrate?”

“No.” Her eyes strayed to his mouth, and she cursed the part of her that wanted a demonstration. “No,” she said again, taking a step backward.

Just then, Elaina came up behind Jack, and Sophie wanted to wipe the know-it-all smile from the girl’s face. Whirling around, Sophie only made it a few steps before Andre came stomping down the path with his mother chasing behind him. From what Sophie could tell, they were still having the same argument.

Andre’s dark eyes locked on Elaina, and he started shouting even louder. Sophie watched the color drain out of Elaina’s face. Both of Jack’s eyebrows shot up as he looked from Elaina to Andre. When Elaina started fighting back, Jack slowly edged away from the couple. He eased around the crowd that was gathering and came to stand by Sophie.

She was still angry with him, but she wanted to know what was going on. “What is Andre so mad about?” she asked.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest and gave a low whistle. “It would seem that Andre wasn’t that drunk, and he remembers Elaina coming at him with a tree branch. She hit him in the back of the head, and that’s the last thing he remembers.”

“That would explain the lump behind his ear. He must have cracked his forehead open when he went down.”

“Elaina claims he was drunk and trying to hurt her.”

Andre pointed a finger at Jack, as he continued to yell at Elaina. His face was so red Sophie hoped he didn’t pop a blood vessel.

Jack dropped his hands to his side and shook his head. “I knew the girl was obsessed but not crazy. Well, at least not this crazy.” He glanced down at Sophie, his forehead creased with concern. “Andre said Elaina was trying to get rid of him so she would be free to be with me.”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, clearly remembering the kiss Elaina had just planted on him.

Jack reached down for Sophie’s hand and led her away from the growing crowd. “I think it’s time for us to make our exit.”

They walked quickly away, then broke into a jog. After going a couple of yards, Sophie pulled her hand out of Jack’s. She was still peeved with him. Yes, Elaina was stalking him, but despite what Jack claimed, Sophie had seen the two of them kissing.

As they came to the rendezvous place they had met at earlier, they stopped and looked around for Hector. He was coming down another path, yanking on Fred’s rope, the donkey resisting all the way.

His face was flushed, and he was speaking in his native tongue, his voice low and angry. When he saw Sophie, he immediately stopped. “Pardon me,
chica
. But this donkey is making me
loco
.”

Jack grabbed Sophie’s daypack and handed it to her, then he strapped on his own backpack. “It’s a good thing Sophie doesn’t understand Spanish, because you were making my ears burn, and after what I just heard—that’s saying something.”

Hector raised one dark eyebrow. “What is it you heard?”

“A lot of cursing.” Jack tugged on the donkey’s rope, and Hector glowered again when Fred started to walk without any resistance. “Let’s go, and I’ll tell you on the way,” Jack said. “But say goodbye to
Por El Rio,
because we are not coming back. Ever.”

If this declaration was for her benefit, Sophie wasn’t in the mood to acknowledge it. Elaina might have initiated the kiss, but Jack hadn’t been in any hurry to end it. In fact, if she hadn’t gasped so loudly, she wondered if he would’ve broken it off at all.

* * *

Jack rolled his shoulders back, thinking it was time to find a good place to set up camp for the night. The trek had been slow and boring, and he was ready to call it a day. He’d been following behind Sophie for hours and she had basically ignored him the entire time. Sophie was still mad at him. Even though Jack had apologized and explained that he had not kissed Elaina, Sophie refused to listen. If he asked her questions, she kept her answers short and wouldn’t look him in the eye.

Although she was pretty mad at him, her jealous reaction made him smile because it meant her feelings for him were deeper than he’d thought. That both thrilled and terrified Jack. If he decided to pursue Sophie, it needed to be with the intent of marrying her. He might be selfish, but he wasn’t that big of a jerk to lure her away from Peter and his extraordinary family just to have a brief relationship with her to satisfy his male ego.

There was also his faith, or lack of faith, to consider. After their talk last night, and her non-judgmental attitude toward him, he felt a desire stirring deep within him to reconnect with his faith.

“Oh, look,” Sophie said, and Jack snapped his eyes to her, hoping his exile was over.

It wasn’t.

She was standing next to Hector, pointing at a large Scarlet Macaw that sat on a low hanging branch. Jack started to approach the pair, prepared to wow Sophie with his knowledge of the colorful bird. But Fred, which Jack had been leading throughout today’s journey, had other ideas. The donkey stopped and jerked Jack, nearly knocking him down on his backside.

“Come on,” he said, tugging on the rope. “Let’s go.”

Fred blinked his eyes and swished his tail but didn’t take a step.

Jack whistled and yanked on the rope again, but the donkey wasn’t moving. “Come on, buddy, it isn’t time to call it quits yet.”

Reasoning with the donkey wasn’t working. Jack glanced over to find Hector and Sophie watching him. Hector was grinning, no doubt pleased to see Fred acting up for someone other than himself. Sophie looked amused, her lips slightly curved upward. At least she wasn’t scowling.

“I think he’s done,” Jack said with an answering smile. “What do you think about making camp here?”

Sophie dropped her eyes, and Jack hoped he could smooth things out. While opening up to her about Heather’s betrayal had been hard, it had also been freeing.

Hector looked around and nodded in approval. “
Sí
, the ground is flat, and we’d have to stop soon anyway.”

Fred brayed his endorsement and moved toward Hector as if he knew he was going to have the load on his back removed. Jack shrugged his own pack off and stretched. He watched Sophie do the same.

“Do you want any help with your tent?” Jack asked her.

She didn’t even glance his way and grunted something unintelligible as she rolled out her tent.

 “What? I didn’t hear you.” He shouldn’t antagonize her, not if he wanted to make things right. But how long was she going to keep this up?

“I said
no, thank you
.” Her words were clipped and terse, with just a touch of sarcasm.

Jack had never seen her this way and couldn’t help it. He laughed outright. “Oh come on, are you still mad at me?”

Sophie spun around, meeting his gaze. “Why would
I
be mad at you?”

Jack met her icy glare and swallowed. She expected to get an admission of guilt. But he was sticking to his story—he had not kissed Elaina.

Ironically, it was the truth. After saying goodbye to Manuel, he had been waylaid by Elaina. Clutching his arm, Elaina had cried in desperation, weeping that her life was over if Jack walked away. Jack had tried reasoning with her, getting her to laugh. Elaina had blindsided him by throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly on the mouth.

He eyed Sophie, who still waited for an answer, her toe tapping in agitation. Jack crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t know. Why are you so mad at me?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I never said I was mad. Remember, you asked me. And I quote, ‘come on, are you still mad at me?’”

Shoot, she’d definitely been hanging out with him too long. Jack held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay. You’re right. From now on, just pretend like I’m not even here.” He pulled out his own tent. “Kind of like you’ve been doing all day,” he grumbled.

“What did you say?” Sophie asked indignantly.

Now she wanted to talk?
“Nothing.” Jack made the motion of zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key.

The corner of her mouth twitched before she turned her head abruptly. He could tell she didn’t want to stay mad at him, and she didn’t seem like the type to hold a grudge.

It made him like her all the more, and, whether it was a good idea or not, Jack needed to figure out a way to talk to her.

They worked in silence, and as soon as Sophie had her tent assembled, she disappeared inside. While Hector put together a meal of white chili and fresh pineapple, Jack assembled Hector’s tent for him. Afterward, he found a small pool of water and refilled their specialized water bottles.

He came back to camp, disappointed to find Sophie still holed up in her tent. An idea came to him, and he dug through his pack for the M&M’s he’d been saving and placed them on top for easy access. What woman didn’t like chocolate? He figured it would be an acceptable peace offering that would hopefully grant him a chance to make things right.

Soon, the once-dehydrated chili was bubbling, the scent drifting on the air. Hector ladled the soup into the tin cups. Jack was just about to call out for Sophie to come and eat, when she unzipped her tent and stepped out. He hoped she’d had enough time to let go of her anger.

“Mmm, something smells good,” she said, moving to stand by Hector and completely ignoring Jack.

Nope
. She was definitely still mad.

Hector winked at her. “It’s not bad, just not as good as the fresh chili I make at home
.
”

“I’ll bet.” She accepted the tin cup and sniffed the rising steam. “But right now, this looks wonderful. Thank you.”

With her other hand, she took a plate of fruit, and then she turned back around, obviously going back to hide inside her tent.

“Sophie,” Jack called. He wanted to talk to her, set the record straight about
the kiss
, and possibly let her know about his growing feelings.

She hesitated, looked over her shoulder and met his gaze. “What?”

“Come and sit by me,” Jack said, watching the play of emotions cross her features. He could see the battle she was having, and when he thought she might not give in, he upped the ante. “Please.”

Chapter Fifteen

Jack
watched as Sophie’s dark eyes softened, and she quietly moved back and took a seat beside him. She wasn’t relaxed, though. Her back was rigid, and she still refused to look at him.

Hector watched the two of them, and Jack could tell he was trying not to laugh. He took his food and walked past them. “I think I’m going to sit by my tent and listen to some music.” Before disappearing behind his tent, he made a show of pulling out his iPod, a signal to Jack he was giving them their privacy.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Jack waited for Sophie to look at him, but her focus remained on the cup of chili. “So, are you going to say grace or am I?” He knew he would get a reaction from her and wasn’t disappointed.