[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
adopted of being merely acquaintances and nothing
more.
Breakfast passed in silence, and within the hour
Adam and Caitlin were hiking down the trail toward
the village.
She set an easy pace, unobtrusively making certain
that he didn't tire, pointing out areas of interest as they
went along. He listened without comment, observing
everything around them.
By the time they reached the village, Adam knew
he'd pushed himself and was disgusted at the signs of
weakness. His body had never let him down before,
but he knew he was running on nerves and sheer
willpower. There was no point in delaying his return
to the real world, as he thought of it. And there was a
definite danger in staying. He loved Caitlin, and con-
tinuing to share the small cabin with her without
making love to her was a torture he didn't intend to
continue.
They walked through the main street of the village,
with Caitlin pointing out the shops, and ended up at
a small taverna where they ordered something to drink
while Adam talked to the owner.
A few people recognized him from their visits to see
Caitlin, and they surprised him by greeting him with
shy smiles. He could see why Caitlin had grown at-
tached to these people.
Right now he had to keep his mind on his priori-
ties. He needed transportation north. Without money
or identification, transportation might prove diffi-
cult.
His conversation with the owner of the taverna
didn't improve his mood any.
"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked when he returned
to the table where she waited.
"I hadn't realized how remote we are. There's very
little traffic through the village. I'm going to have to
stick around and take my chances on getting out of
here."
Caitlin could see the lines of strain around his eyes
and the dark smudges beneath them that betrayed his
lack of sleep from the night before. She felt the dull
throb of pain in his head. This was too soon for him
to be so active, but she knew she couldn't ask him to
stay any longer. For both their sakes, he had to go.
They left the taverna, and Caitlin went to one of the
small shops where she bought a few supplies. Con-
versation had become more and more difficult be-
tween them. And why not? There was nothing to add
to what had already been said the night before.
Eventually Caitlin faced the fact that there was
nothing more for her to do in the village. She glanced
around at the empty street, then at Adam. "I really
need to start back. It will be dark soon."
"Yes."
Hesitantly she placed her hand on the sleeve of his
coat. "Take care of yourself." She watched a small
muscle leap in his jaw and knew he was finding their
leave-taking as difficult as she was.
"You, too."
They stood there for a moment in silence, then
Caitlin said, "Well goodbye, Adam. God bless."
She turned and walked away from him, forcing
herself not to glance over her shoulder.
Caitlin had taken three or four steps when she heard
Adam's voice.
"Wait!" She turned around and found him strid-
ing toward her. "I'll be damned if I'm going to tell you
goodbye in the middle of some godforsaken Mexican
settlement with everyone looking on." He took her
firmly by the elbow and began to walk beside her.
"Since it doesn't look as though I'll be leaving here for
a while, I can go partway with you."
Caitlin could feel her heart pounding painfully in
her chest. This was much harder than she could han-
dle without breaking down, but she had no choice.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked when she
remained silent.
She nodded without looking at him.
"Aren't you even going to talk to me?"
Looking straight ahead, she said, "What do you
want me to say?"
"How about 'I'm going to miss you, Adam'?"
"That goes without saying."
"No, it doesn't. I want to hear it."
She stopped. They were above the settlement now,
out of sight of any signs of civilization. The western
sun bathed him in a golden glow of gilt. She would
never forget the way he looked at that moment, not as
long as she lived. She forced herself to meet his gaze,
her eyes filling with tears despite her best intentions.
"I'm going to miss you, Adam," she managed to
say past the lump that had formed in her throat.
With slow, deliberate movements, he slipped his
arms around her, pulling her close to him. "I'm going
to miss you, too, darlin'. More important, I'm going
to miss my heart, since it's staying here in the moun-
tains with you. I'm not sure how well I'm going to be
able to function without it."
Caitlin rested her head against his chest. Her tears
finally overflowed and slowly trickled down her
cheeks.
"Oh, Adam" was all she could say.
With his forefinger under her chin, Adam tilted her
head so that his mouth found hers. His possession
seemed perfectly natural to both of them, familiar
because she was such a part of him. Adam didn't
know how he was going to walk away from her. She
had become as necessary to him as the air that filled
his lungs and gave him life. He loved her. How could
he possibly leave her?
Caitlin felt as though she no longer had a will of her
own. As soon as Adam touched her, she became pliant
in his arms. Her response to his kiss left no doubt in
either one's mind that she shared his feelings.
They stood there in the mountain wilderness, cling-
ing to each other, devastated by the impending loss
they faced.
The whine of a bullet and the cracking sound of the
discharge came simultaneously, and Adam reacted
automatically. He pushed Caitlin toward the ground,
shoving her behind a boulder alongside the trail. An-
other shot was fired, and pieces of the rock rico-
cheted around them.
"Are you all right?" he whispered, touching Cait-
lin on the shoulder. Not looking at him, she nodded
without speaking.
The sudden unexpected attack left them both
stunned. Violence had no business in the peaceful
mountains, and yet it had found them.
"I've got to see who this is. Stay here and don't
move, okay?" Once again she nodded.
Adam's gun was already in his hand, and he crept
farther away from the trail, circling the area where the
gunshots had been fired. He kept the brush, boulders
and trees between him and his would-be assailant,
moving as rapidly as possible on silent feet.
It hadn't occurred to Adam that someone was still
out to kill him. How had they traced him to the vil-
lage? He wondered how long they had been waiting
for him to appear. Like some amateur, he'd walked
right into their hands without suspecting anything,
making no attempt to cover his tracks.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]