Echoes In The Mist

by Rifi Strawn

  Even though she loved his attention, she’d yet to see her money. He was nowhere close to recovering it. If it weren’t for her daily duty to care for the elephants, she would’ve been more upset at him.

  Later at work, Stanley fed the baby elephants. She saw Jeremy beaming and walking toward her. He lowered his voice. “I got most of your money back.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “How? I don’t believe this.”

  “I’ll let you hear from the source.”

  He took her to the manager’s office and opened the door. Mr. Reed gleamed as he stood up in his tan, linen safari suit. “Hello, princess.”

  She’d never been happier to smell his Old Spice. “What are you doing here so far away from home?” She squeezed him in her embrace and then stood back to look at his peaceful, tired face.

  “I had to see you. We have a few things to talk about.”

  “Everything okay at home? Are Neil and his family okay?”

  “Oh, yes. They’re all fine.” Mr. Reed stopped Jeremy as he opened the door to leave. “Jeremy, I want you to stay.”

  Her pulse raced faster as she looked at the two men. “Jeremy said I got most of my money back.”

  Mr. Reed smiled. “Jeremy is a genius. I must admit his plan was risky, but I believed he was looking out for our best interest.”

  “Do I dare ask about this plan?”

  Mr. Reed looked at Jeremy. “He asked me to bait Levi with my money. I checked into the lodge in Zambia and asked to buy the property across the river. I offered cash for twice the value. Of course, Levi knew who I was. He showed up at the resort, and wined and dined me on behalf of Jeremy while he was on the job “in Asia” helping the elephants.” He chuckled. “His mother is quite good at creating diversions.”

  Jeremy smiled. “She taught me everything I know.”

  Stanley crossed her arms. “His family has plenty of experience in diversions.”

  “Which have worked to your advantage,” Jeremy said.

  Mr. Reed continued. “Anyway, I played along with Levi’s charade. That crafty fellow did his homework. He knew my net worth and about the oil wells. With Jeremy’s coaching, I played the naive sucker and poured large sums of money into his fake accounts for charitable causes in the Caribbean and Africa. The police were monitoring his every move. My money allowed us to trace Levi’s bank accounts, while he drained my bank account. I must admit, I had a few panic attacks along the way.”

  “I bet,” she said. “Where’s Levi now?”

  “Locked up in a South African prison,” Mr. Reed said. “The neighbors cut a deal with the prosecutors and gave up Levi’s future plans. The international police joined forces with the undercover California police after I reported your missing money. The evidence led to Levi’s fraudulent charities after Torrey reported the missing money from her non-profit shops.”

  She sat in shock at Mr. Reed’s selfless act. “Why would you take such a huge financial risk for me?”

  Mr. Reed’s teary eyes met her gaze. “A father would do anything for his daughter.”

  She kissed his hand. “You’ve kept your word to Aunt Zoie about taking care of me. I’ve always considered you like a father.”

  He gathered his composure and gently squeezed her hand. “No, Stanley, I really am your birth father.”

  Speechless, she looked at him. “My parents died in a car wreck.”

  Tears welled in his eyes. “My beautiful daughter, you belong to Zoie and me. She was your real mother.”

  “I don’t believe this.” Tears flowed from her eyes. “Why did Aunt Zoie keep this from me?”

  “She was too embarrassed about giving birth, unmarried, and at such an old age.” He paused. “Neither one of us expected this. It was a miracle that she got pregnant with you. It must be her organic foods that kept her body healthy.” His smile faded. “Zoie didn’t want you to grow up with two parents who were old enough to be your grandparents. She worried about the kids in school making fun of you. I was against her plan to send you off to your young cousins to raise you. When they died in the car wreck, I insisted we keep you.”

  Her voice shook. “Aunt Zoie was my mother?”

  “You’re as beautiful and as strong as her.”

  Stanley’s lips quivered, and she released her hand from his. “Why did she allow me to mourn and yearn for my fake parents? All this time, I thought I was an orphan. What kind of love is that?”

  “I know, honey, I know. I didn’t want to keep this from you.” Mr. Reed shed tears with her. “I guess my love for Zoie kept me loyal to her plans. She’d convinced me they were for your best interest.”

  “I didn’t even get to call her ‘Mom,’” she cried.

  Mr. Reed sniffled. “I was dying to hear you call me ‘Daddy.’”

  “All this time, I’ve been feeling sorry for myself when I had two healthy parents who loved me,” she snapped.

  “I did my best to be there for you.”

  “I wondered why you were always at our house. Why didn’t you marry my mom?”

  “Zoie wouldn’t have it. She was too worried about what people thought, which was stupid as I look back. I should’ve stood my ground and saved us all so much heartache. I wanted us to be a family and live under the same roof. Zoie made the ultimate sacrifice to protect my grownup children from this secret.” He hesitated. “Their mother was alive and well when I had you with Zoie.”

  She gasped. “Chuck and Dorey are my half-siblings?”

  “You have old half-siblings.” He smiled. “Their children are older than you.”

  “I wish I knew this so I could tell my mother how much I loved her before she went on life support,” she said.

  “She knew you loved her.”

  Stanley held Mr. Reed’s hand as she sat, absorbing this unexpected news. The man she’d known as Aunt’s Zoie’s close friend was her biological father. “Why didn’t you tell me when I was an adult? I would’ve kept your secret.”

  “I wanted to more than you’ll ever know.”

  She looked at him. “It’s going to be hard to call you Daddy after knowing you as Mr. Reed all my life.”

  “I about died from a heart attack when I got your death certificate,” he cried. “My whole world crashed. I had to be hospitalized.”

  “I worried about that before but didn’t know I’d be the cause of it.” She squeezed his hand. “I’ve been resurrected, so we can spend the rest of our days as father and daughter.”

  He caressed her face. “I get to brag about my beautiful daughter now.”

  Her father’s Old Spice cologne embedded in her clothes as she held him tight. Stanley wiped his teary old face. “Daddy.”

  He kissed both her cheeks. “Oh, God. That feels so good. Say it again, please.”

  “Daddy.” She smiled and sighed. “I had wondered about your long trips with my Aunt Zoie to Oklahoma when I was in college. Now I know you weren’t visiting relatives. Where were you?”

  “We went on vacations together to Europe.”

  More than the millions she’d recovered, she celebrated the father she’d always wanted. She sat in his embracing arms, smiling and shedding tears of joy. He held his hand out to Jeremy and looked her in the eye. “This man has proven his worth and love for you. He risked his own life to protect yours. I believe he’ll take good care for you long after I’m gone.”

  Face-to-face with her in her father’s arms, Jeremy gaze lit her eyes. “You may kiss me now.”

  She smiled. “Not in front of my father.”

  Mr. Reed smiled. “I approve of it.”

  Jeremy pressed a soft kiss on her lips and then sighed with relief. “I’m so glad this is over. Now we can go back to living together and annoying each other.”

  They all laughed.

  Stanley fixed the handkerchief in her father’s suit pocket and looked at Jeremy. “Dressing well runs in the family.”

  “I noticed.”

  Mr. Reed rose to his feet. “I’m going to g
o sleep off my jet lag.”

  “Where are you staying?” Stanley asked.

  “I’m spending a few days here at Krueger, and then I’m off to Zambia to stay in our timeshare at the resort.”

  Jeremy put his arms around her. “Now you’ll have to move with me to Zambia. Your dad’s staying at my place.”

  He took Mr. Reed to his room to rest and returned to Stanley. She sat at the table outside her room. He gave her a tall mug of coffee with Amarula.

  She took a hot sip and looked at him. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

  “You know I’ll do anything for you, but will you please get those damn pictures of me off the internet?”

  She giggled. “Oh, those.”

  “Are you sure you want millions of women lusting over your man?”

  She held back a smile. “I’m dedicated to saving the elephants. The money coming in from your sexy pictures is for a good cause.”

  Unable to resist another kiss on her lips, he then gazed into her eyes. “Marry me.”

  “No,” she scoffed. “Now that you know I have a rich father, you just want me for my money.”

  He chuckled. “Well, you are a pretty good catch. I don’t think I’ll find a more beautiful rich girl than you.” His tone turned serious. “If I promise you that you can sleep on my chest every night till the day I die, then will you marry me?”

  She took in a deep breath of his familiar scent. “I haven’t found more compatible pheromones than yours.” She traced his delicious mouth with her finger. “Do you promise to give me pretty babies?”

  He tapped his finger on his chin. “Hmm…let me think about this. I’m in high demand these days. A thousand women have proposed to me on the Internet. They want babies with me, too.”

  “You better tell them no.”

  “Will you take those pictures off?”

  “Yes.” She smiled. “I don’t like to share my man.”

  Their lips locked in a deep passionate kiss. Relishing the sweet moment, she felt his heartbeat next to hers. His warm hands gave her butt a gentle squeeze and pressed against her. Nibbling her ear lobe, he whispered. “I missed you. How about giving your man some love?”

  She tingled with goosebumps from his seductive kisses as he hardened against her. Breathing heavily, she took him by the hand to her bedroom and closed the door. In a wild, passionate rage, he removed her clothes and kissed her aroused breasts with a hunger that couldn’t be satisfied.

  “I missed you. I missed your scent, your hair, and soft skin. I’ve been dying to love you.” He laid her on the bed with a longing gaze. “I’ve been so lonely for you.”

  “I missed you. Come to me, my love.” She stamped her kisses on his face, neck, and broad shoulders. “I need you. Love me as long as you want.”

  They didn’t leave the room all night long.

  ~*~

  A month later, Stanley shooed a familiar monkey away from the food tables at the old lodge in Zambia. Makeda, Tutu, and Luki grazed on leafy twigs on the extra land she’d bought to expand their territory.

  Jeremy walked up in his all-white suit. She propped the little red handkerchief in his pocket. “I see my dad has been dressing you.”

  “I thought you’d like this look for the pictures to promote the lodge.”

  “I do,” she said. “But now, I want to keep the lodge just for us.”

  “What changed your mind about the lodging idea?”

  She gazed at the old, white colonial building and then at the elephant herd passing by. “This is the perfect home for us. Where else would we have elephants roaming in our front yard, and monkeys stealing our food? And to top it off, we can hear the thunder of the falls.”

  He beamed. “You’re the perfect woman for me.” Holding her in his embrace, he looked at the house. “I have so many good childhood memories here. I’d love to raise our children in a home I grew up in.”

  That night at dinner, they celebrated with a small party. Torrey and Mr. Reed tried to keep up with Tabo’s fast-moving hips as Lucky played the drums. The village chief, who was also the chief of police, stood on guard to ensure no one disturbed the peace again.

  As Stanley danced in Jeremy’s arms, she gazed into his loving eyes. “I feel so lucky.”

  He kissed her. “I promise you’ll never be bored in this life’s adventure with me. You may be shocked, amused, and angry with me, but never bored.”

  “Now, that’s the best promise of them all.”

  Enjoying the depths of her love for him in a passionate kiss, she basked in the moonlight listening to the trumpeting calls in the distance. The echoes of the thundering falls mixed with occasional lion roars, bird calls, and monkey hollers. She relished the sounds of the wild in the arms of the man she loved and adored. If this was heaven, then she’d just arrived.

  ———The End———

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading Echoes in the Mist. I hope you enjoyed your adventure in Africa. I’d love your feedback about this story in one of the links I’ve provided for your review. Your honest input helps me create better adventures for you around the world.

  For those of you who want to continue hanging out with Jeremy, Stanley, and the elephants, I’m working on a sequel. Hint. There’s going to be some celebrations with twists and turns…

  Keep exploring and stay in love.

  Rifi

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  Other Books by Rifi Strawn

  Passion by Design

  Saving Face

  Trust for Sale

  Sample Chapter of

  Trust for Sale

  By Rifi Strawn

  Chest tightened and palms sweating, Tanya scanned the sea of faces for Charles Dugan on her way toward the baggage claim area. Andrei said “Dugan” would be waiting for her in passenger pickup. This better not be another trick to test her loyalty. How stupid did he think she was to attempt another escape from him?

  She eyed Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport bustling with passengers and visitors. The Crescent City attracted tourists from around the world to enjoy the marching jazz bands, colorful parades, and spicy Cajun food. But this trip was no vacation for Tanya. She’d traveled far from Moscow to do an important job. Her life depended on it. Andrei, the manager of the Escort Service she worked for, warned there was no room for mistakes this time.

  She dragged her worn-out, black leather suitcase from the baggage claim to the flight information board to confirm her location. So far, she’d followed her orders and made no mistakes, other than attracting attention to herself with an annoying squeaky wheel. But that wasn’t her fault, Andrei took the better suitcase from her just before she left for the airport in Moscow.

  Nerves aside, Tanya was intrigued with the local dialect. The English spoken around her was nothing like the Americans she’d heard in Moscow or in the movies. The airport janitor had to repeat twice where to get her bag before she understood his thick accent.

  She gave a sideways look at the men standing next to her. They chattered about their favorite sports. “Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?” one of them said. Ready to blend in with the locals, Tanya picked up a few words from their conversations. She practiced saying, “Ya’ll, Nawlins’, where ya at, kay-jun.” It would take some w
ork, but she could pick up this accent, just like she’d learned others back home. She needed to adapt quickly into this environment to make her job easier.

  Her stomach growled when she walked by the food court. She paused to look at the tempting pictures of hamburgers, fried chicken, and Cajun food on the boards above the counters. It’d been hours since she ate the baked chicken and mashed potatoes on the flight here. They’d tasted so good, she’d practically licked the plate clean.

  She stood at a restaurant counter and cringed at the heaping big bowl of crawfish and fried alligator being served to a guest. “Honey, you don’t like crawfish?” said the busy server.

  She shook her head. “No thanks.”

  “This is Cajun country, honey. We eat anything that’s got eyes on it. For sure.”

  She lost her appetite and walked away. Crazy Americans, they’ll eat anything. After a quick scan for Charles in the waiting area, she fumbled for the ten dollars she’d tucked under the torn lining of her purse for an emergency. It wasn’t enough to buy a good meal at the airport, but it gave her the false security that she had some money.

  Tanya exhaled when her fingertips touched the folded bill. She was so afraid Andrei was going to find it when he dumped her purse to on the floor to see if she’d taken anything from him. He would’ve literally choked her for holding out on him.

  Her heart still raced from the risk she’d taken to steal the money. It was a miracle when Andrei counted his big stash of American dollars and dropped a few bills on the floor by accident. Eager to help him, she picked up the scattered bills and gave them to him.

  She spotted the bill that had floated under her chair. Discreetly, she’d put her foot on it. When he turned his back on her to answer a phone call, she picked it up and put it in her pocket. She’d perfected her survival skills since childhood. It was the only way to cope with the daily battles she faced with her tyrant boss.