Keeping Up Appearances (A Gass County Novel Book 4)

by Isabell Lawless

  They returned the gesture with great exaggeration and inside Valerie could do nothing but laugh, thinking they must be scared witless, wondering if what seemed like a well-used spear also went through other mammals than those indigenous to the forest.

  “With my support and theirs,” his hand gestured to the slightly hidden men behind trunks and leaves of Elephant Ears. “You are safe letting these men rest their wary, and somewhat injured legs.” He motioned forward like a wise tortoise, panning his feet in slow-motion across the dirt floor around her campground until he reached the man on the ground. With his hand he gently touched the injured ankle and murmured a few words before standing back up. Nodding in her direction. “Not broken, Ms. They will be venturing back soon.” With a bow he turned and as if born by the jungle vanished behind its foliage.

  “Did he put a spell on me?” Slight panic was heard from the man on the ground.

  “Yes,” Valerie answered and with hands on her hips walked farther out into the opened area where the men huddled in a group. “If you’re hurting as much as a fly here, you will be the next thing he put on that spear.” With that she turned and went inside her hut, making sure to slam the bamboo door to its fullest capacity hoping it would provide them with the detail that she was truly displeased they were here. Unfortunately, the door did nothing but fall slightly from its hinges and gape open. She sighed and closed her eyes. Fuck men, especially good-looking ones. Nothing but trouble.

  “I’ll fix that for you, Ms.” A voice spoke from outside. “I own a farm at home and do nothing but fixing things that are broken.”

  This would be one long over-night stay.

  ~ Chapter Six ~

  Two days and not enough recovery for the intruders to return. I came for privacy and living in peace with nature, Valerie thought as she watched the three men hike into the forest with the Chief, who was painted in tribal colors and feathers for the honor. At least she was now left with only one male. Men, she thought. Nothing but trouble and heartbreak. She knew from experience.

  Last night had been interesting and she’d felt a mixture of fear from the strangers to the relief of finding they were people from her country. Her heart had tugged slightly and somewhere inside she’d heard a whisper of homesickness. She’d quickly roped in the rush of feelings and held tight. Keeping it at bay.

  Bryce had just begun his second beer when he had looked up suddenly and listened. “What was that?”

  Valerie had stared at Bryce under dark brows and without giving him an answer pointed to the meat grilling on the fire at their feet when a screech had come from the forest around them and scared the man. “That,” she’d said to his silent question of who’d made the sound. “But before it’s cooked.”

  “That noise was a pig?”he’d whispered with eyes wide as round quarters.

  “Hog, but still, yes. No grocery stores around here,” she’d said and chewed on a piece of homemade jerky where she’d sat in one of her beach chairs around the campfire.

  “The beer sure tastes good, and from the label, it wasn’t made here in this hut.” Jefferson had said and walked over to the cooler where Valerie had surprisingly stored two 12 pack Brahma Bock 5.9% beer. “You don’t seem like a heavy drinker to me,” Wayne had said from across the fire pit.

  “I’m not sure you know me well enough to make that inquiry.”

  Jefferson had come back to the camp fire circle and sat down. “Another beer for the lady,” he’d said and reached over.

  Bryce had watched Valerie take the bottle from Jefferson but giving nothing that resembled a smile. Not one smidge.

  Problem was, they usually made something beat a bit faster inside her. Turned her skin a little rosier, and if she let her guard down they could make her giggle like a school girl. This particular male example was left under her observation for the day.

  But today was a new day. She peeked her head through the door of the hut. “Bryce?” she whispered, but no answer. He made her want to do all those things and more.

  For the last two days she’d watched him dress and undress every time the Chief had requested him to take an herbal bath, water heated by the open fire and poured into a large metal tub which she usually reserved for animals in need of a good washing or doing her laundry. Lack of electricity made life in the wild more exciting. Correction, exhausting.

  She’d watched Bryce step into the tub in nothing but boxer shorts too many times to count. Studied his body with all its angles and lean muscles, tanned from the South American sun, and she’d had little time and distraction to think of much else in between. The Chief had blessed the bath water and poured in a local, indigenous blend of herbs and oils coating Bryce’s skin like a delicious brined turkey. “I’ve got it bad,” she’d mumbled and tried to study the other men in nothing but shorts, yet they had done nothing to speed up her heartbeat.

  Bryce was cut from the same cloth as Achilles. A masterpiece from which she couldn’t shy away. Not even walking inside the hut helped. Closing her eyes made every image come alive and the thoughts quickly turned into things much more indecent. Her body responded with such speed she slapped herself at the side of the cheek and warned herself to knock it off. I wouldn’t have been a very successful nun, she thought and shook her head in an attempt to drop the thoughts of Bryce’s body on top of hers, in bed. Against a wall. On the dirt outside the hut. Apparently her brain said anywhere would be great, really.

  Her bed was too small in size for Bryce’s tall, lean, muscular body, and filled up most of the space in the hut. As she had tended to and released the Ocelot on trial she felt as tired as Bryce looked, sleeping with a snore tangled in her sheets. She rolled up a blanket for a pillow and deflated sank to the floor next to the bed, imagining a glorious nap would inhibit her body seconds before her head had the chance to meet the cotton-polyester ball in her hands. A hand on her shoulder startled her and she swatted it away and rolled over onto her back.

  “Don’t sleep there,” Bryce murmured deeply. “Take this spot.” He flattened himself against the wall and motioned for her to take the empty spot of the soft bed he’d vacated. Her mind screamed of danger, warning signals and orange flairs doing their best to stop her. The tiredness killed all those hints and she sighed in pleasure when her body sank into the mattress of the bed, clinging comfortably to her aching back and tired muscles.

  ***

  Bryce’s skin pressed against the wooden wall of the hut, the bed’s mosquito net creating a hollow space in which he tried to give every possible inch of space to Valerie. Heck, she was gracious enough to keep them alive from the Chief and his ever wandering tribe members, eyes everywhere, never alone, and giving them a few nights stay at her house. Hut more so, seeing the Big Bad Wolf could huff and puff on these walls and it would crumble to the dirt floor in just a few ferocious exhales. Giving her a foot space in her own bed was the least he could do to reciprocate her hospitality having an injured ankle. The offer unmentionable, really. Had it been anywhere at home he’d gifted her a weekend getaway as a thank you.

  Although, being this close to Valerie, watching her getting comfortable in her own sheets was nice. More than nice. It took up his temperature a notch and he suddenly felt as if he was sweating slightly. He watched her face relax and her plump lips opened in slow breathing and he thought this was much better than spending a night alone at a four star resort. Like the one they had rented not too far from this place, much to his bank account’s dislike.

  The fabric of her tank top made a perfect contour of her breasts and moved in a deep inhale. His eyes caught on to the movement. His breathing copied hers until he found they were in sync.

  “Stop watching me, close your eyes.”

  His breath caught and his eyes moved from her chest to her eyes. The warmth in them said she was tired. Her whole being, soft. Her features looked different from what he’d witnessed.

  “Pardon me,” he answered but made no attempt to close his eyes, afraid she would close her
s too and the moment would be broken. “Thank you for letting us stay.”

  She smiled and turned to face him, putting both hands underneath her pillow. “You’re welcome. Trusting the Chief on this, though. You, not so much.”

  He chuckled at her audacity and made himself more comfortable against the pillow, resulting in his arm touching hers in the small space.

  “Sorry,” he said excusing the move.

  “No worries, I’m too tired to care.”

  Bryce did his damndest to close his eyes and keep them shut. Valerie was too curious of a person to take his eyes off, pretty too. Her hair long enough to fit in a ponytail, a natural dark blonde, her bangs slightly too long and to the side, covering part of her eye. Blue, he noticed. Dark blue, as the shade on the Old Glory. Maybe he could just watch her while she slept. If she just fell asleep first she wouldn’t know he was studying her. He moved again at the thought which made his hand run up the side of her arm by accident.

  “Sorry, again,” he said watching her sleep. “Your skin is so smooth, must be the moisture in the air and all those herbs the Chief is putting in my bath, he must be giving them to you too.”

  Valerie sighed deeply and smiled without opening her eyes. “Yes, those herbs sure make for the most relaxing baths, they make the skin on my entire body as soft as silk.”

  “I bet,” he answered and stopped himself before more slipped out from his vernacular.

  Valerie opened her eyes under heavy lids and stared at him. No words were needed, he knew he’d stepped over what was appropriate. Without breaking eye contact he watched as Valerie pulled down the top on one of her shoulders where she was laying on the side next to him and closed her eyes again. “Yes,” she whispered. “Feel for yourself.”

  He wasn’t sure if the dare was to be trusted. Maybe she would use it to make sure he disappeared, like the Chief had done with a large hog that had disturbed her peace. He didn’t want to be a vanishing hog on the top of the Chief’s spear.

  “I’m waiting.”

  Valerie’s voice cut into his rambling thoughts and with precise measurement he placed his hand on her shoulder and let his hand soften to the contour. Gently. The warmth of her skin floated into the palm of his hand and suddenly his entire body felt hot, tight, needy. His mouth felt like a desert and his pants grew tighter against his crotch. He lifted his hand and coughed in nervousness.

  “Yes,” he said roughly. “It’s very soft, your skin that it. Warm and . . . nice.”

  Valerie picked up his hand and slowly moved it between the opened buttons of her shirt and onto her breast. Someone made noise, an exhale was heard and not before long his lips were on hers and beneath him her body whimpered. Her mouth opened wider and let his tongue inside. Fuck yes. His brain agreed with his crotch – falling down the slant was the best decision in a long time.

  Dazed Bryce tightened his grip on Valerie’s hips, hearing the groan that her kiss had forced from his throat. She was kissing him. Hard. That he was surprised was an understatement. But having her pull him on top and crave him, kiss him like that, taking charge was … oh, yeah. It was better than anything that had happened on this trip. All damn year to be frankly honest. She felt so good against him, underneath him. On a mission. The aggressive sort. Marvelous. She was driving him absolutely crazy. Usually it was the other way around and the thought made a soft laugh bubble up inside him. Euphoria, he thought. Complete, utter, and scorching ecstasy.

  “Be quiet and take it like a man,” she mustered while she pulled back for a breather.

  It didn’t last long as she pushed her mouth back onto his. Her hand stopped grabbing at his ass and circled around to his front and inside his pants to grip his erection with a steady hand. This time is was him that pulled back. Her touching him like that sucked all air and sense out of him. Until she flipped them both over, slid down his body and said, “I want you in my mouth.” “Fuuck,” he groaned and involuntary lifted his bottom up from the bed until he was coated in wet warmth. “If I die now this is the best damn way to go.”

  ~ Chapter Seven ~

  Two months of endless nights. Tossing in the bed sheets of the steamy hut. The sheets retold the story she couldn’t wish to forget, they were just as tangled and misplaced as her mind. Two months since the attractive group of American tourists had taken a sidestep and fallen down the hill to the forest floor and found her living quarters. Too many nights alone thinking of what she had been lacking for a long time, not realizing her starvation. Sex. Sex with a man like Bryce. Not only had he been an easy target being injured and forced to be stranded at her home, but that one afternoon they’d shared her bed had fired up her lust like a blow torch on gasoline. The flame he’d started had yet to dwindle.

  Every time she seated herself at the side of the bed the memory floated back. The weight of his hard body demanding her submission as he pressed her into the mattress. How his mouth hadn’t allowed for hers to turn away. How his hands had pinned hers above her head then traced every curve of her body before taking her clothing off. In a hurry they’d undressed, listening for signs of the group of travelers returning to camp. He’d pulled her on top of him and with his large hands pushed her bottom against his growing erection. She’d whimpered then, she remembered with a sigh spreading her fingers over the sheets, smoothing out the fabric as she had smoothed his dark brown hair away from his face as the moisture from the air had clung to their skin as he pushed himself hard inside her.

  She shivered at the thought and bit down hard on her lip.

  Civilization called in a way it hadn’t done before and for the first time since she had arrived here she had found a reason not to stay. Why the reason had to be over 6 feet tall, live in her home state, and had taken what seemed like a big chunk of her heart she wasn’t sure. Or maybe he hadn’t taken anything at all, quite the opposite. He’d reminded her of what was still out there on the other side of the forest and planted a seed of curiosity, a longing for small town life from which she had once run.

  Valerie sighed and looked out the hut’s window. She’d done very well here, saved not only the ocelots, the reason for which she’d settled here, but numeral tribal members and their wives and children when sickness had struck and medicinal herbs lacked sufficiency.

  “Ms. Valerie, you seem deep in thought?” The voice at the door made her jump in the air.

  “Chief, you startled me.” Her hand pressed at her chest.

  “The fact that you didn’t hear me arrive gives me a clue you have something of great importance on your mind. Yes?”

  Valerie released another sigh and with a smile she ushered the Chief outside to the large rocks she’d rolled from the forest to provide a thinking spot if one will, such as Winnie the Pooh’s, when thoughts too large cramped her mind.

  “I’m trying to block these feelings but I have very little success at it,” she said and twined her fingers in her lap as she spoke. The Chief held his walking stick firmly on the ground and like an old tailor crossed his legs in great ease on top of the rock. His eyes looked up at the crowns of the large trees surrounding them and gave a faint smile to her confession.

  “Ms. Valerie. We all need closeness from time to time, physical contact if you will, and it would be a shame if you diluted those emotions with rationality. Feelings lack reason, they simply exist in us, in our minds, in our hearts. If he cannot escape your mind, maybe you need to pay him a visit.” He gazed at her, waiting for a response.

  Valerie sputtered and shook her head. “Visit who? I am perfectly fine here in this hut, with these animals, with you.” She swung her arms in exasperation.

  The Chief moved himself off the rock, tangled legs stretching out his tall length before he spoke. “Valerie,” he said softly and placed a thin, warm hand on her shoulder craving her fullest attention. “I will miss you when you leave, but if faith will, we’ll see each other again. Go to him, see why your whole being is keeping hold of his memory.”

  His hand stroked her
cheek and then he was gone. Again she was left alone. She didn’t care for it anymore. Being alone was highly overrated. Maybe that was why she’d applied for a job in the States during her most recent visit into the city. The job ad had looked good: in search of veterinarian for office, good customer base, small town life to its fullest, needed ASAP. She’d noticed the location, ignored her racing heart beat and clicked send for the application. Primrose Valley, Gass County.

  “Don’t fight yourself on this like you do so much else. If what could be heard between you and Bryce is “nothing”, I know a lot of people who would love themselves some nothing. Now go.” The Chief smiled from behind a large leaf and this time left for sure leaving her slightly embarrassed and frankly, more confused than before. She didn’t have feelings for Bryce, right? She wasn’t sure what that word was. Feelings? Her mind tested the subject. She had felt so little for so long that maybe her emotional radar was broken, and that would truly be troublesome. She didn’t want to end up like … Mrs. Houston, or as she would call her, “Mom,” she said and stood. “Not in a life-time.”

  In a few hours her bags stood packed by the door and she wished she could have written a lengthier note to the Chief, but somehow the short message she had manage to jot down seemed sufficient. The man was after all almost psychic.

  “Thanks for everything.

  Hope to see you soon.

  Much love, V.”

  “That will do,” she said and realized she had closed the door to the hut for the last time. She didn’t regret it and that said something. Four miles until any type of wireless connection and a chance to buy a plane ticket. There was nothing else than to put one foot in front of the other. Any which way this day was going she would be on a flight back to American civilization by tomorrow. Nothing else was acceptable.