Silence.
“Then why didn’t you bother to contact me?” he asked casually.
Why hadn’t she received his letter? Had she been so concerned with her mother that it had somehow slipped through the cracks? There had been mail, lots of it, from all sides of the family and friends, and church associates as well. Perhaps it had simply gotten buried in the pile.
She mustn’t rush to judgment and think the worst—and what could the worst mean? That someone—Vince, for he was the only one there—had deliberately kept Kash’s letter from her?
Vince was not deceptive or melodramatic. And one of her weaknesses was that mail sometimes stacked up for days on end and littered the coffee table, waiting to be opened at a more “convenient season.” Yet even if Kash had written, could one letter from him compensate for having left for South Africa without a good-bye? And if he’d been disturbed because she hadn’t answered, then why hadn’t he pursued the issue? He could have asked her grandmother or Kate why she hadn’t written him from Toronto. He knew she had gone with Vince. Had Kash been overly concerned that a romance might begin, he could have flown there to make his own presence felt. Kash’s arrival would have been all she needed to rush to his arms. Instead, from what he said, he’d been here in the Amboseli region for the past year.
Sable decided to walk around the unpleasant moment. Kash surely had other women interested in him; it would do him good to realize she could now rebuff his renewed romantic interest. Perhaps his motive was only to hurt Vince, since he disliked him so much.
Kash’s mood suddenly matched her own indifference, and the speedometer slowly ebbed. “My coming wasn’t necessary. We both know how capable Vince is in a crisis.”
She cast him a glance, and his smile was disarming.
“He’s even donned the red cross of Christian relief,” he said.
“Why is it I’m inclined to think you mean the very opposite whenever you speak well of him?”
“How could you ever get that impression?” he said with a wry smile.
“I would think you’d be pleased I’ve arrived with supplies for the Maasai.”
“Your sincerity goes without question.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t be so prickly. Vince is something else. Tell him if he’s really interested in the Maasai, he can build a well to bring them water.”
Mention of the well brought to mind the missing money, and she moved uneasily. She wouldn’t tell Kash, knowing what he’d say. “So what are you doing working with the Maasai?”
“Teaching ranching techniques. A major problem faced by the Maasai is overstocking their land with cattle. In the old days this didn’t matter so much. If the animals multiplied it was simple enough to invade a new area to provide the grazing. Now, with limits on their expansion, their numbers of cattle are becoming too great for the land to support. They graze so heavily the grassland is destroyed, leaving dust. When the rains come the soil is washed away.”
“So the Kajaido Council is trying to encourage enclosed ranches?”
“You can see a few of them along the road between the Athi River and Kajaido.”
“I didn’t know you were involved with the Maasai. It’s a fine work you’re doing, Kash.”
“To get back to good Dr. Adler—I suspect his sudden charitable interests have more to do with the access it gives him into areas off limits to hunters. Plenty of opportunity for poaching without getting caught, wouldn’t you say?”
She turned on him. “What! With your suspicious presence at Smith and Browning, you dare suggest he’s involved in this hideous butchery?”
“How swiftly you don angel’s wings to fly to his defense. Just be sure your humanistic little do-gooder isn’t using your cause—and your money—to support the evolutionary bone-diggers out at Lake Rudolf.”
“Evolutionary—humanistic—what are you saying?”
“He’s a colleague of Dr. Willard.”
“He is not! And even if he knows them, so what? He doesn’t support their cause.”
Kash looked back to the road, seemingly undisturbed by her response. “Before this is over I’m going to prove he’s involved in poaching. If I were you, I wouldn’t be too anxious to marry him.”
Sable was too overwrought to discuss the matter sensibly. First he insinuated that she might jump into an engagement because Kash didn’t move fast enough to suit her fancy! And now suggesting Vince was a despicable poacher! And—a hypocrite as well.
“You haven’t a very good impression of my character, have you?”
“Your character shines.”
She was slightly mollified. “Yet…yet you say Vince has ulterior motives, and you think I go around contemplating marriage without knowing what the man is really like?”
“Vince was clever enough to make use of your emotions at a time when you were vulnerable.”
Sable gave a brief laugh and behaved offended, even though she had questioned her own motives more than once. “Absurd.” She snatched her hat and fanned her warm face. “You’re only perturbed because you can no longer easily manipulate little Sable Dunsmoor—”
“Manipulate! Now I’ve heard everything.”
“Yes—a puppet on strings, that’s how you want to keep me, just waiting breathlessly in the ‘parlor’ for Kash Hallet to decide to favor me with a call. As if I ever would again!” She jammed her hat on and folded her arms. “I’m no longer a teenager in love—and I’m no longer interested in—”
The Land Rover bumped to an unexpected stop at the side of the dusty road. Kash turned abruptly to face her, his arm on the back of the seat.
Sable glanced about uneasily. “Elephants again?”
He removed his sunglasses. “No,” came his challenging tone.
She looked at him for an explanation and found his eyes burning like warm blue fire. His lashes narrowed, and she swallowed a nervous lump forming in her throat.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“How do you want me to look at you?”
She leaned away. “Stop it—whatever you’re doing….”
He reached for her with both hands.
“Kash, no—”
“Yes. Commitment is one thing you’ve long accused me of avoiding. I did…but for your sake, not mine. What could come of it? I had nothing to offer you. I was the overseer’s son. I also stayed away from you because I thought you were too good for me.”
He smiled, and the back of her neck prickled as she moved toward the door, fighting for the survival of her heart.
“You’re still too good for me, too sweet and noble. But I’ve decided, Sable, that I want the best, regardless. And I’m going to take you away from Vince.”
Sable’s breath stopped. “Oh—you are, are you!” she challenged.
He bent to kiss her, and mesmerized by his gaze, she barely managed to duck, knocking off his hat as he leaned his head toward hers.
“No,” she said weakly, “we mustn’t do this. It’s…it’s wrong.”
“Why is it wrong? After all, it’s about time, isn’t it?”
“I’m…almost engaged. You know that.”
“And I hope to prevent it.” Kash lifted her hand. “I don’t see any ring. So you’re not breaking any vow to Vince. I knew you before he did; I intended to have you before he came along. Nothing has changed.”
“Everything has changed.”
“For the better. We’re both older. And I’ve got money now.”
The thought of money sobered her like a splash of cold water. “I don’t know how you made your money, but I don’t want it. It’s no substitute for commitment, and spiritual character can’t be bought.”
“And you think Vince has both?”
“I’d rather live in a tent on the reserve than with a man who’s sold out everything he held decent and godly for money!”
His eyes smoldered. “You think I’ve done that!”
“Yes—”
“You insult me bu
t trust him, a phony. All right, have it your way.”
And he pulled her toward him. Her head fell back against his arm, and he kissed her thoroughly.
Sable’s heart pounded in her ears. Too weak to struggle, nor certain she wanted to, even when the sound of a motor roared and a horn blasted angrily.
Kash released her, and Sable jerked away, frightened and feeling guilty as two jeeps came to a dusty halt. Rushing footsteps neared the side of the Land Rover where Kash sat. Sable, dazed, was looking up at Vince. His usually remote dark eyes kindled like heated coals. His straight black hair glinted in the sun as he threw open the door to the driver’s side and, grabbing the front of Kash’s shirt with both hands, hauled him from behind the wheel—or was Kash getting out deliberately?
Sable couldn’t make a sound, but her hands clenched as she heard the swift smash of doubled fists.
Both were sizable outdoor men, but she feared more for Vince. Sable came to herself as if awaking from a drugged sleep. “Stop it! Stop it!” She clambered over the seat to crawl out the open door and looked about desperately for someone to come between them.
Mckibber was standing by his jeep, arms folded across his wide chest, watching.
“Mckibber! Stop them!”
“I’ll get meself busted tryin’.” He opened his mouth and pointed to a missing eyetooth. “Lost it three years ago comin’ ‘tween Kash and Seth. Won’t be losin’ my front tooth over Dr. Adler. He best take care of hisself.”
Sable heard a thud and whirled to see Vince sprawled across the back of Kash’s Land Rover, bloodied and dazed. She winced, sickened and angry over the ridiculous display between two grown men.
Kash was picking up his hat from the dusty road and flicking it clean.
She strode up to him, her eyes rebuking, but he looked defensive. He plucked the handkerchief she wore at her belt and blotted the blood from the corner of his lip.
“You’re not leaving with him. Get in the Land Rover, please.”
Their eyes held steadily. She must refuse; if she didn’t, it would appear she’d made a decision to choose between the two of them.
“I’ll leave with whomever I choose. It so happens I wouldn’t have either of you!”
His slow smile brought an ache to her heart. “Well, that’s a start. Vince and I are on equal footing now.”
“You’re so sure of yourself…of me,” she whispered, frustrated with his behavior.
His gaze grew sober. “No. Sure of Vince. In the end he’ll blunder. Stay away from him, Sable. I don’t want to see you hurt. I’m going to see him come to trial for the death of Seth.”
The death of Seth Hallet!
He turned and walked away, leaving her to stare after him, stunned. His words resounded in her mind. The death of his brother…Seth was dead? How, and when? Why hadn’t she been told this earlier?
Kash got in his Land Rover and started the motor. Mckibber walked up, leaned in, and said something. Kash nodded, then drove away.
A small trail of dust lingered.
Sable stood in the road, astounded by the impact of his words. Seth…killed.
A shiver ran through her. He blamed Vince.
Five
There was no time to consider the dreadful implications of what all this might mean. Vince had pulled himself to his feet and was walking unsteadily toward the open door of his jeep. In dismay she ran toward him.
“Wait, Vince, please.” She took hold of his arm. “I can explain.”
“I’m sure you can,” he retorted, “but at the moment I’m not in the mood for excuses.”
Excuses. Rebuked, her hand fell away. His sharp gaze provoked embarrassed feelings, as though she were an immature girl who was to blame for two men brawling over her.
Had he been anyone except Dr. Adler, she could have borne her embarrassment with more dignity. Despite all Kash said about him, Vince was a studious man, sophisticated in a Sherlock Holmes sort of way, with a keen face, eyes that were dark and pensive, jet black hair with a touch of early gray at the temples, and expressive hands featuring long, slender fingers.
He’d been around thirty-five when she first met him at a wildlife conservation class he was teaching at the university in Nairobi. He had been hired on for a quarter in order to fill in for Dr. Willard, who had taken a leave of absence to dig fossils at Olduvai Gorge. At first, Sable had been skeptical. Some of the things Vince said resembled New Age teaching, but when she questioned him more closely, he had denied it and told her he’d been raised in a Protestant Bible church in Canada.
During that summer, she and Dr. Adler had developed a casual friendship that developed into his growing interest in her father’s work at Samburu and Marsabit documenting the habits of the elephants in the region. One thing had led to another, and when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Vince had been supportive, recommending a medical center in Toronto.
Her father had made the decision to have her mother flown to Toronto to the research clinic on the outskirts of the city in the Canadian countryside. There was little to lose, he had said, since the clinic expected no payment; there was only the cost of the plane fare. They were doing this for the greater cause of trying to find more effective treatments for cancer. Since Julia Dunsmoor had given so many of her years of faithful service to the well-being of Africa, her people, and her wildlife, making a case study of her unusual condition was small payment.
And so Sable had flown with her mother and Vince to Canada, where in the intervening six-month period she had become convinced of the genuineness of his cause to help humanity. And he was, as he said, a staunch Christian. He’d become an inspiration to her. She marveled at his knowledge of natural science and revered his commitment to wildlife conservation.
Before she realized where her emotions were bringing her during that long ordeal, Sable had come to depend on Vince, who had been there to handle a myriad of details when her father could not. Sable, besides losing her mother, had just gone through the painful realization the year before going to Canada that Kash’s intentions toward her were deliberately uncertain. He had left to take a job in South Africa, where he had also planned to contact his parents’ families, without a hint of willingness to commit himself to furthering their relationship. After he had gone it wasn’t long before her mother’s diagnosis was rendered, and there followed the discouraging events in Canada and the rainy morning at her mother’s funeral. And Vince had been there.
Now, standing beside the road, rebuffed by his angry rejection, she lapsed into silence. He reached into the back of the jeep for the water canteen, and she walked up to where he leaned splashing water on his bruised face. “I want to explain,” she began again, desperately. “Please don’t brush me aside as though my words can’t be trusted. I respect you too much to offer foolish denials and excuses.”
His humid dark eyes silenced her. “Even a doctor should be allowed weakness of temperament in expressing indignation at finding my future fiancee wholeheartedly cooperating in the torrid embrace of an old flame.”
She flushed with embarrassed resentment. Wholeheartedly cooperating—?
“I wasn’t aware, Dr. Adler, that my future had already been settled in my absence and without my knowledge. An engagement is a matter as yet to be discussed, which means—”
“So now it’s Doctor Adler—which means, if I read your manner correctly, that you’ve changed your mind about us. All because of the arrival of a reckless, headstrong safari hunter who doesn’t mind shooting endangered species for ivory!”
“That wasn’t what I was going to say. And I’m making no excuses for Kash Hallet. I had no idea he was back.”
“Unfortunately, you’ll need to get used to the idea, since we both may need to deal with him in the future.”
“What do you mean?” she asked warily.
He appeared too overwrought to explain and said through tight lips, “You say you didn’t want this to happen?”
“No—”
“Do y
ou honestly expect me to accept that?” he demanded.
“Accept my honesty in being fair with you? Yes! Unless you think I’m so giddy and immature that I can’t be trusted. In which case I’ve neither the reputation nor the honor to be any man’s wife!”
“We both agree Kash Hallet is not just any handsome young adventurer. You were in love with him once. And you must admit this scene doesn’t speak well of either of you.”
Stung, Sable paled under his rebuke.
Dr. Adler grabbed the jeep door and swayed on his feet as he lowered his tall, lanky frame behind the wheel.
Concern for his condition on the long ride to the gaming lodge urged her to set aside her own injured feelings. “Please, Vince, you mustn’t drive off like this alone.”
“I am quite all right. It is you who needs to pull yourself together.” Looking past her stricken face, he motioned to Mckibber. “See that Sable is brought to Miss Zenobia.”
“What of you?” she asked worriedly, feeling guilty. “Where are you going? The sun will set soon.”
“I want to be alone.” He revved the motor. “I’ve had rather a shock of sorts today. Anyway, I’ve business out at the Maasai camp. I’ll speak with you at the lodge on Tuesday.”
Vince had a way of provoking feelings of guilt, and she hastened, “I’d like to come with you.”
“I’d prefer that you didn’t.” Without a farewell he drove away, leaving her standing at the side of the dusty track staring after him.
Mckibber Hallet, Kash’s South African uncle, walked slowly up to stand beside her, his worn leather safari boots kicking up dust. He hadn’t changed all that much in the two years she’d been gone. He still looked to Sable like the American country singer Willie Nelson. He wore a battered zebra-skin hat—a hat he made sure everyone knew had come from a zebra carcass already killed by a lioness and abandoned to decay—and beneath the hat his face was as hard and drought-stricken as the African earth he called “Mother-home.” Although born in Cape Town, he had left there after the death of Kash’s parents and come to East Africa looking for his two small nephews. He had stayed, becoming friendly with Sable’s father and especially Grandmother Zenobia, who ended up depending on him.
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