“Well, let’s take all your unbridled energy and put it to work,” Cali said, stepping aside as he moved closer to her. But instead of allowing a safe distance between them, Parker got in her space. Cali automatically stepped away again and shot him a dark look of warning.
The man smiled and glanced down at the construction schedule. “Well, have no fear, Parker’s here, Ms. Roland. We’ll get this baby back on schedule in a snap.”
Cringing inwardly at his bravado, Cali said, “Unless you’re prepared to work 24–7 for a week, that won’t happen, Mr. Parker.”
“Let me impress you.”
Cali’s stomach knotted. “You don’t need to work at impressing me, Mr. Parker. You need to impress your boss, Major Trayhern.”
“Oh, him. He’s a real serious type, isn’t he?” Parker walked down one side of the dug foundation and looked closely at the rebar.
“Major Trayhern does a damn good job on this site, Mr. Parker,” Cali snapped. “If I were you, I’d reserve any early opinion of him and let him impress you with his knowledge and experience.”
Lifting his hand, Parker laughed. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Well, time to get down to business. I’ve got a lot of rebar to inspect, it looks like.”
The wind gusted and a cloud of dust swept across the area. Cali took off her damp pink bandanna and wiped her face. She was sweating in the autumn sunlight. So was everyone else. The Afghan workers, who were learning the correct way to place rebar, chattered in their own language. Bulldozers rumbled in the distance, and the familiar sound soothed Cali’s frayed nerves a bit. She wanted to run from this guy, but couldn’t. She had to make sure his inspections were thorough and met her criteria as well as Pete’s.
Cali followed, keeping a safe distance from this engineer who obviously thought he was going to flirt openly with her. What a contrast to the sense of safety she felt with Pete Trayhern. Pete wasn’t flashy like this character. He was responsible and stable in comparison, something Cali had always wanted in a man.
As they moved to the second side of the foundation, Cali watched Parker lean down and test the wire ties that held the rust-colored rebar together. He had a workingman’s hands. As he ran through his checklist, he seemed to forget she was trailing him like a shadow, and that sent a wave of relief through her.
She tried to forget how similar Parker was to Russ. And because these circles tended to be small, she wondered if he knew Russ. That thought sent a shaft of terror through her. Pete didn’t seem to know of her past, and she was anxious to keep it that way. He respected her, and Cali never wanted to lose that precious bond with him.
“Hey,” Parker called, twisting to look over his shoulder, “how about we get a soda together later at your office trailer, and celebrate my coming to the site?”
She gave him a flat look. “The only time I need to see you in my office, Mr. Parker, is if there is a problem with your inspection of my people’s rebar placement.” She saw him grin slightly, shrug and turn back to the work at hand. This guy didn’t know when to quit.
Cali had never thought of herself as a woman to be chased at a construction site. Maybe that was due to her assumption that she was “one of the boys” in a male-dominated profession. She wanted the men to treat her as an equal. And then Russ had come along and laid his elaborate trap for her. She’d fallen for it blindly—and stupidly. And now, Parker was trying to chase her. Well, to hell with that. She was off-limits and he’d better get the message. How she wished for Pete’s quiet company instead.
NEAR QUITTING TIME, Pete happened to be walking out among the newly dug foundations when he saw Cali with Parker. The shadows were deep as the Kush Mountains grew purple in the evening light. It would get cold and blustery now that the daytime heat was gone.
He had wondered how Parker was doing. Was he as good as Kerwin Elliot had said? The only way to tell was to see him at work. Pete was a hands-on manager, not one to stay in his office all day. He pined for the outdoors—the sun, the rain, the elements. It was where he felt at home.
His kept his eye on Parker, who was down in a foundation checking newly laid rebar. There seemed to be a problem, and Cali had crouched down to look at the section. What Pete saw next shocked him. He was a good two hundred feet away, walking between foundations, when it happened. Cali always wore gloves to protect her hands in this environment. Her current pair had dropped to the ground between her and the new structural engineer. As she reached to retrieve them, Pete saw Parker grab Cali’s hand.
It was a deliberate act. Pete halted, his mouth going grim. For an instant, he wanted to run over and yell at Parker to get his damn hands off her. Cali could have retrieved her gloves on her own. Parker hadn’t reached for them but he’d reached for her hand, instead.
Rage funneled through Pete. She couldn’t see him, with the angle he was approaching. And he couldn’t see her expression. But her body language was clear. She yanked her hand out of Parker’s, stood up and uttered sharp, curt words. Judging from the surprised look on Parker’s face and the censure in her voice, Pete figured she was angry. And well she should be. Who did Parker think he was?
As Pete pushed forward, his steps deliberate, puffs of dust rising where his work boots landed, he wanted to curl his fist and slam it into the engineer’s smug face.
“Problems, Ms. Roland?” Pete asked as he neared them. When Cali snapped her head toward him, anger and frustration were evident in her clear green eyes. Her cheeks were a heated red and her mouth was pursed.
Cali fumbled with her leather gloves. She was a case of nerves from Parker’s unexpected touch. “Major, er, no.” She found her professional voice as she saw the banked anger in her boss’s eyes, aimed at Parker. The structural engineer was still crouched, clipboard resting on his thigh.
Cali was so glad to see Pete show up. She didn’t need rescuing, but his presence was an immediate comfort. What a difference in personality between these two men. She longed to be near Pete, not egotistical Parker, who clearly thought he was God’s gift to women. Even now, Parker seemed unconcerned about his behavior, and that made her even angrier. But this was not the place or time to tackle it. They were surrounded by Afghans who could see everything, and Cali knew, from a managerial standpoint, that one didn’t drag dirty laundry out in front of employees. She gave Parker a warning look that spoke volumes, then returned her attention to Pete.
“We’re inspecting the rebar,” Cali told him, her tone now calm and collected.
Pete looked intently into her upturned face. More than anything, he wanted to ask if she was all right. She had gone from angry to all-business. Maybe later they could talk in private.
“What have you found so far? Any problems?” Pete asked his new hire.
“None, Major Trayhern,” Parker called. “From everything I can see so far, Ms. Roland’s men are doing a fine job. Of course, we’re only on the second foundation, with eight others to go, but it’s looking consistently good.”
Pete wondered if the engineer realized his faux pas. Pete could tell Cali was shaken, even though she tried to hide it. Her hands trembled slightly as she jerked her gloves back on. This made Pete all the more protective of her. “I want to see you in my office before quitting time today, Parker.” Looking at his watch, Pete added, “That means within the next thirty minutes.”
“I hear you loud and clear, Major. I was going to come in and see you shortly, anyway.”
Pete nodded and turned to Cali, who avoided his gaze. The panic and fear seemed so out of character for her. “You okay?” he asked, his voice quiet and probing.
“Y-yes, I’m fine, Pete.”
Every time she used his first name, he felt his flesh react as if stroked by a warm, moist breeze. Cali compressed her full lips and adjusted the white hard hat on her head.
“Thanks for asking,” she added.
How badly Pete wanted to talk to her. But that was impossible right now. “Well, I’ve got a few more stops to make.” He didn’t want to g
o. Instead, Pete ached to put his arms around Cali and tell her it was going to be all right. But that was not to be, and sadness flooded him.
“So do I,” Cali muttered. Swallowing hard, she turned on her heel and walked away. She wanted to run. Parker was a copy of Russ Turner in every way, and dread wound through her. This guy worked for Pete, so she couldn’t fire him. She couldn’t refuse to work with him. And worst of all, she was going to have to deal with Parker day in and day out. He was so damn bold and sure of himself. And he was chasing her. Cali could taste it. She wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her gloved hand. Escape. That was all she wanted at this moment. Pulling down the brim of her hat, Cali tried to breathe fully. She was breathing shallowly, as if scared. Well, wasn’t she?
And then her quick strides slowed. She wondered if Pete had seen what Parker had done. If he thought she’d encouraged Parker’s actions. What if he had? Would he blame her, the way she’d been blamed at the other project? In her experience, Cali found that men stuck together. When one woman came against all of them, hers was the reputation that got shredded and ruined. Russ had walked away laughing.
“MR. PARKER, WHAT DID you think you were doing, holding Ms. Roland’s hand like that earlier?” Pete stared hard at Brad Parker. The structural engineer had just gone over his notes with him, and their meeting was over. It took everything Pete had to keep his voice low and unruffled. He felt nothing like he sounded. Inside, he was furious. And as he appraised the shock in Parker’s darkly suntanned features, he waited for an answer. An answer he practically wanted to shake out of him.
“Why…I was just reaching down to grab Ms. Roland’s glove. The wind blew them off the rebar.”
“Really? That’s not how it appeared to me from where I stood.”
Parker shrugged easily. He picked up his reports and clipped them back on the board resting on the table. “I was just trying to be a gentleman, Major Trayhern.”
He was lying and Pete knew it. Yet the innocent look on Parker’s face would fool a lot of people. Maybe because he yearned for Cali, but could never have her, Pete saw Parker as a huge threat. Maybe he was just jealous. Okay, he damn well admitted it, but only to himself. “Next time, Parker, keep your hands to yourself. It looked like you deliberately reached out to catch her hand as she bent down to pick up her gloves.”
Parker chuckled. “Hey, she’d been wanting her hand held all day, Major. I was just complying.”
Rage funneled up through Pete. “Complying? As if she was wanting you to do something stupid like that?” He ached to curl his hand into a fist and put it right through Parker’s smiling features. The guy was brazen, bold and arrogant.
Parker picked up his hard hat and placed it back on his head. “Major, with all due respect, I don’t have to go out and chase women down. They come to me.” His mouth curved faintly.
“Let me be very clear,” Pete said, his voice deep, “I don’t ever want to see you out on my site touching Ms. Roland in any way at any time. I don’t care what the reason is. You got that?”
“Not a problem, Major. I can’t help it if she was flirting with me all day long. But I’ll refrain and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Are we done? I’ve got some reports to type into the computer.”
“We’re done.” Pete held on to his rage. He watched the man stroll out of his office as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Rubbing his jaw, Pete wondered if it was true. Did Cali ask for his attention like that? Every cell in his body exploded with a screaming no. Cali had never flirted with anyone at this site. Not ever. Not even with him.
Sitting down on a wooden stool, Pete tried to focus on a set of blueprints. The sounds of earthmoving equipment provided a backdrop of noise as he unrolled the scrolls outward and flattened them. Try as he might to focus on his work, thoughts of Cali assailed him. His heart insisted Cali had not invited the advance, but jealousy ate at Pete. He was so deeply in turmoil over the possibility that she was drawn to Parker that bitterness coated his mouth. He reached for a soda, chugged some of it and set the can down a little harder than necessary. What was he going to do with these feelings?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PETE REACHED DARA-I-SUF, the largest town in northern Afghanistan, just at dusk on the blustery mid-November evening. Cali was with him. He pulled into Sheik Hesam’s resplendent “other” home. The two-story adobe structure was large, covered with ivy and surrounded by a ten-foot-high wall of the same material. This was Hesam’s official headquarters, Though he preferred a simple, quiet village life to the city. Only in winter did he stay here, Pete had discovered.
The sentries were on horseback and heavily armed. As Pete and Cali drove up to the black, wrought iron gate, the guards recognized them immediately, smiled and allowed them into the compound. Roiling gray clouds, pregnant with rain or a mix of snow, threatened.
Pete tried to quell the anxiety fluttering in his chest as he braked the Tundra in the gravel parking area. The IEDs, or roadside bombs, were getting to be a regular and dangerous intrusion at their site since the Taliban had renewed their attacks. These threats were slowing down the project. Hesam had invited them to a crucial meeting on how to deal with this menace.
Cali had an almost permanent scowl on her brow these days. More restless than usual, she kept crossing her legs or folding her hands in her lap. Oh, she’d make remarks about things they passed as they drove along the only asphalt highway in this area—birds, animals or people in carts drawn by horses or donkeys. Small talk, he thought. Nothing personal. He didn’t know whether to be relieved about that or not.
Pete climbed out and saw Javad, his interpreter, come walking through the main doors. The young man was dressed in dark burgundy pants, a white, voluminous shirt, cinnamon-colored vest and an astrakhan hat on his head. He smiled and waved exuberantly. Pete grinned in greeting.
“Javad. I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said. He ambled around the front of the Tundra, carrying a carved chest made of elm wood. The wind was biting and he was glad to be wearing his Marine field jacket.
“Hello, Pete. I decided to hitch a ride to town and visit my uncle’s home. I hope you don’t mind if I ride back to the site with you tomorrow?” Javad shook his hand, then turned and greeted Cali warmly. She smiled and shook his hand, too.
“Of course you can ride back with us. Not a problem.” Damn, but he’d wanted to drive back alone with Cali, maybe get a handle on her recent change in behavior. She was edgy all the time now and a lot less communicative. Something was eating at her, but he couldn’t guess what it was. Normally an owner never discussed personal issues with the main contractor, just business. Now, with Javad riding back with them, Pete definitely couldn’t bring up such a delicate topic with Cali.
“Excellent!” Javad said, and escorted them into the house. “Come, my aunt and cousins are about to serve us a wonderful dinner. My uncle is eager to see you.” He led them through ornately carpeted rooms to a cream-colored stucco archway.
Inside, Hesam sat among pillows on a brilliant blue, yellow and red handwoven rug. The sheik’s face beamed with undisguised pleasure as he gestured for them to enter. “Come in. Welcome to my humble abode. Sit, sit. My wife and daughters will serve us shortly. Javad, come and sit on my left?”
“Of course, Uncle.”
Cali smiled and tried not to let her strain show as she conversed in the sheik’s language with him. Working nonstop with Brad Parker was getting to her. He’d never touched her again, but his flirtatious looks made her stomach clench. He was trying to wear her down. Just as Russ had done. She was wiser this time, but didn’t have the luxury of firing Parker. For now she had to live with it.
Cali sat on a comfortable turquoise-and-crimson pillow opposite Pete. There was little time to chat before Ladan, Hesam’s wife, entered, bearing a silver tray filled with steamy, spicy food. Her daughters, in traditional dress, brought fruit and drinks. For the next several minutes, Cali focused on greeting the entire family. After the women poli
tely excused themselves, the rest of them got down to the serious pleasure of eating. Even though she was upset, Cali found herself hungry. The Qorma-i Tarkari, a dish of cauliflower, carrots and potatoes topped with lamb sauce and seasoned with turmeric, cumin, saffron and dill over basmati rice, was delicious.
“So,” Hesam said to Pete in English, “my nephew intimated that you had a special package arrive at your site last week. Can you tell me about that?”
Pete wiped his mouth on his napkin. Hesam was key to the site being built. His men provided the very necessary workforce. Some things Pete would not divulge to the sheik because it was company business. However, this was an easy subject to talk about, and he looked over at Cali. She gave him a nod.
“The package was very important, my lord. And Javad was there in my office when it arrived.” He smiled at the teenager. “You can’t keep a secret, can you?”
Flushing, Javad bowed his head. “Major, I saw how excited you were, and when you told me what it was, well, I just dropped a hint to my uncle.” He raised his hand and pressed it to his heart, giving Pete an earnest look. “I did not tell him what it was, Major. I swear to Allah.”
Smiling wryly, Pete said, “Thanks for that, at least.”
Everyone chuckled.
Pete waited until the food was cleared away by the women and the four of them were alone once more. He picked up the elm box and presented it to Hesam. “Sir, these are a gift from me to you. They were late in coming, and I apologize. But the intent is heartfelt.”
“Ah, a gift.” Hesam eagerly took the long, rectangular box and set it on the floor in front of him. “You are a very generous man, Major.”
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