“Want to learn how to fish someday soon?” he asked, retaining his hold on her.
Her eyes widened. “Fish?” she echoed, maddeningly aware of his body and his fingers against her flesh.
“Sure. It will be a beautiful time of the year up at the cabin. The leaves will be turning, and the flounder will be biting. How about it?”
“I—”
“Remember, use your gut instincts, not logic,” he chided, his smile increasing.
Alanna trembled inwardly. Every time he dropped that cool facade, she melted like snow on a warm March day. “Oh—all right, I’ll think about it,” she muttered, pulling free of his hold.
His laughter was rich and free, and she found herself turning and fighting back a smile. “What’s so funny?”
Trying to suppress his grin he said, “You look like a duck with big, black feet. I wish I had a camera.”
“I’m glad you don’t!”
His parting comment at the supply tent was, “I think Megan will like you a lot.” She had turned to ask him what that remark meant, but he had disappeared. Alanna struggled to contain the joyous feelings that he inevitably brought to life in her and returned to the work at hand.
Chapter Six
The sun rapidly burned off the fog, leaving blue sky above the suffering village of San Dolega. Alanna was amazed at the pace of activity as the helicopters buzzed up and down the mountain like angry hornets. The temperature rose quickly, and the humidity dropped to a tolerable degree. Volunteer police and villagers were constantly stowing more and more supplies at the main staging area. Alanna sidestepped their bustling activity and calmly checked each set of numbers against her own copies.
By late afternoon, she was beginning to doubt the possibility that precious medical supplies were being stolen. In a corner of her mind, she felt Matt would never be involved in something like that. There was a ribbon of integrity that ran through him like a vein of gold in quartz. She was kneeling down in front of a new load of crates when someone came up behind her. Hoping it was Matt, she felt her heart beat slightly faster in anticipation. Alanna turned.
An unknown Marine in flight uniform smiled down at her. “Miss McIntire? I’m Major Jim Cauley, one of the chopper pilots. Matt sent me up here to find you. He said to drag you down off the mountain so he can feed you. How about it?”
Alanna slowly got to her feet, returning the carefree smile of the pilot. Judging from his sparkling blue eyes, square jaw and lean body, he was the type to hunt up trouble if it didn’t find him first. She smiled, putting the last of the papers into her muddied briefcase.
“I don’t think you’ll have to drag me, Major Cauley. I’m starved.”
Jim nodded, motioning her to follow him. “He said I could go as far as hog-tying you if necessary.”
She was grateful that he slowed his pace for her as they entered the bright, sunlit area from beneath the tent. “He did?”
“Yeah. Said you had a real hair-trigger temper.” He glanced down at her. “Red hair and green eyes. I’ll bet you give everybody hell when you’re mad.”
“I rarely get angry, Major.”
“Call me Jim. Don’t worry about it. Matt tends to overexaggerate on occasion.”
“If I remember correctly, you two go back quite a ways together?”
“Yeah, we got into a lot of hot water together.”
“It’s nice to have friends like that,” she commented.
“Matt is that kind of person, you know? I always said I’d go to hell and back for him, and damned if he didn’t ask me to do just that.”
Alanna laughed with the pilot. They approached the dull green chopper, and Jim opened the door, helping her into the copilot’s seat. “Be sure to strap in,” he ordered.
She watched his economical movements as he guided the helicopter away from the landing area. He glanced over at her, motioning for her to put the headset on. Alanna fumbled with it, finally fitting it over the top of her head. Cauley winked at her.
“That’s better,” he said. “Never did like to try to outshout a chopper engine. Good way to get hoarse.”
She nodded. “I’m sure it is.”
“Hey, on the serious side, Miss McIntire—”
“Call me Alanna, please,” she interrupted.
“Pretty name.” He hesitated and then continued. “Is it true? Are you here to investigate Matt?”
She squirmed inwardly, aware of the worry in the pilot’s expression. “I’m afraid so, Jim.”
“Did Thornton put you up to it?”
“I get paid by the senator, if that’s what you mean,” she answered coolly.
“Then you’ve got to know that Thornton would like to see Matt’s name and career smeared. Right?”
“I think that’s a bit overstated,” she said, hedging.
Cauley’s features darkened. “Look, Alanna, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Can’t you see Matt wouldn’t steal supplies? God, he puts in forty-eight hours at a crack making sure this whole relief plan works properly. He’s a damn fine career officer, and he’s got more decorations than nearly any man that came out of Nam. I don’t see how you could do this to him.”
She colored under his misguided attack. She was sure Matt had not put his friend up to this. He would handle his own problems personally. Cauley struck her as a man who was loyal beyond the point of reason. “Jim…I’m sure you mean well by all of this. I don’t have a choice in this matter. It’s part of my job to investigate. I didn’t come down here prejudiced against Matt. Well,…maybe just a little,” she added. “But that’s all changed,” she added hastily. “I see him as someone who has a great deal of integrity and a strong sense of responsibility. I’m not out to smear his name for the senator, believe me.”
Cauley pursed his lips, glancing at her for a few seconds before returning his attention to the helicopter. “You aren’t some undercover agent from the Defense Department?”
“What?”
“This isn’t the first time Thornton has tried to undermine Matt, you know. He’s sent men from two government agencies at different times since Matt’s return from Nam to try to slander his name. I figured this time Thornton was getting smart by hiring a damn good-looking dame to do the job.”
She sat there dumbfounded. “Of all the—”
“Maybe Thornton finally figured out that a woman would be able to take Matt in easier than a man. I don’t know. Let’s keep this straight—as long as you’re nosing around, I’m going to be watching you, too.”
Perspiration broke out on the palms of her tightly clenched hands. “I’m not some femme fatale out to frame Matt!” she shot back, anger evident in her tone.
Cauley brought the chopper into a wide banking turn, the verdant green of the jungle thousands of feet below them. “I felt Thornton would jump on this sooner or later,” he muttered. “Don’t tell me you weren’t aware that Matt lost his wife and baby as well as his parents in a car crash?”
Alanna inhaled sharply, her eyes widening. “Oh—no…”
Cauley’s blue eyes narrowed. “That’s right, all four of ‘em were killed in a head-on crash up in Maine.” His mouth thinned, and he watched her intently, trying to plumb the depth of her horrified reaction. “Matt was out on Recon patrol and didn’t know of their deaths until a week after the crash. Can you imagine what he went through? They were already dead and buried by the time he set foot back on friendly soil. And to make matters worse, he and his team got ordered back into the bush for an extended patrol that lasted damn near a month when he got back from the States.” He stopped, gauging her reactions. “Most men would have cracked up, but Matt didn’t. He was responsible for six other Recons, and he carried off that mission. No one but a few people up in the Pentagon knew how important that one mission was. I can’t even talk about it because it’s still top secret.”
She swallowed hard, her throat dry and constricted. My God, he had lost his entire family…. Anguish slashed across her heart. And Alanna though
t she had suffered emotional pain. How had he coped with such agony so successfully? It made her feel terribly small, her own problems insignificant in retrospect. Tears swam in her eyes, blurring her vision. “Jim, I would never intentionally hurt Matt. Please, believe me. I didn’t know about his family. My God…”
“I hope for your sake you’re exactly what you claim to be,” he said grimly, easing the chopper down toward the landing area near the base camp. “Matt swears you’re innocent. But after those two other attacks on him, I’m not so easily convinced.”
She didn’t know what to make of the picture Cauley was painting. But she felt dirty and less than honorable for undertaking the task that Thornton had assigned to her. “I’m not out to damage Matt’s career,” she repeated stubbornly.
Cauley’s blue eyes seemed to bore right through her. “He likes you, you know?”
Alanna looked up, startled. “What?”
“I said Matt likes you. Maybe a little too much.” He set the chopper down, shutting off the engine and watching the rotor blades slowing to a halt. “I wish like hell he’d fallen for anyone but you. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, Alanna. Maybe you are innocent. Judging by your outward appearance, I’d say you look vulnerable as hell. But women can look that way and kill. When this is all over, I may end up owing you an apology. But for right now, I’m going to be shadowing your every footstep where Matt is concerned. We’ve saved each other’s lives too often. Now it’s my turn to protect him against you. He’s gone through so much hell that I just don’t want him to go through any more unhappiness because of that bastard Thornton.”
She sat perfectly still for a long time, hands clasped in her lap. “I never realized all of this,” she confessed quietly. “I can’t even be angry that you’re defending him. I wish I had friends of your caliber who would come to my aid when I was in trouble.”
Cauley managed a smile, unstrapping the safety harness and pulling the white helmet off his head. He placed it on the seat, studying her. “Matt has earned friends like myself. Friendship like ours is a rarity in this world nowadays, and I think you know that. If that impresses you a little, then maybe you’ll quit trying to frame him in this investigation.” He sighed heavily, slouching back against the seat, “You’re bright and beautiful, and you have that volatile temperament he’s always been drawn to. Rachel was like you in some ways….” He shook his head, opening the door. “Come on, I talk too much. I’ll walk you over to the chow hall.”
* * *
Having lost her appetite, Alanna sat morosely beneath the tin-roofed shack that served as a makeshift chow hall. Cauley had grabbed a couple of sandwiches and stuffed them into his pockets, walking back to his chopper. Within minutes, he was airborne, heading back toward San Dolega.
Alanna pushed the rice around on the paper plate, oblivious to the chatter of Spanish and the men coming in to eat. Ignoring the Costa Ricans’ curious stares, she trained her eyes on the table.
Now she knew why Matt had grown suddenly serious when he mentioned his parents earlier that morning. She tried to imagine what it would be like to lose four people whom she loved intensely all at once. Finding it impossible, she dejectedly placed her plastic fork down by the plate. Funny, she mused, that we’ve both lost our parents in car accidents. Had their lives paralleled one another at other points? She doubted that. How would she feel if Paul had suddenly been ripped out of her life? She found it was hard to imagine that too. From its outset their love had been fault-ridden, like a rock with fissures beneath the surface. Alanna was sure that Matt had loved his wife and child with a fierceness rarely matched in other men.
She herself had felt that same concern in him on a number of occasions. It was as if he held himself in tight check so as not to smother her with that fierce protectiveness. He managed a nice balance between the two extremes; caring enough to allow her room to make mistakes. But if she did make them, he would be there to support her afterward. The more she stayed around him, the more impressed by his wisdom she became. Perhaps it was a wisdom forged out of suffering and pain. That sort of insight carried a heavy price.
“Don’t tell me you’re not hungry?” Matt demanded, sliding in across from her and putting down his heavily laden tray.
Alanna jerked her head up, startled and suddenly speechless. he smiled warmly, taking off his cap and stuffing it into his back pocket.
“Or did Cauley scare the hell out of you with a wild ride down the mountainside?”
She swallowed hard, frantically trying to gather her wits. “No—I—”
Matt stopped eating momentarily, a frown forming on his forehead. “Are you all right?”
“I—I guess it’s just the change in weather.” She offered a weak smile of apology. “D.C. weather isn’t like this, you know. Maybe I’m just a little tired.”
He seemed satisfied with her stammered answers and returned to eating. Alanna toyed with the aluminum cup containing the strong, thick coffee. Her gloomy spirits were lifting, and she enjoyed watching him as he ate. A soft smile played on her lips; he reminded her of a precocious ten-year-old boy gobbling down a hurried meal in order to rush off to Little League practice.
“You must be awfully busy to be gulping food down at that rate. Don’t you know that’s bad for your digestion?”
“Second nature,” he explained between bites. “In the service you learn to inhale food like air.”
“If you don’t have stomach ulcers after eighteen years, you won’t get them now,” she agreed.
“As some rich millionaire once said, I don’t get ulcers, I give them.”
She managed a laugh. “I doubt that! Not with your insight into people and their problems. I can’t see you yelling at someone unless it was a last resort.”
Matt grinned. “Guess I’ve come up against a lot of last resorts, then.”
Alanna laughed with him, momentarily freed from all her anxiety and confusion. “Do you always keep your sense of humor?” she asked.
“I’ve been very close to losing it in the last two days.”
“Because of me.”
“No, the weather situation.” His gray eyes twinkled. “You have been a slight pain, but not much of one. Getting to see your pretty face every once in a while is all I need. In a way, I’m glad Thornton sent you down here. How else could we have met?”
She felt her cheeks grow warm and avoided his gaze. She envied his honesty. “I can still turn out to be a pain,” she reminded him tartly. “The investigation isn’t over yet.”
He set the coffee cup on the table, leaning forward on his elbows. “By the way, how’s it going? Any numbers not jibing with one another?”
“No. It’s perfect so far.”
Matt nodded. “Good.”
“I’m glad, too,” she confided.
“If you’re going to wire your senator of your progress, I’d suggest you do it soon. I’ve got my ace radioman down here now, and he’s going to be busy tinkering with some channels late this afternoon.”
Alanna nodded, slowly getting to her feet. “Thanks for the tip. Right now, I think I’ll waddle over to your sumptuous suite and change into some of my own clothes.”
Matt rose and escorted her out of the mess hall. “You mean you don’t like wearing Marine utilities? Afraid that a little gung-ho attitude is going to rub off and tarnish your dove image?” he teased.
She smiled, loving his closeness. She enjoyed watching his loose, fluid walk and the grace of his well-muscled body. “If Senator Thornton ever finds out I spent a night in the same tent with you and wore your clothes, I’ll probably get handed my head the moment I step off the plane,” she laughed.
He grew serious, pulling his utility cap from his pocket and throwing it back on his head. “That isn’t funny. I’m sure you have enough common sense to keep him from finding out.”
“I do,” she promised fervently. But what about Cauley? For an instant, she wanted to confide the conversation she had had with the chopper pilot. Th
en, thinking better of it, she decided to say nothing. There was no sense in causing trouble between the two men, and Cauley hadn’t been vicious in his criticism of her investigation. He possessed an honesty similar to Matt’s, and she couldn’t hold that against him.
Matt halted at the door, opening it for her. He pushed the cap back on his head, studying her frankly. “Care to dine with me tonight, Miss McIntire? Or are you getting your fill of the Marine Corps?”
She smiled. “No, I’d like that.”
He scratched his head. “Maybe you ought to keep wearing those utilities, lady. I think I’m making a friend out of a former enemy.”
“I was never your enemy, Matt,” she answered, her eyes darkening.
He reached out, his fingers brushing her cheek. “I knew that, but I don’t think you did. Anyway, we’ve got a truce right now, let’s keep it that way. I’ll have Captain Jackson make sure you get down off that mountain by nightfall. Be careful around those crates. Some of these laborers aren’t stacking them carefully, and I’ve already had a couple of injuries.
She nodded, secretly thrilled by his touch. “I’ll be careful,” she promised huskily.
Later Alanna was standing near some newly delivered crates when a violent aftershock occurred. Panic-stricken Costa Ricans could be seen scrambling out from under the tent as crates tottered and began to fall from their poorly stacked positions. Alanna froze, unacquainted with safety procedures during a tremor. Screams and cries sounded nearby. Another shock jolted the village, and one wall of supply boxes tumbled downward, smashing apart.
She was knocked to the floor of the collapsing tent as a crate grazed her shoulder. Blackness edged her vision as she lay helplessly trapped beneath several crates, her legs feeling numb from the weight. Vaguely, Alanna was aware of quickened Spanish voices. She gave up trying to pull her legs free and yelled for help instead. A trickle of blood flowed down her right temple. She raised her hand to check the bleeding and succeeded in only smearing it across her cheek in the effort.
If she hadn’t been trapped, Alanna might have found the whole rescue effort laughable. The police were highly excited, gesticulating wildly, their voices reaching an octave higher when they discovered Alanna. She lay on her back, calmly answering them in Spanish, trying without success to reassure them she was all right. It seemed like hours before they removed the last of the offending crates and she was able to sit up. A porter handed Alanna a dirty cloth, and she pressed it against the cut on her temple.
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