The water was indeed wonderfully warm, and she sighed contentedly.
He stiffened suddenly, his brow furrowing, as though the question angered him somehow. He didn’t answer. He washed his face vigorously, ignoring the question, as though he hadn’t heard her, and then he climbed up out of the pool.
“Jack,” she called after him, her heart skipping a beat.
He didn’t answer.
“Jack, what is it? What’s wrong?”
He was angry with her suddenly, and she suspected she knew why but everything would be revealed to him soon.
“You’d better hurry,” he said curtly as he dressed without looking at her. “It’s getting late, and we’d best be on our way.”
With every step they took toward their destination, Jack’s mood grew more sour.
He couldn’t believe Sophie could make love to him with so much feeling and then turn around and ask how long before they reached Harlan’s camp.
She was somewhere behind him, talking to Kell, but he couldn’t bring himself even to look at her. Anger clouded his brain.
Stubborn, beautiful, infuriating woman!
Maria gabbed incessantly at his side, but Jack didn’t hear a word she said to him. Her father had brought her along, refusing to leave her alone. Bit Jack thought it was a little too late to worry about her virtue. Her mother had died giving birth to the youngest of her sons when Maria had been just a girl. As a result, Maria had grown up wild, free to do mischief while her father was away. But her wildness was her greatest appeal. She was full of life and passionate, beautiful even. This minute, however, her voice grated in his ears.
Because she wasn’t Sophie.
Damn it. He couldn’t imagine just handing Sophie over to Harlan and then turning around and walking away.
By God, he wasn’t going to do it.
He needed Sophie. Life lacked any meaning without her—everything did, including his studies. What would it matter what he discovered, what he learned, if he couldn’t see her eyes light up just to hear him tell of it? He felt sick listening to Maria’s chatter, imagining a procession of meaningless encounters with women he never cared to see again.
“Sophie!” he heard one of his men call out to her and his heart squeezed hard.
Who dared to taunt him with her name?
He spun to see who had called her, and found Pete waving enthusiastically at her. He barked orders to the boy, commanding Pete to Jose’s side. He didn’t know what the hell for, so he ordered him to carry Jose’s backpack. The youth gave him a confused look, but did as he was told.
Sophie shot him a narrow-eyed glance, and he turned around, ignoring her, angry at her for wanting Penn.
If they kept going at this pace, they’d reach their destination sometime before nightfall.
Damn it all to hell.
Like a spoiled kid, he wanted to plant his feet and toss down his backpack and refuse to take another step toward Penn’s camp.
“What is wrong with him!” Sophie exclaimed to Kell and shook her head.
Kell shrugged in answer, but hid a little smile. “You really don’t know?”
Sophie smiled back, and admitted, “Actually, I think I do. He’s been cranky like that ever since this morning.”
She hiked her backpack a little higher. One boot was still wet and had begun to squeak and her toes were beginning to feel spongy and raw. She’d attempted to dry the socks she’d stuffed into the toe of the boot, but they hadn’t had much time, and she’d ended up putting them back in still wet. It was either that or fling the boots off at every step as they were far too big.
Jack had rushed them out of camp, and had kept a grueling pace the entire day. They were moving so fast through the forest and she’d been slapped in the face by so many limbs that she began to wonder whether she had leaf prints all over her face.
“What happened this morning?” Kell asked, obviously curious, but trying to sound casual.
Sophie shrugged, but blushed. “I asked when we’d be arriving at Harlan’s camp and he stopped talking to me. Hasn’t said a word to me since.”
Kell grinned. “He’ll be fine as soon as we get to Harlan’s camp.”
And yet, Sophie wasn’t entirely looking forward to Jack’s understanding. The coming confrontation with Harlan left her feeling mostly renewed... stronger... except when she thought of the simple fact that everyone else would know the truth after—that Harlan hadn’t cared one whit about her. It made her feel in many ways a failure, though she knew it was absurd.
And why should it matter anyway? The instant she had discovered his perfidy, she had turned him away in her heart, only to realize he’d never really been there to begin with.
Jack was.
With every step they took, she grew more anxious to have the ordeal behind her.
“Nervous?” Kell asked.
Sophie gave him a sheepish look, nodding. “A little, but it’s the right thing to do,” she assured Kell.
Kell nodded at her and winked. “I’d have to agree. And I’m really proud of you for standing tall and going through with this.”
It wasn’t easy. And the thought of it left her stomach in knots.
“Harlan doesn’t deserve you,” Kell assured her.
Sophie smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said softly, and peered up ahead.
Jose was leading them through a narrow jungle path, and they could barely walk side by side now. They kept the pace, never slowing, lest they lose the man directly in front of them. Somewhere ahead, Jack was walking with Maria and her brother, but she couldn’t see them, and was glad. She knew in her heart that Jack didn’t want Maria, but neither was he at Sophie’s side, he was at hers.
If he was mad at her, he should ask why she wanted to see Harlan. She loved him, but she wasn’t his lackey. The one thing she’d learned from her relationship with Harlan was that she was wisest to look after herself. She had given up everything to be what Harlan had wanted in a wife... and it had left nothing of what she wanted for herself. In the end, Harlan obviously hadn’t respected her for the sacrifice.
No, she would never again be that foolish.
If any man wanted her—if Jack wanted her—he would have to accept her with all her faults, not some token woman whose life’s purpose was to bear children and be the model wife only to honor a faithless husband. She wanted a man to want her for herself—not for her name, or her father’s money.
She wanted Jack—Jack, who didn’t bow to any man—Jack, who toiled after his dreams by the sweat of his back—Jack, who respected her enough to talk to her about the things he cherished—Jack, who was the first man to actually see her, and not her father or her money or her name when he looked at her. And Sophie knew it too. She saw herself in his eyes. She saw his heart there as well... at least she dared to hope.
“How long do you think it will be before we reach Harlan’s camp?” she asked Kell, growing restless. Jack hadn’t bothered to answer her question. For all she knew they could be days away, or merely hours.
Kell looked about, studying the forest. They’d reached a clearing of sorts, and he scratched his chin and looked at her, smiling, then peered back up again to judge the path ahead. “Actually... I think it’s just beyond—” He lifted his arm to point, but stopped in midsentence.
Sophie looked up to see what had caught his attention.
It was Jack, coming toward them, his look nearly murderous.
Her heart leapt.
His men parted like the Red Sea for him as he made his way to the back of the line where Sophie walked with Kell. They stopped in their tracks as he passed, turning to watch.
“We’re stopping here for the night!” he said loud enough for everyone to hear, and in a tone that brooked no argument.
Sophie winced. He was staring at her so heatedly that she thought she might burst into flames.
Kell blinked. “What the hell for?” he asked, his expression clearly dumbfounded. It’s just beyond—”
“We’re stopping here!” Jack thundered, “because I said we are!”
Kell pointed down the dirt path they had been walking. “But hell, Jack—”
Jack pointed furiously at his feet. “I said we’re making camp right here!” he persisted, and his stance was battle-ready.
Sophie winced again, and moved another inch behind Kell.
Kell shook his head, but threw his hands up in defeat. “All right,” he agreed, and dared to chuckle. “Whatever you say, Jack.”
Sophie looked up at Kell, wondering if he was insane to laugh. She had never seen Jack look so terrifyingly mad.
The two men shared a look, and then Jack walked away.
No one else said a word, and they set up camp in the little clearing.
Sophie determined to steer clear of Jack, judging it best to let his mood pass. She didn’t want to fight with him, and she was going to need a shoulder after facing Harlan. Kell was sweet, but it was Jack she needed most right now.
She just didn’t know how to reveal the truth.
She didn’t want his pity, just his compassion, and she didn’t know how to say that her fiancé didn’t really want her—that he’d all but discarded her. She’d rather Jack see for himself that she wasn’t Harlan’s fool. She was no victim and she wasn’t the least bit devastated, and she wanted Jack to see that truth with his own two eyes. Somehow, she didn’t think he would believe her if she simply told him so.
In fact, her anger for Harlan had nearly faded now... she just didn’t like him and was never more determined to set herself free from the encumbrance of their engagement.
Harlan Horatio Penn could do whatever he wished, love whomever he wished. Sophie just didn’t care anymore. He could stay in the Yucatan for the remainder of his life, even... only without her father’s money. She intended to do whatever she could to see that her father’s honor redeemed.
As for herself... she intended to follow her heart, wherever it should lead.
With or without Jack, she intended to follow her dreams. She was wiser, stronger, and ready to face whatever tomorrow would bring.
CHAPTER 31
Jack remained long enough to be certain his orders would be followed, and then set off again down the jungle path, confident that he wouldn’t be missed while they were busy setting up camp.
Not that he was overeager to protect Harlan’s reputation from Sophie, but he damned well didn’t want Sophie to be hurt if they showed up to find Harlan otherwise occupied.
Jack had worked with the man for nearly a year and his labors had been spent almost entirely in his tent, fondling women’s breasts. Before having met Sophie, Jack’s greatest disgust with Harlan’s behavior was in the simple fact that he seemed to have so little respect for his vocation. If he took advantage of the women who came to him, it was nearly as much the women’s fault as it was his own. They flocked to the campsites, hoping to win themselves a husband who would take them away from the poverty of their villages, but their affections were calculated, at best. Jack had long ago resolved to mind his own business.
Except that now everything was different.
But the irony of his situation did not escape him. He was on his way to warn the fiancé of the woman he loved that she was on her way so that the cheating bastard could clear his tent of incriminating evidence. How insane was that?
Still, he didn’t want Sophie to find out this way. It wasn’t Jack’s place to tell her of her fiancé’s dalliances—particularly not after he’d seduced her himself.
He hadn’t gone far down the path before he reached his destination. Jose had guided them well, and they’d made good time. He broke from the forest into the clearing in which Harlan had set up camp.
Jack didn’t bother asking where Harlan was, or which tent was his. It was the biggest, of course. And he was always within it—the sun bruised his skin, the night dampness gave him vapors, just about any excuse not to work. Jack headed straight toward it, resentment in his every stride. He loved Sophie. He wanted Sophie. And Harlan was a dirty, stinking bastard who didn’t deserve her.
He found Harlan sitting at a small makeshift table, hunched over his reading material, his brows knit deep in thought, and a dark-skinned woman at his back, massaging his shoulders.
Cold fury seized hold of him.
Jack didn’t say a word. He went straight to the desk, slammed down the telegrams that had been in the stove, and before Harlan could say a word, Jack seized him by the collar and dragged him outside.
Harlan scarcely struggled, so addled was he. “MacAuley!” he said in surprise.
Jack tightened his hold on Penn’s collar. “Yep, it’s me, Harlan! Surprised to see me?” He jerked his collar up. Of course he was surprised, he’d hired a saboteur to make sure Jack’s presence in the Yucatan didn’t become a ball and chain around his lily neck.
“No, no!” Harlan objected. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Jack dug into his pockets for more evidence. He drew out the ring he’d borrowed from Sophie, and showed it to Harlan. “No?”
Harlan’s face visibly paled.
Jack smiled ruthlessly. “I see you recognize it,” he said, and closed his fist around the bauble.
“I didn’t do it!” Harlan said, and began to scream. “I didn’t send those telegrams to Shorty!” His crew came running, hearing his screams. Jack reared back and hurled a punch at Harlan’s jaw, releasing his collar as he did so. Harlan flew back onto his rear, and his crew stopped and stared.
“You didn’t send the telegrams to Shorty, did you?” Jack said, flexing his empty hand.
“No!” Harlan declared, scrambling backward.
Jack opened his fist. “And you didn’t give him this ring, either, did you, Harlan?”
“He must have stolen it!” Harlan swore, his eyes narrowing furiously. “I didn’t give that to him!” Jack read the truth in his eyes. He probably hadn’t given up the ring to Shorty. Shorty might very well have stolen it, but it didn’t matter. The evidence still pointed in the same direction. Harlan was a cheater and a thief!
He advanced on Harlan once more, lifting him up and hurling another punch. “That’s for Shorty!” he said with cold deliberation as Harlan fell back on his rear.
None of his crew moved a finger to help him, Jack noticed—not that it would have stopped him.
He seized Harlan up once more, dusted him off while Harlan babbled to him, and then hurled another punch. “And that one’s for Sophia!” he informed him. One last time Harlan went tumbling backward, and Jack told him, “I hope you’re enjoying yourself, Harlan! Hope the wench was worth it!”
He left him on the ground that time, blood seeping from the comer of Harlan’s mouth. Harlan narrowed his eyes, and he was suddenly provoked. “What do you mean that one was for Sophia?”
Jack was encouraged by the confrontational look in his eyes. “Fight with me, Harlan!” he demanded. “It’s no damned challenge to scrap with a man who’s too much of a coward to defend himself!”
“I’m a gentleman!” Harlan fervently protested and swiped at his mouth. “I’m not going to fight you!” he assured Jack, his tone as haughty as a man could manage while still sprawled on his ass and spitting blood through his teeth.
“Of course not,” Jack replied. “You’d much rather pay a man to sabotage anyone who’s the least bit of a threat to you!”
“I didn’t pay Shorty to sabotage you!” Harlan denied hotly.
“Yeah, well, how did you know it was Shorty?” Jack countered, his eyes narrowed. “I didn’t tell you it was Shorty, now did I?”
Harlan opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Jack took a step toward him, and he scurried backward to evade him.
“You’re a sorry excuse for a man, Penn!” Jack said. “I’m not going to hit you again, but I am going to give you one solid piece of advice!”
Relief lit within Harlan’s muddled blue eyes. “Wh-what is that?”
Jack looked at hi
m, willing the words to come out right. He wanted to say nothing that would reflect poorly on Sophie.
“Sophia is here,” he said at last, his words carefully measured. His hands trembled at his sides, and he gulped hard, swallowing the emotions that barreled up within him.
Harlan started visibly, looking about. “Sophia is here! Where?”
“Don’t piss your pants, Harlan! I’m not stupid enough to bring her waltzing into your orgyfest, but she damned well will be here bright and early tomorrow morning!” He gave Harlan a pointed glance. “You don’t deserve the advance warning, but I’m here to tell you that if I catch your mitts on even one set of breasts before she gets here, or if you hurt her, I swear to God I will kill you with my bare hands!”
Harlan stood at once. “You wouldn’t dare!”
“Make her cry, Harlan, and see what I dare!”
“I don’t understand!” Harlan exclaimed suddenly, squaring his shoulders. “What is she doing with you, MacAuley?” He brushed himself off, giving Jack an accusing glare.
Jack held his tongue.
“Why should you concern yourself over my relationship with Sophia!”
Jack stood there, wanting to say so much more, but determined to protect Sophie at all costs. Whatever she wanted, he wanted for her—even if she wanted the bastard standing before him.
“Because I love her, that’s why!” he blurted, and blinked in surprise at his own words.
Harlan blinked as well, but stared speechless otherwise.
Jack nodded. It was the truth, damn it. He did love her. And that was all he’d come to say.
He spun on his heels, leaving Penn staring openmouthed after him.
The rest was up to Sophie.
CHAPTER 32
“Needing time to think, Jack didn’t return to camp right away. When he did finally, it was to find the camp mostly slumbering. Only a few tents were left illuminated, Sophie’s included, and considering her past experience with lanterns, the light drew him immediately to her. There wasn’t much danger in her starting a fire as long as the lanterns were left in their braces, but just to be certain, he felt compelled to poke his head inside.
Happily Ever After Page 24
