“I wish he could kiss me right now.”
“He wishes it, too.”
There was a short pause and she asked, “How did I do in the interview, Steve?”
“Great. Ray called tonight and said it was perfect.”
“Good. I was afraid I’d let something slip.”
“You didn’t, my love.”
“CBS called today. They want to put me on one of the news shows.”
“You can handle it.”
“I don’t know. It’ll be hard. I told them I wasn’t up to it now, but I’d get with them later. They didn’t want to wait, but I didn’t give them a choice.”
“Maybe when the book comes out, everyone will quit asking the hard questions.”
“I hope so. I’m going to try to make it exciting enough so they’ll leave us alone.”
“Going to put our romance in?”
“Want me to?”
“Of course. I want the world to know how much I love you.”
“You get things straight with Janet and I’ll be there so close to you glue remover can’t tear us apart. The world will think we’re Siamese twins.”
“I can’t wait.”
There was a knock on the door. “Mom,” Diane called.
“Oh, Steve. They’re banging on my door.”
“I’ll let you go. I only meant to talk a minute because I only needed to hear you say you love me.”
“I do love you, Steve. More than anyone can ever understand.”
“I know you do. You’ve proven that many times over. And I love you the same way.”
“Mom, are you alright?”
“Hold on Steve.” Amanda turned toward the door. “I’m fine, Diane. I’ll be out soon.”
“Listen, sweetheart. Go to your family. Tell them about me if you want to. I told my son and his wife about you tonight. They’re happy for me and can’t wait to meet you.”
“I’ll tell them now that I know the way’s clear for us. I was afraid... Never mind...I’m never going to think about what could’ve happened again. I love you and you love me. We’re going to be together for the rest of our lives.”
“You’ve got that right.” He took a deep breath. “I hate to do it, but I’m going to say good-night. Dream about me, okay?”
“I always do.”
“I love you, Amanda.”
“And I love you, Steve, with all my heart.”
“I’ll sleep with those words in my heart. Good-night, my love.”
“Good-night, darling.”
For a long moment, Amanda sat with her eyes closed and the phone clutched to her chest. Over and over in her mind she kept saying, He really loves me. We’re going to be together. He really loves me. We’re going to be together.
“Mom, you’ve quit talking. What are you doing now?”
She took a deep breath and stood. “I’m coming, Diane.” She opened the door.
“You’ve been talking for ages. We’ve got to get the kids home. Tomorrow’s a school day. Who in the world was that, Mom?”
Amanda put her arm around her daughter’s shoulder. “Honey, that was the only man I’ve ever truly loved. The kids may have to go to school late because we’re going back to the porch and I’m going to tell you about him.”
Chapter 14
Twenty-Five Months Earlier
Amanda worked her way to the back side of the lagoon where she’d seen the eyes the day she and Steve had bathed in the waterfall. She looked around, but there was no one in sight. She wondered if she should venture further. Maybe their village was on the other side of the island. Her only problem was she didn’t know how wide the island was. She could be walking for hours. Steve didn’t have hours.
The growth was denser here than where her fellow castaways were. She wished she had a machete, but knew that was wishful thinking. She also knew she had to be careful. She was risking a snake bite herself. She pushed on. If she was bitten, so be it. If Steve died, she didn’t really care if she died from a snake bite, too. Life wouldn’t be worth living without him. Amanda couldn’t believe she was thinking this way. Why had this man become so important to her? She hadn’t trusted a man in years. Now here she was head over heels in love and wanting only to live for him.
She thought of the woman who’d purposely drowned herself when they first escaped from the plane. Maybe she and her husband were so in love she couldn’t go on without him either. Amanda understood it now. It would be easy to let go if she didn’t have Steve to keep her encouraged.
Since they were on this island and would probably never escape from it, there would be no reason for her to live without him. Her family was lost to her. Her friends no longer existed. Oh, the people she’d come here with would support her, but not like Steve did. He made her laugh at times when she wanted to cry. He held her when she was afraid. He taught her to fish and to tie reeds around palms to build a hut. He was always making little sexual remarks to watch her blush. He wanted to make love to her, but he respected her enough to wait. He’d never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to or wasn’t ready to do. She couldn’t believe he’d really been so considerate. Why had she been so stubborn? She loved him and she felt he loved her. Why couldn’t she let go and become one with him? His wife and family were as much out of his reach as hers was. This island was all they had. Why had she not shared it all with him?
Amanda trudged on. Tears were now streaming down her face. Leaves were slapping her arms and legs, but she didn’t feel them. All she could think about was Steve and how she’d not given him what he’d wanted or needed.
A strange noise made her come to an abrupt stop. What was it? It didn’t sound like an animal. Was it music? If it was, it was a type of music she’d never heard before.
Instinct told her to follow the sound. She obeyed.
In a matter of minutes she stepped into a large clearing. The sound stopped and she found herself being stared at by the surprised eyes of a large group of naked ebony natives. None of the people moved. Amanda hesitated for a minute then she held out her arms as if she was carrying a baby. “Help me,” she whispered. “Please help me.”
The group parted and a woman walked toward her. Amanda met her eyes. “I need help.” She said. “I need your help.”
The woman didn’t respond, but she circled Amanda and looked her up and down. Finally she reached out and touched the front of her blouse. She made some kind of remark, but nobody said anything back to her. She walked around Amanda and touched the blouse in the back.
Amanda was racking her brain to find a way to communicate. Then it hit her. When the woman was back in front of her she pointed to the ground and the woman looked down.
Amanda stooped and with her finger she drew a snake on a sandy spot close to her feet.
The woman looked as if she understood the drawing. Amanda then pointed at the snake drawing and then formed her hand into a claw like shape and pinched her own arm. The woman stared at her.
Again Amanda pointed to the snake and did the same action to her arm.
The woman took hold of Amanda’s arm, looked at it and shook her head. Her gaze lingered on the diamond dinner ring Amanda had on her right hand.
Amanda shook her head. She pointed to one of the male natives. She then pointed to herself and made the claw like pinch toward the male.
A light went off in the woman’s eyes. Amanda nodded. She knew the woman understood. She made the motion for the native lady to follow.
The woman didn’t move.
Amanda began to cry. “Please,” she whimpered as she motioned for the woman to follow again.
The woman saw her tears and frowned. She looked back toward the crowd. It parted and a man came through the crowd toward them. The woman pointed to the snake picture and then made the claw like hand and put it on his arm.
“Yes, Yes.” Amanda said nodding her head. “My man was bitten.”
The woman caught Amanda’s hand and pointed to the diamond ring. She then lifted the hand and showed
it to her man.
“I’ll give you the ring,” Amanda mumbled as she took it off her finger. “Just, please come with me.” She held the ring out to the woman. It fit her bony finger perfectly. The woman smiled.
Amanda again motioned for her to follow her.
The woman said something to the group and eight men with spears came up to her. Amanda wondered what was going to happen now. The woman pointed her finger toward the woods and pushed Amanda gently. The men with the spears followed them.
The trek back to the camp wasn’t through as much dense growth as she’d encountered on the way into the jungle. Amanda figured it was because the natives knew where they were going.
When she cleared the woods with the naked female native and one naked male carrying a spear, the group on the beach dropped what they were doing and stared at her. She ignored them and pointed to the hut she shared with Steve.
Gene was at the door. “Amanda, he’s about gone,” he whispered. “You’d better say your good-bye.”
“No,” she said. “He’s not going to die. I won’t let him die.” She pushed by Gene and went into the hut. The native woman followed.
Wilma stood when she saw them. “I’ll be outside,” she mumbled.
Amanda knelt by Steve and showed the native his arm.
The woman looked at it long and hard then turned to her protector and said something in an unknown language. He nodded and went to the door of the hut. He called toward the woods and another man came running up.
The woman said something to him in the strange language and he trotted off into the jungle.
Amanda put her hand on Steve’s forehead. It was cool. This frightened her. “Hang in there, my love. If God is willing, you’re going to come through this. Please hang in there for me.” She leaned down and kissed him gently.
The native looked at her bodyguard and they both stared at Amanda. Neither said anything.
In a little while the second native returned. He had a concoction on a banana leaf, which looked to Amanda like mud with some kind of berries and bark. It smelled awful.
The woman took her finger and began to stir the mixture. She said something to the second man and again he ran toward the woods. In a minute he was back. He handed her another handful of berries. She threw them in the mixture and nodded.
In a short time she pulled Steve’s left arm across his chest. She then began slapping the strange medicine on his snakebite. When she had it completely covered, she put the banana leaf on it and looked around. She made the motion for something to tie it with. There was nothing in the hut to use. Without giving it another thought, Amanda took off her blouse and handed it to the woman.
For an instant the woman stared at the blue lace bra Amanda wore. She looked at the man with the spear and shook her head. She then turned back to Steve and wrapped the blouse around the banana leaf covered wound and stood.
Amanda turned to her. “Thank you, thank you,” she said. She reached for the woman’s hand and pulled it to her mouth. She kissed it lightly and let it drop. “Thank you,” she said again.
The native woman nodded to her and reached out and touched the bra. She ran her finger across the lace then pulled one of the straps. She shook her head then turned toward the door. She took one last look around the bare hut and went out. In an instant the natives were all back in the woods and out of sight.
Gene came into the hut. “Amanda, what were you thinking? You could’ve gotten us all killed.”
“If they wanted to kill us, Gene, they would’ve done so a long time ago.”
“Well, I don’t know what you think you’ve accomplished. Steve was bitten by a deadly snake. There’s no cure on earth for that kind of poison.”
“Maybe not, but at least I tried. I’d do it again to give him that one in a million chance you told me about.”
“You know I’d do anything in the world I could to save Steve. But you can’t fight nature, Amanda.”
“You can try,” she said and smiled at him. “Please go now, Gene. I want to be alone with Steve.”
“Call me when it happens, Amanda. You’re going to need somebody to help you.”
She waved him away. When they were alone she lay down beside Steve and put her mouth close to his ear. “Come on, my love. Fight. Fight like you’ve never fought before. You can do it, I know you can. I know you want to stay with me. We need each other. We love each other. I love you, Steve. I’ve never loved a man before, but I know I love you with all my heart.”
As night fell, Amanda didn’t leave the hut. Eating was far from her mind. Nothing mattered, but Steve. She continued to talk to him as she held him close to her. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but she knew she’d never give up. She wouldn’t let herself think of the possibility of letting him go. He was too much a part of her now. If he died, she had to die with him.
* * * *
May 26—10:15 AM
Wendover, GA
“Here are the estimates, Mr. Brookshire.” The big, bearded construction worker handed Steve a piece of paper. “Let me know if they’re in the ball park for you. We have another house to do in a few months, but we only have small jobs at the moment. We can work them on the side and take care of you right now. I think what you want done here will take about eight to twelve weeks.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lane. I’ll be back in touch.” Steve walked toward the front of the house and went inside. He sat on the winding staircase and looked over the figures. They looked reasonable. More so than the other two estimates he’d gotten. He was going to go into town this afternoon to inspect some of Mr. Lane’s work. If it was as good as the man on the phone had declared, he knew he’d found his contractor.
At first Steve had wanted to make the repairs on the house himself, but after talking with Amanda, he knew he couldn’t wait that long. Though he would have liked to say he did it all for her himself, it would take him ages to finish the work. Now all he wanted to do was to get it completed and bring her home to him where she belonged.
He smiled to himself. Talking with her had been the right thing to do. Yes, he’d told her he’d wait a while before getting in contact, but he couldn’t. After seeing her on television talking to millions, he knew his heart would rip right out of his chest if he didn’t hear her voice in his own private conversation where the words were only for his ears. Since talking with her he knew he couldn’t wait much longer to hold her in his arms. If he had to go to Charlotte to do it, so be it. There was always a vehicle around the farm he could use until he purchased one of his own. He could arrange to meet her somewhere where the press would never suspect.
A car sounded in the driveway and he got up and looked out the glass window beside the front door. It was Janet. He opened the door and stepped outside.
Janet was wearing red slacks and a low-cut button-up white blouse. She had her hair pulled back and her make-up was done to perfection. She smiled when she saw Steve.
“Hello,” he said as she approached the steps.
“Hi. I see you have Phoenix out today.” She indicated the big horse tied to a bush beside the steps.
“Yep. I’ve been riding him every day. Believe it or not, he remembered me.”
“I believe you. Horses have a sixth sense you know.”
Steve knew no such thing, but he nodded anyway. “What brings you here today?”
“I went by Dave’s house and Claudia told me you were working down here.” She smiled at him again. “May I come in?”
“Of course.” He stood aside and opened the door for her.
When she entered the house she took a long breath. “Boy, Steve, you’ve got a lot of work to do, haven’t you?”
“It’ll probably take a little while to get it all done.”
She reached out and took his hand. “Show me around and tell me what you plan to do.”
Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to show Janet around the house, but he didn’t want to be rude either. Without being obvious, he pulled his h
and away and moved to the stairs. “As you can see, I’ve been working on the staircase. I’ve replaced the spindles and secured the banister.”
“I want to see the bed room where your parents slept.” She started down the hall. “It’s this way, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” He followed her.
“Well, it’s not quite like I remembered. It’s a big mess isn’t it?” She paused and looked at him. “It’ll be a while before you get to sleep in here.”
“I guess it will.”
She went to the bathroom and turned back toward him with her nose wrinkled. “It’s bad, too.”
He nodded and she came back to him. “Do you ever wish you and I had gotten to sleep in this room, Steve?” Her voice was provocative.
“When we were first married, I’d hoped to keep the house, but it didn’t happen.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Steve shrugged. “To tell the truth, Janet, I never thought about it much after we had to sell the place.”
She stared at him a minute then snapped, “I want to see the kitchen. You know women always like the kitchen best.”
He nodded and she followed him down the hall to the left. “Well, this is it. It’s still a mess as you can see. I’m going to replace all the appliances. Nothing here’s worth saving.”
“Is that the way you do things now, Steve?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you don’t think anything’s worth saving, do you just toss it aside?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“It’s not that easy for some people.” She sighed. “Sometimes it’s better to repair than to rebuild. You’re doing repairs to this house. I guess you think it’s better to repair it than to rebuild it.”
He didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what Janet was getting at, but for some reason he didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Finally he mumbled, “What’s Warner up to today?”
“He’s on the golf course as usual. He spends a lot of time there since his mother died.”
“I’m sorry she died. I bet Warner took it hard. He was always close to his mother.”
“Too close, if you ask me.” She smiled at him again. “You never cared much for golf, did you Steve?”
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