“WE’RE not talking about me, but your brother.” Blake neatly dodged her comment. “He’s the one who needs to be sure.”
“I know my brother. He wouldn’t ask someone to marry him if he didn’t love her.” Moriah narrowed her gaze and let out a harsh laugh. “You’re hardly the one I’d listen to as an expert on that subject. Trust me, John knows the difference between lust and love.”
Despite her tart tone, he didn’t get angry, but simply looked at her. One of those long, measuring glances she was beginning to resent because of the way they made her squirm.
“We shared more than lust, Moriah.”
Oh, if only that were true. She shook her head, toying with the food on her plate. “No, we didn’t.”
She heard him sigh. “Just because we want different things from life doesn’t mean we weren’t compatible in some ways.”
So they were just sexually compatible, huh? Now she felt insulted.
“Hey, you two.” Greta approached the main desk, forestalling further argument. “Is there any food left for me? I’m starved.”
“Sure, get Blake to order you another tray.” Moriah stood, intent on taking her half-eaten tray of food to the dirty-utility room. On her return trip she paused beside their patient’s gurney. “I think Louisa is fine now, I’m going to discharge her to a regular room.”
Ignoring Blake’s penetrating stare, she wrote the discharge orders and left the PACU.
But outside she paused and took a slow, calming breath. Because, though she hated to admit it, deep in her heart she knew his comment had come far too close to the truth.
On her part anyway, she’d felt a lot more than lust for him.
The next day passed in a complete blur. Moriah was scheduled to cover other anesthesiologists for breaks and lunches, which was a good thing, because it was easier to avoid Blake.
We shared more than lust, Moriah.
If that was the case, why had he walked away from her so easily? Not just leaving her, which had been painful enough, but intending to move on to the next woman before the sheets on her bed had grown cold?
At dinnertime, she tried to grab something to eat, but her appetite was gone. Outside, in the circular street, she was surprised to find Henri standing beside a large bus.
“Henri!” She hadn’t seen him since that first day in the clinic. “I’ve been wondering where you were. We’ll need your mother’s permission before we can get you scheduled for surgery.”
The boy ducked his head, as if embarrassed. “I can’t. My mother is dead. I live in the orphanage now.”
“Oh, Henri.” Concerned, Moriah wrapped her arm around his thin shoulders. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
He shrugged. “The orphanage is not so bad. We come to the city sometimes, and that was how I was lucky to find you.”
“Yes, and I was lucky to find you, too.” Moriah thought fast. “Henri, who is the person in charge at the orphanage? We’ll need an adult’s consent for you to have surgery.”
“Sister Rita is the person in charge, but she’s not there today. Sister Eloise is here with us.”
She glanced up to see a woman herding a group of laughing kids toward the bus. “Henri, tell Sister Rita I’ll be in touch, all right?” Moriah stepped back to allow the kids to pile on the bus. Henri nodded, then climbed aboard with the rest. His face was pressed against the window, watching and waving at her as the bus drew away.
Moriah tried not to worry about Henri as she headed toward the hotel. Although the hour was early, she avoided the dining room, not wanting to run into Blake, and crawled into bed. She didn’t set her alarm because, after five days of surgery, tomorrow was her day off. She knew from checking the schedule that Blake had the day off too but, unlike last year, they hadn’t made any plans to spend the day together.
She should be relieved at the reprieve.
But she wasn’t.
Sleep didn’t come easily. She tossed and turned, then tossed and turned again.
Finally, she stared at the ceiling. No point in lying to herself any longer. No matter how stupid it was, she couldn’t move on with her life the way she wanted, because her feelings were still stuck on Blake.
The next morning, at the decadently late hour of eight-thirty, Moriah crawled from her bed. Facing her reflection in the mirror over her bathroom sink, she gave herself a little pep-talk. So what if she still had feelings for Blake? The earth wasn’t going to stop rotating on its axis over the news. She just needed to find a way to deal with it, at least until they returned home.
And there was no reason to let Blake know how messed up her heart was over him. With a frown, she scrubbed her teeth, as if by wearing away the plaque she’d wear away the doubts. Enough stewing about Blake. She had things to do.
She had chosen not to go on the Inca ruin trip this year, not when the memory of last time, how she and Blake had spent the day together, walking hand in hand while staring in awe at the geometric architecture, remained crystal clear in her mind.
Instead, she’d decided to explore the rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. The rhythmic waves would soothe her troubled soul and the hot sun would feel great against her skin.
The cliffs weren’t dangerous, especially as she wasn’t going to be doing any serious rock-climbing. She wore rugged shoes with her walking shorts and a carry-pouch filled with lip balm, crackers and water. She figured she could grab a big breakfast before she left, then return to the hotel in time for an early dinner.
Breakfast consisted of tortilla-wrapped omelets stuffed with peppers. The food was so delicious she ate to the point she had to wait an additional thirty minutes for everything in her stomach to settle. The tactic worked against her, because when she asked the hotel if she could rent a two-wheeled bike, they were briefly unavailable. In Trujillo, more people rode bikes than drove cars. They promised to obtain a bike for her, though, and within the hour they proudly provided her with one.
As she straddled the bike, preparing to take off, she noticed Blake standing at the side of the street, conversing with one of the locals. For a moment she was tempted to go over to see what he was doing, then berated herself for being so curious. Blake’s time off had nothing to do with her. She deliberately settled her bottom on the bike saddle and headed east.
She thought she heard him call her name, but when she glanced back over her shoulder she didn’t see any sign of him. His voice must have been in her imagination.
The roads were worn and a little rougher than she was used to, but she enjoyed the ride anyway, feeling exhilarated at simply being outdoors with the wind in her hair and the sun on her face. The salty scent of the ocean was enticing. The beach in Trujillo was crowded at this time of the year and she loved seeing the brightly dressed people en masse on the sandy shore.
Rather than join the playful atmosphere on the beach, Moriah rode her bike to the base of one of the gently sloping cliffs overlooking the ocean. She parked the bike, hiding it behind a rather large outcropping of rock, then began to climb.
She chose an easy path, not seeking thrills but longing to get to the spacious, flat mesa-like top. With her sturdy shoes, the going wasn’t difficult. She hauled herself up to the top.
Oh, my. She sucked in a quick breath. What a glorious view. The bright sun glinting off the water, the dark bobbing heads of children playing in the surf. Ignoring the dust, she sat on the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her chin on them and listening to the sound of rolling waves hitting the shore.
She’d come here to be alone, but she quickly grew tired of her own company. Too bad she hadn’t found the courage to invite Blake. Maybe he wasn’t the man of her future, but he was a good companion. Last year they’d had such fun spending the day together, it just didn’t feel right to be here without him.
Then again, she needed to learn to live her entire life without him. Better get used to that fact.
Moriah had no idea how long she sat there, but eventually she grew hungry. After taking the crackers and water out of her pack, she ate her snack, then decided it was time to climb down to find her bike.
Climbing down was trickier than going up. Not because the sandy rocks were steep, but because of the grooves between the rocks. She wasn’t in a hurry, though, so she took her time, testing each foothold carefully before moving downward.
Still, the sand-covered rocks were more slippery than she’d remembered. Unexpectedly, the toe of her right shoe skidded sideways. She clutched the rock for balance, but her attempt to shift her weight failed and her foot shot down into a crevice.
“Ouch!” She yelped as her ankle bone rapped sharply against unyielding rock. For a moment she stayed where she was, struggling against the pain. Awkwardly, she balanced her weight on her hands and tried to lever herself upright.
Her foot wouldn’t budge.
She frowned, peering down at her trapped foot. The crevice wasn’t deep, but it certainly had enough depth so she couldn’t even see the top of her shoe. Her foot was at an odd angle, and already the strain on her ankle was painful. Irritated, she tugged on it again. The darn thing had gone in easily enough, surely it would come out the same way.
Maybe the sole of her shoe was caught on a bit of rock. Wincing, she tried to turn her foot, one way and then the other, but without success. The darned thing wouldn’t move even a millimeter.
Now what? She glanced around in search of aid, but there wasn’t anyone in sight. All the people on the beach were out of sight, as she’d taken the far side down.
Sitting on the rock wasn’t easy, with her stuck foot. And all too soon the pain escalated to a full-blown throbbing.
How could she have been such an idiot? Why had sitting on the top of a cliff to look out over the ocean seemed like such a good idea? How long would she be stuck here until someone found her?
She wished with all her might that she’d asked Blake to come with her today.
A sharp burning pinprick on her ankle had her jerking upright in alarm. Something had bitten her. But what? Frantically, she thought about what little she knew about the desert as she tried to peer down the dark crevice at her foot.
Her stomach rolled when something scuttled from view. Peru’s desert was very much like Arizona. Scorpions lived there and their sting was poisonous. No, get a grip. Scorpions were nocturnal creatures, they shouldn’t be out in the middle of the day. Although it was dark between the rocks…
She swallowed hard against a rising wave of panic. Spiders? Did poisonous spiders live here? She recalled reading about tarantulas, which were, in her opinion, the creepiest spiders on earth. Yet even if one had bitten her, tarantulas weren’t harmful to humans. Still, just thinking about the large hairy things had her yanking on her trapped foot in earnest, not caring when her ankle protested in pain.
She could only pray that whatever had bitten her wasn’t venomous.
Blake paced the area in front of the hotel, unable to shrug off the warning itch between his shoulder blades. Moriah wasn’t back yet, and he wasn’t afraid to admit he was worried.
He took six steps, then turned to take another six steps in the opposite direction. He’d seen her ride away on a two-wheeled bicycle she had rented from the hotel. But that had been hours ago, nearly ten-thirty that morning. He glanced at his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. It was nearly three in the afternoon now.
Where could she be?
Maybe he should have asked her to spend the day with him.
Mentally he kicked himself for the lapse. He’d called out to her as she’d started to ride away, but she hadn’t heard him. He should have swallowed his pride and followed her.
At least then he’d know where she was.
Of course, she’d been so annoyed with him she would probably have refused to hang out with him anyway.
Unable to stand it for another minute, he hailed a taxi. Searching for her along the side of the road might be futile, but anything was better than sitting around and waiting for her here.
Taxis were abundant in Trujillo, but one was forced to negotiate a fare prior to going anyplace since they didn’t have meters. Normally, he would have given the Peruvian driver a run for his money, but he was too worried about Moriah to haggle over the fee for long.
The driver agreed to be of service for an hour. Blake asked him to head east, since that was the direction she’d been headed when he’d last seen her that morning.
“Where does this road lead?” Blake asked the driver in Spanish.
“To the beach.”
Cheered by this news, he figured they’d find Moriah in no time.
He’d thought wrong.
There were lots of people leaving the beach by this time of the day. He instructed the taxi driver to park along the main road, but after fifteen minutes he still didn’t see any sign of Moriah.
With a frown he stared at the beachfront. What would Moriah have done? Parked her bike and wandered along the beach, paddling in the waves? He didn’t see anyplace where she could safely park the bike without worrying about someone mistaking it for their own. No, the longer he thought about it, the more convinced he was she wouldn’t have joined the crowd on the beach.
The rocky cliff caught his eye and he imagined she would have loved sitting up there, enjoying the view. Last year, when they’d gone on the Inca ruin trip, she’d wanted to climb the pyramid, but it hadn’t been allowed. He leaned toward the taxi driver.
“Take me to those rocky cliffs over there.”
The driver shrugged and turned the yellow cab around, then took a less-traveled side road toward the cliffs.
The flash of metal caught his eye and Blake asked the driver to stop. There, partially hidden behind a rock, was a bike.
“Moriah?” Blake climbed from the cab, calling her name. “Moriah? Are you here?”
“Blake?” He hurried toward the welcome sound of her voice. “Blake! I’m stuck. Please, help me.”
“Stuck?” What did she mean? Then he saw her, hanging on, halfway down the rocky slope, with one foot buried in a crevice between two rocks. “OK, I’m coming.”
“I’ve almost got it, I think.” She was covered with dust and her clothes were damp with sweat, half-stuck to her skin. He had the wildest urge to kiss her. “If you could just pull, I’m sure it’ll come free.”
“What is this goopy stuff on your shoe?” He reached down between the rocks to pull gently on her foot.
“Lip balm. I thought maybe if I could lubricate my shoe, I’d be able to yank my foot out.”
He felt around the edge of her shoe, trying to find the spot where it was jammed the worst. The lip balm she’d smeared around her foot helped, because with a few tugs he was able to get it free.
She cried out in pain when he eased her foot out from the crevice. Immediately he understood why. Moriah’s ankle appeared bruised and swollen.
“I hope it’s not broken. This looks painful, Moriah.” His concerned gaze met hers.
She tried to smile. “Yeah, but I don’t care. I’m just so glad to see you. I had horrible visions of spending the night up here.”
He wanted to haul her into his arms, but first things first. “All right, let’s get you down without falling.” He glanced around, trying to strategize. He’d gotten her foot free, but they weren’t off the rocky slope yet.
“I won’t fall.” Her tone rang with grim determination. “I’m going the rest of the way down on my butt.”
True to her word, she used her good foot, both hands and her bottom, and slowly made her way from one rock to the next. He couldn’t do anything more than stay nearby in case she slipped.
When she was close enough to level ground, he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Wait here, I’ll get down so I can carry you the rest of the way.”
“All right.” It was telling that she didn’t argue with him.
He jumped down and then turned to face her. Reaching up, he put his hands on her waist.
“Reach down and brace your hands on my shoulders,” he instructed her. “When I count to three, let yourself slide down toward me. One, two, three.”
He braced himself for her weight, then, trying not to bump her injured ankle, carefully set her on the ground. But he didn’t let go. Instead, he tightened his grip as relief washed over him.
“Hell, Moriah. You worried me when you didn’t come back.”
“Oh, Blake.” She didn’t resist his embrace—in fact, just the opposite. Maybe it was mostly because of her injured ankle, but she leaned heavily against him, burying her face in his neck. “I kept wishing you were with me.”
“I wish I’d been with you, too.” He lifted her chin with one finger, just enough to capture her startled mouth in a deep, grateful kiss.