Stowaways Page 7

  “What?”

  “In the distance.”

  Olivia looked out of his window at where he was pointing. A huge bird with a long neck appeared to be staring at them as they went past. “It’s an ostrich.”

  “First one I’ve seen out here.”

  “Me, too.”

  Suddenly the creature turned. It took off in the opposite direction, its long legs covering the ground fast and its wings held outward.

  “I don’t think it’s seen one of us before, either.” Paul laughed.

  It took exactly an hour to get to the small shepherd hut. Olivia was pleased how well the Jeep had handled the journey, and while Paul spoke to the family she popped the hood.

  All seemed to be in good order, but still she checked the oil and the radiator fluid. She then measured the tire pressures—all were fine—then wandered over to the shade of a makeshift canopy outside the hut that was flapping in the wind.

  “You did well with using the cream,” Paul was saying to the mother as he administered a polio drop to the child. “Impetigo can be really hard to get rid off.”

  “I used all the cream until it was gone,” she said. “And I washed his pillow in the stream every day.”

  “You did the right thing. If it comes back you can come to the hospital for more cream, but hopefully it won’t.”

  “Thank you, Doctor, and thank you for coming all of this way. My mother is sick, and I wouldn’t have wanted to leave her.”

  “Sick? Where is she?” Paul asked.

  “In the house.”

  “Can I see her?”

  “Yes, Doctor, of course, thank you. Come this way.”

  “I’ll be back in a minute.” Paul glanced at Olivia.

  “No rush.”

  He grabbed his bag and ducked through the small doorway of the hut. His commitment to medicine and helping the sick was admirable. It was always at the forefront of his mind—well, nearly almost.

  She wondered about the locals, and native people, what they thought of this red-haired doctor with the lilting accent. He was so different to all of them.

  A bit like she was. She often caught the girls in the village looking at her pale blonde hair, and anyone she spoke to seemed captivated by the color of her eyes.

  As she waited for Paul, she stared into the distance. It was hazy for a different reason today, the wind whipping up the dust on the horizon.

  If Paul hadn’t been in the area with his modern medicine, many of the people here would have relied on witch doctor medicine.

  She shuddered at the thought, and at the grim description Paul had given about the bounty her organs could collect.

  There was a clanging noise behind her.

  Quickly she turned.

  A man in a black turban and long black robe stood before her. He held a stick and around him were a dozen goats.

  He was staring at her with undisguised fascination.

  Chapter Eight

  “I…er…hello.” She indicated the Jeep then the hut. “I’m Olivia. I brought the doctor.”

  The man said nothing.

  “He’s in there, checking on a patient.”

  Still nothing.

  She shifted from one foot to the other. His scrutiny was disconcerting, and his dark eyes appeared not to blink.

  Maybe he doesn’t speak English.

  “I’ll be back next week,” Paul said, emerging from the mud hut. “To see how those tablets are helping.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.” The woman was close behind him, her son clinging to her skirt.

  “Remember, they will make her pass water more frequently, but she must still drink. It is her heart that’s the problem, not her bladder.”

  “I understand.”

  Paul set his hand on her shoulder. “I believe you do, you’re a good mother and a good daughter.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled. Her attention was caught by a goat, then the man. “Ah, here is my husband, Malru.”

  Paul smiled at the shepherd who finally tore his gaze from Olivia. “Hello, sir.”

  The man said nothing.

  Paul shifted the bag in his hand then turned back to the woman. “Don’t try and walk to the hospital with your mother, I will come back, I have this vehicle now.”

  “I understand, and thank you.”

  “It’s my pleasure.” Paul nodded at her, then at the man. He ruffled the little boy’s hair. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “Safe journey back to Kaskum,” she said. “The wind is coming, and maybe rain, too.”

  “Thank you, but it’s not far when an engine is doing the work.” He indicated to Olivia. “You good to go?”

  “Yes, definitely.” She was already walking toward the Jeep. The wind caught her hair, tugging a few strands from her ponytail, and she pushed it aside as she climbed in and shut the door.

  A thin veil of dust had settled on the steering wheel, and after brushing it away, she wound up the window despite the heat.

  Paul climbed in, dumping his bag on the back seat.

  “The grandmother is sick, too?” Olivia asked, starting the engine.

  “Yes, heart failure. I can’t fix her but I can make her more comfortable with drugs and prolong her life.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Quite unusual out here, but she is nudging ninety, a grand age after a hard life.”

  “Really? Wow.”

  “I know.” He held on to the dash as the Jeep jolted through a deep pothole.

  “So who will visit her next week? Neil or Lisa?” Olivia glanced his way.

  “Next week?” He turned to her with a frown. “I will. I’m happy to drive myself here if you’re busy. Jeep seems to be coping.”

  Damn it.

  She’d forgotten he hadn’t been with them when Raul had mentioned moving onto Spain, to visit his restaurant. “We won’t be here next week, Paul. We’re leaving Africa. The hospital is finished, our work is done.”

  “Your work might be, but mine isn’t.”

  “What?”

  “I’m just getting started, Olivia. What’s the point of a hospital without a doctor?”

  “But there’s nurses now.”

  “You always knew I was in this for the long haul. When we were doing that first batch of vaccinations, I told you I’d be here for months.”

  “Yes, but that was before…” She touched her collar.

  “Before what?” He frowned.

  “Look at that.” She quickly put her foot on the brake and brought the Jeep to a stop.

  A huge herd of zebra were stampeding over the track from left to right. They were about two hundred meters ahead of them.

  “Wow,” Paul said. “They can really move.”

  Olivia opened her door and climbed out. The hundreds of hooves clattering onto the dry earth sent shockwaves over the land. The tiny vibrations rattled through the soles of her boots and matched the crashing noise ringing in her ears.

  She went to the front of the vehicle to get a better view. The dust cloud behind the herd was immense, and the speed they were traveling at awe- inspiring.

  Paul moved up next to her and shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked at the zebra. “Just as well we didn’t get in their way.”

  “I agree.”

  For a moment they stared at the running animals, then he put his hand on her shoulder. “I can’t leave Kaskum, not yet.”

  She stared up at him. “But you have to. We’re going to Spain. Raul wants to go to his restaurant.”

  He frowned. “Spain might be calling Raul, but it isn’t calling me.”

  “It isn’t calling to me, either, but if Raul wants to go then that’s where I must go, he’s my husband.” She paused. “Where he goes I go, the same as all my men.”

  ‘So the twins are going to Spain?”

  “Of course.”

  He stepped away and studied the ground.

  She glanced at the herd fading into the distance. “Why wouldn’t Mason and Lucas come
with me to Spain? We want to be together.”

  He didn’t reply.

  “It’s all agreed, Paul.”

  “Not by me. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

  “If you’d joined us for dinner last night, instead of going off with Lisa and Neil, you would know about it.”

  “That’s not fair. It was their first night in the village, I was taking care of them.”

  “And what about me? Huh? I wanted your company.”

  “You had five guys worshipping at your feet. Why would you need me as well?”

  His tone, and his words were like a slap to her face. Her cheeks heated. “They were not worshipping at my feet. That isn’t how it is between us and you know it.”

  “Do I?”

  “Yes. You’ve seen us together. Hell, I’ve brought you into the group, made you one of mine. You know how it works between us all. You’ve seen it firsthand.”

  “And I’m honored.” He folded his arms. His jaw was set tight and his eyes narrow. “To see it all, firsthand.”

  “So why don’t you sound it, Paul?”

  “I am, it’s a unique relationship you’ve got with them, and Mason and Lucas are in a good place, but…”

  “But what?”

  “But I’m not coming with you. I’m staying here, in Africa.”

  “You sound very certain about that.”

  “Because I am.”

  “And what if it was the other way around? What if I was refusing to move on and you wanted to? What would you say then?”

  “That’s a simple answer to find out, Olivia.”

  “How is it?”

  “Don’t go. Stay here with me. Let Raul and whoever else wants to hit Spain go on their merry way, and you remain in Africa at my side.”

  “No!” she shouted. She hadn’t intended to, but the very thought of being split up from her men was like a real physical pain. It sent alarm through her.

  He caught her upper arms. “You see! That’s the answer. What you say goes, doesn’t it.” His eyes flashed. “And it doesn’t matter what I want.”

  “You’re my husband,” she said through gritted teeth. “We should be together. You said earlier, about Lisa and Neil, that Global Medics ensures married couples are kept together.”

  “We’re not a married couple.” He released her, stepped away, and turned.

  “How can you say that?” She snagged at several more annoying strands of hair whipping about her face in the wind.

  “I can say it, Olivia, because it’s true.”

  Her mouth fell open, and her heart thudded. Everything in her peripheral vision faded, and she clenched her fists as she stared at his broad shoulders. “Paul.”

  “I’m Paul McCadam, right, and you’re Olivia Bailey.” He faced her again. “You don’t have my name, you don’t wear my ring, and you didn’t sign a legally binding document stating to forsake all others, in sickness and in health and all that jazz.” He tugged at his necklace. “This bit of leather doesn’t mean a marriage.”

  “It does to me.” He throat was tightening as her temper flared. “It does to me and it does to your brothers, and Harry and Evan, and Raul.”

  “Good for you…and them.”

  “Why are you being like this?”

  “Because you’re being unreasonable.”

  “To want to be with you, Paul? That’s unreasonable?”

  “You’re asking me to break a commitment to Global Medics and the people of Kaskum. That’s very unreasonable.”

  She wished the heat of annoyance flaring in her veins would settle, but everything he said hurt and in turn made her more irritated. “So why the hell did you do it?” she said.

  “What?”

  “Marry me. Why did you marry me, Paul?”

  “It was a fun evening, I wanted to be part of it…and, well, I like you. You’re cute, sexy, and fun.”

  She closed her eyes and turned away from him. He’d devalued the meaning of the ceremony and made her feel as if he’d done it so he wasn’t left out.

  He doesn’t love me.

  Her chest was tight, her belly rolled over. She opened her eyes and stared at the ground. It shone white-hot in the heat of the day, though small grains of dirt skittered over its surface.

  She touched her collar and wished one of her real husbands was there to talk her down from slapping Paul into the nearest honey badger set.

  Maybe she should cry, it would be an outlet for the emotions tearing her in two. But there were no tears threatening. Frustration and anger ruled the roost.

  “We should get going,” Paul said. “Those zebra were running from something.”

  She jerked her head to the right. “There’s nothing there.”

  “Lions are well camouflaged in this place, and we’re sitting ducks.”

  Tutting, she climbed back into the Jeep.

  Paul did the same.

  Soon they were bumping back along the track in the direction of Kaskum.

  She didn’t speak.

  Neither did he.

  The suspension groaned and creaked a few times, but neither commented on it.

  Another ostrich fled their path.

  Eventually the village came into view. As it did, several large rain spots landed on the windscreen.

  She clicked the wipers to life. They smeared the wet blobs across the dusty glass, creating dirty streaks.

  More raindrops landed; the wipers squeaked and flicked back and forth. Soon the windscreen was clean, but it was so dark it was as if day had turned to night. The rain thrashing against the Jeep’s roof was deafening.

  She peered forward, keeping the village in her sights, and also trying to avoid puddles with unknown depths.

  As she pulled up next to the heavy goods truck, the rain stopped and a shard of sunlight pierced the clouds.

  Still silent, she got out of the Jeep. She went to the front and popped the hood, wanting to check all was okay.

  “Olivia,” Paul said, appearing at her side. “I don’t want to leave it like this.”

  “Like what?” She didn’t look at him.

  “Like this. You’re mad at me but you have to be able to see it from my point of view.”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “Yes, I can. It’s perfectly clear.”

  He kind of sighed. “Is it? If so, I’m glad.”

  “You don’t consider yourself to be married to me and you don’t want to be with me…with us.”

  His scowl returned.

  “You just wanted to get into my bed, between my legs and fuck me.”

  “And it was a damn good fuck,” he said, his eyes flashing. “And you know it.”

  “But I don’t need you to fuck me, Paul. I’ve got five men who make love to me.”

  “Yeah right. They all like to fuck. They’re guys, and you were the only woman on that island. So it was convenient for them to share you, it meant they could all get a bit of action. It meant they could all get off whenever they wanted with a cute girl.” He paused. “Stop kidding yourself to what was really going on there.”

  Her palm itched. Fury rose up in her chest, spreading over her scalp. She lifted her right hand and swung it toward him.

  “Jesus Christ.” He grabbed her wrist. “What are you doing?”

  “How dare you,” she spat. “How dare you say those things.” She struggled to free herself and staggered backward.

  He snagged her other wrist and pinned her against the big truck, her hands locked either side of her head. The damp tarpaulin soaked through her t-shirt as she glared up at him. This was one time she wished he wasn’t a karate expert. She could have landed that slap. “Get the hell off me.”

  He stared down at her.

  There was a sudden huge jolt as a flash of silver slid through the air to her right.

  Paul turned, and his eyes widened. “Shit!”

  A silver blade stuck out from one of the heavy-duty strappings about two feet from where they stood.

  “Wh
at the fuck?” Paul said, releasing one of her wrists.

  “Step the hell away from her,” Evan said, slamming his hands onto his hips. “Now.”

  “Oh shit,” Olivia muttered.

  Paul looked at the knife again, then at Evan again. “You bloody idiot, you could have hit one of us.”

  “There’s only one of you I would have aimed for, and I don’t miss.” He jerked his head. “And I won’t tell you again, get your hands off my wife and step the hell away, McCadam.”

  “I’m away.” Paul released Olivia and took several paces to the left.

  Olivia’s heart was thudding. Evan was the wrong person to find her arguing with Paul, but equally she was glad to see him.

  “What the heck is going on?” Mason said, stepping up behind Evan, Lucas at his side.

  “Ask your brother.” Evan glowered at Paul.

  “Paul?” Mason walked forward. “What is it? Was there a problem on the trip?”

  “Aye, you could say that, Mase.” Paul reached behind his neck with both of his hands.

  “No,” Olivia said, watching him fiddle with the necklace. “Don’t.”

  He removed the thin leather strip and held it in the air. “It appears my marriage to your wife is over.”

  Tears instantly sprang to Olivia’s eyes. Anger was replaced by heartache. She had strong feelings for Paul. She’d thought he had for her, too. And now, one argument, disagreement, and he’d thrown what they had away.

  They’d fallen at the first hurdle.

  She staggered to him, splashing through a deep puddle. “How can you do this?” She swiped at the tears spilling down her cheeks. “Aren’t you willing to fight for us?”

  “You don’t need me.” He pointed at the knife stuck in the side of the truck. “And you certainly don’t need me to fight for you, not when you have this lot.”

  “But I thought we had something special?”

  “We did…for a while.” He held out the necklace.

  She pulled in a breath and steeled herself. “Put it back on.”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Do it,” Olivia said, “Now.”

  Paul let the leather dangle from his thumb and index finger. “I told you right at the beginning, Olivia, that I’d want you for myself, I’d want a woman to call my own. And if that had been the case, if you were only mine, leaving wouldn’t be on the cards until both of us were ready to go. But you’ve made your choice, and it’s to belong to lots of men—”