The Unexpected Father. Kathryn Ross
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cool. Samantha shivered slightly as she watched Josh putting a first-aid kit and large water and petrol cans safely in the Jeep. She pulled her cardigan closer around her slender figure, glad that she had decided to wear lightweight jeans for this journey—a journey that was making her feel more nervous by the minute.
She felt she had made a momentous decision in deciding to travel with Josh. She just hoped it wasn’t a decision she would have cause to regret.
Josh leaned into the car and opened the glove compartment. A cool flicker of light reflected on the cold steel of a hand-gun for just a moment before he closed the door on it again.
‘We don’t need that...surely?’ she asked breathlessly.
‘Probably not.’ He shrugged, then, turning, met her wide, horrified stare with calm eyes. ‘I don’t intend to use it.’
‘Then why have it?’
‘Because it might mean the difference between life and death,’ he said in a cursory tone. ‘Sometimes it pays to have a deterrent, something that will buy you time.’
Samantha wasn’t convinced; that much showed on her expressive face. Josh bent to pick up the suitcase that was sitting on the ground next to her and changed the subject.
‘Is this all you’re taking?’ he asked as he tossed the small case into the back of the Jeep.
‘That’s it.’ She shrugged a trifle self-consciously. ‘You don’t tend to collect a lot of belongings living out here.’
He smiled at that. ‘My ex-wife never travelled anywhere without three large suitcases—two for her clothes, the other for her fashion accessories.’
Samantha digested this piece of information silently. Josh was divorced...or rather he had been divorced... maybe he had remarried by now. It struck her at that moment that she knew very little about this man—a man she would be entrusting her life to for two days out in the middle of nowhere. She swallowed down the apprehensive thoughts.
Josh had been a friend of Ben’s; he must be all right. Besides, if it hadn’t been for Josh she would probably not be alive today, she told herself rationally. ‘Was your ex-wife a fashion model?’ she asked drily after a moment.
‘As a matter of fact, she was.’ He grinned at her.
Samantha wasn’t sure whether he was teasing her or not. ‘Well, she certainly wasn’t a nurse at Chuanga Hospital,’ she said with a shrug. ‘The only accessories you can lay your hands on here are bandages, and we’re fast running out of them.’
He laughed at that and slammed the back of the car shut. ‘On that happy note, perhaps we should hit the road and get out of here now?’
She nodded, her heart starting to beat a rapid, nervous tattoo again. It wasn’t just the thought of the danger that lay ahead of them on the road that made her nervous, it was the thought that she was leaving her job, the place that had been her home for over two years, and she was leaving to face an unknown destiny.
A door opened behind them and Sister Roberts came out with Nurse Kelly and several of Samantha’s work colleagues.
‘We thought we would give you a royal send-off.’ Joanne Kelly grinned at Samantha. ‘We’re going to miss you.’
‘Not too much, I hope,’ Samantha said honestly, her gaze moving to the sister anxiously. ‘I must admit that I feel incredibly guilty about this—as if I’m running out on you, that I’m letting you down by leaving.’
Sister Roberts shook her head. ‘You’re a fine nurse, Samantha and you have worked well for us over the years. We are grateful for that.’
The two women embraced. ‘Take care,’ the sister whispered as they pulled apart.
When Samantha turned to get into the Jeep she saw Joanne reaching to kiss Josh full on the lips. ‘Good luck,’ she was saying softly. ‘And if you ever come back this way, look me up.’
Samantha swung herself up behind the wheel. ‘When you are ready, Mr Hamilton,’ she said as she started the engine.
He grinned at that, but didn’t exactly hurry himself. ‘Thanks for looking after me so well, Joanne,’ he said, touching the nurse’s face with a gentle hand.
Samantha revved the engine and he turned and got in beside her. ‘What’s the matter, Sam?’ he asked derisively. ‘Anybody would think you were jealous.’
Irritation flitted briefly through Samantha as she put her foot down on the accelerator. ‘Of what?’ she grated sardonically. ‘You do like to flatter yourself, don’t you?’
He laughed at that, his laugh warm and attractive in the early-morning air.
Then she turned to wave to her colleagues and her irritation with Josh Hamilton was forgotten. She drove slowly out of the hospital compound, past the church where just a couple of days ago she had said a final goodbye to her husband, then down the narrow village street. A few schoolchildren standing along the roadside waved to them happily and shouted goodbye, their faces bright and smiling, their clothes shabby but well washed. Their laughing, playful voices drifted in the early-morning stillness.
As they left the village of Chuanga the sun was lifting higher in the sky, turning it from gold to crimson. Ahead the road was straight and undulating through the scrubland. Even though it was still early, heat shimmered against the horizon, like a molten wave of water.
The road was uneven and they bounced against the suspension as Samantha crunched through the gears.
Josh grimaced. ‘You may as well keep the Jeep in top,’ he advised drily. ‘You don’t have to worry about traffic lights or junctions, just a few wild animals who might decide to cross your path.’
She pushed her long hair back from her face and flicked him an impatient look. ‘I’m not completely stupid,’ she told him brusquely.
‘I hope not,’ he said laconically. ‘Otherwise I would never have asked you to drive.’ He picked up a pair of binoculars and trained them on the road ahead for a moment.
He’s so arrogant, she thought angrily. Joanne must be completely off her rocker to find such a man attractive.
Then the surface of the road changed to what amounted to a mere dirt track. ‘Keep your foot down,’ he directed her curtly as they hit the rough patch and she instinctively started to ease up on the gas.
‘Who is driving this car?’ Her tone was sarcastic.
‘You are.’ He grinned at her, his eyes moving over the soft curves of her body. ‘And may I say you are doing so beautifully?’
‘Don’t patronise me,’ she told him crossly. Then she found the car wheels spinning ineffectually as they became momentarily stuck in deep ruts in the road.
‘I hate to say, I told you so,’ Josh drawled. ‘But if you don’t keep your foot down that’s going to happen again and again.’
‘Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a know-it-all?’
‘I’ve been called worse.’
Gritting her teeth, she did as he said and the vehicle jerked along obligingly. As they drove, it felt as if the car was walking over the terrain, first one side then the other, negotiating small hillocks and deep gouges in the earth.
As the hours passed and the sun climbed higher in the sky the heat became more and more intense. Dust flying in through the open top of the Jeep caught on Samantha’s throat until it felt like sandpaper.
‘It’s like an oven out here,’ she commented rawly, unfastening the top buttons on her T-shirt in a vain attempt to let some cool air flood over her body.
Josh glanced at his watch. ‘Nearly midday,’ he murmured almost to himself. ‘We haven’t done bad.’
‘Thanks.’ She cast a sardonic glance in his direction