The Unexpected Father. Kathryn Ross
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go ahead; I’ll have something later.’
Samantha ate mechanically, her eyes fixed on the far horizon. A herd of zebra caught her attention as they ran across the plains, their black and white stripes made hazy by the dancing heat so that they seemed to merge with the landscape as if they were a growing part of it. Slowly she started to relax.
She shouldn’t really have snapped at Josh the way she had, she thought with contrition. Since she had become pregnant her emotions had seemed to see-saw dramatically, making her feel things acutely. These days she was never quite sure if her feelings could be trusted or if they were merely distorted by hormones. Sometimes she wondered if this whole episode in her life was merely a bad dream...one that she would wake up from at any minute.
She glanced back at Josh. He was a tough-looking man, his features etched in a hard-boned face, his jaw square and determined. There was nothing dream-like about him; he was a rugged, vital male from the tip of his unruly dark head of hair down over his lithe, well-toned body. Dominant was the word that sprang to mind as she looked at him. Dominant and powerful—a man who was always in charge of a situation, who invariably got what he wanted.
Why had he got married? she wondered idly. Had he been wildly in love? For some reason she suspected that with Josh Hamilton there would be no half-feelings. He was the type of man to feel something totally.
‘Feel better now?’ he asked, turning to meet her eyes.
She nodded. ‘Sorry if I was a bit sharp before,’ she said huskily.
‘Don’t worry about it. It was my fault anyway. I guess asking awkward questions is one of those idiosyncrasies that a reporter never loses—even when he isn’t working.’
‘Well, let’s just forget it anyway,’ she said brightly, then changed the subject. ‘Would you like me to take over the driving again?’
‘I thought you would never ask,’ he said with a laugh.
After that they travelled in a companionable silence. The road wound higher as they reached the mountainous region of Charracana. At one point the dirt track was just wide enough for one car, and the drop on the left-hand side of the Jeep was sheer, giving dizzying glimpses of the dry river basin hundreds of feet below.
‘I’m glad this isn’t a busy thoroughfare,’ Samantha joked nervously as she negotiated the twists in the road with extreme care.
‘I’m just glad you’re a competent driver,’ Josh said with a gleam of humour in his voice. ‘Because I’m the one staring down at the drop.’
When the road dipped into the valley on the other side the sun was starting to go down in a blazing ball of violent orange. Josh suggested that they pull the car off the road and call it a night.
‘The road is worse a little further on,’ he said seriously. ‘I think we need to negotiate it in daylight.’
Samantha nodded. She had no wish to travel along roads like these in the dark. ‘Where do you think we should stop?’
He pointed ahead towards where the undergrowth was thicker. ‘Up by the trees. Pull it well off the road—that way it will be hidden if anything happens to pass in the night.’
A shiver of apprehension darted through Samantha at those words. She knew very well that he was referring to rebel guerilla forces. They were in very dangerous territory now. No man’s land.
As soon as she had pulled the Jeep to a halt, Josh got out and started to gather pieces of branches and greenery to drape over the bonnet of the vehicle.
‘May as well minimise the risk of being seen,’ he said as she got out to help him. ‘That way we can sleep a little easier.’
By the time the sun had gone down the Jeep was festooned with branches and leaves.
‘Pretty good handiwork,’ Josh remarked as he stood further back on the road to survey their efforts. ‘Shall we break out the dinner rations before putting our heads down?’
Samantha nodded and then glanced around at the dark undergrowth that surrounded them. ‘I’m going to have to pay a visit to the little girls’ room first.’
He grinned and held out a torch towards her. ‘Better take this and watch out for snakes. We have all the mod cons out here.’
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. ‘I think I’ve just gone off the idea.’
‘Go on.’ He waved her towards the bushes and then added jokingly, ‘Don’t be long or your dinner will be ruined.’
‘Well, we can always reheat it in the microwave,’ she said, joining in the spirit of things as she turned away. Her smile faded a little as she moved carefully into the lush vegetation behind her. The thought of snakes and God knew what else made her decide not to go too far. She was back to the relative safety of the car in a few seconds.
At first she couldn’t see Josh, just the vague, camouflaged shape of the Jeep. Then he peered up over the branches. ‘I decided to book a table for two in here,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Can you climb in so as not to disturb our handiwork?’
‘I might just manage that.’ It took her a moment to hoist herself up and then swing her legs over the door. ‘Don’t leave the waiter a tip,’ she panted as she slid into her seat. ‘Damn bad table he’s given us.’
‘Good view of the conservatory, though.’ Josh handed her the dry biscuits that had become part of their staple diet at Chuanga since the supply trucks hadn’t been getting through.
‘Definitely no tip for the waiter,’ Samantha said as she bit into one. ‘The food here is terrible.’
‘I can’t understand it—I ordered us both a steak,’ Josh said with a shake of his head. ‘And, believe it or not, this place came highly recommended.’
‘Who by? Kermit the Frog?’ Samantha smiled.
‘Actually it was Fozzie Bear.’ Josh crunched into another biscuit and washed it down with water. ‘Hell, these are awful. Soon as we get back to civilisation I’m going to treat you to a good meal.’
‘Is that a promise?’
For a moment their eyes met and held.
Why had she said that? she wondered, her heart jumping nervously.
‘I believe it is.’ He reached out a hand and touched her cheek. It was a curiously tender gesture and it sent a shiver racing through her.
‘Of course, the offer is subject to availability,’ he said, moving away from her again.
Then Samantha just smiled. He was joking, of course. When they got back to civilisation they would just say goodbye and their ways would part for ever.
She leaned her head back to look up at the sky, her dark hair falling away from her face, leaving its youthful, classical features exposed to the silvery moonlight.
The night was incredibly beautiful—the stars were big and bright and clear, and the moon looked almost like a piece of costume jewellery, sparkling and too large to be real.
For a moment she found herself remembering how she had looked out at the sky the night of the mortar attack on the hospital. She had wondered that night which direction she should take next...what to do about Ben’s rejection of their baby.
It seemed that fate had decided those things for her. One direct hit on the hospital and her life had veered sharply on a path for home, in the company of a stranger she barely knew.
Who decided these things...? Had Ben’s death been written down in some book up in heaven? Was her fate written there too? She shivered at that thought. Of course her fate wasn’t written; life was what you made it. She remembered her mother saying that to her many years ago.
‘Are you cold?’ Josh reached into the back of the Jeep and pulled out one of the blankets to throw it over her legs. ‘The nights are colder