Appaloosa Blues (Sisters of Spirit #8) (23 page)

"Put me down," she begged, laughing at his antics.

"Yes, ma'am." With exaggerated pomp, he carried her into the room and then dropped her on his bed. It swayed under her and she patted it with her hand.

"A waterbed?" she asked, feeling the motion start and then stop beneath her. “I didn’t think anyone had these anymore. Isn’t it old fashioned?”

"Yes. But they are so warm in the winter. This one’s about shot.”

“Wait there while I put this thing away," he said, going outside to retrieve the telescope, a new bounce to his step. Taking out a cloth, he wrapped up the delicate instrument. "You can take it with you. Just don't give it to Grampa though. I wouldn't want him to be watching me through my own telescope all day."

His remark spurred Jo's memory, and she sat upright, stricken. "Oh, no. He was watching. Just now. Could he see us?"

Adam frowned. "Maybe. How strong are his field glasses?"

"I don't know...but he must be able to see something. He keeps using them. I'd better go home, right now."

"Nothing doing." he grumbled. "You can't spend your life running back to him."

"But he's alone," she protested, wringing her hands.

"Your folks are due home. Let's see if they're anywhere near. Stay inside." Striding out to the balcony, he set the telescope up again, and soon had it adjusted. "There's Gramps, he looks okay, he's using the cell phone...and your Dad is just pulling into the driveway. So you can relax."  

Jo let out her breath and sank back onto the waterbed. "Good."

Adam secured the rest of the shutters and came inside, carrying the telescope. "I'll box this and send it home with you. You can use it for star-gazing if you want."

Jo knew where she'd want to look, and suddenly she realized just what he'd been doing that night...wanting one last, final glimpse of her. If she took the telescope home, she'd do the same to him.

It was any lover's wish...to see, to hear, to touch their love just one more time. Adam had responded to that wish. And now he was putting the temptation into her hands.

"Don't you need it to check the roads for parked trucks?" she asked as she kicked off her high heels.

"Yes, but I want you to know I'd be looking at the roads and not straying to your window."

"I can always keep my curtains drawn. Why don't you let me decide what I want you to see...now that I know."

Wiggling her toes, she stretched out fully, enjoying the comfort. "Let's strike a bargain. You feel free to look anywhere you want to with that thing — including my room — and I'll feel free to install blinds if I want."

"So it's blinds now, is it? Afraid the curtains will blow in the breeze?" His eyes gleamed with mischievous humor as he reverted back to the Adam she knew best.

"Maybe I'll put up black-out curtains," she mused, "or maybe those one-way thingys. Or maybe," she teased, bold now, "maybe I'll take down what's there and leave my windows bare."

He glared sternly at her as she impishly provoked him. "And maybe you'd better get off that bed. You say things like that and maybe I might join you."

The desire to lure him on was overwhelming and Jo, feeling daring, gave in. "This is a heavenly bed," she sighed, closing her eyes. "Most people don’t have them anymore. I'd forgotten waterbeds were so comfor—- oh."

Adam had rolled on beside her, sending early-warning waves ahead of him. She struggled to sit up but he caught her and pulled her back down.

"Feeling sassy, are you? Let's see how you like this?" His mouth came down consuming her, kissing eyelids, lips, ears, throat...and she responded with a great need for him, clasping him to her in fiery longing, lips parted as she tried to catch his, the soft warmth of the waterbed increasing their passion. It swayed gently underneath them, the water giving a protesting swish when Adam shifted his weight.

Their great need for each other, held under such rigid check for so long — when finally set free — knocked aside all restraints, slamming into them with the force of a powerful wind and leaving them clinging shakily to each other. Jo pushed back to catch her breath, causing Adam to sit up, quickly.

"Are you all right?"

Not really.
She'd just entered the tornado stage of this relationship and been swept off her feet. She was still flying through the air, far above the ground and earthly matters. "Sure I am."

"Maybe you should be careful. Don't you realize how tempting you are, lying on my bed, with your hair spread out like that?" He trailed his hand through her hair, lifting the strands, enticing her to respond. Without hesitation, she turned her face into it and blew on the palm.

"Oh, darling." He breathed in hard, visibly struggling to regain control of himself. "You do like to live dangerously, sweetheart. Behave yourself."

"Why?" she challenged, very satisfied with his response as his hands began to caress the overly sensitive skin on the nape of her neck. It wasn't going to be hard to make him fall in love with her. He had to be halfway there already.

"Need you ask?" he said, sitting back away from her slightly. "Actually, I'm discovering...something...I should've realized would happen."

"What's that?"

"Simple. The more I'm with you.... Well, a few days ago this wouldn't have bothered me."

She relaxed completely, enjoying the ecstasy of his touch, thrilling to the love she felt for him, and finding that the more she relaxed and succumbed to his touch, the stronger the sensations that pulsed through her. "That's nice."

"Yeah," he agreed, "but you were safer up at the lake than here. You'd better get up." It was almost a threat... as if he soon would no longer be accountable for what happened. Jo decided she'd better do as he asked.

As if to support his request, the intercom switched on and his mother called up. "Adam, we're home. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes."

With a groan he rolled off the bed and stood up, pulling her into his arms, nuzzling the sweet perfume of her hair. He kissed her once, then several times, fervently, as though she answered a deep empty hunger within him. She felt the same way and returned his kisses with such ardor that again he had to forcibly separate them.

"Darling, if we keep this up and at this rate, I don't think we're going to last a week, much less a summer. You ruin my self-control. It's getting harder and harder to resist you...to keep my hands off you."

"Yes, dear," she murmured.

He responded by kissing her, hard. "Do you realize it's the first time you've said that? Maybe we'll be able to convince Gramps, after all." He helped her straighten her dress and then handed her a comb, watching as she carefully straightened out the flowing mass of reddish gold. "Even when you do that, it thrills me. I think you've bewitched me."

Happy to hear that she was conquering him emotionally, Jo faced him for inspection. "Will I do?"

He shook his head, amused. "Well, your dress is straight and your hair looks nice...but—"

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning back to the mirror.

"You look like you've just won the sweepstakes."
She had — him
. At least she expected to hear his declaration any time now.

"You don't look too settled yourself," she shot back pertly, vividly alive in her new love. He must surely be able to tell.

"Ah, yes, the price we must pay." He sighed dramatically. "Let's go, little one, and face Johnny's teasing."

He held out his hand and she placed hers into it, along with her heart, and they walked down the hallway together.

Johnny's remarks were few, limited to a knowing glance and some double-edged statements. The look of comprehension in the eyes of the rest of Adam's family told Jo they could read sign also.

She went immediately to Adam's grandparents and gave them each a hug, then to Carole, knowing that a hug heals wounds faster that words. Carole embraced her with tears in her eyes, and murmured, "Please, don't be a stranger anymore. Don't wait for an invite to come."

"I'll come," Jo promised.

"Even if Adam isn't home."

"Now, Mom...," he objected.

"I will," Jo promised, wrinkling her nose playfully at him.

He stood there looking at her, the pride and admiration he felt clearly showing in his eyes. He looked like he had just won the lottery also, and Jo thought them both a pair, to even wonder if the rest of the family would decipher what the glow of happiness on their faces meant. One would have to be blind not to see it, or deaf not to hear it in their voices.

At that moment, the house shook as a mighty gust of wind hit, followed in a few seconds by a loud clap of thunder. Murray shot through the door and under Adam's feet, almost knocking him down. The thunderstorm had struck with all its force, making the air dance with electricity.

"Get out, Murray," Johnny ordered, but Adam stopped him.

"He's frightened. The thunder sounds extra loud to him. Let him be."

Nodding her approval, Jo helped Carole put the steak on the table. The phone rang, and Johnny sprang to his feet, announcing, "That's for me." — causing the others to exchange smiles as he ran to answer it. It would have to be Karen, no one else would dare call.

He had that silly look, too. It must be catching.

The pallor that swept across his face as he looked her way should have forewarned Jo. "It's Karen," he said, his voice suddenly empty of expression. "She's at the hospital. Your grampa... he's had a heart attack...."

Johnny held out the phone as Jo walked quickly over, her face cold with shock.

"Karen?" Adam had followed and stood behind her, his head close, one hand on her shoulder as he listened. She could hear Karen on the other end, sobbing, trying to get control to speak. A death-like calm swept over Jo.

"Can you come? We...we're at the hospital."

Jo lifted stricken eyes to Adam, who nodded. "I'm on my way," she said. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure."

"Was anyone with him?"

"Yes. We'd just entered the house. Gramps was talking on the phone...to someone." Her voice was so low and torn with crying that Jo could hardly hear.

"Go on."

 "He just collapsed."

"Could you tell why, Karen. Any reason? Did he say anything about Adam and me?"

"He saw Dad and asked if it were true...."

"True? What?"

"About you and Adam." She stopped to clear her throat.

"And?" Jo prompted, stunned, barely feeling the tightening of Adam's fingers on her shoulder.

Karen burst into tears again. "And Dad said, ‘I'm afraid it is’ ...or something like that, and...and Gramps dropped to the floor."

"Is he still alive? Karen? Karen!"

"Yes, barely. At least he was when I came to call."

Adam pried the receiver out of Jo's stiff fingers. "I'm bringing Jo right now, Karen. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"It's all our fault." Karen wailed, loud enough Jo could hear. The chill that had begun at Karen's first words now froze Jo's mind as well as her body.

"We're coming," Adam replied, and hung up. "Heart attack. Gramps," he explained, as he grabbed Jo's things.

"The car 'll be fastest," Adam shouted as they ran out into the rain, and Jo swerved to get into it, both of them drenched before they climbed inside.

"Buckle up, dearest. I'll go as fast as I dare," Adam said, starting the motor.

Jo moved mechanically to obey him, her mind in the grip of shock. She was barely aware of the worried glances Adam gave her and took little notice of their headlong yet skillful flight down the mountain road into the dark of the storm.

Guilt lay heavily on her, locking her into a churning maelstrom of self-accusation that gained in intensity as they drove. Over and over the thoughts passed through her anguished mind as she stared through the rain-swept windshield:
I did it. If he dies, I killed him.

I knew his heart was weak. I was up there in Adam's arms, while he was dying. Why? Why didn't we take longer so as not to shock him?

Her mind churned round and round, blaming herself and Adam. As they reached the street leading to the hospital, she spoke. "We went too fast."

Adam lifted his foot off the accelerator, then pressed it down again as her meaning reached him. "I don't know, Jo. I don't see how—-"

"His heart was weak. We both knew it." she cried in anguish and self-condemnation.

"True, but we hadn't done anything in public except sit together. Unless he saw us on the catwalk."

"We should have taken more time. Why did you rush us, Adam?" Tears of helplessness began to flow unchecked down her cheeks.

"Dearest, we—"

"Don't call me that. I trusted you. You said...you were going to set a slow pace—" she sobbed, unthinkingly shifting the unbearable guilt to him.

"Jo, we did...in public, at least—"

"On the balcony. He saw us. I know he did."

"We're almost there, dear." His voice stayed level as he tried to soothe her. "Mike and your Dad have both had CPR training...just in case. They had to be prepared, so far away from a doctor. Have hope, Jo. He could be all right. Don't imagine the worst—"

"A lot you care."
He was so calm. Of course, it didn't bother him. He'd wanted revenge and got it.
"He's not your grampa."

"Jo, believe me, I—-"

"I trusted you. I didn't want Gramps hurt—" she accused unreasonably, nearing hysteria. Her legs were locked tightly together at the ankles and her hands continued to wring against each other in mindless distress.

"I didn't want that either. I didn't plan—"

"You planned all right. To take me away from Gramps. Didn't you? Well, didn't you?"

 Adam stopped the car at the entrance, hands clenched white on the wheel. "You'd believe it whether I deny it or not. So, yes. I planned it. I wanted to take away something of his. At first, that's all I wanted. But it isn't anymore. I want you, Jo, but not for that reason."

She refused to listen. "He said you were using me to get at him. Well, I believe him."

"You don't know what you're saying, love. I'll let you out here, park and go up with you."