Stay up here with Pai Jose. The Great Spirit knows, he needs all the help he can get. He’d love to have a hardworking American around for thirty days.”
She was gone. As Jake looked around, the lab suddenly seemed darker. Shah reminded him of blinding sunlight; her presence was riveting and undeniable. Rising slowly to his feet, he rubbed his sweaty hands against his pants. A slight smile lurked at the corners of his mouth. Well, their first skirmish had ended in a decided victory for him. As he ambled out of the lab and quietly closed the door behind him, Jake whistled softly. Yes, the world was suddenly looking brighter. Shah was like sunshine on water; scintillating, ever-changing. There was an underlying tenderness to her, too. He hadn’t been wrong about her earthiness, either—not judging from all the plants and flowers in the lab, and her work to catalog them and save the valuable information for the world at large.
Shah Travers had many fine qualities, Jake decided as he walked over to the mission. His duffel bag was gone, carried inside by Red Feather, the Tucanos boy who worked with Pai Jose. He stopped in the center of the small yard enclosed by the mission buildings and looked around. The profusion of color, the songs of the birds and the many scents mingling in the humid air made Jake smile broadly. The Amazon could be a cruel killer, he knew. But right now, the area was clothed in a raiment of beauty, because Shah Travers cared—deeply, passionately—for something outside of herself.
Whistling merrily, Jake decided to take a walk around the place. His mercenary side was always close at hand. He didn’t trust Hernandez. Although he didn’t know the local politics, he wanted to map out the village for his own satisfaction. He felt naked without his knife and pistol, but he was convinced that sooner or later Shah would trust him enough to give the weapons back.
But first things first. Reconnoitering the village like the recon marine he had once been was at the top of his list. Were these Indians friendly? Were they used to white men? Or would they use blowgun arrows tipped with deadly curare to kill him? There was a lot to discover, Jake conceded with a frown. Maybe the Tucanos accepted Shah because she carried native blood in her veins. Maybe Pai Jose was allowed to stay here because of his unceasing humanitarian work with them. He wasn’t sure at all.
The dangers of the Amazon were many and real. Jake knew that from his other missions, although he’d never before spent so much time in the rain forest. On guard, he tucked away the warm feelings lingering in his heart regarding Shah. He was astonished by those emotions, because for the past four years he’d felt nothing, numbed by the loss of his family. Shah’s unexpected entrance into his life had been responsible for that change. But what was he going to do about it? He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure of anything right now.
Chapter Four
The Tucanos village was a long, haphazard affair that hugged the dry, cracked bank of the Amazon River. At first, Jake was jumpy about the Indians, but soon he had fifteen children following him as if he were the pied piper. The few men present were the old ones, and the women were busy working over their cooking pots. The younger men were probably out hunting during the daylight hours. They were a handsome people, Jake conceded, short but with robust bodies and clean features. Everywhere he walked, the old men and women would look up and stare at him, and some would give him a shy smile. He did the same.
The thatched huts were circular and varied in diameter, depending, Jake supposed, on the number of people living in them. Fires were kept outside of the homes, and Jake spotted woven mats placed on the dirt floor in several of them. The Tucanos people were primitive, without many civilized amenities. There was no electricity, except for what was produced by a gasoline-fed generator that Pai Jose kept
She was gone. As Jake looked around, the lab suddenly seemed darker. Shah reminded him of blinding sunlight; her presence was riveting and undeniable. Rising slowly to his feet, he rubbed his sweaty hands against his pants. A slight smile lurked at the corners of his mouth. Well, their first skirmish had ended in a decided victory for him. As he ambled out of the lab and quietly closed the door behind him, Jake whistled softly. Yes, the world was suddenly looking brighter. Shah was like sunshine on water; scintillating, ever-changing. There was an underlying tenderness to her, too. He hadn’t been wrong about her earthiness, either—not judging from all the plants and flowers in the lab, and her work to catalog them and save the valuable information for the world at large.
Shah Travers had many fine qualities, Jake decided as he walked over to the mission. His duffel bag was gone, carried inside by Red Feather, the Tucanos boy who worked with Pai Jose. He stopped in the center of the small yard enclosed by the mission buildings and looked around. The profusion of color, the songs of the birds and the many scents mingling in the humid air made Jake smile broadly. The Amazon could be a cruel killer, he knew. But right now, the area was clothed in a raiment of beauty, because Shah Travers cared—deeply, passionately—for something outside of herself.
Whistling merrily, Jake decided to take a walk around the place. His mercenary side was always close at hand. He didn’t trust Hernandez. Although he didn’t know the local politics, he wanted to map out the village for his own satisfaction. He felt naked without his knife and pistol, but he was convinced that sooner or later Shah would trust him enough to give the weapons back.
But first things first. Reconnoitering the village like the recon marine he had once been was at the top of his list. Were these Indians friendly? Were they used to white men? Or would they use blowgun arrows tipped with deadly curare to kill him? There was a lot to discover, Jake conceded with a frown. Maybe the Tucanos accepted Shah because she carried native blood in her veins. Maybe Pai Jose was allowed to stay here because of his unceasing humanitarian work with them. He wasn’t sure at all.
The dangers of the Amazon were many and real. Jake knew that from his other missions, although he’d never before spent so much time in the rain forest. On guard, he tucked away the warm feelings lingering in his heart regarding Shah. He was astonished by those emotions, because for the past four years he’d felt nothing, numbed by the loss of his family. Shah’s unexpected entrance into his life had been responsible for that change. But what was he going to do about it? He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure of anything right now.
Chapter Four
The Tucanos village was a long, haphazard affair that hugged the dry, cracked bank of the Amazon River. At first, Jake was jumpy about the Indians, but soon he had fifteen children following him as if he were the pied piper. The few men present were the old ones, and the women were busy working over their cooking pots. The younger men were probably out hunting during the daylight hours. They were a handsome people, Jake conceded, short but with robust bodies and clean features. Everywhere he walked, the old men and women would look up and stare at him, and some would give him a shy smile. He did the same.
The thatched huts were circular and varied in diameter, depending, Jake supposed, on the number of people living in them. Fires were kept outside of the homes, and Jake spotted woven mats placed on the dirt floor in several of them. The Tucanos people were primitive, without many civilized amenities. There was no electricity, except for what was produced by a gasoline-fed generator that Pai Jose kept
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