rights around here.”
It was a useless point to argue, Sugar knew.
He was going to do as he pleased, and the only way she could stop
him was to call on Jen. Considering the Chinaman’s methods, she’d
rather deal with Jackson’s searches than have to doctor him up
again. The only things she had to hide were her feelings and the
way out of Cocorico.
“You do have plants, though,” he admitted
with a sigh. “Hundreds of them. Thousands. Probably millions.” He
faced her fully, the barest trace of contrition showing in the
curve of his mouth. “I saw your potting room, or whatever you call
it, off the cabana. I’m sorry about what I said out on the
beach.”
She could have thrown his apology back in
his face, the way he’d done with hers. Vindictiveness wasn’t part
of her nature, though, and she didn’t want another war on her
hands. It was bad enough having him and Jen at each other’s
throats.
“I have close to forty endangered species
I’m cultivating at any one time. All the other plants are
indigenous, or planted for pleasure or eating.”
“It’s still a lot of plants.” The faintest
grin touched his lips again. “It’s like living in an out-of-control
greenhouse.”
He was miserable. She knew it, but she
didn’t know what to do about it. He’d spent his first day on
Cocorico unconscious, and his first night prowling the beach alone,
looking for a way off that wasn’t there. She knew what it felt like
to be trapped. But freedom had been her trap and Cocorico her
sanctuary.
“You won’t be here very long,” she said,
hoping to encourage him. “Three weeks on the outside.”
“Then what?” He quirked one eyebrow in an
expression she found uniquely his, a combination of irony and
ingenuousness that made him seem both young and old.
“Then Shulan comes back,” she said, watching
the dawn light spill through the window behind him, revealing the
details of his face.
“I’d rather be gone before she gets
here.”
Sunshine gilded the line of his jaw and the
angle of his cheekbone. As light washed into his eyes, turning the
shadowy forest color into a vibrant emerald green, something in her
chest constricted.
Not her heart, she told herself even as she
covered the left side of her rib cage with her hand to ease the
strange sensation. The ache was probably nothing more than a
wayward emotion caused by having him at Cocorico. She couldn’t
remember the last time she had shared a sunrise. That novelty alone
was enough to drag up all sorts of baggage, whether he knew they
were sharing the moment or not.
He would be gone soon, and that was for the
best. He wasn’t very old. He had the rest of his life to live,
somewhere else.
“I can’t let you go.”
He gave her a reluctant nod, as if he
understood her position, and took a swallow of coffee. For a moment
she thought their conversation was over, but then he spoke.
“I have a brother, an older brother,” he
said. “His name is Cooper. He raised me, and I’m pretty sure he
thinks I’m dead. He was with me when I got shot, guarding my back
while I was guarding his. He’s got to be going through hell,
blaming himself for what happened.”
Guilt assailed her and forced her eyes to
shift away from his. She hadn’t thought about his family, other
than Shulan.
“You have to let me go, Sugar. You can’t
keep me here against my will.”
“What makes you think I’m not here against
mine?” she asked, making sure to give the question no betraying
inflection.
Despite her effort, his gaze sharpened and
hope lit the depths of his eyes. “Then you could leave with me,” he
said softly, urgently.
No, she couldn’t. She set her coffee cup
down on the counter and walked over to the kitchen cabana door. On
the threshold, she paused. She knew what else she had to say, yet
she hesitated, knowing her words would give away more of herself
than she wanted to reveal.
Still, she had to do it.
She looked in his direction, but
It was a useless point to argue, Sugar knew.
He was going to do as he pleased, and the only way she could stop
him was to call on Jen. Considering the Chinaman’s methods, she’d
rather deal with Jackson’s searches than have to doctor him up
again. The only things she had to hide were her feelings and the
way out of Cocorico.
“You do have plants, though,” he admitted
with a sigh. “Hundreds of them. Thousands. Probably millions.” He
faced her fully, the barest trace of contrition showing in the
curve of his mouth. “I saw your potting room, or whatever you call
it, off the cabana. I’m sorry about what I said out on the
beach.”
She could have thrown his apology back in
his face, the way he’d done with hers. Vindictiveness wasn’t part
of her nature, though, and she didn’t want another war on her
hands. It was bad enough having him and Jen at each other’s
throats.
“I have close to forty endangered species
I’m cultivating at any one time. All the other plants are
indigenous, or planted for pleasure or eating.”
“It’s still a lot of plants.” The faintest
grin touched his lips again. “It’s like living in an out-of-control
greenhouse.”
He was miserable. She knew it, but she
didn’t know what to do about it. He’d spent his first day on
Cocorico unconscious, and his first night prowling the beach alone,
looking for a way off that wasn’t there. She knew what it felt like
to be trapped. But freedom had been her trap and Cocorico her
sanctuary.
“You won’t be here very long,” she said,
hoping to encourage him. “Three weeks on the outside.”
“Then what?” He quirked one eyebrow in an
expression she found uniquely his, a combination of irony and
ingenuousness that made him seem both young and old.
“Then Shulan comes back,” she said, watching
the dawn light spill through the window behind him, revealing the
details of his face.
“I’d rather be gone before she gets
here.”
Sunshine gilded the line of his jaw and the
angle of his cheekbone. As light washed into his eyes, turning the
shadowy forest color into a vibrant emerald green, something in her
chest constricted.
Not her heart, she told herself even as she
covered the left side of her rib cage with her hand to ease the
strange sensation. The ache was probably nothing more than a
wayward emotion caused by having him at Cocorico. She couldn’t
remember the last time she had shared a sunrise. That novelty alone
was enough to drag up all sorts of baggage, whether he knew they
were sharing the moment or not.
He would be gone soon, and that was for the
best. He wasn’t very old. He had the rest of his life to live,
somewhere else.
“I can’t let you go.”
He gave her a reluctant nod, as if he
understood her position, and took a swallow of coffee. For a moment
she thought their conversation was over, but then he spoke.
“I have a brother, an older brother,” he
said. “His name is Cooper. He raised me, and I’m pretty sure he
thinks I’m dead. He was with me when I got shot, guarding my back
while I was guarding his. He’s got to be going through hell,
blaming himself for what happened.”
Guilt assailed her and forced her eyes to
shift away from his. She hadn’t thought about his family, other
than Shulan.
“You have to let me go, Sugar. You can’t
keep me here against my will.”
“What makes you think I’m not here against
mine?” she asked, making sure to give the question no betraying
inflection.
Despite her effort, his gaze sharpened and
hope lit the depths of his eyes. “Then you could leave with me,” he
said softly, urgently.
No, she couldn’t. She set her coffee cup
down on the counter and walked over to the kitchen cabana door. On
the threshold, she paused. She knew what else she had to say, yet
she hesitated, knowing her words would give away more of herself
than she wanted to reveal.
Still, she had to do it.
She looked in his direction, but
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