Challenging Andie (26 page)
Authors: Sally Clements
His heart clenched as echoes of another woman, another day flooded him. He waved for a taxi. If anything had happened to Andie Harte…
*****
Andie stood at the side of the makeshift stage, breathing in the dust-laden air, as her mind replayed the events of the past couple of days. Luckily, she had a passport, taken out for the planned trip with Suz a couple of years earlier. There were no visas to get, just an air ticket.
Arriving at the airport had been a baptism of fire, but all opportunities to second guess her decision had been taken away by the urgency of the situation. Once she’d climbed aboard the large airplane, and taken her seat, it had been excitement bubbling within, rather than fear.
The moment she landed at Rexa airport, Andie realized what she’d been missing, in all the years she’d stayed at home with Gran. The large concourse swarmed with vibrant life. The buzz of conversation in a different tongue filled her ears.
Like a visitor on an alien planet, she looked around.
She breathed in air redolent with spices from the pastries on a little stall nearby. No cappuccinos and Danish here. Although the thick black liquid in small glass cups smelled like coffee.
Excitement flowed through her veins.
She was really here.
Really in the country that had claimed her mother’s heart. She was brave, could face anything. Anything but the possibility that Ryan wouldn’t want to try again.
“Can I have a taxi to the Rexa Grand?” she asked the man behind the desk.
“Of course.” The man waved, and a small dark man hurried over from a little clutch of drivers at the coffee stall.
“The lady wants to go to the Rexa Grand,” the clerk said.
The man smiled. “I take your bag.”
She handed it over, and followed him out through the large glass doors. Undulations of heat hit her like a wave. So much hotter and drier than even the hottest day back home. There were planters just outside the door with large palm trees, thin black rubber hoses from a watering system snaking on top of the earth around their trunks, but apart from that flash of green the ground was arid, the top layer of the hard brown earth swirling with tiny dust devils.
The ride through the narrow streets of downtown Rexa revealed more than television footage ever could. Once elegant buildings scarred with bullet holes. Mounds of uncollected rubbish piled up and overflowing on street corners, with mangy dogs rooting through split bags. Yet, in the midst of chaos, the lifeblood of a city, its people, swarmed. Unlike busy London commuters, eyes focused on the middle distance as they ploughed through the crowds, the people of Bekostan made eye contact, stopped to talk, and smiled.
She’d learned from Laila that Ryan stayed at the Rexa Grand, and her heart had soared at the thought of surprising him there, and then dived a disappointment-dip when the desk clerk told her he was out. By the time the car had arrived to take her to the tribute ceremony, he hadn’t returned, so with a heavy heart she’d gone alone.
Now, listening to Arnat speak to the silent crowd, butterflies flapped their wings in her stomach. Laila had promised he’d be here. Was she fooling herself? When he arrived, would he really be glad to see her?
Laila excused herself from the group of people she’d been talking to, and walked to Andie’s side. She took Andie’s hand. “Now, it’s our turn.”
*****
Ryan stood in the crowd. So many people crowded around the stage in the middle of the camp, it had been impossible to push his way to the front. Once he’d seen Andie at the side of the stage with Laila close-by, the urgency to find her had dissipated like storm-clouds broken up by dry winds.
She stepped up and walked across the stage to the microphone, hand-in-hand with Laila. Silence fell, all eyes on the small blonde figure dressed in pale yellow. Like a sunbeam on the stage. In her soft voice, Laila spoke in Bekostani of Emily. Reminding the people who had known her of her bravery, her determination to bring peace to their corner of the world. Of her sacrifice.
Around him, people nodded and murmured.
Laila was holding something that glinted in the sunlight.
She introduced Andie, and then switched to English. “In honor of your mother, and her contribution to our people, I would like to present this medal of valor.” She repeated the words in Bekostani, and the crowd roared their approval.
Even at a distance, Ryan saw the tears in Andie’s eyes as she accepted the medal.
When she stepped up to the mike, pride welled up within him. “I am so happy to be here,” she said in a clear voice.
Laila translated her words.
“My mother would be very proud at this moment. The struggle for freedom and peace consumed her, and now, knowing that you have finally achieved it, would bring her such joy.” Her voice faltered, but Laila squeezed her hand, and she bravely continued. “I thank you all, on behalf of my mother. I’m proud to stand here before you in her stead.”
To thunderous applause, she bowed to the audience, and, with Laila at her side, walked from the stage.
As the crowd started to disperse, Ryan walked forward.
*****
“You were great.” Laila pulled a tissue from the voluminous folds of her dress, and handed it to Andie.
Andie dabbed away the last trace of tears. The looks on the faces tilted to hers had been her undoing. Their nods when Laila spoke of Emily. Their warm smiles as she started to speak. These people has suffered so much, yet still found room in their hearts to give unspoken love and comfort to a stranger they’d never met before. The experience was humbling. No matter how different on the outside, on the inside all people were the same.
An aide took Laila’s arm and pulled her aside, muttering urgently in her ear.
Laila glanced over. “There has been an attack in a village a few miles away. I have to leave you for a few moments.”
Terror dried Andie’s throat. Ryan.
Could he be covering the incident?
Her heart clenched with fear for his safety. She rooted in her bag for the phone. She’d tried it umpteen times since she’d arrived, but maybe this time he’d pick up.
Warm hands spanned her waist, and before Andie could take a breath, she was swung around into a firm embrace. She stared up into Ryan’s face, her heart pounding like a jackhammer.
His gaze held hers, then his mouth tilted in that sexy smile that had haunted her dreams. One hand slid up to cup her nape, and her chin tilted up. As his lips caressed hers, all sound faded away. She reached up on tiptoe to wrap her arms around his neck, feeling the thrill of being with him again flow through her entire being as their bodies clinched tight.
“We need some privacy,” Ryan forced out as he jerked his mouth from hers after long moments. “Come on.” He pulled her to a small tent, checked inside and fastened the fabric door behind them. Then he kissed her again, mouth moving across her closed eyelids, across her cheekbones, and finally finding her mouth.
He smelled of smoke, and the sleeve of his jacket was covered in blood. “Ryan, you’re hurt!” Andie’s heart raced as she pushed his sleeve up.
“Not mine. I’m all right.”
“Laila just told me about the bombing—” Her hands ran over his chest, searching for wounds. “Were you…”
“I was there. I’m all right.” His arms snaked around her, holding her close. “God, I’ve missed you.”
“Me too,” Andie admitted. She’d follow him to the ends of the earth. Would suffer the pain of saying goodbye a thousand times, if it could be followed by this all-encompassing joy of being in his arms again.
“Never again,” Ryan murmured against her mouth. “I won’t let you go.”
“I don’t want you to. I love you, Ryan.” Her heart filled with warmth that overflowed and filled her body with light. “I thought I could deny it to myself…I was scared to love you.”
“Love is tricky—a very wise woman once told me.” His mouth curved in a smile. “Attending this ceremony is my final act as war correspondent in Bekostan.”
Andie’s heart jolted. Had he already been assigned to another war-zone?
“I’ve accepted a job in London. It will mean travelling, but I’ll be home every night.”
“But…”
He reached out and tipped her mouth closed. “I made my decision on a combination of factors. I’ve changed. I’ve learned I can’t avoid love, can’t shield my heart now that you live within it. The passion needed to stay in a war-zone has burned out, and a new passion has taken its place. The passion to try a new challenge. That of being a husband.”
He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, to retrieve a small suede bag.
“I love you, Andie.” He opened the ties and pulled out a ring. “Are you up for the challenge of marrying me?”
For a moment, Andie toyed with asking “What do you think?” but at the look in his eyes, the impulse died. Her fingers stroked the brilliant blue stone, as present merged with a future filled with possibilities. “It’s top of my list.”
In the silent privacy of a tent in the camp her mother had loved so much, they took that first step into the future. Together.
THE END
Be sure to check out these other great romances also by Sally Clements.
New Beginnings – Short stories
To contact Sally Clements, or to be placed on a mailing list to receive updates about her new releases, click the ‘contact me’ link on her blog.
http://www.sallyclements.blogspot.com
or contact her on twitter, where she’s
@sallywriter
If you enjoyed
Challenging Andie
, here’s the first chapter of
The Morning After.
Chapter One
He was tall. Blond. Good looking. With his arm around a curvy brunette, and his tongue in her mouth. A place it had no business being.
Heat flashed through Ethan Quinn as he slammed his pint on the table. “Excuse me for a moment.” He stood from the upholstered seat, half hidden from view in a shady corner, and pushed his way through the crowd on the dance floor. He’d never been in this particular club before, but his brother Sean had wanted to come and hear the smoky-voiced jazz singer visiting from Canada, and it had seemed as good a place as any to catch up.
