Wind Shadow (18 page)

“You got a deal, Overbridge. Just don’t start whining about the pace I set.” With that, she hopped on her bike and pushed on the pedal, heading up to the lead position.

One after another, Sag Pack left the roadside to battle the head wind on the last leg of their month-long trip through summertime Alaska. Silky had already situated her foot into the toe clip on her pedal and was about to push off when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she realized that Wade had pulled his bike off the road into a small clearing and was taking off his helmet.

“What are you doing?” she called.

His dark gaze touched her for only a moment before he turned away to hook his helmet over his handlebars. “Still want to talk?”

Lifting her foot out of the toe clip, she wheeled her bike into the trees to stand it beside his. “It’s your leg, isn’t it?” There was concern in her voice. “This wind has been terrible on you, I know.”

He shrugged. “Comes with the territory.” As he spoke, he lowered himself to the ground and leaned tiredly against the massive trunk of a towering hemlock. “You haven’t answered my question.”

She settled down beside him as he started to massage his calf. Reaching out, she placed her fingers on his wrist. “Yes, I do want to talk to
you.” The slight touch brought his massaging to a complete halt. He didn’t look up at her, but she knew that she had his undivided attention. “Once you stopped to wait with me while I rested on the side of the road. Remember?”

He lifted his eyes to her. The long lashes were lowered over a glittering blackness that made her heart thud heavily into her ribs. “I remember.”

She sat back against the hard trunk, exhaling. “Remember what I said then—about cops not being poetic?”

“Vaguely.” He shifted his broad shoulders so that he faced her more directly. “Why?”

She ran a hand across her face. How long ago that seemed. How very much she had learned about people—people she thought she knew like Rex and Annie; people she thought she’d figured out like Ice and Wade. Good God! Even herself! How little she’d known then, and how little she still knew. But every bit of knowledge was a step toward learning. At least she hoped so.

Her laugh was shallow and embarrassed. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to ask you to try not to hold it against me. I’m a slow learner, but I’m—”

“No quitter? I know.” His grin had a melancholy twist as he bent to massage his leg again.

It always amazed Silky that such a vast land could be so silent. Right now, it was deafeningly so. Wade wasn’t going to say anything else. Apparently, he planned to let her do the talking.
She cleared her throat in an attempt to appear at least partially composed, but her stomach was in a knot, and her hands had begun to tremble. She clutched them together in her lap to hide her unease.

Things weren’t going too well. Just when she needed all the strength she could muster, she felt like her insides were turning to mush. Finally, she decided that it was now or never. “Wade?” Her voice was an octave too high, and she cleared her throat.

He quit massaging his calf. With an expression of solemn curiosity he leaned toward her. “What’s on your mind, Silky?”

His face was now only inches from her own, and her heart began a wild hammering that almost unbalanced her. Unclasping her hands with a great effort, she lowered them to the grass, clutching to keep from toppling into him. She felt ridiculous—like a paper clip being drawn to a magnet.

Draping an arm around his bent knee, he cocked a curious brow at her. “Why are you so nervous? I thought we were friends. Talk to me, Silky.”

“
Yes!
Yes, we’re friends. That’s true,” she managed heavily, grasping onto the straw like it was a lifeboat. “And because we’re friends, I want you to promise me that when we hit the road again you’ll ride in my wind shadow. I’ve gotten stronger on this trip, and there’s no sense in my not giving a friend a hand.”

He regarded her closely. “Yes. You have gotten stronger. And thanks.” He reached over and touched her cheek. “Silky, listen—”

She pulled away from the warm caress of his fingers, unsnapping her helmet and tossing it to the ground. “Wade. I have something to say, and it’s not going to be easy.” Trying to appear all business, she cleared her throat again. Dreading his reaction to her next statement, she abruptly stood, brushing her hands on her shorts. “If you feel the urge to laugh, or anything, I won’t blame you. But if you don’t mind, I think I’ll—I’ll walk a few feet away. I’d rather not see your face.”

Steadying herself against a pine trunk, she turned away from him before walking into a thicket filled with forget-me-nots. Their light fragrance wafting up was a pleasant surprise, and she took a deep breath. “I—” She clutched her fists together at her breasts, exhaling rapidly. “I—”

The words caught like dry weeds in her throat, and before she could say “love you,” her knees gave way completely, and she sat down abruptly on the carpet of tiny blue flowers. “Oh God, Wade—what I’m trying to say—”

“What, darling? What do you want to tell me?” His voice was so near that she could feel the rush of air from his lips feather the fine hair at her temple. She didn’t turn. She didn’t speak. She only held her breath, paralyzed by his sudden nearness.

With a low groan, he took her arm, turning her around. As she watched, she was amazed to see his eyes fill with tears. “Don’t dare tell me you’re taking Rex back! After all you’ve been through—after all he’s done to you! Don’t say that to me—not to me!”

High emotion glistened like damp leaves in her eyes. She had no idea how beautiful a man’s tears could be. “Rex? No, Wade. Rex and I are through. I told him so last night.”

“Through?” He was bending down—on one knee, his sparkling eyes staring at her with a desperate intensity.

“But—but that’s not what I wanted to say, Wade,” she stuttered. He started to speak, but she put her fingers over his mouth. “I know you said you only wanted women for friends, and I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I mean—” She lifted her chin with the poise of a princess about to be beheaded. “But—Wade. I’m afraid I’ve fallen in love with you.”

“You’re afraid you’ve …” The words trailed off as the truth of her statement hit him, and he raised his face to the sky, closing his eyes as though he were thanking providence for an answered prayer. A devastating smile revealed his strong, white teeth. It was a smile that cleansed her soul and made her heart leap with new hope. It was a good smile, a kind smile, a smile of love. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen, and ever hoped to see.

“At last,” he whispered. When he opened his
eyes again, they glittered darkly with masculine decision. “Thank God.” With both hands on her, he settled her down into the flowers.

His deep voice was unsteady and filled with emotion. “Silky, when a man finds himself in love with a woman who’s trying to get her ex-husband back, there isn’t much else he can offer her but his friendship.”

“Love?” Unable to believe her own ears, she repeated the word in an awed whisper.

“Yes, love.” He pressed her down into the fragrant cushion of flowers and took possession of her lips with a divine hunger, muttering unevenly against the torrid moistness of their kiss. “I’d nearly lost hope that you could give up your old dream for a new one.” He pulled at her lip, moaning with her pliant response. “The decision to do that had to be yours. No matter how badly I wanted to tell you how I felt, I’ve learned that love can’t be forced.”

“I know.…” she whispered, a smile gentling her throbbing lips. “It can’t be forced, or bought—or even chosen. …” She sighed as his tongue feathered the sensitive hollow at her throat.

“Only treasured,” he murmured, hard promise enriching the deep timbre of his voice. Slipping her shirt up, he nuzzled her breasts. “I will always treasure your love—and the way you told me about it.” His lips, his reassuring endearments and his potent body sent her emotions reeling with the startling depths of his passion, and she luxuriated in the taste and feel of him.

As they came together in mutual adoration,
she made him a silent vow. Wade would always have a wind shadow in her love. And she knew in her heart that she would have one too. They would be strong for each other, and they would be protected by each other. They could be vulnerable in each other’s arms because their hearts were held in trust.

About the Author

Renee Roszel has been writing professionally since 1983, with over forty novels published to date. In addition to being named Oklahoma Writer of the Year by the University of Oklahoma Short Course for Professional Writers, she has multiple National RITA finalist honors and several nominations for Best Short Contemporary Novel by
Romantic Times
magazine. Renee’s books have been published in foreign languages in far-flung countries ranging from Poland to New Zealand, Germany to Turkey, Japan to Brazil, France, Australia and the Netherlands.

Renee has fans around the world, and she loves to hear from them. To contact Renee, visit her website at:
www.ReneeRoszel.com