Eli tried to sit up.“What happened?”
“Lightning,” Jayce said.“Random strikes happen sometimes in the mountains, even on a clear day.”He helped Eli into a sitting position.“We should get you to a doctor.A shock like that can be bad for the heart.”
The last comment was directed at Malika.The accompanying eye contact said he wasn’t angry with her, at least not very much, but he wasn’t amused, either.
Eli glared at Jayce.“My heart is fine.”
“How can you be so certain?Undiagnosed heart conditions in men your age are very common,” Malika said.
He really should be seen by a doctor.Having him die in Burning Scrub wouldn’t be good for business and it would make Adeel very unhappy.She honestly hadn’t known the shock would be so severe.
One of the Mexicans spoke up.“She’s right.My grandfather was fit as a fiddle.Then one day he just dropped dead.He was in his eighties.”
“I’m not in my eighties,” Eli said.“And I’m not going to drop dead.”
“We’ll give you a few minutes and see how you feel.Once you’re okay with walking, you and the Mexicans can head back to camp,” Jayce said.“It’s probably best if Malika and Linda stay in town for a few days.I’ll take them.Adam’s due back today or tomorrow, and when he gets here, we’ve got bank business to attend to.We won’t have time for berry-picking or other distractions.”
“We won’t be a distraction,” Malika said.
“You don’t think you will,” Jayce replied.“But you can’t seem to help it.”
*
Jayce
Cassidy could haveno doubt now as to his relationship with Malika, although attempting to kill him seemed an extreme way for Malika to prove it.
Jayce pointed it out on their walk back to town.
Linda had skipped ahead.She knew the path well, she was used to roaming alone, and between layers of cayenne pepper and the strategically set electric fences, bears weren’t a serious concern this close to town, but Jayce kept one eye on her, just in case.
“I wasn’t trying to kill him,” Malika insisted.
“I know you weren’t.Good thing he doesn’t have a heart condition, though.”He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together.“Why didn’t you just tell me he’s Eli Chamas?”
“Because there was no need to involve you.Burning Scrub owes him an adventure.I owe him nothing,” she said.
“You thought his adventure is worth more than you are to me,” he said, making a guess.
It turned out to be a good one.She glanced at him through lowered lashes, with her chin dipped low and her head slightly tilted.Her fingers flexed.He felt the tension in them.
“Isn’t it?”she said lightly.
She had no idea how much money she was going to cost him.But it wasn’t her fault, and she wasn’t going to find out from him.“No.”
The speed of his answer pleased her.
“It’s too late to worry about it,” she said happily.“Not even a connection to Adeel will make Eli want to marry me after today.”She squeezed his fingers.“I doubt if he has the stamina to please me the way you do.That’s very important in a marriage.”
She was so ridiculously adorable.
“Young wives can be a handful for an old man,” Jayce said.For young ones too.“You made that point clear.There are other ways for you to give him a heart attack that wouldn’t involve you electrocuting yourself, you know.”
She made a face at him.“I agree with Tilly on this.The room couldn’t be dark enough for me to mistake him for you.I’ll take electrocution.”
And if that didn’t make him love her, then nothing else would.
He should tell her he loved her.Then, maybe next time, she’d come to him first.
