He didnt move.
She told herself it couldnt be. It was someone who looked like him. But she knew. In her gut. She knew the lines of him, the stance, like she knew her own son. Her mind reeled. Irrational panic licked through her blood and gripped at her throat. For so long he had lurked in the shadows of her mind. Now he stood, in flesh and blood, in the shade of the patio.
Here, in White River.
The shock of it was too much. She wasnt ready to deal with seeing him.
She turned, walked woodenly toward Al, clutching her sweater.
Hannah, whats the matter? You look like youve seen a ghost. He grabbed her elbow in support.
II think I am coming down with something. I just need to get out of here. IIll see you back at the office. She pulled away from Al and started to weave quickly through the groups of tourists thronging the walkways.
She headed for the park with its network of trails that ran along the White River.
She broke into a run when she reached the gravel path, ignoring the sharp little stones that slipped into her sandals. Usually running eased her pain. Now the air rasped in her lungs.
She stopped only when she reached the little waterfall.
She sat down on her rock, close to the waters edge. Daniel called it Mommys Rock. The little one beside it was Dannys Rock. They would often come to the park and picnic here beside the river. They would watch the whitewater churn over the boulders and throw a fine mist into the air. Danny liked the way the droplets would catch the sun and spin the light into a myriad of rainbows.
Hannah turned her face toward the raging water. She let the sound wash over her and the fine mist kiss her cheeks.
The knot in her gut slowly loosened, unraveled and bubbled up through her chest, threatening to spill out in a warm release of tears. She tilted her head back, scrunching her eyes, angry with herself.
Fool.
Fight or flight. Shed had the classic response to a threat. And shed flown. Shed run like hunted prey. The way shed been running emotionally for the last six years. She knew she would have to face him one day. She just didnt think it would be now. Like this. Here, in her mountain sanctuary.
And she was scared. Shed built something here for Danny and herself. A home. She couldnt let his presence in White River rock those foundations. She couldnt let him hurt Danny. Thank God her boy was away. She needed to figure out how to deal with this.
Hannah took a deep breath, drinking in the damp, cool air, filling her lungs to the bottom in a bid to steady herself, calm the heart jackhammering in her chest, marshal her thoughts.
But her heart leaped straight back into her mouth at the sudden firm pressure of a large hand on her shoulder.
She spun round and stared up, straight into eyes, pale blue as the sky behind him.
Dannys eyes.
She opened her mouth but no words came. He seemed bigger, his face harder. There was no laughter in those ice eyes. Yet there was still that sensual mouth, that powerful masculine aura. He took her breath away.
Hannah, we need to talk.
He still had a trace of British accent, refined in sound even as it was rough and seductive in tone. It melted her core in an instant.
Rex His name came from her lips in a breathy whisper. Pleaseplease dont touch me. She couldnt bear it. His hand on her. The sensation. The heaviness. The warmth, the crashing kaleidoscope
of bottled memories that came spinning, splashing out through her brain.
He let go of her shoulder and she caught the glint of a silver ring. Her breath choked in her throat.
He was still wearing her ring. The little Ethiopian silver ring she had bought for him at a market in Marumba. It had been a lark. Theyd been deliriously happy. Shed been in love, or so she had thought. She had joked that as long as Rex wore that ring, he belonged to her.
And he was still wearing it. On the little finger of his left hand.
Hannah was suddenly overwhelmed with six years worth of conflicting emotions. They surged up in waves and crashed over her. Her need for him. Her hate. Her bitterness. Her anger. Her desperate need to understand.
She started to shake inside. All those things she had thought to say to him if she ever ran into him again were obliterated, deleted, at the sight of those darkly fringed eyes of blue ice. And the ring.
She looked up from the ring into those wolf eyes. They bit back into her with Arctic intensity, searching, probing. She felt naked under his scrutiny. He held her captive with his gaze as he slowly came round to sit on Dannys rock.
What are you doing here, Rex?
I came for the toxicology conference.
Not for her. His words cut deeper than they should have.
Youyou didnt know I was here?
He leaned forward, as if to touch her, held back. I knew, Hannah.
What else did he know? She felt a talon of fear claw at her heart. What had he really come for? You were hoping you wouldnt run in to me?
I was going to look you up. We need to talk.
There was so much to say. She had so many questions. Why did you leave me like that? She wanted to scream it at him. Damn her pride. She wanted to hit that hard, muscular chest with her fists. She wanted to shake him. Hurt him. Run her fingers through that gloss of ebony hair. Feel the give of those sculpted lips under the tips of her fingers. God, she just wanted him to hold her.