“That mean lady was my sister,” Landry said.
“Why is she mean?”
“Good question, tiger. She was born mean and never changed.”
“Maybe I’ll draw her a picture to put her under the rainbow.”
“As much as I hate to say it, I don’t think she knows what a rainbow is,” Landry said.
“Then I’ll teach her,” Easton said very firmly. “Maybe that’s why she’s mean. Cuz no one ever showed her a rainbow.”
Leave it to my daughter to try to make things right. But who knew? Ravina had been raised here too, without much love from a mother who didn’t have time for her children. Maybe Easton was right and she needed a rainbow after all.
Chapter Forty-Two
Tristian
Was it right for me to leave English so soon? That idea wouldn’t leave me as I flew thirty-thousand-plus feet in the air. Being in first class was nice, but this time it didn’t help at all with sleeping. The sleep aid I took did nothing and for hours on end I stared at the ceiling of the plane with my noise-canceling headphones on.
Thoughts of my sister and mother and how they’d treat English and Easton kept me awake, along with the idea of Stuart or his father smashing down her front door and kidnapping the little tyke.
Christ, I needed to get my shit together. If this kept up, by the time this plane landed, they’d have to wheel me into a psych hospital.
Two movies later, I finally conked out, only to be shaken awake by the flight attendant. We were landing soon and I needed to get my seat in the upright position.
Beck met me at baggage claim and said, “You look like shit. Was the flight that bad?”
“No, it was me. I couldn’t sleep.”
“At least you can go to bed in a couple of hours. Maybe you’ll catch some zzz’s then.”
“I hope I can. That twenty hours did me in.”
All the luggage arrived and our driver loaded everything in the car like pieces of a puzzle. I had to sit with one duffle on my lap.
The hotel was gorgeous. At this point, I didn’t care. All I wanted was a shower and a good meal. Even though the food on the plane had been fine, I hadn’t had much of an appetite as my troubled thoughts of home multiplied.
Beck took us to a fabulous restaurant, but I wasn’t much of a conversationalist. “I’m sorry I’m such a dud tonight.”
“Hey, no worries. I’m used to being alone so it’s fine. Is everything all right though? You look a bit glum.”
“To be honest, I miss your daughter.”
“Can’t say I’m unhappy about that, but you didn’t answer my question. Is my father okay?”
“From what I’ve seen, he’s doing well and so is the rest of the family.”
His eyes pierced mine. “I get the feeling you’re holding back something.”
“Not really. It’s my family that’s on my mind. Specifically my mother and sister. They aren’t the nicest people on earth so I’m hoping in my absence English won’t have any problems with them.”
“I raised her to stand on her own two feet. I wouldn’t be so worried if I were you.”
“And what about the McLure men? They have me concerned too.”
“That’s true, but with what they’re facing, it would be idiotic of them to further their problems with the law.”
My gut settled a bit, but dread still hung out there.
“Look, you’ll be able to speak to her almost daily and English knows she can stay at our place. I don’t want this trip to be spoiled for you because of that.”
If he wasn’t worried about the situation, I supposed it was fine for me not to be too. “I’ll take your word for it. I am looking forward to getting out on some of the planned shoots.”
“Wait until you see one of the places we’re staying. It’s a nature lodge.” He told me it was high in the tree canopy where we could set up cameras and take some shots from there.
“Excellent. When do we leave for there?”
“Day after next. I wanted to give you time to adjust to the jet lag.”
“I appreciate that.” A huge yawn escaped before I could stop it. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. This trip is brutal. Let’s get back to the hotel so you can sleep.”
I crawled into bed and slept around the clock. I was shocked at how many hours of sound sleep I got. The Do Not Disturb sign on the door helped keep the hotel staff away.
After I showered, I texted Beck, and he was down in the hotel restaurant. I joined him and chowed down on an American breakfast of eggs, bacon, and hash browns, with four pieces of toast.
“Glad to see your appetite is back. How about some sightseeing today?”
“Sure. I’d like to call English first.”
It was getting late back home and she was already in bed when I called.
“I’m sorry. This time change is going to be difficult for communicating.” I filled her in on everything so far and she did the same. When she told me about her conversation with Ravina, I didn’t know whether to laugh or shout.
“You two had it out. I’m glad you told her off, but be careful around her, English. Other than taking Easton out there to ride, I’d rather you stayed away until I got back. I don’t trust her at all.”
“Seriously, Tristian, what can she do?”
“I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t put anything past her. Just stay away except for Easton to ride. Promise me.”
“I promise. But I want you to promise me something in return.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re headed out in that jungle tomorrow. Promise me you won’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“You’ve got it, starshine.”
“Goodnight, and call or text as soon as you can.”
“I will. Sleep well and hug Easton for me.” I missed my wife. A lot. I missed her body, her words, her voice, everything. And I missed the little tyke too.
I gave my teeth a quick brushing and met Beck in the lobby.
“There’s that glum face again. What’s going on?” he asked.
“I miss English.”
He stepped back and slanted his head as he stared. Then he asked, “Are you in love with my daughter?”
“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”
Chapter Forty-Three
English
The bed was awfully lonely without Tristian. For all his cockiness when we’d first met, he’d sure toned that down since. I missed him, and not just for the sex, although that was the cheese on the burger—he’d been great so far. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it hadn’t. Things only kept getting better and better.
Maybe I ought to pinch myself because this was too good to be true. Could this really last? I’d never thought my feelings would be involved so quickly, but here we were. This was going to be a long three weeks without him.
The first week dragged by. Landry called on Friday and wondered if we were coming out for the riding lesson on Sunday. Easton had talked about the horse non-stop so I agreed.