Desert Man

  Desert Man

  Barbara Faith

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 1

  Two flights arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport at the same time that early autumn afternoon. One came from Paris via New York, the other from Guatemala by way of Mexico City. As both flights deplaned, over five hundred passengers hurried into the terminal and headed for Immigration. The line was long, the air inside September warm.

  When the woman ahead of Josie McCall moved forward, Josie picked up her carryon valise, shifted the shoulder bag, gripped the suit bag and advanced two steps. She wished she’d sent everything through instead of carrying what she considered essential, not-to-be-lost items. But the wedding was the day after tomorrow and she’d been afraid to take a chance on losing either Jenny’s wedding present or her own maid-of-honor dress.

  For a moment she forgot the discomfort of having to stand in line and thought instead about the coming wedding. She had been both surprised and overjoyed when Jenny telephoned two weeks earlier to tell her that she was marrying Mike Brennan, the commando-type former Green Beret she’d hired to find the son her Arabian husband had taken from her.

  The thought of Jenny’s ex-husband, Aiden Hurani, sent a chill down Josie’s back, and she was glad that after those terrible years of marriage to that damned Arab Jenny was finally finding happiness. With an American, thank God.

  Maybe she was prejudiced, but darn it all she was happy as a clam that Jenny was marrying someone of her own kind.

  The line moved forward. Josie started to pick up her bag but before she could a man in the line next to her said, “Please, let me help you.”

  He was tall, well dressed in an obviously expensive dark gray suit, and so good-looking she wondered with a touch of amusement why she hadn’t noticed him before.

  “Please,” he said again. “It is difficult to manage so many things, yes?”

  He had an accent. Italian? she wondered.

  When she murmured a thank-you, he picked up the carryon bag and took the suit bag from her. “It’s difficult when two international flights arrive at the same time,” he said. “Were you on the New York flight, too?”

  Josie shook her head. “No, I came from Guatemala.”

  “Guatemala?” He looked interested. “I have heard it is a beautiful country.”

  “It is.” Josie inched forward, looked at her watch and frowned. “I have friends meeting me and I hate to keep them waiting.”

  “I, too, have friends who are expecting me. But there is nothing we can do, is there?” He smiled as though to reassure her. “What is the time here? I flew last night from Paris and I’m still on Paris time.”

  Josie checked her watch again. “Four-fifteen,” she said. And thought, Paris? He doesn’t sound French.

  As they chatted she found herself wishing he would ask for a number where she could be reached. She was only going to be in California for a few days, but still...

  The line moved ahead and when at last she saw there were only three people in front of her she took her passport out of her purse, and when the couple ahead of her moved toward the immigration officer she said, “Thank you for helping me,” and reached for her bags.

  He hesitated, as if reluctant to give them to her, and she thought for a moment he was going to ask for a phone number. But all he said was, “I hope you have a pleasant stay in Los Angeles.”

  “You, too.” Josie offered her hand. “Thanks again. I appreciate your help.”

  She turned away and he watched her give the official her passport. The immigration officer studied it, handed it back and gave her an appreciative look when she moved off.

  She was something to look at all right, the other man agreed. A tall, slender redhead, elegant in a smart black suit with a skirt that came three inches above her knees and high heels that showed off absolutely spectacular legs. When she started through the door that led to Customs he had a sudden urge to call out, “Wait a minute! What’s your name? Do you have a number where I can call you?” But there was no time. The immigration fellow motioned him forward. He offered his passport, it was stamped, and he, too, moved on to collect his luggage.

  He kept looking for her while he did, searching through the press of people while two carousels spilled out luggage and hordes of passengers jostled for a closer position. Just as the luggage from his flight started down the ramp he spotted her. But again, before he could call out she disappeared through the swinging doors that led to the outside waiting room. He swore under his breath and had a sudden and unreasonable feeling that someone very special had just slipped through his fingers.

  * * *

  “Josie!” The small blond woman broke away from the crowd and hurried forward. “I’m so glad to see you! Was your flight all right?” A quick hug, then a laugh bubbled and Jenny Cooper Hurani, soon to be Mrs. Mike Brennan, held her friend away from her and said, “You look so...so big-city beautiful. I guess because you’ve been living in Guatemala I expected you to arrive in jeans.”

  “That’s what I wear most of the time, but today was special. I didn’t want to look like a country cousin when I met the groom-to-be.” Josie hugged her friend again and over her shoulder looked at the large man standing behind her. “Hi,” she said. “You must be Mike.”

  He was tall, broad shouldered and rugged. He took her hand and said, “Glad to finally meet you. It was damned nice of you to come all this way for the wedding.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed it, but I’m sorry I kept you waiting. My flight out of Mexico City was delayed.” She picked up her carryon. “I’m all set, we can go now.”

  “Not yet,” Jenny said. “We’re waiting for Kumar.”

  “Kumar?”

  “Kumar Ben Ari.” Mike reached for her luggage. “Best man and best friend. His plane just got in, too.”

  “I thought I told you about him,” Jenny said. “He has a business in Jahan and when Aiden took Timmie there, Mike called him. Kumar helped us get Timmie out of the country.”

  “He’s from Jahan?” Josie lifted a questioning eyebrow. “Like Aiden?”

  Mike shook his head. “No, Kumar’s from Abdu Resaba. He has the title of both Prince and Sheikh, but he rarely uses either one.”

  “A desert sheikh.” Josie’s eyebrow raised another fraction of an inch when she looked at Jenny. “I thought you’d had your fill of Middle Eastern types.”

  Mike stiffened, but before he could say anything he spotted Kumar. “Hey!” he called out. “Over here!” and Josie turned to see the man who had helped her with her luggage coming toward them.

  This was Kumar Ben Ari? Sheikh Kumar Ben Ari? Good Lord!

  He and Mike met halfway. They threw their arms around each other and thumped each other’s back.

  “What in the hell took you so long?” Mike was saying as he led the other man to where Jenny and Josie waited.

  “The line was long.”

  “But you’ve got a diplomatic passport. You could have gone ahead.”

  “Yes, well I...” He spotted Josie and his eyes widened with surprise before he laughed and said, “There was a most interesting distraction in the line next to me. A beautiful redhead who stopped me in my tracks.” He gave Josie a mock salute, but before he could say anything else Jenny launched herself at him.

  He picked her
up and kissed both her cheeks. “Jenny!” he exclaimed. “How good it is to see you. I’m so happy for you and Mike. He’s a lucky man.” Still holding Jenny’s hands, Kumar held her away from him. “But I’m not so sure how lucky you are. How are you going to keep a wild character like him in line?”

  “With a smile and a bullwhip.” She laughed and led him toward Josie. “This is my friend, Josie McCall,” she said. “Josie, this is Kumar.”

  He took her hand and smiled. “We have met, after a fashion.”

  Josie didn’t smile back. “Mr. Ben Ari helped me in the line with my bags,” she said trying to hide her surprise, and yes, her chagrin at finding that the man she had thought so attractive a few minutes ago had turned out to be an Arabian friend of Mike and Jenny’s. And that Jenny acted as though he were her best friend. Hadn’t she had enough of Arabian men?

  “Josie and I were in school together,” Jenny told Kumar. “She works in Guatemala now.” She put her arm around her friend and beamed up at her. “She’s in charge of the International Health Organization there.”

  “You’re a doctor?” Kumar asked.

  Josie shook her head. “I have a master’s in nursing, but my job is more administrative than medical.” She turned away from him. “I suppose we can go now,” she said to Mike.

  When they had chatted in line she had been cordial and friendly, but for a reason Kumar didn’t understand she wasn’t being friendly now, which was strange because her friendship with Jenny and his with Mike should have smoothed the edges of their being strangers.

  She was certainly attractive. With her flame red hair and wide, slightly tilted green eyes, she was a woman to turn any man’s head.

  When he had agreed to come to California to stand up for Mike he had expected to have a pleasant time. Jenny had told him on the phone all about her wonderful friend and he had been looking forward to meeting her. It was a delightful surprise to learn that the attractive woman in the immigration line was that friend. He could have sworn that she had found him as interesting as he’d found her, but now, for a reason he didn’t understand, she had given a “back off, I’m not interested” signal. He was damned if he knew why.

  “Okay,” Mike said, breaking in on Kumar’s thoughts. “Let’s hit the road. It’s almost a two-hour drive to Jenny’s parents’ ranch in Ramona. We’ll stop in San Clemente for dinner if that’s all right with the two of you.”

  He herded them toward the car, put their luggage in and held the door of the back seat for Josie and Kumar to enter.

  Josie was disappointed. She’d been looking forward to coming to Jenny’s wedding and she’d hoped that Mike’s best man might be someone she’d have something in common with, a nice someone who would be her date at the rehearsal dinner as well as at the reception.

  She was puzzled by Jenny’s obvious affection for Kumar Ben Ari. After all she’d gone through with Aiden, how could she even look at another Middle Eastern man?

  Eight years ago when Jenny had first told Josie she was going to marry Aiden Hurani, Josie had tried to warn her. They’d been sitting cross-legged on the floor of Josie’s apartment in Berkeley sipping wine coolers, and Josie had said, “Look, Jen, I can understand the attraction. Aiden’s a good-looking man. He’s foreign and exotic and I suppose that’s had a certain appeal for women ever since they swooned over Valentino in The Sheik. I’ll admit that the idea of a dark desert type sweeping you up onto his horse and carrying you off into a Sahara sunset is fun to fantasize about. But that’s all it is, a fantasy.

  “Believe me when I tell you I know what I’m talking about,” she’d gone on. “I know what Middle Eastern men are like. You should see the way the men in Il Hamaan treat their women. I was there as a medical person, but I couldn’t do my job because I was a woman and as far as they were concerned, only good for one thing. That’s why I asked for a transfer. That’s why I’m butting in to try to talk you out of marrying Aiden.”

  But Jenny had been in love and nothing Josie said could sway her from her decision. The marriage had been a disaster. Aiden had beaten and abused Jenny, and she’d been a virtual prisoner in her own home. When at last she left him he had stolen their son and taken him out of Jenny’s reach back to the desert country of his birth.

  So yes, she thought again, I am prejudiced. But I can’t help it. Jenny’s my best friend and I know what she suffered. Kumar Ben Ari might be an incredibly attractive man, but he was, after all, a man like Aiden. She would be pleasant and reserved, and when the weekend was over she’d fly back to Guatemala and never have to think about him again.

  The restaurant where they stopped overlooked the Pacific. It was the hour just after sunset and the sky still held that wonderful afterglow of red mingled with the gold of evening.

  They ordered margaritas and the talk turned to the wedding.

  “Rosa Hernandez is coming,” Jenny said. “She and her new husband arrived yesterday. They’re staying at a motel in San Diego. You and Kumar will stay at the ranch with us, of course.” She took a sip of her margarita. “The wedding dinner and rehearsal is tomorrow night. The wedding’s on Saturday.”

  The wedding talk continued through dinner. Josie wanted to know everything. “How many people have you invited?” she asked.

  “Too many,” Mike growled.

  “A hundred and fifty,” Jenny said.

  “Where are you going on your honeymoon?”

  “Tahiti,” they said in unison.

  “How many in the wedding party?”

  “Eight and a half.” Jenny smiled. “You and Kumar will stand up for us. Rosa, Marty and Sharon will be attendants and three of the men who work for Mike will be the ushers. Timmie’s the half. He’ll stand beside Kumar as a junior best man.”

  “Great kid.” Mike bit into a piece of his steak. “A real trooper. After we grabbed him out of the Hurani house we got separated from Kumar and his men because of an alize, a sandstorm. It was tough going, but Timmie hung in there. I’m as crazy about him as I am about Jenny.” He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Day after tomorrow both of you will belong to me, Jenny girl. I won’t be able to relax until I know it’s really happened. I still wake up at night and think it’s all a dream. It scares the hell out of me that it won’t come true.”

  “It’ll come true,” Jenny said softly. “All of our dreams will come true, Mike.”

  For a moment it was as though the two of them were alone in the restaurant. Kumar looked at Josie and when he saw the shine of tears in her eyes he had a sudden urge to reach out, as Mike had with Jenny, and take her hand.

  She held his gaze, but only for the fraction of a second before she looked away.

  Still holding Mike’s hand, Jenny said, “I’d like to tell them our news, Mike. Is it all right? May I?”

  He nodded. “If you want to, sweetheart.”

  She looked at Josie and Kumar. “Last week I found out that I’m pregnant.” She blushed. “Both Mike and I realize it’s somewhat before the fact, that it might have been better to wait until after we were married, but it happened and we’re both pleased that it did. We hope the two of you will be, too.”

  Before Josie could say anything, Kumar got up and went around the table to Jenny and put his arms around her. “Thank you for telling us your wonderful secret,” he said. He reached for Mike’s hand. “Congratulations, my friend. I’m happy for you.”

  “Mike and I have talked about it,” Jenny said when Kumar returned to his seat. “If the baby is a boy we’d like to name him Kumar. And we’d like you and Josie to be the godparents.” Her smile took both of them in. “The two of you are our best friends, we want you to be a part of this.”

  “I’m most honored, Jenny.” Kumar looked at Josie. “We are both honored, yes?”

  “Yes,” Josie said. “Of...of course. Congratulations. I’m happy for both of you.”

  Happy but surprised. Jen was her age. She still had time if she wanted more children. Why in the world had she chosen to
get pregnant now? Or was she being a wet blanket, maybe even a little bit jealous because Jen had found someone to love who loved her and that together they were creating a new little person?

  As though drawn by an invisible force, she looked up and saw Kumar watching her again—almost as if he knew what she had been thinking. For a moment she was held by his gaze, then she looked away and gave herself a mental shake. Of course she was happy for Jenny. Mike seemed like a nice guy. She hoped and prayed things worked out for them.

  When they finished dinner they went to the car. It had been a long day and Josie was tired. When Kumar asked her about her life in Guatemala she said her work there was interesting, and not wanting to get into a conversation closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat.

  The conversation drifted around her and she drowsed. Once, when they started into the mountains that led to Ramona, she was jostled against Kumar. Before she could move away he put an arm around her shoulder and brought her closer.

  “You’re tired,” he said in a low voice. “Rest like this.”

  Josie pulled away, annoyed with him at taking the liberty, and with herself because she’d felt a sudden flutter of reaction at the touch of his thigh against hers. Reaction? Nonsense.

  Nevertheless she sat up straighter, and though she was tired, did not close her eyes again.

  * * *

  Jenny’s mother and father were waiting for them when they reached the ranch. Josie hugged Emily Cooper while Mike introduced Kumar to Jenny’s father. Timmie had just gone to bed, Emily said, but very likely he was still awake and waiting for them.

  “I’ll go check on him,” Jenny said, but before she could start for the house, Mike put a restraining hand on her arm.

  “I’ll do it,” he told her. “Why don’t you go in with Josie.” He motioned to Kumar. “Come on up with me. Tim will be glad to see you again.”

  “It’s become a nightly ritual,” Jenny told them when they went into the house. “It’s a special kind of man-to-man talking time. Mike’s patient and loving with Timmie and I know he’s going to be a terrific father.”

  “I was surprised about your being pregnant.” Josie hesitated. “Well, not about your being pregnant, you know I’m happy for you, but maybe surprised that you announced it the way you did—in front of the Arabian, I mean.”