Dad For Life by Helen Brenna

Author:Helen Brenna
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2007-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE RICH, BUOYANT SOUNDS of Peruvian music hung in the early evening air, floating up the hill toward Lucas on a cool mountain breeze. He sat alone on a rock at the edge of a steep gorge not far from Miguel’s house and listened to the locals celebrating. The soothing call of the antara, Andean panpipes, mixed with the folkish strains of an acoustic guitar and the quiet backbeat of a single hand drum.

He only listened, distant and separate, feeling no more a part of what transpired behind him than he felt a part of life in general. That was his usual story, after all, standing on the outside looking in, the last six years of his life, anyway. He breathed. He ate. He slept. He may have done it while traveling the world, but that didn’t change the fact that he woke up and went through it all over again, day after day.

Normally, that routine was fine with him, an existence with no highs or lows, no edges, seams or breaks. It felt reassuring in its emptiness. Yet a small part of him knew there was something treacherous in that comfort, as if daylight had spilled through a thin crack, giving him a split-second glimpse of what he’d once been and what he’d become.

The mountain air suddenly felt cold on his neck, and he flung his head back to stare at the sky. Only high in the unpopulated Peruvian mountains could one see this kind of spectacle, the blackest drop cloth imaginable brilliantly dotted with never-ending pinpricks of light.

Behind him, the music quieted and Sydney’s laughter drifted up on a gust of wind. The sound of it, alive and real, mixing with the music and conversation and permeating the still night air, drew him around like a beacon on this dark, lonely night. He sat there quietly and watched her, sitting near the campfire with Miguel and several others.

Apparently, Miguel had healed an important elder in the community, and they’d built a bonfire at the edge of the yard in his honor. Not that any of it mattered to Lucas. All he cared about at the moment was the way Sydney’s face looked bathed in the flickering yellow-orange firelight. A bottle of cusquena dangling from one hand, she looked genuinely relaxed for the first time since he’d reappeared in her life. Her mouth curved in a smile as Miguel delighted her with some anecdote.

He found himself wanting to make her laugh like that, wanting to be a part of what was happening around that fire. Life. A real one. What would it feel like after all these years? Before he could change his mind, he unfolded his cramped legs, stood up, and headed down the hill, keeping his sights on Sydney.

Halfway there, a noise in the brush made him pause. It might have been an animal. Or, a thought struck him, something worse. Cochran. No, he couldn’t have found them this quickly.

When Lucas reached the group surrounding the fire, the chatter stalled.

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