It was over fifteen minutes later that she picked up her shoes and strolled slowly back to the cottage.
Jeffrey Brenden's keen brown eyes searched her face. "Are you all right?" he asked gruffly. "Gideon asked me to keep an eye on that big guy, but you didn't seem to be in any trouble."
She smiled. "No trouble at all. Where's Gideon?"
"Gone."
She became still. "Gone?"
"He said he'd be back in a couple of hours." He looked at his watch. "We talked for a bit before he set out, but I guess he left about fifteen minutes after Marlbrent arrived, so he shouldn't be long now."
"But where did he go?"
"The rain forest. He had me give him directions to the tree house."
The rain forest. A ripple of shock went through her, followed by an instant and sweeping rejection. What could have possessed him to go back there, after what he had gone through last night? She felt panic clutch at her as she thought of Gideon alone and reliving that nightmare by himself. "No," she whispered. "It doesn't make any sense. Why?" Her gaze lifted to Jeffrey's face. "I have to go after him. Will you show me the way?"
"Sure, if you think it's better to follow him." He raised a brow as he glanced down at the high- heeled sandals in her hand. "Those aren't very practical trekking shoes."
"They're all I have with me. I left my jeans and tennis shoes at the tree house when Julio brought me this outfit. He thought that purse with the bamboo handles wouldn't be carried by a woman wearing jeans."
"Sounds like Julio." There was a touch of pride in Jeffrey's voice. "He pays attention to details." He turned away. "I might be able to find you a pair of Manuel's sandals in the cottage. They'll be too big, but at least you won't be turning your ankle."
"Hurry. Please hurry."
Jeffrey looked back over his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll see that you're with Gideon in forty-five minutes, tops."
It was closer to thirty minutes when Kate's tree came into view. It was strange, but since Julio had told her the story of Kate and Beau Lantry that night while they were waiting for Gideon to return from Mariba, Serena now always thought of the tree house as belonging to Kate rather than Julio.
"Here you are," Jeffrey said. "Gideon must still be up there since we didn't run into him on the way over here." He stopped under the tree, his eyes twinkling. "I think I'll go back to the cottage and wait for you there. I don't believe either of you will need me anymore."
"Thank you, Jeffrey." She began to climb the rungs of the ladder. "I appreciate you bringing-" She broke off as she looked over her shoulder and realized Jeffrey had gone. She tilted back her head and called, "Gideon, Are you there? Is everything all right?"
"I'm here."
Serena felt relief pour through her. As far as she could tell from his voice, he couldn't be suffering any traumatic upset. "I'll be right up. I was worried when you ran off like that. If you wanted to come back here, why the devil didn't you wait for me?" She stepped onto the platform. The door was wide open as it had been last night and she could see Gideon sitting on the mattress at the far end of the room. "I didn't spend that much time with my honorable stepfather."
"How did it go?"
"Well. Wonderfully well. I feel… free. It wasn't easy, but-" Her eyes widened in surprise as she gazed around the tiny room.
The entire house was brimming, exploding with flowers. Brilliant coral and cream-colored wild orchids had been thrust into the formerly empty black vase on the nightstand and into the rattan holders on the walls until they were overflowing with fragrance and beauty. The tall vase in the corner now held maidenfern and exotic white and gold blossoms. Wild flowers had even been strewn over the denim cover of the mattress next to the window.
"Do you like it?" Gideon asked quietly.
"It's beautiful." Serena's gaze returned to his face. "You've been out in the rain forest picking flowers?"
He nodded. "Jeffrey told me a little about Kate, and how she had loved this little tree house and everything about the rain forest. How she always filled her world with flowers and tried to make the best of life. It reminded me of some of the things you said to me on the beach."
She crossed the room and dropped to her knees on the mattress beside him. "What things? I remember rambling on about any number of subjects."
"About coming to terms with the past." His gaze met her own with grave tranquility. "I realized I'd been so busy running away from the memory of Na Peng that I was letting it poison my judgment of the present. So I walked back through the rain forest and tried to see what Kate had seen here. The flowers and the birds, the sounds and… the beauty."
"Did it work?"
"Not at first. My stomach was tied in knots; I felt sick. I wanted you beside me, holding my hand."
She reached out and gathered both of his hands, threading her fingers through his in a silent bonding. "I'll hold your hands now. I'll hold them forever."
"Forever. You finally got around to saying it."
She smiled shakily. "I'm a little slow, but I always manage to get there eventually."
"So do I." Gideon's smile was warm and tender, lighting up the room, lighting up the world. "After a while I found it got better and, by the time I got to the tree house, I was seeing Kate's world as she had seen it. The ugliness was gone, lost somewhere in the past. It's possible that it may not stay lost and I may need a little help to push it back when-"
"When it tries to ambush you?" Serena finished softly. "Once upon a time a very wise man told me that whenever the ugliness comes back, all we have to do is think of something beautiful and it will fade away again."
He chuckled. "I'm wonderful at solving other people's problems. But I'm lucky, I don't have to think of something beautiful. I have it right in front of me." He bent his head and kissed her with lingering sweetness. "Say you love me again. I like to hear it."
"I love you," she whispered. "Ill always love you and stand beside you. I'll give you my strengths and my weaknesses, my mind and my heart. There won't be a day or a month or a year I won't need and want you and not a second when you won't fill my life. Is that enough for you?"
He smiled with a joy as radiant as the emotion reflected on her face. "No, but it will do for a start. You've got the next seventy years or so to get it right.'
She laughed. She felt wild and free and positively dizzy with happiness. "You're a hard man to please."
"Not at the moment." He pulled her into his arms. "I couldn't be more pleased at the moment."
"Are we going back to the cottage?" She snuggled closer into his arms. "Jeffrey said he'd wait for us there. I guess we should be thinking about starting for Santa Isabella and beginning to make plans."
"Soon." His warm lips brushed her temple and his hand began to stroke the dark silk of her hair. "Now I think we'll sit here for a while and smell the flowers and listen to the birds and just be together. We can think about the future tomorrow. Right now, the present seems mighty sweet to me."
Serena closed her eyes in sublime contentment and relaxed against his lean, hard strength. All the dark yesterdays had faded into oblivion and all the bright tomorrows were yet to come. They could rest and enjoy what they had won.
For a long, long time, they sat in the tree house, surrounded by flowers, the song of the birds, and the magical reality of their love. And she discovered that Gideon was right. The present was more than sweet enough.
Iris Johansen
