was vaccination day at the clinic. While the aide managed the paperwork, and Dr. Musa took care of the more urgent cases, Megan spent the hours giving immunizations. Most of her patients, babies and children, had departed squalling. She loved the little ones and was grateful for the chance to help them stay well; but by late afternoon she’d developed a pounding headache.
Taking a break as the stream of people thinned, she gulped down a couple of aspirins. She couldn’t help wondering where Cal was. He’d promised to come by the clinic, but she hadn’t seen him for two days. Had some emergency come up, or was he just avoiding her?
But why should she care? Cal wanted to stir up memories she would be happy to keep buried. Seeing him again would only sharpen the loss that had dulled over time.
Dared she believe he’d given up on her and left? But that wasn’t like Cal. He’d come here seeking satisfaction, and he wouldn’t walk away without it. Was it just the money? Or was he looking for some closure in the matter of Nick’s death? Either way, he was wasting his time. She had no insight to offer him.
But her conflict over the prospect of spending time with him went deeper than that.
The other night when the calming strength of his arms had temporarily eased her panic, she’d been grateful for his comfort—and troubled by how it made her feel. Cal was a compelling man, and he’d touched her in a way that had sent an unmistakable message. There was a time when she would have found him hard to resist. But when he’d held her so close that his arousal had hardened against her belly, it had been all she could do to keep from pushing him away and running off into the rain. Only when he’d stepped back had she felt safe once more.
Over the past months, it was as if something had died in her. The things she’d witnessed had numbed her to the point where she doubted her ability to respond as a woman.
The issue had come to light a few months ago when a volunteer MSF doctor in one of the camps had invited her for a private supper. He’d been attractive enough, and Megan had harbored no illusions about what to expect. Such things were common enough between volunteers, and though she’d never indulged before, she’d actually looked forward to a few hours of forgetting the wretched conditions outside. But when he’d kissed her, she’d felt little more than a vague unease. She’d tried to behave as if everything was all right; but as his caresses grew more intimate, her discomfort had spiraled into panic. In the end she’d twisted away, plunged out of the tent and fled with his words echoing in her ears— What the hell’s the matter with you? Are you frigid?
By the next night the doctor had found a more agreeable partner. Megan hadn’t attempted intimacy again. She’d hoped it had been a fluke, but her reaction to Cal had confirmed her suspicions.
Her problem hadn’t gone away, and most likely wouldn’t. If Cal had seduction in mind, the man was in for a letdown. For that, and for every other reason she could think of, it would be best if she never saw him again.
But that was not to be. The next morning, as Megan was eating a breakfast of scrambled eggs and coffee, he roared through the gate in an open jeep that bore the logo of one of the big safari companies. A flock of brown parrots exploded from the tulip tree as he pulled up to the bungalow.
Dr. Musa stepped out of the clinic, grinning as if in on some secret joke.
Cal vaulted out of the jeep. “Pack your things, Megan,” he ordered. “You’re coming with me—now.”
“Have you lost your mind, Cal Jeffords?” She faced him on the porch steps, her arms folded across her chest. “What gives you the right to come in here and order me around as if I were six years old?”
His eyes narrowed, glinting like granite over a sharklike smirk. “I’m the head of the J-COR Foundation and you’re a volunteer. Right now I’m volunteering you to come with me on safari for ten days. I’ve already cleared it with Dr. Musa.” He glanced toward the doctor, who nodded. “Your replacement’s flying in this afternoon, so the clinic won’t be shorthanded. Everything’s been arranged.”
“And I have no say in any of this?”
“Dr. Musa agrees with me that your work here isn’t giving you enough rest. You need a real break. That’s what I’m offering you.”
“Offering? Does that mean I can refuse?”
“Not if you’re smart.” He stood his ground at the foot of the steps, his slate eyes level with hers.
“What if I say no? Will you haul me off by force?”
“If I have to.” He didn’t even blink, and she knew with absolute certainty that he wasn’t bluffing. Once the man made up his mind, there’d be no moving him.
Not that the idea of a safari seemed so bad. It might even speed her recovery. But how was she going to survive ten days with Cal? Scrambling for a shred of control, she squared her jaw.
“Fine, I’ll go with you on one condition. If I’m fit and rested by the end of the safari, I want to be sent back to Darfur.”
One dark eyebrow twitched. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Is it a good idea for any of those poor people who have nowhere else to go? It’s where I’m most urgently needed. And without that goal, I can’t justify wasting ten days on a...vacation.”
He scowled, then slowly nodded. “All right. But while we’re on safari, you’re on orders to relax and have a good time. That’s the best medicine you can give yourself if you want to recover. And as you said yourself, you’ll need to be fit and rested to return there.”
She took a moment to study him, the jutting chin, the steely gaze. Cal Jeffords wasn’t spending precious time and money on a safari just to help her get better. The next ten days would be a contest of wills. She would need to be on her guard the whole time.
“So, do we have a deal?” he demanded.
Megan turned toward the door of the bungalow. Pausing, she glanced back at him—long enough for him to see that she wasn’t smiling. “It won’t take me long to pack,” she said. “The coffee’s hot. Have some while you’re waiting.”
* * *
The single-engine Piper Cherokee circled the rim of the Ngorongoro crater, a place designated by National Geographic as one of the world’s Living Edens. Cal had been here two or three times over the years and knew what to expect. He was more interested in watching Megan, who was seeing it for the first time.
As the pilot banked the plane, she pressed against the window, looking down at the grassy floor of the twelve-mile-wide caldera. “This is amazing,” she murmured.
“It’s all that’s left of an ancient volcano that blew its top.” Cal shifted comfortably into the role of guide. “Geologists who’ve done the math claim it was as big as Kilimanjaro. Can you believe that?”
Megan shook her head. She’d been quiet during the short flight, and Cal hadn’t pressed her to talk. There’d be plenty of time for conversation later. He studied her finely chiseled profile against the glass. Even in sunglasses, with no makeup and wind-tousled hair, she was a beauty. No wonder Nick had been eager to give her anything she wanted.
“We could’ve driven here in less than a day,” he said. “But I wanted
