Page 35 of Keeping Amanda
“That’s not true. You’ve held up very well, and you even started our fire last night.”
“I did, didn’t I?” she said with a small smile.
“Yup. Next thing I know, you’ll be Jane of the Jungle.”
She huffed out a quiet breath of laughter. “Not quite.”
Buck smiled to himself, amazed that he was feeling anything other than a sense of duty and urgency to get the hell out of this jungle. He hadn’t expected to spend almost two weeks trekking through the wet, hot hell that was the rainforest, but there were quite a few good memories he had of his time with Mandy.
“What do you think, Rain? Is the coast clear?” he asked the dog lying between them.
In response to his words, Rain sat up, looked at him then at Mandy, before lifting his nose to sniff the air. Then he stood on all fours, did a full-body shake, and stepped out from behind the trees, facing due east.
He turned his head to look back at them as if to say, “You comin’?”
“Seems like the coast is clear,” Buck said. He stood and heldhis hand out to Mandy. “What do you think? Shall we get the hell out of here?”
“You think we’ll get across the border today?” she asked, as she took his hand and used his leverage to stand.
“Looks promising, if those rebels are anything to go by.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go then!” Mandy said eagerly.
This time when they started walking, Buck was on alert. At the first sign of anyone anywhere near them, he’d take cover. He had a feeling, though, that Rain would alert them to any rebels who might be near long before Buck heard or saw anything. The dog was incredibly in tune with his surroundings and had probably saved their lives today.
If he hadn’t forced them to change direction, it was likely they would’ve run right into the two men. He owed that dog everything. He vowed to do whatever it took to make sure Rain was able to go home with Mandy. The dog might have to wait in Guyana for the permissions and paperwork, but Buck would make sure he was left with someone responsible, who would treat him like the king he was until he could get to Mandy in Virginia.
For a man who’d taken pride in having a very orderly and uncomplicated life back home, he was certainly collecting his fair share of…complications. He felt bad for thinking about Mandy and Rain as such, but there was no doubt his life was about to change.
He wouldn’t be living just for his job anymore. He wanted to make things between him and Mandy work. But their futures were uncertain at best. She still had obligation here in Guyana to fulfill, and he, of course, had his own responsibilities. But she’d be worth whatever he had to do to cultivate the relationship they’d started in the jungle.
CHAPTER NINE
Crossing the border was anticlimactic. Hell, Amanda didn’t even know they were safely back in Guyana until they came upon a dirt road with a sign indicating how far it was to Baramita, a town not too far from the Venezuelan border.
“Are we…did we make it?” she stuttered.
“Looks like it,” Nash said with a smile. “Although we aren’t out of the woods yet. The rebels illegally crossed the border to snatch you and the kids once, they could do it again.”
He wasn’t saying anything Amanda hadn’t already thought about. She couldn’t think of anythingbutthat. She still had about three months left in her agreement with the school, but the thought of staying was terrifying. She assumed security would be increased, to keep everyone safe, but what if that wasn’t good enough? What if the rebels were so determined to get back what they’d lost, the boys and girls—even Amanda herself—that they returned with more men and more firepower? They’d certainly learn from the mistakes of the first kidnapping, probably separate the kids as soon as they were back across the border, with the men who’d been promised the girls taking them immediately.
She shuddered. And of course, Nash noticed.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said without thinking.
“Don’t do that. Talk to me, Mandy.”
He was right. They’d been through one hell of an experience together, and it felt disrespectful for her to clam up now. “I just…I was thinking about what would happen if theydocome back.”
“I’m sure there’ve been changes at the school to make sure everyone’s safe,” Nash told her.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s just see what we find at the school before you do any worrying. You’ll also feel better after you get a shower and some real food in you.”
“How are we gonna get to the school? I have no idea where we are or where it is,” Amanda said.
