Chapter 8

As Eva stepped into the darkened room she had to hesitate a moment to allow her eyes to get used to its dimness. When they'd adjusted she saw what looked like a large, comfortable room in a hunting lodge.

The place was crowded. A juke box fought to be heard above the jumble of voices. Three or four couples danced around an old, pot bellied stove centering the room.

For a moment Eva felt out of place. But her dryness won over her desire to leave. She sat in an empty booth and tried to relax.

It took a while but eventually a waitress showed up, looking very unhappy at the single girl occupying a table built for four.

"I'll have a Tom Collins," Eva said. "I'm expecting a friend to join me shortly."

The music stopped and so did the dancers. Eva studied one of the girls on the floor. She couldn't have been more than eighteen but she certainly was cute. The boy with her wasn't much older. But from the look in his eyes, even in the semi-dusk, it was obvious that his mind wasn't completely on dancing. It was no wonder, Eva thought idly. The young girl had much of what there was to make a woman. Lots of bust and lots of hips ... all tightly covered.

The music began again, this time something wild and unfamiliar. The fast beat drove everybody off the floor but the young couple.

Watching them, Eva had the odd feeling that she was peeking in on some kind of a jungle rite. The girl had good rhythm and every inch of her body moved with it. As the tempo quickened her breasts almost became a blur of motion. At length she spun away from her partner, going into a series of whirls. On the first, the skirt floated up high enough to show a shapely pair of thighs. On the second it rose even higher and when she went around a third time the material stood straight out.

At that point Eva had to stifle a gasp as the light caught the youthful body beneath the spinning cloth. From the waist down she was all woman and nothing else.

Her partner stopped dancing and started looking. It took him only a minute to take advantage of the situation. He moved in on the young girl and drew her tightly to him, at the same time crushing her mouth beneath his. If there was any objection it certainly wasn't apparent.

The last Eva saw of the couple was as they walked out the front door arm in arm. It was obvious they weren't going to a movie. She looked around the room but no one else seemed to have noticed the show. Nonetheless, in her present mood, the little scene had disturbed Eva. She damned Martin for being so slow to catch on.

Her drink was gone and she was toying with the glass, hoping to catch the waitresses eye, when Eva heard someone call out her name from behind.

"Mrs. Hobson," the voice said. "We have that drapery material in that you ordered."

The pudgy figure steamed up and her face disintegrated into confusion. "Oh I'm sorry," she said, obviously flustered. "I thought you were someone else. From the back...."

"But you called to me by name," Eva pressed.

The woman began backing away, shaking her head, her three chins rolling in unison. "It was just a mistake," she stammered.

Before Eva had time to pursue the point, she saw Martin come into the room. At that moment the older woman fled through the door.

Martin saw Eva and came quickly to the table, his face sober. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he said, sitting down heavily.

"You look as if Ralph threw you out," Eva said.

Martin shook his head. "He didn't. But I need a drink."

"Were you successful?" Eva asked.

"I was," Martin agreed. "Everything's settled now."

"Then why the long face?"

The man across from Eva stared hard at her for a moment. She recognized something behind his dark eyes but couldn't put her finger on it. Worry, confusion, one of those.

"It's nothing important, really," he said at last. Martin looked around the room. "I suppose that we'd better be getting back."

The one thing Eva did know was that Martin had changed in the short time since she'd last seen him. Then, he was beginning to warm up. Now, he seemed even colder than he had been on the way to the mountains. "I suppose we had," she said reluctantly.

As the couple left the table, a distant rumble invaded the room, audible above the drunken chatter. "What's that?" Eva asked.

"A storm's coming up," Martin explained. I saw it over the mountains on the way to the village. They can use some rains around here. The valley's a real tinder box. One match in the wrong place and the whole place is liable to go up in smoke."

The day was different when Eva stepped out onto the street. The sun was gone, replaced by vast, blackening clouds. It was almost chilly as a brisk wind blew down from the throat of the valley.

Still the gentleman, Martin held the door open for her then went around to his own side. He eased the car down the now almost deserted street., "I thought we might take a ride along the crest above the valley," he explained as he swung the Caddy to the right at the end of the village.

Eva nodded absent-mindedly, not really caring what he did. Her body had been aching for him all day and it now appeared that her wants would never be satisfied. So if he wanted to take the scenic tour home, it was all right with her. Apparently she'd just come along for the ride anyhow.

They climbed steadily, until the valley below was nothing but a scooped out hollow and the lake a bright jewel in its setting of green pines.

The rumble of the thunder increased, sparked by jagged bolts of lightning. The ever increasing wind whipped through the open car.

Martin hardly seemed to notice. From the look on his face he was enjoying himself. A real nature-boy, Eva thought to herself.

"I used to ski up here quite a bit," Martin said, breaking the long silence. "That's the tow just ahead."

Eva followed his outstretched finger. Ahead of them, rising out of the valley like a slender snake, she saw the lift against the ominous clouds. The chairs strung on the cable bounced violently with the storm.

The first rain was just a brief scatter against the windshield. Martin saw the drops and pulled over to the side of the road. "I guess I'd better get the top up," he grinned.

More water splashed against Eva's nose. "It wouldn't be a bad idea," she urged.

But before Martin could make another motion towards the control, the full fury of the storm hit them broadside. It was a solid sheet of chilling rain. Driven on the wind, the drops stung as they hit. Eva had to gasp for breath as the deluge cut off her wind. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Martin fighting with something beneath the dash.

When nothing happened to the top, he leaned across the seat and shouted into her ear to be heard against the noise of the storm. "The dam thing's stuck. We'll have to make a run for it."

Eva looked around, puzzled, unable to see more than a foot in front of her face. "Where?"

"There's a ski hut down the hill about a quarter of a mile," he yelled. "Okay?"

Eva nodded her head, her eyes blurred with the rain. "It's better than sitting here." She looked at the water pouring across the floorboards, adding, "If this thing fills up we'll drown."

Martin nodded agreement.

What happened next was what Eva had expected least. Martin had been leaning close to her in order to be heard. As he turned to leave the car, their faces brushed against each other. For a moment they each stared hard into the other's eyes. Then, without warning, he kissed her.

Despite herself, Eva gasped in surprise as his wet mouth closed over hers. She felt strong arms dragging her to him and she didn't resist, putting all of her mornings frustrations into that single embrace.

It was a wild, animal impulse that held the couple in the car together, both of them oblivious to the rain and the booming thunder.

Eva whimpered and struggled to get closer, wanting to feel his body beside hers, damning her skirt when it refused to yield.

When they at last parted, the grin was gone from Martin's face. "I'm sorry," he said huskily. "Damned sorry."

Eva had had only a taste of the man. But it wasn't nearly .enough. She wanted to rip the clothes from her body and fall back in the mud beside the car. She wanted to feel the sky fall in on her and all the stars became her personal possessions. She wanted him to do his magic and make her cry with joy until she drowned out the thunder.

But there was sadness in his eyes and he did none of these things. Something told her that this wasn't the time nor place. Martin was different. He was unlike any man Eva had ever known. And she'd never felt towards anyone as she did towards him. Strangely enough, it frightened her.

So she contented herself with patting his hand, forcing herself to restrain from doing what was in her heart. "Don't be sorry," she smiled. "But we'd better get out of here before we're washed away."

Martin nodded soberly and slid from the seat.

The trip through the wet, soggy forest seemed endless. The couple slithered down a narrow path, driven on by the violence of the worsening storm. The trees about them hummed with the song of the wind, rain reduced visibility until they couldn't see the branches about to slap them in their faces.

At length Eva had to stop to catch her breath. Martin's hand urged her on. "It's only a short distance now," he shouted. She drew a lung full of water and went on, holding tightly to his hand.

They almost crashed head on into the building before they saw it. Martin found the door and led the way out of the weather. Eva followed him into what looked like an oversized room. As he shut the sound of the storm out she managed a smile. "I don't believe I've ever seen a place as welcome," she said sincerely.

Martin nodded agreement. "A lot of people have felt that way about this shack."

She looked around. It was barren excepting for cabinets along one wall and a fireplace built into the other. A neat stack of wood sat beside the stone. "What is this cabin?" she asked. "Who does it belong to?"

"The ski patrol maintains it," Martin said. "Big Bear Valley owns it ... along with three others on the trail. During the winter it's a refuge for lost skiers." He moved towards the hearth. "I'll get a fire going."

Eva shivered her agreement. "It's cold."

Martin worked at the hearth until he had a small blaze licking at the larger wood he'd piled on the grate. "It's no wonder you're cold," he grinned. "You're soaked to the skin."

Only then did Eva realize how transparent the rain had made her clothes. The nylon blouse and bra might as well not have been there. As she stood there uncertainly in the center of the room, looking around at the well-supplied refuge, she couldn't help but wonder if this all hadn't been planned well in advance. "What was the matter with the top?" she asked, trying to keep her suspicions from showing.

Martin straightened up, rubbing his hands together. "Damned if I know," he admitted. "The rain may have shorted something out before I had a chance to work it."

Eva nodded, hoping the smile she felt didn't become too obvious. It began to seem as if Martin Sellers was a great deal smarter than she'd given him credit for.