He didn’t even try to challenge her and demand she show him the video. Carla imagined her tone and determination were probably proof enough.
Carla turned her attention to Kelly, who’d taken the time to adjust her blouse so she was at least a little more covered up.
“I don’t see the need to mention this to Jackson, Kelly. What you do when you’re not working is your business, but take a piece of advice. Have a little more self-respect. Spruce up your wardrobe, and conduct yourself like the professional you’ve worked so hard to be. Giving someone a blow job in the middle of the woods on company property isn’t exactly the hallmark of an esteemed scientist.”
Kelly looked away, cheeks burning.
“Goodbye, Bryce. Safe travels. And don’t forget what I said.”
Without waiting for a response, Carla turned and walked away, leaving Bryce and Kelly to reassemble themselves. What a day! Standing up to her mother, now Bryce. Confidence had its rewards.
She emerged from the woods by the monitor building and ducked inside. Lisa sat at the controls. When Lisa heard the door open, she turned and spotted Carla.
“Hey.” Lisa’s attention returned to the monitors. “Come over here. Quick. You’re about to see something amazing.”
Carla hurried over to the monitor where Lisa’s eyes were glued. She had the camera focused on the nest of eggs, but the expectant mother was nowhere in the frame. A trickle of alarm skittered along her spine.
“Where’s Mariah?”
“Right next to the nest but just out of the camera angle.”
“Why isn’t she tending to the eggs?”
“Because they’re hatching.” Lisa beamed as if she herself were giving birth. “Look at the egg on the right. You’ll see a small hole just near the top of it on the far end.”
Carla studied where Lisa had pointed and sure enough, the little hatchling broke through. Carla gasped.
“I see it!”
“And there.” Lisa pointed to another egg on the monitor. “That little one is coming out as well.”
For the next two hours, Carla stayed transfixed to the monitor. The birthing process was slow, little hatchlings struggling to break through the shell bit by bit. When the first one finally had enough room to wriggle out of its shell and into the world, Carla was astounded by how much the experience touched her. Never in a million years would she have thought watching a snake with anything other than revulsion and fear was possible for her, and yet here she was growing emotional over little baby cobras. Crazy.
After seeing five hatchlings emerge from their shell, Carla excused herself and headed back to Jackson. She wanted to see how he was doing and tell him about the newborns. And she had something else to say to him as well.
The house was quiet, although she could hear the sound of typing coming from one of the rooms where a researcher from Turkey currently lived. From another room, the muffled sound of a TV. Who knew a place dubbed The Snake Pit could be so cozy? Jackson’s home had the community feel of a dorm but without the obnoxious parties and noise.
She reached his room and gave a quiet knock. To her surprise, Jackson himself opened the door.
He stood before her wearing nothing but a loose pair of sweats. His feet and chest were bare, as if taunting her to come run her fingers along his hard, muscular pecs. Not that she was complaining.
“Hey,” he said, opening the door wider to let her in. “I wondered where you were.”
“Taking care of a few things,” she replied, but then turned the focus toward him as he shut the door behind her. “Should you be out of bed?”
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
“Then let’s sit.” They walked over to the reading chairs in the corner of the room and sat down. A brief memory flashed through Carla’s mind of when she and Jackson had made love in the very chair where he sat now. He’d been trying to talk to her, and she’d taken his hard cock in her mouth…
She pushed the memory aside. Time to focus on creating new ones.
Carla said, “You look a lot better than you did the last time I saw you.”
Jackson looked away for a moment, his gaze unfocused, as if trying to remember something. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, but finally he shook his head. “Merde. I don’t have a clear grasp of time yet. When were you here?”
“Two days ago.”
“Two days?” He frowned as he put his glasses back on. “What kept you away?”
“I’ve been in to check on you. You were always asleep. The last time we actually spoke was a couple of days ago.”
He strained to remember, but she could tell it wasn’t coming. Carla heard his quiet sigh of frustration. “Don’t worry if you don’t remember the conversation.” She tried to comfort him. “You were practically asleep then, too.”
To her surprise, he cracked a smile. “What fascinating company I’ve been.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m just so glad you’re okay.”
“Yeah,” Jackson nodded. “Have to admit I am, too.”
They fell silent for a moment. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t think where to begin. She decided for the moment on the safe route. “Hey, I’ve got some good news. Mariah’s babies are hatching. Right now, as we speak. I’ve just been sitting with Lisa at the monitors for the past couple of hours.”
“Fantastique,” Jackson said, a spark of light in his eyes. “Any still births?”
“None that I saw.”
He grunted at the news, reminding Carla of the Jackson Rivard she’d met on her first day here. It seemed like ages ago. So much had happened between then and now, and so much she wanted to say. She cleared her throat, ready to start talking, but faltered before she could begin. Her earlier euphoria faded as she realized one crucial detail had been left out of the equation when she’d made up her mind to stay. Would Jackson want her to?
“You still with me?”
His voice startled her back to Earth. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“Lost you for a minute. Were you thinking about Paris?”
“Paris? What makes you say that?”
“Easy guess,” Jackson replied. “Your face usually gets that faraway, wistful look whenever the topic has come up, so I figured that was going on now.” He paused, then his voice grew softer as he added, “I know how much you want to go.”
Once upon a time, she did want to go to Paris. The idea of moving there had made her burn with passion, body and soul. She wanted to live there, to become fluent with the language, to immerse herself in a culture and a country different from everything she’d ever known.
But looking at it now, in a new light, Carla realized it wasn’t so much that she wanted to go to Paris, but that she wanted to escape from New York. Not so much the city, because she truly loved it there. What she didn’t love was the life she led. But here in Louisiana, with Jackson, she’d found her Paris.
“I do want to go,” she confirmed. His response was a stiff nod.
She couldn’t know what it meant, but no time like the present to find out. She plunged forward. “Do you want me to go?”
He looked up, brows knit in confusion. “Of course.”
Well, what were you hoping for, silly girl? Her inner voice chided as she turned to look at the window. That he’d pledge his undying love and beg you to give up the dream you yourself have said you’d always wanted? He wouldn’t do that to you. Besides, he’s got his own dreams to fulfill right here.
“That is, if you want to.”
She looked back at Jackson, who leaned forward in his chair, his intense gaze so sharp it could cut. She took a deep breath.
“What if…” Her heart pounded with nervousness, the roar of her blood like thunder in her ears. “What if I told you I’d changed my mind?”
“About Paris?”
“About everything.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean.” She couldn’t sit for another second. Springing up from her chair, she paced the room like a political candidate awaiting polling results. She put several steps of distance between herself and Jackson and then turned to face him once more. “I’ve been doing some thinking.”
“About?”
“About everything. Work. My family. My life and what I want to do with it.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” He watched her move across the floor. “So why the pacing?”
“Well, for starters, I realized I’m not cut out for the corporate world.”
“That part I knew.”
She spun around, doing a double take. “You what?
You knew that?”
He shrugged. “Of course.”
“Well, what…why…” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “Why didn’t you say anything? You could have saved me a lot of time.”
“No, not at all.”
“What—”
“There wasn’t anything anyone could have said to you. It’s something you had to figure out for yourself.”
She knew he was right. If he’d said something to her, she simply wouldn’t have believed him. What a mule she could be.
“It was pretty obvious in the first couple of days after I met you that you’ve been living the life of someone you’re not,” he continued. “But you had to look in the mirror and see for yourself.”
“I guess I finally did.” She gave him a shrug. “Wish it hadn’t taken so long.”
“Everyone’s path is different.”
“You, ah…you also factored into my thinking. In a crazy kind of way.”
“Oh?”
“The thing is…” She took a deep breath; let it out. “The thing is, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you.”
“I see.” He said nothing more, receiving her information as calmly as if she were a researcher discussing her latest findings.
Hi, Dr. Rivard. My research over the past month has shown I go mushy over snake babies, my dreams of Paris aren’t really what I want after all, and I hate the corporate life. Oh, and I’m in love with you.
She shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her as if warding off a chill. “Told you it’s crazy.”
When at first he said nothing, she repeated, softer, “It is crazy. Right?”
She stood there, biting softly against her bottom lip, looking over at Jackson as he stared off into the distance. It was impossible for her to know what was in his mind. His expression was smooth, unblemished, like a statue carved from marble.
At last he returned his gaze to her. “No,” he replied, his voice quiet. “I don’t think it’s crazy. Least not the way I see it.”
Carla could do nothing but nod and swallow around the giant goose egg that had formed and now stuck fast in her throat, blocking the words from coming out. She suddenly had a wild urge to clap her hands to her mouth like a game show contestant who’s just been told she’s won a new car. Her heart hammered wildly, at once thrilled and terrified. If Jackson was saying what she thought he was saying, she’d won something a thousand times better than a car.
With pulse racing, she waited for him to elaborate, but Jackson had never been a man of many words. Apparently he felt he’d said all that was needed. But it wasn’t enough for Carla.
Walking over to where he remained seated, she knelt down before him and looked into his hooded, serious eyes, searching for her answer. “So?” she prompted.
“So yes.” He released a soft breath. “I love you, Carla. Have for some time now.”