There was a little choke in her voice. ‘Of course I have! It’s been idyllic.’ It was all she could manage to say.
‘Yes,’ he agreed, ‘it’s certainly been that.’
His hand moved a fraction on her thigh, and he turned his head away to look up into the sky. She could hear a pause in his silence. Then he spoke.
‘Tell me...’
His voice was different—almost, she thought, speculative.
‘What do you think about Arizona?’
She frowned in surprise. ‘Arizona?’
‘Yes. Or actually it might be Utah. I’ll have to check.’ He turned his head towards her again, pushing his dark glasses up on to his head. ‘Ever heard of Roarke National Park?’
She shook her head, still frowning slightly.
‘Well,’ Max continued, ‘it’s not as well-known as the more famous National Parks in the American West, such as Zion and Bryce—let alone the Grand Canyon. But, anyway, the lodge there is hosting a seminar on sustainable tourist development which I’ve a fancy to go to.’
He paused again, his eyes suddenly unreadable.
‘So what do you say? Shall we head there next? We can fly from Miami. Once the seminar’s done we could add a few days’ hiking, maybe. Pick up boots and kit when we’re there. Does it appeal?’
She was silent. Then suddenly she propelled herself up on her elbow, looking down at Max. ‘Yes! Oh, yes.’
In an instant her heart was singing, her mood soaring into the stratosphere. More time with Max—oh, yes, more time!
A grin split his face. ‘Great,’ he said.
He reached up a hand to her nape, drawing her mouth down to his, letting her hair fall like a veil around them. Satisfaction filled him. And a sense of triumph. Another new place, another new experience for Ellen to savour—to tempt her to stay out in the wonderful world that could be hers if she left her past behind her.
And, best of all, another stretch of time to enjoy all that she bestowed upon him.
His kiss deepened, and soon all thoughts of taking the catamaran out that morning faded completely.
CHAPTER TEN
ROARKE NATIONAL PARK proved to be an experience ideally suited to Ellen. She loved it—loved the wild beauty of the American West, loved even more experiencing it with Max.
They flew in to Salt Lake City, then drove down through the increasing grandeur of the landscape as it rose in a vast stone flight of inclined steps from the south. The park itself was still relatively quiet at this early time in the season, with parts of it still closed by snow, but in the sheltered canyon it was warm
er, and the sunlit orange sandstone rock was a vivid contrast with the deep blue of the sky and the dark green of the pines.
The timber-built lodge fitted into its remote setting perfectly, blending into the landscape, a tribute in itself to the kind of design that worked best in places where nature was pre-eminent. And Ellen found the seminar fascinating—as fascinating as learning about the geology and geography of the park and the wider landscape beyond. Already she was planning a field trip here, making appropriate notes with which to broach the project with her headmistress on her return.
She made no mention of that to Max, however. She did not want to trigger another attempt by him to persuade her to abandon what he was so convinced were the confines of her life at Haughton. She did not want that upset. Wanted only to enjoy this time with him to the hilt.
And enjoy it she did.
As he’d promised, after the seminar they kitted themselves up with hiking gear and took to the trails that were open at that time of year.
‘Boy...’ she breathed as they reached the summit of one trail that had ascended up out of the canyon and on to a rocky plateau where the chill wind seemed only cooling after the heat generated by their hard-pushed muscles. ‘You don’t need a gym at this place, do you?’
Max gave a laugh, leaning back on a rock to take a long draught of water from the flask that hung around his neck—an absolute necessity for hiking, as they’d been firmly instructed by the rangers—and she did likewise.
‘No, indeed,’ he agreed. ‘We’re going to feel it in our legs tomorrow, though, I suspect. But it’s worth it ten times over.’
‘Oh, yes.’ She nodded, her eyes sweeping out over the grandeur of the wilderness that stretched as far as the eye could see and much further still. Her gaze came back to Max. ‘Thank you,’ she said.