Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 118860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Sarika tried to make light of her insecurities when she didn’t feel that way at all. “I don’t wish to be a burden on you, cousin. I’m very aware you had little notice before my arrival.”
Those artic-cold green eyes didn’t blink but remained fixed on her so she couldn’t possibly look away. “Have I indicated in some way that you are a burden or that I am unhappy to meet my only family?”
“I must be misreading you,” she admitted. “Or perhaps I have a chip on my shoulder because my father sent me away while his son and you were wanted. You did explain his reasoning, but that explanation doesn’t negate a lifetime of feeling unwanted by family.”
It was his lack of expression. He had said he was sorry for her loss when he spoke of her adoptive parents, but that loss had been his as well. Alois and Gemma were his only relatives other than Sarika, and now they were gone. Granted, he hadn’t grown up around them and hadn’t had a chance to develop real feelings for them, but Alois was his father’s brother. Surely, his father had spoken of Alois to Luiz. Alois had certainly regaled her with tales of growing up with his two brothers in the rainforest and how mischievous they had been. She had grown fond of those memories of her uncles and their antics with Alois.
“Family means a great deal to me,” she confessed. “Maybe too much, since we don’t know each other. I didn’t like the idea of being alone, but that doesn’t mean I’m incapable of being alone.”
She knew she’d tilted her chin in that telltale gesture her parents had called her on more than once. In fact, often.
“How did I give you the idea that you are unwanted by me? I made every effort, despite some difficulty, to reach you when the sun set so we would have as many hours as possible to get to know each other. I am told I do not show enough emotion. Is that the problem?”
He’d called her out, just as she had done to him. “Family trait?” she murmured, flashing him a little half smile.
“I would imagine the two of us have quite a few traits in common. Stubbornness might be one of the foremost traits we share.”
Sarika gave a little shrug. “I know I’m stubborn. That particular characteristic might be considered a negative one, but it got me through some difficult times.”
“Such as?” he prompted.
It was the first question he’d asked her about herself that showed real interest. She could tell he really wanted to know. He was so low-key, his mask impossible to read. No real inflections when he spoke, but the flare of interest was there in his eyes. So brief, she might not have caught it had she blinked.
“I’ve spent a good deal of my time working on conservation in the world’s rainforests. Several of the expeditions I went on went awry due to numerous causes: weather, war, poachers, any number of reasons.”
“Determination,” he corrected. “Not stubbornness.”
She burst out laughing. “You say that now, but once you have to deal with me, I believe that you’ll decide the determination was stubbornness after all.”
Sarika expected a smile, even if it was only a brief one, but his tough features didn’t change expression. Apparently, she wasn’t nearly as funny to her cousin as she was to herself. She repressed a sigh and hung determinedly on to her smile.
“You say you worked on conservation in the various rainforests—did you do so alone?”
The tone was mild, not at all condemning, but Sarika felt the reprimand and instantly reacted. Like a porcupine, with every hair on her body rising like quills, she actually felt prickly. She couldn’t imagine being friends with Luiz, no matter how long she knew him. He didn’t look judgy, but it seemed as if he was judging her. He looked indifferent. No, not even that.
She sighed, wishing she weren’t so prickly with him. She made every effort to keep her tone even, with no trace of annoyance. “There were others I met going on the expeditions. While I was in school, I went on a few, and that allowed me to meet others interested in conservation. Once I was out of school, I joined several organizations for the preservation of jaguar habitats and was accepted on various treks. We set up cameras and tagged a few of the jaguars. The idea is to open a corridor for the jaguars so they aren’t interbreeding. By enlisting the aid of locals, we have a much better chance of success. So far, the program has been working.” Animation crept into her voice. She believed in the work. She knew that without intervention, the jaguar species would become extinct.
“You joined total strangers trekking into the rainforest?” Luiz repeated it as if he couldn’t quite comprehend.