In Too Deep by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

preserving the beauty of their surroundings. They didn’t go to agricultural colleges to learn high-tech farming methods. They use the ways of their forefathers. There are those trying to teach them better ways, but it takes time to get the message across.”
    Cara fell silent. Rod slowed his pace and studied her closely. She caught the expression of concern in his eyes. It surprised her.
    â€œYou look as though the heat is getting to you,” he said. “How about a break?”
    Cara looked around her at the devastation and shivered. She shook her head. “Not here.”
    He nodded in understanding, and for just an instant the barriers between them seemed to fall away. She detected a sensitivity that lured her as effectively as his physical magnetism.
    â€œWe’ll go a little farther, then,” he said.
    As they walked on, Cara wished that Rod would go on talking. The uneasy silence that had sprung up between them at the camp had made the whole morning uncomfortable, but almost every attempt she had made at conversation had been ignored or had been met with curt responses.
    â€œWhy did you become an engineer?” she asked when she could bear the silence no longer.
    His jaw tightened and for a moment she thought he wouldn’t answer. Finally, he said, “I like the challenge. What about you?”
    â€œI wanted to follow in Scottie’s footsteps.”
    â€œThat’s not the best reason I’ve ever heard for choosing a career.”
    â€œNo,” she admitted. “It’s not. But it’s worked out. I’m actually good at it.”
    Rod chuckled. “You sound surprised.”
    â€œI guess I am. When I was a little girl, everything Scottie did seemed so glamorous and mysterious, so much larger than life and beyond my reach. He was always off in some exotic location. I never understood exactly what he did there, but he obviously loved it a lot.” A familiar wistful feeling came over her, and before she realized what she was saying, she confessed, “I guess I thought if I could do the same thing, maybe he would love me.”
    If she’d expected sympathy or compassion, she’d chosen the wrong man to confide in.
    â€œYour father always loved you,” Rod said, that odd angry note back in his voice. “My God, he gave up everything for you.”
    Cara flinched inwardly, but she didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “You mean when my mother died.”
    â€œYes.”
    Taking a deep breath, she voiced a fear she’d often had. “You sound as though you think it was my fault that Scottie came home.”
    â€œWasn’t it?”
    Hearing the accusation voiced aloud stirred her defenses. “For heaven’s sake, I was fifteen years old. My mother was dead. What should he have done?”
    â€œYou could have gone away to school. There were relatives who could have taken you in.”
    Cara was stunned by the coldness in his voice, the cruel indifference to her feelings. He almost seemed to hate her, and she couldn’t imagine why.
    â€œWell?” he persisted. “Weren’t there other choices?”
    â€œOkay, I admit it. I suppose I knew I was nothing but a burden to him. There was an aunt who was willing to take me, and there was money enough for boarding school. But he was my father. Don’t you think he belonged with me?” she said. Her tone was angry, but the fury couldn’t hide a plea for understanding.
    All the old feelings of hurt and rejection tore through her. Furiously, she blinked back tears.
    Rod appeared unaffected by her vulnerability. “Why? The relationship certainly hadn’t seemed to mean much to you up until then.”
    â€œHow can you say that? I idolized Scottie.”
    He gave her a look of total disbelief. “Oh, give me a break. What had you or your mother, for that matter, ever done for Scottie? Did you ever really try to understand him? You never once came