Read Online Moonflower by Leigh Archer - Free Book Online

head!' And then all the brightness of
a moment ago was doused with apprehension. This wasn’t some
twenty-something-year-old boy she was falling for, but a captain of
industry with a playboy reputation. The type was foreign to her,
his world not her world. The life of a conservationist was about as
far removed from a London boardroom as it possibly could be. Her
work was her passion and she had a long and exciting road ahead of
her.
    Sophie
felt a little impatient with herself. It would be nothing short of
silly to allow herself to become attached to Reuben Manning. Yes,
they’d shared a drink and a moment of tranquillity on a porch in
Africa last night, but how many evenings had Reuben spent like that
in, say, a year? Not many, Sophie guessed. And that’s exactly what
she wanted from a partner. Many things besides sexual attraction,
no matter how strong. Someone to share her passion, and someone to
a share a porch and a drink with her at the end of each
day.
    Sophie
sighed as she took off Reuben’s shirt and stepped into the shower.
Time to start the day. A dose of reality was way
overdue.
     
    She spent
the morning documenting sightings of individual animals and the few
depleted herds still on the farm. Isaac and Sipho, although already
in possession of a wealth of knowledge, were keen to learn anything
new. They were also wonderful company and Sophie was in high
spirits when at lunchtime they headed back to the house with
grumbling tummies.
    Reuben
was nowhere to be seen, but she reined in her disappointment and
gave herself a talking-to. She had her work cut out for her on the
farm; it was only now becoming apparent just how depleted its
wildlife had become after years of neglect.
    With a
light lunch under her belt, Sophie said goodbye to Rolf and Sara.
Being Saturday, they had the next twenty-four hours off; the first
in a long time, and were heading for Cape Town.
    ‘ Have a wonderful time,’ Sophie said, hugging Sara.
    ‘ You need anything,’ the older woman said, ‘just ask Mrs
September.’
    Once the
couple had left, Sophie set off again with her rangers.
    It was
well after six when she returned to the cottage. She'd just taken a
shower, washing off the day’s heat, dust and block-out, when there
was a knock at the cottage door. It was Patience.
    'Mr
Manning say you must come to the verandah. But he say you not to go
in the sprinklers.'
    Sophie
smiled. 'Does he need to see me right now?' she asked, pressing a
towel to her wet hair.
    'Soon as
you can,' Patience said, then turned and floated elegantly down the
rickety wooden steps that usually protested loudly under Sophie’s
bigger feet.
    She went
inside, combed her hair, pulled on a pair of linen drawstring
trousers and a red sleeveless button-up t-shirt. She stepped into
her flip-flops and did her best to stop thinking too far ahead,
which was not hard to do because she had no idea what the evening
held for her. Would he try to make love to her, or ask her to
explain her costings? Her heart may be beating like a nervous
duiker for what could turn out to be a conversation about the state
of the farm’s wildlife.
    Sophie
sat herself down on the bed for a moment while she got the facts
straight in her mind: she would not be used as a distraction by a
man who took his pleasure wherever he chose. She would never allow
her career to be derailed by a force of sexual attraction that was
no doubt a passing fancy. Those were the facts. The rest was all
sensations and feelings, and she was stronger than that.
    She stood
up from the bed, and twisted and pinned her damp hair into a large
crocodile clip, then left the cottage.
    She took
the path that would bring her to the verandah of the main house,
instead of cutting across the lawn.
    'Huh!'
    She gave
a start as Mr Solomon popped up from behind a rose bush. With a
hand clutched over her heart, Sophie admonished, 'You're going to
have to stop doing that, Mr Solomon. My heart might give
out!'
    'Nothing
wrong with your