Deep Waters

distorted by a passing storm that you can't see any truth in it."
    Arlene blinked away a few more tears and stared at him uncomprehendingly. "Huh?"
    Charity gave her another little hug. "Don't worry about it, Arlene. Elias can be a little obscure. It's not his fault. He was raised that way. Come on, we'll walk you back to your trailer."
    "You don't have to do that. I'm okay, honest." Arlene gave Charity an anxious glance. "You won't tell Newlin about what just happened, will you?"
    Charity hesitated. "If that's what you want."
    "What I really want is for Newlin to come with me on the spaceship." Arlene turned and trailed off into the shadows.
    "I hope she's not going to be too depressed on Monday night when nothing happens," Charity said a short while later as she and Elias walked home.
    "She'll have Newlin to comfort her."
    Startled by the brusque tone of his voice, Charity gave him a searching look. It was impossible to see his expression in the darkness.
    "Elias?"
    "Yes?"
    "You're sure you're okay? Rick didn't get a punch in, did he?"
    "I'm okay."
    Charity relaxed slightly. "That was very kind of you to go to Arlene's assistance."
    Elias did not respond. He was obviously lost in his own churning thoughts.
    Charity knew a no-trespassing sign when she saw one. She stopped talking and allowed the sounds of the night and the cove to fill the tense silence.
    When they reached her cottage, she took out her key and walked up the porch steps to her front door. Elias made no attempt to follow her. He stood waiting at the bottom of the steps as she fitted her key into the lock.
    She looked back at him as she opened the door, wondering what he would say if she invited him inside. The porch light etched his face in sharp, contrasting planes of light and shadow. He looked very remote, very distant. Back in control. She decided that in this mood he would refuse an offer of tea or a nightcap.
    "Thanks for asking me to join you on your evening walk." Deliberately she infused her voice with as much forced brightness as possible. "It was interesting, to say the least."
    "Charity?"
    She froze warily in the doorway. "Yes?"
    "Did I scare you?"
    Of all the things she might have expected him to say at that moment, his question was one she would never have imagined. "Scare me? You mean, with the way you tackled Rick Swinton? Don't be silly. Of course you didn't scare me. I was glad you tossed him out of the motor home. He deserved to land on his rear in the dirt. Arlene's right. He's a little twerp."
    "I'm not talking about Swinton."
    "Oh."
    "I'm talking about us," Elias said very softly.
    Her mouth went dry. She knew now that he was referring to the devastating intensity of the kiss they had shared. A kiss that had left him as shaken as it had her, she thought with rising satisfaction. Not that he would ever admit it.
    Suddenly she felt incredibly cheerful. Incredibly sexy. Downright flirtatious. She folded her arms beneath her breasts and propped one shoulder against the doorjamb, trying for an air of unruffled, sophisticated aplomb.
    "Do I look scared?" she asked.
    "No."
    She smiled. "What are you up to, Elias Winters?"
    "Don't you know?"
    "Enlighten me."
    He held her eyes with unwavering intensity. There was no humor in that gaze. None at all. For Elias this was deadly serious, Charity realized. She felt a little sorry for him.
    "I'm trying to start an affair with you," Elias said.
    It took a determined effort, but she managed to get her mouth closed after a few stunned seconds. "I thought you were the subtle type."
    "Is that an affirmative or a negative response?"
    Charity struggled to maintain a few shreds of her composure. Damn if she would let him turn her into a babbling idiot. She took refuge in her old executive style.
    "It's an I'll-get-back-to-you-on-that response," she said.
    He nodded, accepting her words without comment. "Good night, Charity."
    "Good night." Charity stepped back into the safety of her tiny hallway and very carefully closed and locked the door. Then she sagged weakly against it.
    After a moment, she recovered sufficiently to go to the window and peek through the blinds. But she was too late to see Elias leave. He had already vanished into the night.

5

    Volcanoes simmer beneath the deepest seas.

    — "On the Way of Water," from the journal of Hayden Stone

    He had not scared Charity, but he had certainly done a hell of a job scaring himself.
    Two days later Elias still could not stop brooding over the