After that exciting turn of events nothing happened. Three days passed and Stone did not return. Then it was four days and then five. Meanwhile, the clock kept ticking toward her deadline.
Six days into the wait Indie heard the roar of the Jeep and it was Stone, finally back from his mission in Johannesburg. He’d called a couple of times during his absence but how could a phone call from over a hundred miles away help her?
And then, when she went out into the yard and saw him striding toward her, she knew that it hadn’t just been about the marriage. It had been about Stone. She’d missed him terribly and now, at the sight of him, she wanted to run into his arms.
But she couldn’t. Instead, she waited until he was standing right in front of her. She looked up and to her relief she could see in his eyes that he’d missed her, too.
That look in his eyes spoke volumes. It was a look well worth the wait.
******
It was three days later when they got the call. Jenna had delivered a seven-pound baby girl.
Indie could only laugh when she heard the news. “Can you imagine, they tore out of here a week ago, all because of a false labor. But I’m glad they didn’t come back. Joburg was the safest place for Jenna to be.”
“Particularly since she needed a C-section,” Stone said, then he tilted his head toward Indie. “What do you think about you and me going to the city to meet this new member of the family?”
“I think that’s the best thing you’ve said to me since you got back.” Indie knew she probably looked like an idiot with the wide grin on her face but she didn’t really care. She was dying to get off the compound, and she wanted to see the new baby. And to take a trip to Johannesburg with Stone – what better way to spend some alone time with him? “When can we leave? Now?”
He shook his head. “First thing in the morning. We can set out at sunrise and have the whole day ahead of us.”
She frowned. She would lose a whole day waiting for tomorrow to come. “What about this afternoon? After lunch?”
He looked doubtful. “None of the drivers can take us this afternoon. I would have to drive us in that case.”
Even better. No driver to get in the way of their conversation.
“No problem, though,” he continued. “I’ve traveled that route so many times I know it like the back of my hand.”
She chuckled. “You’d need to have a very big hand to cover that terrain. Just make sure you travel with a map. Better yet, get Cook to draw you one. I know there are some sections probably not on a regular map.”
He shook his head. “So little faith in me,” he tut-tutted.
Indie rolled her eyes. “Just get the map.”
They ended up leaving the compound at a little past four o’clock. She had underestimated the time it would take to pack and be ready. Still, although they were heading out over an hour later than planned, for a journey of two and a half hours they’d be in Johannesburg by the set of sun.
Stone threw the bags into the back of the vehicle and Indie hopped into the passenger seat beside him. He looked over at her. “Ready to roll?”
She put her hand to her brow, and gave him a smart salute. “Aye, aye, Cap’n.”
They set off along the dirt trail, leaving a cloud of dust behind them. Indie relaxed into the seat, a smile on her lips. She and Stone would get a chance to talk along the way and maybe she would be able to convince him to spend a few days in Johannesburg.
She’d already lost so much time she was hoping that a change in environment, a return to city life, would be the catalyst that would push Stone over the edge toward a commitment. Indie sighed. It was going to be hard, if not impossible. How do you get a man to ask you to marry him…without asking him to marry you?
Stone glanced over at her. “You all right?”
“Yes,” she said, giving him a bright smile. “Perfect.”
But she was far from it. Now back to her musings – how to get a man to ask you to marry him? Outside of hypnotizing him or blackmailing him, that is. Or maybe she could just knock him out and get a minister to marry them while he was still out cold. She was almost muttering in her distress. Come on, brain, think. There’s got to be something I can do.
Indie bit her lip and looked away over the wide expanse of brown savannah. Stone was glancing over at her again. He must think she was going bananas. And rightly so. She was certainly acting like it.
Trying for normalcy, she decided to strike up a conversation. “Do you know if they picked out a name yet?” She put up a hand to keep her hat from hopping off her head. Stone had better get to a smooth path soon or she’d be seasick.
“I have no idea.” He looked totally unconcerned.
“Hey, what if we come up with some suggestions? Wouldn’t it be great if they liked one of our names and used it?” She was half speaking half shouting so he could hear her over the rumble of the engine.
Stone looked at her like she’d gone crazy. “What do I know about baby girl names?”
“Well, I have some. What about…Sierra? Or…” she looked around at the flat grass land, “...Savannah?”
He snorted, seeming unimpressed.
She didn’t let that stop her from thinking up some more. “Hey, I got one. What about Safari?”
He glanced over at her again but this time he was shaking his head and his look was full of pity.
“No,” she said earnestly, “I’m serious. It’s a Swahili word that means long journey. And they journeyed all the way here to work at the compound, didn’t they?” She looked away. “Safari,” she said again, almost to herself. “I like it. I’m going to suggest it to them.”
“Please don’t,” he groaned as he steered the vehicle over the dirt path.
"Please, yes,” she said. “They’ll love it.”
After that they got to talking about her name and how she came about having it. Indiana, she explained, was for the state in which she was born. Although born of Canadian parents her birth certificate showed that she was an American citizen.