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.
Moon, she told him, was for the time of year she was born, when the moon was full in the sky. And Lane was her absentee father’s name.
“Moon,” Stone repeated. “Somehow I thought it was a reflection of Native American heritage."
“Well, I’m part Mohawk on my mother’s side,” she said, “so you sort of guessed right.”
He grinned at her, obviously pleased with himself.
Indie grinned back. Oh, don’t be too pleased with yourself, fella. I’m not done with you yet. “And what about your name?” she asked. “How did you come to be called Gladstone Hudson? And do you have a middle name, by the way?”
That wiped the smile off his face real fast. His brows lowered and his mouth set in a hard line.
Indie burst out laughing. “If you could see your face. You look like a three year old who's just been told he has to go to bed.”
That made Stone cough and then he chuckled and then he was laughing out loud just like she was. The wide open savannah echoed with the sounds of their mirth.
After the laughter died and she’d caught her breath Indie wiped her eyes and looked at Stone. “Seriously, though, who gave you that name? Your mom?”
Stone gave an exaggerated sigh and shook his head. “Gladstone Marcus Hudson the third. It was my grandfather’s name then my father’s and now it’s mine. The curse of the Gladstones.”
She gave him a look of sympathy. “Please don’t inflict that kind of punishment on your son.”
He chuckled. “The suffering ends here.”
After that they fell silent for a while and Indie sat back to enjoy the landscape and the view of brown mountains in the distance. Then she closed her eyes to enjoy the warmth of the evening sun. After a long while she yawned and opened her eyes again. Better to stay awake and keep Stone's company. She glanced over and noticed that he was frowning. Then he began to mutter under his breath.
She sat up immediately. “Is something wrong?’
For a while he didn’t answer but just kept scowling and muttering until she knew something was definitely wrong. “Talk to me, Stone. What is it?”
His scowl deepened then he gave a quick shake of his head as if annoyed. “I’m not…seeing the landmarks I should be seeing by now. There’s supposed to be a rock-”
“Are we lost? Are you telling me you don’t know where we are?” Indie gripped the top of the passenger door. This was not good.
“Not lost, just…on the wrong track, somehow.” Stone did not look at her, just kept his eyes on the trail ahead.
Indie frowned. “Come to think of it, we should have hit the main road by now. We’ve been on this road over an hour.” She looked around. “And didn’t we pass that butte like half an hour ago?”