“Isn’t that better than what you thought I might be doing?”
Jack sighed, and gave up. But why the hell was he so filled with tension and resentment if neither of them had been cheating?
THE DAY WARMED. As they continued along, insects began to buzz. The dew dried and fallen pine needles crunched more loudly beneath their feet. Lily was hurting, but no more than she’d be at home, after physical therapy.
She had no idea how she’d feel tomorrow, which did not loosen her knot of nerves.
Looking back, she watched as Rose picked a wildflower, and tucked it behind her ear, smiling at Rock.
Rock smiled back, and then she picked him a wildflower, too, making him blush.
Lily glanced at Jared, just a quick look, and he caught her. Damn it.
But she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d like to tuck a wildflower behind her ear and claim her as his. Or if he’d rather take the flower and run it over her body, and then follow that path with his mouth…
She had no idea where these thoughts were coming from. No idea at all.
Okay, she knew. But that didn’t mean she had to give in. “Almost time for lunch,” she announced.
“Don’t suppose we can radio for take-out,” Rose joked. “Maybe some Thai?”
“Don’t worry,” Lily promised with a laugh. “I’ve got a lovely, luxurious lunch planned. No one is going to be hungry.”
Jared’s gaze met hers, and held.
She knew just how hungry he was, and exactly what he was hungry for.
Oh, boy.
5
AFTER LUNCH, they took up the hike again. Jared eyed the view as they came out of a rocky canyon, a sheer rock on their left, a drop-off on their right, the river winding below.
“I’d swear we’ve gone two hundred miles,” Rose puffed. “Jared?”
He pulled out his PDA, glanced at Lily, who rolled her eyes. Damn, she was cute. “Four point six,” he said.
“Or that,” Rose muttered.
Once again they heard water falling, a different waterfall this time. “Almost there,” Lily promised them, and then they cleared past the trees and paused at the heart-stopping, magnificent view.
The water fell down thirty feet or so, splashing with loud, wet grandeur into a large natural pool. The pool was surrounded by rocks, over which the water spilled, creating a second, smaller fall dropping into the river they’d walked along to get up here.
“Can we swim?” Jack asked.
“Not here. It’s much safer from below, which we’ll get to in the morning. Keep drinking everyone, no dehydration today.”
“Okay, I get it now,” Michelle said on a huffing laugh. “This is why Daddy wanted us to come on this trip. He wanted to kill us to save him the attorney fees for our divorce.”
“We haven’t decided to divorce yet,” Jack said, then hesitated. “Not that I know of, anyway.”
Michelle lifted a shoulder. “You’ve been so upset with me, I figured it’s only a matter of time.”
Jack’s face went carefully blank. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Fine, but switch places with me,” Michelle said. “You walk in front so you won’t be tempted to push me off the falls into the river.”
“You know,” Jack said thoughtfully. “That idea hadn’t occurred to me.”
“Oh,” Michelle said.
“-until now.”
“Oh.”
Rose smiled over at Rock. “Maybe you want to switch places too, sugar, and give me a better view.”
Rock passed her. “Is that better?”
Rose eyed his ass. “Waaay better.”
Jared watch Rock finally get it, and blush beet red. The trail was flat now, and he easily managed to stay right behind Lily. He figured he had the best view of all, and he enjoyed it until a squirrel popped out of a tree and screeched at him for getting too close, nearly giving him a coronary.
Lily looked back and smiled. “You’re being scolded.”
“Too close to his home?”
“Bingo.”
Jared looked at the tree the squirrel had vanished into. “He’s got a nice home.”
“Gorgeous here, isn’t it?” She took it all in and smiled with pleasure. “I almost forget, until I come back here.”
“From…?”
“Oh. Well, I have an apartment in San Francisco, though until recently I spent most of my time as a wildland firefighter in Montana.”
Yeah, he could see her as a firefighter, all sharp and toned and tough. “Sounds exciting.”
“Was,” she said, and rubbed her thighs.
It was a motion he’d seen her do before, and he doubted it was a nervous gesture. The trail widened enough that he could move to her side. “Something happen?”
“You could say so. A cliff happened.”
“You fell?”
“Forty feet.”
He stared at her, horrified.
“Yeah, that’s the usual reaction,” she said. “But at least I lived to tell the tale, right?”
“Right. Wow.”
“Living was definitely the silver lining,” she agreed grimly, then quickened her step as if she’d told him far more than she’d meant to.
“How bad was it, Lily?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Broke my back. They said I’d never walk.” She shrugged again. “Proved them wrong.”
He stared at her back as she kept walking, awed at her strength, and also, a little awed at the similarities in the things they’d suffered. “But you’re recovered. That’s amazing.”
“Not so recovered. I can’t be a firefighter anymore.”
“It’s amazing that you’re out here at all, doing this.” He shook his head. “You must have gone through hell to get here.”
A mirthless laugh escaped her.
He looked at her proud, stiff shoulders, and imagined all that she wasn’t saying. And if anyone understood that, it was him. “I’m sorry you had to give up firefighting.”
“It was time for something new anyway.”
One tough cookie. “Was it?”
“Yeah. I don’t tend to stick to anything for long.”
“You look happy doing this.”
She paused, considered, then smiled. “You know what? I am.”
“And Keith,” he said carefully, well aware that he was now on a fishing expedition. “He must be thrilled to have you working for him.”
“Oh.” She glanced away. “We go way back, Keith and me.”
He kept breathing, barely.
“But…this is my first trek for him in years, so we’ll see how it works out.”
He nodded. “He seemed happy enough with you.”
She glanced at him, probably remembering the kiss he’d witnessed.
