conditions.
“Stay safe,” Marilee called out.
“Yeah.” Axel rubbed his chest and watched her go. “You, too.”
“Why wouldn’t she be safe here at the inn?” I asked.
“Because it’s the in-between. Never all the way safe in the in-between.”
Kellan and I looked at each other. “Um,
Axel jumped a little, as if realizing what he’d just said. Then he let out one of his low easy laughs. “Oh, listen to me rattle on. Keep up now.”
He started walking down that trail we’d trudged up only yesterday. That time, my biggest worry had been carrying our stuff. Now…I glanced up at the sky again. Still pure azure.
I hoped it stayed that way.
After a few minutes, Axel stopped, and pulled the map out of his breast pocket.
Uh-oh. Bad sign that he needed the map already.
“Marilee drew this for me,” Axel said. “And also this.” He flipped the map over and began to read. “Alaska is a land of immense beauty and diversity. Behind us, you’ll see dramatic capped mountains. Follow me for a morning of fly-fishing that will be an unforgettable experience.” He looked up. “Damn, I was supposed to read that part before we left the B &B.”
“How about info on
“By the water,” Axel said, then began moving down the trail again. “It’s peaceful there.”
Kel’s expression said he’d find peace wringing Axel’s neck.
I had to admit, I felt the same way. “Axel-”
“Hang on. Almost there.”
Indeed, within another few moments, we were back on the banks of the river where Jack had left us yesterday. The water rushed over the rocks and sediment, glinting in the sun, steaming into the early air. If I hadn’t been so on edge with all that was happening, I might have actually stood there in awe of the beauty around us.
Axel handed Kel a fishing rod.
“I want answers, Axel.”
Axel patted him on the shoulder. “All in good time, dude.” He also handed me a rod, which might as well have been a power tool, for all I knew what to do with it.
“Now,” Axel said. “Putting on the flies.”
“No,” I said, and shook my head. “No torturing flies for me, thanks.”
Axel laughed, then pushed us down to sit on the rocks along the shore. “Not real ones. Look.” He pulled out handmade “flies,” and I had to admit, their colors and feathers and materials were interesting.
Kellan took a fly and copied Axel, his fingers working deftly, the tendons and cords of muscles on his forearms fascinating me as he applied the same easy concentration that he did to every task he took on.
I tried to do the same, and poked my finger. “Damn it.”
Axel laughed. “Don’t rush it, dudette.”
Easy for him to say. He never rushed anything. I tried again. Another stab into my finger. “Damn it!”
“Here.” Kellan took over, doing it the way Axel had showed us, his head bent, the material of his shirt stretched taut across his shoulders, his arm brushing mine. “See, like this.” He turned his head and caught me staring at him, caught me thinking,
So much…
“Here.” He handed me back the rod.
I looked down at the feathery fly. “Pretty.”
Both men laughed, united for that one moment in my ridiculousness. Kellan was smiling at me in a way that started my heart beating faster, and when I dropped my gaze, I could see that his heart had sped up, too. In complete opposition to that, time seemed to come to a stop, and for that one lovely beat, I had the most inane thought.
Somehow, despite everything and the insanity that went with it, it was going to be okay, because Kellan was here, and he would make it so.
Or so I could only hope.
Chapter 11
“Okay, dude and dudette, it’s easy stuff. Angling is all in the flick of your wrist, see?” Axel demonstrated with his fishing rod, winging his pretty fly and line way out into the water. “Let’s get some dinner for tonight.”
Kellan went next, and with little-to-no effort, sent his fly and line sailing out like Axel’s.
On my first try, I caught the seat of my own pants. While Kellan nearly busted a gut over that one, I tried again, and then snagged his shirt, which was an accident.
Mostly.
On my next try, I did get the fly into the water, but it caught on something, and when I tugged, the only thing that moved was me, toward the river. I’d have fallen on my ass if Kellan hadn’t snagged me by the back of my shirt and held me up.
“Thanks,” I said. “That was a little scary.”
Kel shook his head. “Rach, your entire life is scary.”
Axel had moved down the bank a bit, giving us some privacy. We were standing pretty close, and Kel was still holding onto my shirt. His hair was falling into his eyes as always, and without thinking, I reached up and pushed it back. He caught my hand in his, and looking pained, leaned in. Eyes open, on mine, he shook his head, and then kissed me.
Oh yeah. That worked for me. And when his tongue touched mine, every erogenous zone in my body perked up and stood at attention.
Then he let go, and turned away.
It took me a moment to get my brain to click back on. “What was that for?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“No!”
I studied his face, filled with carefully banked frustration. “If you figure it out, are you going to let me know?”
“Rach, with you, I never figure anything out.”
I tried again to cast out the line, or whatever it was called, and nearly got Axel in the face. He came back and took the rod from me, casting it himself before handing it back. “Safer that way,” he told Kellan.
Kellan’s lips curved at that, and I rolled my eyes. Axel began to move away again, but Kel stopped him. “Where are those answers?”
“Uh, yeah.” He scratched his head. “They’re…coming. Listen, it’s chilly here. Hang tight. I’m going to walk downriver a little bit and see if there’s a warmer spot in the sun.”
Kellan looked at me as Axel walked away. “He’s good at avoidance. Must have learned it from you.”
“
“Ha.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
The length of his thigh pressed against mine, warm and solid. He was warm and solid all over; I had reason to know.
“Kel, what if I told you that what happened between us last night had nothing to do with the lightning?”
“I’d say you weren’t thinking clearly.”
