He stood, and together they pulled up the jeans. He tried not to think about how close she was standing, about how with one short tug, he could haul her into his arms.

He jerked up the zipper and reached for the snap. His knuckles brushed her soft stomach and she gasped. Her gaze locked on his.

The air stalled in his lungs. She stood just inches away, her dark, sultry eyes hot on his. He smelled the velvet of her skin, the dampness of her hair, and felt the old urgency rise between them. His gaze dropped to her lips, and memories roared through his brain of staggering heat and pleasure.

The sound of the snap closing exploded like a bomb in the silence. He sucked in his breath and stepped back. Almost blindly, he bent and pulled his sweatshirt from his bag, then yanked it over her head. It reached her thighs, covering her like a sack. It didn’t help.

He handed her the dry socks. “Can you put these on?” She nodded and lowered herself to the ground.

Struggling to control his libido, he again turned his back. So his desire for her hadn’t faded. It didn’t mean a damn thing, except that he was alive. Nothing had changed between them, or ever would. She couldn’t live with a smokejumper. And he wouldn’t change his identity for anyone, no matter how great their sex life had been.

His resolve hardening, he shoved the past where it belonged and turned his mind to what mattered-getting them out of the forest.

But the truth was that they couldn’t continue in this condition. She needed to warm up. And although he hated to admit it, his head ached like hell. His shoulder felt wrenched from its socket, and his ribs burned whenever he breathed.

He picked up the blanket and draped it awkwardly over her shoulders. She gave him a grateful smile.

Keeping a safe distance between them, he sat down beside her and pulled off his hard hat. He took his canteen from his bag and rummaged for his bottle of ibuprofen, hoping to take the edge off his pain. When he found it, he thumbed off the plastic lid, tapped a few into his mouth, and swallowed them down with water.

He glanced at Jordan. “Are you hungry?”

Snuggled deep in the blanket now, she shook her head. His stomach rumbled, but food could wait. He needed to change out of his wet pants before he got chilled. Jordan wasn’t in any condition to help him, and he doubted he could stand her soft hands on him if she were.

“We’ll rest here for a while,” he said. He began unlacing his boots.

“B-b-but the f-f-fire…”

“We’re safe enough for now. We’ve got the river behind us and the wind’s still pushing west. We can rest for an hour and then start hiking again.”

“Your arm…”

“Later, when you’ve warmed up. You can help lace my boots up, too.”

She looked at him for a long moment, as if she wanted to argue, then finally slanted her head. He tugged off his wet boots and socks.

He grabbed some dry clothes from his bag, then rose again. “I’m going to change.” He turned his back to her and stepped away.

Using one hand, he stripped off his wet pants and briefs, and tossed them aside. The movement jostled his shoulder, but he ignored the deepening pain.

Then he picked up his dry briefs and paused. How was he going to manage this?

“You n-n-need help?” Jordan asked.

He froze. No way in hell was he was letting her help, especially after seeing her naked. He’d barely controlled his reaction to her then. “I can do it.” Hoping she wasn’t watching, he awkwardly inched the briefs into place.

His pants always hung loose during the season, thanks to the weight he dropped fighting fire, so he pulled them on without problems. He secured the zipper and button, and turned around. He’d have to go without the belt.

He sat back down and grabbed a pair of dry socks from his bag. “Any chance you can help with these?”

“Sure.” Still wrapped in the blanket, she rose to her knees. Her hands trembled as she picked up his socks and unrolled them. He noticed her gaze didn’t quite meet his.

He dusted the pine needles from the soles of his feet. “Are you any warmer?”

“A l-l-little.” Her dark head bent over as she pulled the first sock over his foot.

He flinched. “Your hands are still cold.”

“S-s-sorry.” Still not meeting his gaze, she adjusted the sock.

“You can wear my gloves,” he said. “They’re dirty, but they might keep your hands warm.”

“Okay.” Her wet hair swung forward as she started on the other foot. He frowned. Aside from his hard hat, he didn’t have anything to warm her head. And they couldn’t risk building a campfire.

She finished pulling up his sock and sat back.

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll put my boots on later.” Maybe she’d be warm enough by then to help him lace them.

He tossed her his work gloves, then pulled more clothes from his bag to form a long pillow. He placed the radio close by, switching to the scanning position for updates.

Jordan settled back down beside him. “C-come here, sweetie,” she called to the dog. He wandered over, and she patted the ground.

“We’ll need to share the blanket to keep warm,” Cade said.

“Ok-k-kay.” She unwrapped the blanket. He scooted closer, and she helped smooth it over their legs. He couldn’t hold her with his injured shoulder, but his body would still generate heat.

Stifling a groan, he lowered his back to the ground. He lay flat on the uneven surface, his right arm propped on his chest. His shoulder ached worse than when the tree had crushed it, and a dull pain pressed on his skull. He hoped to God the ibuprofen worked fast.

The dog paused a few yards from Jordan and began turning in little circles. After several rotations, he plopped down and buried his nose in his tail. Then he let out a sigh.

“G-g-good d-d-dog.” She lay back and pulled the blanket to her chin.

Her concern for the stray dog touched him. He’d always admired that about her, that she really cared about others-animals, the elderly, even him. Or so he’d believed.

She shivered, and he moved closer so that their shoulders touched. The moonlight sifted through the pine trees and outlined the curve of her cheeks.

He forced his gaze away. His breathing slowed. And the fatigue he’d been fighting settled in, creeping through his heart and lowering his defenses. Rushing his mind back to the past.

God, he’d been crazy about this woman. She’d been everything he’d ever dreamed of. Gentle and tender. Warm and funny. Sexy as hell, with a passion that left him reeling.

And he’d been so sure he’d found the one woman who understood him, the one who really cared.

He’d been wrong.

But now, lying beside her and listening to her breathing softly, it was hard to hold on to the bitterness. Hard to forget the good parts of their marriage. The months in the cabin. The easy camaraderie. The trust.

He gazed up at the stars between the swaying treetops and listened to the rush of the river. And wondered for the hundredth time what had gone wrong, and why she’d left him.

His chest cramped, and for a terrible moment, he let himself relive the past. The incredulity. The disbelief. The bitter hurt and rage.

She’d hated being alone; he knew that. They’d moved from the cabin to Missoula during the fire season so she could find work and make friends.

But he’d never expected her to leave. He’d been stunned, shocked. Unable to believe that she’d gone, that something that special to him meant so little to her, and that she could toss it away. Or that he’d misjudged her so completely.

He closed his eyes and listened to her drift into sleep, just as he had years ago. So why had she left? A lost, lonely feeling weighted his heart.

Because even after all this time, he still didn’t know the answer.

Jordan woke a short time later to sounds of Cade rustling through his bag. She snuggled deeper into the blanket, relishing the heat now spreading through her body, thanks to her dry clothes and Cade.

A sudden vision popped into her mind of him removing her clothes. Her shirt and bra, her pants…Her cheeks

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