burned. Not that he’d had much choice. She’d been too cold to do it herself. But still…
Thankfully, he’d been all business-except for that one incredible moment when their eyes had met. Her heart fluttered wildly. She’d probably imagined that scorching look. Delirium induced by the cold.
But she hadn’t imagined his naked backside. Her heart jerked, then careened off her rib cage. She hadn’t intended to look, but his struggles had caught her attention. And then she couldn’t tear her gaze away. The powerful lines of his legs, the solid muscles…
She swallowed hard. Cade was one gorgeous man. And at least she had finally warmed up!
Her nerves humming now, she moved her stiff body under the blanket. Fatigue weighted her muscles. She wanted to roll over and sleep until morning, but she knew they needed to go. That fire was dangerously close.
She forced herself to sit up. “Are we leaving now?”
He stilled, then continued rummaging in his bag. “In a minute.”
His low voice rumbled through the night, and she shivered. God, she loved that voice, that deep, husky timbre that grew even rougher when they made love.
“You want some beef jerky?” he asked.
“Sure.” Their gazes met, and his eyes, dark in the silvery moonlight, burned into hers. Her heart stopped. Oh, God. She hadn’t imagined that look after all.
But then he turned his head, pulled a bag of jerky from his PG bag and set it down between them. “I’ve got some tuna and coffee we can have later, once we climb that next ridge.”
She sucked air into her lungs. “I can make sandwiches, too.” She removed Cade’s leather work gloves, took a strip of jerky from the bag and tossed it to the dog. He grabbed it and trotted away.
And she fought to regain her composure. So she still felt attracted to Cade. And why shouldn’t she be? He was a wildly exciting man.
Her heart fluttered.
She bit off a piece of jerky, determined not to go down that treacherous trail. Thanks to Cade, she knew about thrilling men. The pleasure might be exquisite, but the price of that rapture was pain.
And she had to keep her priorities straight. She wanted stability when she married again, a man who came home every night. A man who cared more about her than his job. Not just passion, no matter how exhilarating it felt.
Determined to keep her mind on track, she finished the jerky and rose. She folded the blanket and stuffed it into her bag, then pulled out the plastic bowl. “Do you mind if I give some of your water to the dog?”
“Help yourself. You should probably drink some, too.”
“I’m okay.” She handed the bowl to Cade. He filled it and she set it down a few feet away. “Come on, sweetie,” she called to the dog. When he trotted over, she smiled. “We need to give you a name.”
She needed to get him on a leash, too. She couldn’t risk him wandering off. But they’d cut off that rope in the river.
She eyed the belt Cade had tossed beside his bag. “Can I borrow your belt to make a leash for the dog? I can tie a sock to one end and hook it to his collar.”
“Go ahead.”
While the dog drank, she busied herself with the makeshift leash. The result wasn’t pretty, but she thought it would hold. With that done, she collected her wet clothes and stuck them in her bag. Then she stepped from Cade’s view to take care of necessities and put on a bra.
When she returned, Cade was tapping pills into his mouth. He chased them down with a swallow of water.
And suddenly, she felt guilty. He’d done so much for her, and she hadn’t helped him one bit. “I can lace your boots now,” she said.
“All right.”
He rose to his feet in one movement, and she couldn’t help but admire his strength. And his energy. He had to be more tired than she was, yet it didn’t slow him down. Of course, his stamina had always impressed her…
He stepped into his wet leather boots. Her face flaming, she knelt in front of him and began lacing. “Can you hold the pants out of the way?”
He pulled up his pant leg, and she secured the knot. “Is that tight enough?”
“Yeah.”
She tugged his pants over the top of the high-topped boot, then started on the other. The smokejumping boots brought back other memories, of Cade replacing the laces and oiling the leather, her shock at learning how much they cost. “I hope the river didn’t ruin your boots,” she said.
“They’ll be fine. They’ve been wet before.”
She secured the second knot and stood. “How about that sling for your arm?”
“All right.”
She grabbed the towel she’d used to dry her hair. “This is still damp, but it’s probably long enough for a sling.”
He slanted his head. “We need to bandage my collarbone first, to keep it in position.”
“How do we do that?”
He knelt and pulled two long triangular pieces of cotton from his first aid kit. “Here. Roll these cravats lengthwise, then tie the ends together.”
She knelt beside him and started rolling. “Like this?”
“Yeah, that’s good.”
When she’d rolled both pieces, she tied them together to form a long rope. “Now what?”
“Now we put it on.” He rose. “But I need to take off this shirt.”
She knew he had a T-shirt underneath, but the night air was still cool. “Won’t you be cold?”
“Not once we start hiking. It’s mostly uphill.” He fumbled to undo the buttons with one hand.
She stood. “Here, let me.” At five-nine, she was tall, but he topped her by a good six inches, even more with his lug-soled boots on. She reached up to unbutton his shirt.
The intimacy of the act made her face burn, and she kept her gaze averted. He’d completely undressed her, for goodness’ sake. Surely she could take off his shirt without falling apart.
Gathering her composure, she undid the last button and gently peeled back the shirt. The biceps bulging beneath his short-sleeved T-shirt caught her off guard. He’d always been strong, but years of wielding a chain saw had built real bulk.
But this wasn’t the time to admire his muscles. She set his fire shirt on his PG bag, picked up the rolled cloth and cleared her throat. “Okay, what now?”
“Now you tie that around my chest to hold my shoulder in place. Make a figure eight.”
“You’ll have to kneel down so I can reach your shoulder.”
He lowered himself to one knee, then helped her wind the cloth under one arm and over the other until they’d formed a figure eight. The resulting harness pulled his shoulder straight back. “How does that feel?”
“About right. Go ahead and tie it.”
“So, how did you get hurt?” she asked as she fastened the ends together.
She thought at first he wouldn’t answer, but then his head turned and his gaze met hers. “A snag fell-it was burning-and the rookie froze. So I pushed him out of the way.”
She paused to picture that, and her heart skipped. “You saved his life.”
He tilted his head, as if saving the man’s life were nothing, and shifted his gaze away. And once again, she glimpsed that part of him she’d never acknowledged, even though she’d always sensed it was there. His enormous courage. His loyalty to his men. And she knew without a doubt that he’d do anything to help them, just as he had for her.
Except the one thing she’d asked him to do-stop smokejumping.
A tight feeling gathered in her chest. “So, the tree fell on you instead?”
“Not directly. The branches just glanced off my shoulder.”
And nearly killed him, she suspected. “I see.” Her throat thick, she lifted the towel and caught it under his arm. So he’d nearly died saving his buddy.
