Their gazes met again, and for a moment, she was lost in those vibrant eyes. And she saw the need in him, the desire to save and protect. But who watched over him? Who helped him in return? Even a hero needed someone to lean on, someone to give him comfort.
Someone like her.
Seconds ticked by. She inhaled his masculine scent, felt the heat from his body rise.
And a yearning swelled inside her, a fierce desire to caress him. To soothe the tension in that hard jaw and ease his pain.
But he wasn’t her husband anymore-because she’d left him. Feeling guilty, she straightened and pulled the ends of the towel to his shoulder. And felt the enormous strength of those muscles as she tied the knot on the sling.
He was tough, all right, and he was willing to bear the weight of the world. Including her.
But the one thing he’d asked in return-that she wait for him-was the only thing she couldn’t do.
And she still needed to tell him why.
Feeling raw, she stepped away and grabbed the leash. “I guess we’d better go.”
Chapter 6
The old mining road crisscrossed the mountain in a series of switchbacks as it inched its way toward the ridge. Cade led the way up the rocky trail, his headlamp carving a narrow path through the darkness. Breathing heavily, Jordan straggled a few yards behind him.
After listening to the chatter on the radio all night, he knew they needed to hurry. Come daybreak, the wind would kick up, and all hell would break loose on the mountain. He didn’t want to be here when it did.
But Jordan couldn’t hike any faster. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. Panting loudly, she staggered to a halt beside him, then braced her hands on her knees and gasped for air.
“How are you doing?” He clicked off his headlamp to preserve the batteries, then blinked to adjust his eyes to the moonlight.
“Fine.” Still breathing hard, she straightened. “But I can’t believe how steep this is. Every time the road turns, I think it’ll level out, but it just keeps going up.” She wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve. “And I thought I was in shape.”
He didn’t want to think about her shape. He’d struggled to erase the image of her naked body from his mind all night. “At least we’ve got a road to follow. You should try hiking through the brush like we do on a packout. And that’s with a hundred pounds on our backs.”
“Your equipment weighs that much?”
“Usually more.” He’d once lugged a hundred and twenty pounds for twelve miles over steep terrain. But at least he’d been wearing good boots. He glanced down at her canvas shoes. “How are your feet holding up?”
“They’ll survive.”
He hoped so. Hiking on these rocks with thin shoes had to hurt. “Are you thirsty?”
“Not yet.” Her breathing still labored, she lifted her thick, wavy hair and bared her neck to the moonlight. Without warning, that image blazed hot in his mind, of her naked back, her long, slender legs, the provocative curve of breasts. His body went instantly hard.
Still connected to his makeshift leash, the dog lay down in the dirt beside her. Jordan let down her hair and bent to scratch him. “You’re such a good dog,” she cooed.
Her sultry voice plucked at his nerves. And more memories surfaced, of her whispering to him in the darkness. The heat as she moved against him. The feel of her soft lips on his.
She’d been an amazing lover. Sensual. Demanding. Hell, she’d been so damn hot that he still fantasized about her after all these years.
And that ticked him off. Scowling, he jerked his mind back to business-getting them off this mountain. He impatiently glanced at his watch. “The sun will come up in another hour. If you can last that long, we’ll wait and eat then.”
“I’m fine.”
She straightened, and he eyed the bag on her shoulder. “I can carry that.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got it.”
“It’s just going to tire you out.”
“Not that much. Besides, you’re injured.”
His stomach clenched at the reminder. Even after a handful of ibuprofen, his collarbone and ribs ached like hell-far more than they should for a minor injury. “A couple of lightweight bags won’t do me in.”
Her chin rose. “And I can do my part.”
He studied the stubborn set to her jaw. Her feet had to be killing her, but she intended to pull her weight. And no matter what she’d done in the past, that determination impressed him.
“All right. Just let me know when you’re tired.” He clicked on his headlamp. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
He continued hiking uphill, keeping his pace slow for her sake. She was a trooper, all right. But then, she’d always struck him that way.
Which had surprised him at first, considering how she’d grown up. The only child of a Coast Guard admiral, she’d lived in upscale communities in the nicest parts of the country, or in stately homes on base, whereas his family had eked out a hard-scrabble existence in the driest part of Montana, spending every cent they earned on the ranch.
And yet, despite her sheltered background, she had chipped right in, stacking wood and washing clothes at the cabin. She’d never made demands, never complained, at least not about the rough work.
The road switched back again, and he paused for her to catch up. “I’m fine,” she wheezed, anticipating his question.
He checked his watch and glanced at the patch of sky visible through the trees. It still looked dark but most of the stars had disappeared. “It’s almost sunrise. We’ll look for a place to rest.”
Knowing she was nearing her limit, he slowed his pace. A quarter mile later, he spotted a long, low boulder on the downhill side of the road overlooking the still-darkened valley. “This looks good.”
“Great.” Panting heavily, she staggered through the weeds to the boulder and sat. Still tethered to the leash, the dog plopped down in the grass beside her.
Cade followed and settled next to her on the rock. He swung the bags off his shoulder and handed her his canteen.
“Thanks.” She dragged in another breath, then tipped her head back and drank.
He turned his attention to the valley below them. He couldn’t make out any shapes yet; in the predawn light, the trees blurred together in an inky smear. But in the east, a finger of fire crept into view. Deep orange and red, it shimmered in the fading darkness. He stared at it, mesmerized by the sight.
“The fire’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Jordan said.
“Yeah. It’s something to watch.” But it could turn deadly, especially when the winds whipped it up.
He shifted his gaze to the sky as the minutes passed, and watched it gradually brighten to blue. Smoke streaked the emerging horizon and mixed with the pink of dawn. Time ticked away, and the dense pines turned from black to dusky green.
And suddenly, he realized that it felt good sitting here in the forest, watching the sunrise with Jordan. They hadn’t talked, hadn’t needed to say one word. But even after all this time, being with her still felt right, like the natural place to be.
And no way was he analyzing why. He pulled out his radio and keyed the mike. “Campbell, this is McKenzie.”
He waited patiently for an answer. After their all-night fight, the bros would be eating and drinking coffee, fueling up for the long day ahead.
Trey radioed back seconds later. “For God’s sake, McKenzie. Are you still out here sloughing off while the rest of us do your work?”
