Page 218 of Her Reluctant Hero
Chapter Six
Peyton woke alone, light glowing through the yellow nylon of the tent. Was it the fire coming up on them? She scrambled through the opening, pricking her palms on the burned grass poking through the flimsy floor of the tent. Where had Gabe gone? He hadn’t left her, had he?
She’d barely calmed herself when he walked out of a grove of trees the fire had burned under, blackening trunks and undergrowth, but not reaching branches. How he’d managed to find a clearing in the dark just added to the mystery of Gabe Cooper.
She had trouble untangling herself from the tent opening before finding her feet to stand and confront him.
“Where were you?”
“Went to see a man about a horse,” he said cheerily, raising her suspicions. He hadn’t used that tone before. “I have a signal on your phone. I told them where we are and that we’re okay.”
Relief sagged her shoulders. “Are they coming to get us?”
He shook his head and she was glad to see his face again, to be able to read his expressions. “They can’t spare the manpower to rescue two healthy firefighters. We’ll be fine.”
Okay, maybe she wasn’t as glad to see his face, since he seemed to pity her for her naïveté. “Yes, but—” She hadn’t realized how much contact with civilization would raise her hopes. “I thought maybe you were too integral to be gone all day.”
He laughed, moving past her toward the tent, and her hope deflated. “Nice try. Now you go talk to that man about that horse and I’ll pack up.”
Well, a little sleep did Gabe a world of good. Peyton changed her socks as he folded the tent and repacked it without seeming to realize what had gone on in there. Apparently the emotions awakened by sleeping in such confines didn’t torment him. Wouldn’t it figure. She was all twisted with what-ifs and why-nots, and he was whistling. Whistling.
Annoyed he had viewed last night as nothing more than a necessity, she snapped at him. “What are you so cheerful about?”
He didn’t blink at her tone. “Jen told me the fire burned past us while we slept. It’s all downhill from here.”
“But you said downhill was harder,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, but we’ve had a good night’s sleep.” He swung his pack onto his shoulder. “Everything looks better after that. Ready to move out?”
Was she ever. She couldn’t wait to get back to other people and her right mind, the one that didn’t wonder what might have happened last night if she’d turned around in his arms.
“How long do you think it will take us to get back to camp?” She hefted her own pack.
“We won’t have to spend the night in a tent again.”
Like that was a bad thing. Oops, where had that thought come from? So she had liked sleeping against his chest, with his arm across her. It made her—secure. Something she hadn’t thought to experience again.
He made her feel something else, but she wasn’t quite ready to put a name to it. It was beyond desire, beyond tenderness, almost...trust.
How could she trust a man who could hurt her most? How could she let herself be vulnerable to him in any way? Because once she was open to him, it was only a short step to fall in love.
But that wouldn’t happen. The two of them were stuck in a life-and-death situation. It was simple. And once they got back to camp she’d head home and remind herself why she was writing these articles.
“How come it only took a little while to get to the Girl Scout camp and it’s taking so long to get back?”
“We sort of circled around behind the fire camp, adding a few miles to the return trip.” He squinted at the sky. “It’ll be hot today, since we’re hiking across the burned-out section with no shade, so we’ll have to pace ourselves.”
They headed down the hill, slipping and sliding on the brittle grass, every step stirring up black ash. Gabe crabbed sideways ahead of her, one arm raised toward her to catch her. She tried not to depend on him, but a touch of their gloved fingers now and then helped her keep her balance. At least physically.
She should have known better than to volunteer for this trip. She recognized Gabe Cooper for the dangerous man he was, not only in the work he did, but in his appeal to her. She’d thought he reminded her of Dan, but it was Gabe himself, his confidence, his strength.
Okay, his handsomeness. The virility that had her still feeling the heat from his body.
No, no, no, Peyton. He’s no good for you.
But he made her feel good about herself, in a way all the stories she’d written hadn’t, despite her best efforts.
She’d be damned if she gave a man that kind of power. Especially a man who could leave her alone again.
