Page 44 of Fight

“Looking for…something…this,” he said, holding up something that looked like a walkie talkie with a small screen and numbered buttons. “It’s a satellite phone,” he explained. “I’m going to text Ian and ask him to tell Annie that I found you and that we’ll head down tomorrow morning. Unless…”

He stopped and considered something as he looked over at her appreciatively. She sat up straight now, and she had pulled the top of the sleeping bag up to cover her bra. Her hair had mostly dried and she sensed with her hands that it was a huge mess. She could see some of the waves and curls flying around her head in spastic disarray.

Ignoring any rising panic over the state of her hair, she shot him a questioning look. “Unless what?” she asked.

“How’d you like to finish hiking Dalak tomorrow, Helena?” he proposed smoothly.

“Finish? But I thought the path was too muddy?’

“It’s stopped raining,” he noted, raising his hand to indicate the lack of rain sounds coming from the top of the tent. Lena had been so wrapped up in her new hermitage with Jake that she hadn’t even realized that it stopped raining.

“That was it for the storm—I looked at the weather before I came up here. It will be muddy in the morning, but mostly dried out. I’d say we’re about an hour away from the peak.” His voice was soft as if trying to entice her into something.“And I know some great stopping points,” he added.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she pressed. “Last summer…”

“Why don’t you give me a chance to make up for last summer? I’ve got plenty of supplies, and I think it’s worth it. Didn’t I say there would be breaks?”

“What about last week?We should probably talk about the argument we had when we were discussing the whole kissing thing.” Lena felt a wave of heat wash over her skin. The whole kissing thing seemed like a sensitive topic to bring up when they sat around in a tent in their underwear.“I feel like we’re always destined to be at each other’s throats or making out.”

Jake chuckled at that appreciatively. “Hey, now. We’ve had one or two civil conversations,” he hedged with a smile. “And look, we haven’t fought or kissed once since we’ve been in this tent.”

“You just happen to be on my good side right now,” she admitted magnanimously.“But not that good,” she added in response to his raised eyebrows.

“I’ll take it,” he said with an expectant look on his face. “What do you say, Helena? Why don’t we go on a hike together? We’re going to have to walk down together anyway. We might as well make the most of it.”

Lena considered him, still sitting on his haunches on the other side of the small tent in his underwear. Despite his lean muscles and long body, he looked vulnerable like he was actually afraid she’d say no.

“Okay,” she finally agreed. “Let’s go on a hike, Jake.”

Chapter 14

Themorningairfeltdamp and heavy inside the tent.Jake cracked his eyes open in a dreamy, half-awake state to the sounds of birds and insects flitting and tweeting outside. The light in the tent was hazy with the fresh morning sun streaming through the thin, blue vinyl walls.Jake felt content and weighed down by sleep as he turned over to find himself pressed up against Lena’s back.Ah, yes.Yesterday’s adventure…

Jake had never known such all-encompassing relief as when he’d finally found Lena huddled in the pouring rain under a green blanket in the middle of the Dalak woods. By the time he’d parked his truck at the Kodiak trailhead, it had been quarter to seven.The late hour combined with the storm had made the unpaved section of trail so dark and muddy that it was nearly impassable. Luckily, all the times Jake had climbed this trail, and others like it, made it relatively do-able for him.However, it hadn’t stopped him from sliding and falling down the slippery, steep path quite a few times—he definitely hadn’t moved as quickly as he would have normally.

He probably would have walked right past the place where he’d eventually found her if not for the purple hoodie she’d tied to a tree.When he’d finally discovered her, she’d looked so small and pathetic, he’d wanted nothing more than to pull her against him and never let go.

She’d been better off than he’d given her credit for, but he didn’t want to imagine how she would have fared if left with nothing but her “hermitage” for shelter all night. He’d felt much calmer, his caveman senses more at ease, once he’d had her warmed up and fed.

After they’d dried off in the tent, they feasted on re-hydrated macaroni and cheese for dinner and Jake presented Lena with the toothbrush he’d brought her, which she’d very much appreciated if her squeal of excitement was anything to go by.She’d jumped up in his arms to hug him, again calling him an angel—much better than Satan, he’d decided. Then the two of them had used water from one of the hydro flasks to brush their teeth over the damp earth outside of the tent.

It had been pitch dark out in the woods at that point. Jake had laid the one sleeping bag he had out flat on the floor of the tent. After he’d set up the makeshift bed, he and Lena laid next to each other, resting their heads on inflatable pillows, and covering up with the lightweight blanket that Lena had wrapped herself in when she’d climbed into the tent earlier. They’d chatted and laughed casually for about fifteen minutes before Lena had passed out with Jake not far behind her.

It should have been awkward sleeping with each other this way, but after their time sharing the sleeping bag, eating macaroni and cheese, and brushing their teeth together—all in nothing but their underwear, it felt natural to settle in closely next to each other and casually fall asleep.

Jake had slept like a rock, but now that it was morning and he had Lena’s body pressed up against him, he was feeling very much awake. Propping himself up on his elbow, he looked down at her more fully. Her hair spun around her in a riot of waves and curls and her small, pale face was so calm and replete in the early morning light.

She flinched as if sensing him hovering above her before she drew in a deep breath and turned her head to look up at him, reluctantly cracking her eyes open. “How come each time I wake up in this tent, I find you staring at me like a creeper?” she asked in a voice still thick with sleep.

He shrugged the shoulder he wasn’t leaning on. “To be fair, you’ve spent an inordinate amount of time sleeping while we’ve been here.”

She laughed reluctantly as they both moved into a sitting position.“Weirdo.”

Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the tent questioningly.“What time is it? I feel like I’ve been sleeping for days.”

Jake picked up the satellite phone to see a message from Ian. He’d texted Ian the night before asking him to tell Annie that he’d found Lena, and let her know they were camping out and finishing the hike in the morning.

Ian:Annie says be good and be home by dusk.

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