Ian salivating all over the stunning Celeste aside, this day wasn’t going the way Shelby had hoped. If anything, today was teaching her that she didn’t have any kind of aptitude for this stuff. She had fumbled her way through pretty much every first-aid skill, and fire-making wasn’t going much better. She couldn’t help but wonder if Ian still thought she had a knack for this stuff, or if he regretted suggesting she take more training. Maybe he had just been trying to be nice and hadn’t really meant any of it.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she was hungry. She needed to refocus and get this fire started, so she could have something to eat. Unable to find a comfortable position, she finally gave up and plopped her butt down on the damp grass.
“What am I doing wrong?” she asked the air. She had followed Ian’s instructions to the letter. She had found a large piece of bark to build the fire on—both to protect the ground, and so she could move the fire if needed. She had gathered her kindling and wood carefully, finding some drier pieces under an old cedar log. She hadn’t started anything until she had all her materials collected, and she had taken her time.
She flicked the flint again and tiny sparks glowed red on the top of her pile. Cupping her hands around the flame, she leaned in close and blew lightly to encourage the sparks into flames. She smiled as miniature flames erupted, but then they quickly turned to black ash, just like all her previous attempts. Shelby’s smile faded.
“How are you making out?” Ian asked.
Shelby clamped one hand over her pounding heart. “You startled me.”
“It’s my stealthy ninja skills,” he quipped.
“Right. Are we learning those skills next?”
“Absolutely.” He winked. “Right after you get this fire going.”
“I think I could use some help...”
He peered down at her pile of blackened kindling. “It all looks good. You’ve got this,” he said, and then he walked away.
In shock, Shelby watched him until he returned to the rest of the gang at the campfire ring. She scrunched her face up at him when he chose the stump next to Celeste. Breathing out a long, slow, frustrated breath, she turned back to her fire.
“I warned you. You don’t have the right kind of boobs for luring men into helping you,” Ginny said. “I think I’m bailing on this flint. Time for the lighter. This girl needs some food.”
“I’m not using a lighter,” Shelby said, suddenly feeling rebellious. The wood might all be damp, and everyone else might be done, but she did have this. She didn’t need anybody’s help.
“Atta girl,” Ginny said as she flicked the lighter and her pile lit immediately.
Shelby focused in on her fire, pushing away her irritation at Ian. This time she really took her time, moving methodically, refusing to think of all the people waiting for her, refusing to think about Ian and how he was almost snuggled up against Celeste.
“I don’t need his bullshit,” she said under her breath.
With renewed determination, Shelby freshened up her kindling by shaving some super fine bits of cedar into the middle of the old man’s beard moss and gathered the moss a little tighter. Then she flicked the flint, breathed gently on the red embers, and cupped her hands around the burgeoning flames to protect them. As the flames continued to grow. She smiled and added the next size of kindling. The flames continued to consume the fuel, getting bigger.
She could do this; Ian and his obliviousness be damned!
When she finally added a few pieces from the last pile of sticks, Shelby leaned back and beamed with pride. She had succeeded. She had beaten the damp wood of the west coast rainforest and got her fire going, and she had done it on her own terms.
“Hey, look at that. Nice job,” Ian said. She had been so focused on her fire that she hadn’t heard him return. “Now, you just need to transfer it.”
“No problem,” she said, feeling a little cocky, forgetting she was miffed at Ian.
Eager to finish up and join the others at the campfire, she stood as quickly as her stiff legs would allow. She was so close to being done. Transferring it to the signal fire would be a piece of cake. She picked up the piece of bark holding her fire.
Then it all went wrong.
She stumbled on a rock but regained her balance, managing to not tip the fire off. Her heart pounded with the near miss. She took another step, and her foot slid out from under her, as she stepped on a log from the fire pile. The log rolled, and she went down hard.
“Umph.” Her stomach slammed against the log, knocking the air out of her, and her fire went skidding across the grass. She did not have enough breath to cry out at the pain shooting through her. She sensed people moving towards her, as she fought to breathe. Then there were hands on her, pulling her up to a sitting position.
“That’s it. Focus on breathing out. Your body will automatically breathe in.” It was Ian’s voice speaking gently in her ear. He manoeuvred himself behind her. “That’s it, lean back against me. It will help your breathing.”
If she had any air, she would have laughed at his words. Leaning against Ian McLean’s muscular chest was in no way helping her breathe.
After what seemed like ages, her breathing began to ease back into a normal rhythm, and Ian slipped out from behind her. “Let me look at your face.”
Her hands automatically went to her face. She hadn’t noticed the stinging pain on her cheek. A scraped-up face was just what she needed to round out the disaster of today perfectly.
“That’s a nasty abrasion, but it isn’t a cut, so no stitches,” Ian said, his dark eyes scanning her face. “I’m going to check you out for other injuries, okay?”
So that’s what I have to do to get felt up by Ian.
The nearness of him, and the way he was looking so intently at her, was causing a warmth to grow deep in her groin. It’s just first aid. The pleasure spread through her, following his hands as they checked her for injuries. Her eyes locked onto his, as he leaned in to reach around and check her back. His mouth was so close she could feel his breath on her face, and the warmth emanating from her womanhood ignited into a flame that licked through her body, causing her to squirm.
“Does it hurt there?” Ian asked, misinterpreting her wriggling as pain.
Her face flushed. She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. She needed to get a grip on herself. He was administering first aid, not feeling her up.
“Yikes, that sure isn’t pretty,” Celeste said, coming up beside Ian and resting a hand on his shoulder.
Ian glanced briefly at Celeste and then shifted slightly away from Shelby.
“Everything feels okay. It’s just going to hurt for a bit,” he said, standing up and dusting his pants off. He moved further away without offering Shelby a hand up.
“Hopefully, she doesn’t get a black eye,” Celeste said. “That would really suck for all the pictures.”
“That would really suck for all the pictures,” Shelby mouthed with a sour face. The fire inside her died so quickly that she felt like she had been doused in glacier water, leaving her with the urge to slap Celeste.
“Could they be any more obvious?” Ginny asked.
“No kidding,” Shelby said, failing to keep the bitterness out of her voice. Apparently, she couldn’t even manage to keep Ian’s attention when she was injured. Mother Nature had given Celeste an unfair advantage. Not that she was competing with Celeste, but it would sure be nice to just once be the girl that the guys fell all over themselves trying to impress.
“Here let me help you up,” Ginny said, reaching out and hauling her to her feet.
“Thanks,” Shelby mumbled. She tested her leg gingerly. It ached, but it held her weight fine. Brushing off the debris clinging to her yoga pants, she sighed ruefully.
“These pants always pick up everything. Unlike their owner.”
Ian took an uneasy seat at the campfire, keeping one eye on Shelby, as Ginny helped her to her feet. The scent of Celeste’s perfume pr
eceded her, as she cozied up to him. It was so strong he could have picked it out in a crowded bar. Out here, in the fresh air, it was cloying and made him want to push her away.
What he really needed was a bit of space, so he could think clearly. He could try and tell himself that his response to Shelby’s distress was just his duty as her instructor. It was his job to take care of the safety and security of all his students, but he knew it was a weak argument. If it had been Luke, or even Piper, who had bailed, he wouldn’t have found himself virtually wrapped around them. What had he been thinking?
Truth was, he hadn’t been, and it had been happening a lot lately. It wasn’t good. In fact, it was dangerous. If it had been any other student, he would have propped them against one of the stumps ringing the fire and coached them from an appropriate distance. He certainly wouldn’t have had Luke in his lap.
Celeste had been right to be shocked.
He was probably lucky Celeste had interfered. Her comments had brought him back to reality. He couldn’t say what he would have done had he continued his examination of Shelby. He had already let himself get a little too carried away. He had been part way through a secondary survey, for God’s sake.
Despite knowing he was playing with fire, Ian couldn’t help but let his eyes drift back over to Shelby, quickly looking away when he realized she was making her way over to the campfire. He surreptitiously watched as she took a second to brush some of the dirt from her pants before settling in on a stump on the opposite side of the fire from him, as far away as she could get. He couldn’t blame her.
He had such a strong desire to rush in and save her that he was deliberately keeping his distance. It was for him as much as it was for her. She needed space to grow and figure stuff out without him swooping in to “fix” things.
It was why he hadn’t helped her with her fire, as much as he wanted to. He knew she could do it; she just needed to find her confidence, and she was never going to do that, if he took over every time.
As for himself he needed distance to keep a clear head; he needed to focus on being her instructor and nothing more.
“Do you want a wiener?” Piper asked, holding a package of hot dogs out to Shelby. Piper’s voice drifted across the fire, catching Ian’s attention.
Ian watched as Shelby delicately touched her damaged cheek and then shook her head no.
“Oh, come on, you’ve got to eat,” Ginny said, taking the package from Piper as she plopped down on the seat beside her friend. “I’ll roast us up some fine wieners. Can’t be wasting this fire.”
Ginny took the wiener roasting stick Luke held out to her and slipped two wieners onto the prongs. Ian was pretty sure Ginny had never eaten a hot dog before, at least not since becoming an adult, and she certainly had never roasted one over the fire. He was about to caution her about putting it directly into the flames, when Luke put a hand over hers and steered her towards the coals.
“Careful, you want to roast it, not start it on fire,” Luke said.
“Roast me a wiener too, won’t you, Ian?” Celeste cooed into Ian’s ear.
Ian turned to her in shock. He knew for a fact Celeste didn’t normally eat hot dogs. He had been lugging around a backpack full of organic, vegan food for her. But what choice did he have?
He didn’t look across the campfire to confirm it, but he would have bet his last dollar that Shelby was watching him with hot eyes, as he set up a roasting stick with a wiener for Celeste. When the wiener was roasted to perfection, the skin bubbling and bursting, he turned and offered it to Celeste.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Oh, there’s something else I desire,” she cooed, smiling coyly. “But it can wait until the sun goes down.” She shifted her hips closer to his until their legs were touching. “I heard the moon is supposed to be huge tonight.”
He winced at the way his groin tightened in response to the way she emphasized “huge”. She was going to be a handful.
As the last student disappeared into the trees, Ian remained rooted to the spot; his eyes fixed on the spot where Shelby had sat. Jade came up beside him, and he didn’t have to look at his boss’s face to feel the disapproval. He wasn’t sure exactly when she had arrived, but apparently, it had been early enough to witness his first-aid stunt.
“It’s all good, Jade.”
“Is it, Ian?” Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re heading down a dangerous path.”
“Looks can be deceiving.” He knew he shouldn’t be peevish with Jade. She was his friend, and she had been there to bail him out the last time he had screwed up his life. In fact, she had warned him that time too. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. He had aggression that needed to be spent, and he couldn’t very well bugger off to scale a mountain to work off his pent-up energy.
“Don’t be an idiot, Ian. You’ve gone down that road before and look where you ended up. You need to stay focused on what’s important and not get caught up in dangerous fantasies. Besides, is that really what you want?”
Ian knew what Jade meant. He also knew she was just looking out for him. She had been there when his love for Natalie had blown up and left him barely functioning. She was right that he needed to focus on getting his career back on track.
He had no interest in getting hitched, so he needed to stay far away from women like Shelby.
What he needed to do was his job.
“I’ll take care of this fire, and then I’ll go check on Celeste.”
“That’s a good plan.” Jade patted him reassuringly on the back before she turned to leave. “You know I’m counting on you, right?”
He swallowed hard. He didn’t have an answer for her.
CHAPTER 15
Shelby took another bite of her chicken stew. It was almost even more delicious than the beef stew had been the previous night, if that was possible. The Cookhouse was quiet as everyone tucked into their supper, tired and hungry after a busy day in the fresh air—a day that had been more than a little tough for Shelby.
After a long day of watching Ian at Celeste’s beck and call, the quiet was soothing and the stew was comforting.
“I have to say I’m having fun,” Ginny said out of the blue.
“That’s nice,” Shelby murmured.
The two women sat a bit apart from the rest of the group. Shelby needed some space to be alone with her thoughts, so she could ruminate over what a big mistake coming here had been. Ginny hadn’t let her sit alone—even though her repeated glances over at a certain blond surfer suggested she would have preferred to sit at the other table with everyone else.
“You can go sit with him, you know. I’m not going to be any kind of company.”
Ginny shook her head resolutely. “Oh, come on, honey, you had a few blips, but that doesn’t mean this was a bad choice. You just need to cut yourself some slack. I saw your face when you got that fire going.”
“And again, when I face planted,” Shelby shot back, putting her hand to her cheek where the abrasion still smarted.
“Bah.” Ginny flicked her hand dismissively. “It was a graceful swan dive. Everyone's probably jealous. Besides, we all cheated. We used lighters. You were the only purist.”
Shelby reflected on Ginny’s words, as she took another bite of her stew. The thick hearty broth was chock full of carrots, celery, and chicken chunks, and it was like heaven in her mouth. But even the tasty dinner couldn’t bring her out of her funk. She didn’t want to let go of her negativity. She wanted to pout.
Eventually, however, Ginny’s words pushed through the layers of self-recrimination she had wrapped around herself, and she straightened her back.
“You’re right. I did do it. It was a good day despite, well, everything,” Shelby said, laughing self-consciously.
Ginny returned her smile. “That’s the spirit. Besides, tomorrow we’re going to the Pothole thingies. Who could have a bad time lounging about at the wilderness spa?”
“A whole se
ries of natural hot springs does sound amazing.”
Ginny set down her spoon. “You know what, though?” Even if it’s a trick, and they don’t turn out to be like a natural outdoor spa, I’m having fun in the bush. Who knew?”
“Just your brother and all his friends and, of course, me. You know, with my endless experience.”
“Yeah, well what does the lot of you know?” Ginny winked. “And this stew is way better than any salad I’ve ever tasted. You nature girls might be on to something.”
Shelby grinned mischievously. “I think maybe the mud on your face is putting the spa into this wilderness spa.”
Ginny swiped at her face. “Mud mask, good one. People pay good money for this kind of stuff.”
“Shelby,” Ian said from right behind her, causing her to jump. You’d think with her inability to get him out of her mind, she would have a better sense of where he was and not be caught by surprise every time he spoke to her.
“Yes?” she asked, composing her face into a mask of indifference as she turned to face him. Looking at him was a mistake. The sight of him—standing there exuding rugged charm—caused chaos inside her. Her body reacted to him with heat and tingling in places she was sure only his touch could soothe.
Why didn’t she seem to have any control over body when Ian got near? She wasn’t a teenager. She was a grown woman with two kids, no less!
“Want to come and help me light tonight’s campfire? It would be good practice for you.”
“Um... is anyone else helping?” The words just popped out of her mouth, and her face instantly flamed. In the heat of the moment, with her blood running hot, every cell in her body wanted to go and build fires with Ian. And yet, the part of her ruled by jealousy wasn’t just blindly agreeing to anything—especially if Celeste was going to be there.
She had to take a stand for all womankind.
Ian’s eyes wrinkled questioningly. “Just you. Only takes one to light a fire.”
Saving Shelby Page 12