Out of Reach

by Kendall Talbot

  He nodded and bit another piece off the stick. Lily leaned back with her hands in the dirt and scanned her surroundings. Nothing but vegetation filled the 360-degree view. And none of it was familiar territory. “We’re lost, aren’t we?”

  Carter tossed his empty skewer into the fire and dusted his hands. “For now. But we’ll find Agulinta soon.” He nodded with conviction.

  Lily didn’t feel the same confidence.

  They packed their gear again, and Lily noticed they only had about two half-full bottles of water left. They’d need to find that temple soon, or the river.

  Carter took the lead, pushing through the bushes with a new level of gusto. Lily remained hot on his tail, which she had to admit was an excellent view. Carter may have a ragged appearance, but she’d already begun to wonder how handsome he was under all that unkempt hair.

  Carter captivated her more than any man had in years, possibly ever. He was very private, yet not afraid to probe her life story. The fact that he hadn’t been home in years was fascinating. She had the distinct feeling there were very strong reasons for him leaving and never going back. If she had to guess, she’d say a woman was central to the decision.

  For a short distance the terrain was relatively flat, but it wasn’t long before she noticed a change. They were going downhill. And that wasn’t good. Agulinta was at the top of the hill . . . they’d obviously missed it.

  She was stewing over how to voice her concern when Carter paused at a giant log that blocked their path. “I think we crossed over this log before.”

  Lily put the rooster down and stepped back to take in more of the toppled tree. The bark was graying and covered in a motley pattern of white powder and green moss. She didn’t recognize it. “I don’t think so.”

  “Yep.” He slapped the log, dispersing white particles into the air. “I’m sure we’ve seen this one.”

  “When?” They’d climbed over at least a dozen fallen trees in the last couple of days, but she was adamant this wasn’t one of them.

  “When we went from Yaxchilan up to Agulinta, after the rope bridge.”

  Frowning, she studied the fallen tree, searching for something that jogged her memory. “Really?”

  He slapped the bark again. “Yep. So that means we missed Agulinta. But”—he rubbed his hands together—“we’ve saved time because we’re closer to the river.”

  She weighed up the pros and cons before she spoke. “How’d we miss Agulinta?”

  “We must’ve skirted around it somehow and came in from the same side we went up yesterday.”

  “So you think we’ll reach the river if we keep going this way?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Lily wanted to feel his positivity, especially with their limited water supply. In the end, she decided there was no reason to doubt him. “Okay then. Lead the way.”

  Carter wasted no time in climbing onto the log. Once over, she handed Pompa’s cage up to him, then climbed over and they set off again along a path that simply wasn’t there.

  “Tell me about your family.” Lily needed a distraction.

  “Huh?” He glanced over his shoulder at her and quickly averted his eyes forward again.

  “What do your folks do?”

  “Oh right. They’re both gone now.”

  “Oh no, Carter. I’m so sorry.”

  “No need to be. It happened a long time ago.”

  He didn’t elaborate, so she didn’t push it.

  “What about your parents?” he asked.

  “Mom still lives on the farm, but Dad died a year ago.”

  “He must’ve been young?”

  “Sixty-six.”

  “Yeah, that is young. What happened?”

  “A heart attack.”

  “That’s how my dad died too.”

  She groaned. “Sorry to hear that. Did you see him before he passed?”

  “Nope.” He said it so matter-of-factly that Lily now wondered if his parents were the reason he’d left Australia.

  As the heat of the day intensified, so did the density of the vegetation. Several times they had to backtrack and go a different way because they simply couldn’t push through the jungle.

  “Tell me,” Carter said, “did you really catch and kill your own food on the farm?”

  She huffed. “My brothers did most of that. According to my dad, women were meant for the kitchen.”

  “Ouch.” Carter twisted toward her. “I bet that pissed you off.”

  “Just a little.”

  “A lot, I’d say. So how did you learn then?”

  “Fortunately, my mom insisted that I be treated equally to my brothers. So four times a year, Dad would drive my brothers and me to the far edge of the farm and we’d have to make our way back. We took our own tents and camping gear, and Mom would pack enough food for the hike. But we also loved catching our own. My brothers made sure I did my share of the hunting. Much to Dad’s disgust.”

  “Sounds like a load of fun. How long would it take you to get back?”

  “About five or six days, depending on where we were to start with.”

  “Six days? How big was this farm?”

  “Just under a thousand acres.”

  Carter whistled. “Well, I have to tell you, Lily, I’m mighty grateful your dad and brothers did that. Because I’m telling you now, I would’ve had no idea what to do with that lizard once I caught it.”

  “You would’ve figured it out. Besides, you did the hard part.”

  Carter shoved a giant leaf aside and jumped back screaming, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” A giant spider web stretched from him to the bushes.

  She dropped the birdcage and raced to him.

  In a frenzy he plucked the sticky lace from his face.

  “Where’s the spider?” He slapped at his shoulders and chest.

  “I don’t see one.” She checked his body and pack, and certain there were no creepy-crawlies on him, she tried to stifle a laugh, but it was impossible.

  “It’s not funny,” he snapped.

  “You’re right. It’s not. I’m sorry.” But despite clamped teeth, she snorted a giggle.

  “All right, Lara Croft, you can go first from now on.”

  She shrugged, then picked up the birdcage and handed it to him. “Your turn with the cage then.” She pushed the large leaf aside again and, careful not to get the rest of the spider web on her, strode ahead. “You know, walking into a spider’s web is supposed to be good luck.”

  “Yeah! Well, I’m ready for good luck any time now.”

  Lily hooked her thumbs into the straps of her pack and set the pace. Nearly every step required a plant of some sort to be shoved aside, and it was painfully obvious nobody had passed this way recently. Possibly ever.

  They trudged on for what seemed like hours and her only judge of time was her rumbling stomach. Although she’d only seen glimpses of the sun, its presence was constant in the humidity trapped within the vegetation. The closeness was like a blanket, hot and heavy and bordering on unbearable. Pure determination drove her progress, but as time dragged on and the jungle darkened, even that began to wane.

  “Do you hear that?” Carter’s voice was loaded with excitement.

  She turned to him as he put the birdcage down. “What?” All she heard was their ragged breathing.

  He punched the air. “Yes. I knew it. That, Liliana, is a fucking waterfall.” He picked her up and they spun around, laughing.

  He lowered Lily to her feet, grabbed the cage and stepped ahead. “I can feel a skinny-dip coming on.”

  It was several more steps before she heard the dull roar. The glorious sound already had her feeling ten times better.

  Despite the spider web incident, Carter ploughed through the plants, a man on a mission. With every step the rumble of the water incr
eased. Finally, the jungle gave way and a giant gorge opened up before them.

  They’d found the river, but the water tumbled a million miles an hour about twenty feet down.

  Out of reach.

  Chapter 12

  The river was a magnificent sight, one that normally would’ve taken Carter’s breath away, but their inability to access it only pissed him off. He didn’t even have the enthusiasm to take photos. To his left, water shot through an enormous spout ten feet above and smashed into rocks about twenty feet below them.

  The fine mist thickening the air teased him, just enough to confirm it wasn’t a hallucination, but inadequate to cool him down. He wondered if it was the same waterfall near the rope bridge they’d crossed the other day, but it only took one glance around to crush that hope. For starters, they were on the wrong side of the gorge. The formation of the rocks at the top and bottom were different, and the bridge was nowhere to be seen.

  They were still lost.

  He looked up, ready to scream to the heavens, but resisted by clenching his jaw instead.

  Fluffy clouds stained indigo and pink dominated the dark blue sky, concealing the sun. After days in the dense jungle, the sight should’ve been welcome relief. It wasn’t. Far from it. The frustration that hit him moments ago, hit a whole new level as he conceded the sun was setting. He couldn’t believe they’d walked an entire day and not only did they bypass Agulinta, but they still didn’t have fresh water. He fisted his hands until his nails dug in.

  “Now what do we do?” Lily yelled over the thunder.

  Carter pointed downstream. “We walk that way.” With birdcage in hand, he took off and didn’t look back to see if she followed.

  His fingers strangled the bars of the cage as he negotiated the abundant obstacles . . . plants, rocks, giant trees . . . more bloody plants. The hurdles were endless. None of it easy. Traversing the edge of the gorge was hard enough, but just for a bit of fun, everything was slippery too. Clutching the damn birdcage didn’t help, and he nearly tumbled several times. The temptation to toss the chicken into the swirling water below increased with every step.

  The bird spread its wings and crowed, clearly enjoying the expedition more than Carter, and seconds later, the monkeys belted out their hair-raising chorus. He was surprised he could even hear them over the tumbling water.

  As much as he wanted to, he resisted looking skyward. Nothing good could come of it anyway. He was pretty sure darkness was fast descending upon them and the silent clock ticking in his head urged him to set up camp, ASAP.

  Carter paused at a spot high above the river where a giant boulder blocked his nonexistent path. He had no choice but to veer away from the river and head into the jungle. After several minutes, a clearing opened up as if he was meant to find it. It was about twenty feet wide, relatively flat, and based on what he’d seen in the last twenty-four hours, a miracle.

  He plonked the rooster down and turned to watch Lily stride over a small shrub with ease. “Found our campsite for the night.”

  “We’re stopping?” Lily raised her eyebrows.

  Carter was completely beat and refused to believe she’d have any stamina left either. “Yes, we’re stopping.” He made a show of tossing his pack to the ground.

  “I thought we’d find somewhere along the river.”

  Carter rolled his shoulder, working out the stiffness, and glared at her. “Did you see a place to fit a tent?”

  “Well no. It’s just—”

  “Just what, Lily?”

  “Don’t take your frustration out on me.” She fisted her hands on her hips.

  He sighed. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  After a pause she nodded. “Apology accepted.”

  “Are you okay if we camp here?”

  She looked around as if assessing the site. “This will do fine.” Lily slipped her pack off and sat down on the grass. The legs on her cargo pants drifted up, and Carter noticed the scabs on her knees. He’d forgotten all about them.

  He sat by her side and gestured to her knees. “How are your wounds?”

  She bent forward to look at them and frowned as if she too had forgotten. “Oh, they’re fine.”

  “And your hands?”

  “They’re nearly healed. See.” She flashed her palms at him and he noticed red inflammation around the dark scabs.

  Lily might look delicate and insecure, but he now knew how deceiving that was. She was far from both those attributes.

  She curled a loose hair out of her eye and glanced upward. “How long do you think before the sun sets?”

  Carter glanced back the way they’d come and could only see a glimpse of sky. “Maybe thirty or forty minutes.”

  “Good. I have an idea for a way to get water.” The confidence in her eyes dazzled as she tugged her pack toward herself, unzipped it, and pulled out another pair of cargo pants.

  She pointed at his pack. “Can you get the saucepan, please? And I’ll need a rope from the tent—a long one.”

  Intrigued, he fetched the items and watched as she tied knots into the legs of the khaki cargo pants. He handed her the pot and she manipulated it into the pants so the handle poked out through the zip and then zipped it up, securing the handle in place.

  He admired her slender fingers as she wove the rope through the belt loops on the pants and tied it tight. She stood and turned to him with a huge grin. “Ready to go fishing?”

  Caught up in her enthusiasm, he grinned with her and stood to follow.

  They walked along the edge of the gorge with water tumbling dozens of feet below, trees towering dozens of feet above, and Lily traipsing over one obstacle after another and peeking over the edge as if looking for something. After a few minutes, she lay facedown on a level patch covered equally in rocks and grass. “Come on!” She patted her side. “Help me.”

  Grinning, Carter lay down beside her.

  “Okay. We’ll do this together so we don’t lose everything. I’m going to lower the pot over the side and we’re aiming for that swirling eddy against the rocks there. See it?”

  She pointed straight down, and Carter spied the mini whirlpool she referred to. “Yep.”

  “Okay. Both of us will hold the rope, because the last thing we want to do is lose the pot.”

  “Or your pants.”

  His heart skipped a beat at the glorious smile she flashed at him. “Right.”

  Lily handed over the rope, and while he glided it through his fingers, she let out small lengths at a time, gradually lowering the contraption. The pot spun around as it caught in the breeze above the flowing water. “We have to time it so it’s facing open to the current when it hits the water. Okay?”

  “Yep.”

  The pot hovered inches above the flow and spun quite fast. “Ready?” Her voice was a pitch higher, loaded with hope. “I’ll say when.”

  “Steady.” Anticipation hung in the air like an act in a magic show.

  “Now!”

  He let out a length of rope.

  The instant it hit the water they both strained against the dramatic change in weight.

  “Pull,” she yelled, and together they tugged the rope up. The pot was full as it eased out of the water. But as it spun, their precious cargo tumbled out. By the time they’d hauled it to the top they’d lost half.

  Carter chuckled at the success and it took all his might not to lean over and kiss her to celebrate.

  “Shit.” Lily settled the pot on the ground and huffed.

  “What?”

  “It’s half empty.”

  “No, Lily, it’s half full.”

  She turned to him. Her eyes seemed to truly pierce his and he slipped into those gorgeous blue pools like he was hypnotized. A beat passed between them. A hot, heady beat, and when she ran her tongue over her lovely lips he had to re
sist leaning in to kiss her. When her lips curled into a smile, the desire to kiss her moved from fleeting to unbearable. But he had to resist, for both their sakes.

  Desperate to put distance between them, he pushed to stand. “I’ll get the water bottles. We’ll fill them up and do it again.” As he walked back to their gear, he pictured her intense eyes. They were vibrant blue, like the shimmering shades he’d seen in the towering ice cliffs off Greenland. They were innocent eyes too, yet frequently flashed a touch of knowing.

  In an instant, his groin bounced to life and he shoved the unwanted bulge down with the palm of his hand. “Stop it!” he hissed at himself and adjusted his shorts. He told himself his randy thoughts were the result of years of abstinence and his mind bounced to the last time he’d had sex.

  It was in Myra, Turkey. He’d been there to photograph the rock-cut tombs of the ancient Lycian necropolis. The woman he’d met, Lynda, had shared a ride with him from the tombs to the sixth-century church of Saint Nicholas. She was Australian too, and also traveling alone. By the time they’d shared a meal together he knew he’d be sleeping with her that night.

  The sex was hot, needy—as if the two of them were thrashing out years of being in a coma. When he woke the next day, Lynda was gone, and he was grateful both for the sex and that he didn’t have to have breakfast with her.

  The feelings he was experiencing with Lily were completely different. It wasn’t just his need to feel her body—it was his unprecedented desire to know everything about her. Lily was young, gorgeous, and fascinating, and that made her dangerous. It made him dangerous too. He needed to keep his arousal in check or he was likely to start something he wasn’t sure he could stop.

  Carter plucked their water bottles from the packs, and at the sound of a spine-tingling howl he looked up to the trees. A group of monkeys, perched high on a branch, hovered above him like gargoyles. The biggest monkey with a fluffy gray beard reached out for something that looked like a green tomato hanging from a nearby branch. His fingers were humanlike as the primate plucked the fruit and fed it into his mouth whole.

  Pompa crowed, and that set the monkeys into a frenzy. They howled and jumped up and down on their branches, beating out a war cry. The rooster carried on pecking at blades of grass it could reach through the bars of his cage, seemingly oblivious to the raucous company.