by Susan Stoker
“Me and my brother are nothing alike,” Bubba told her, hating how terrible Malcom had treated her in high school.
“I know.”
Bubba had no idea if she realized she was running her palm down his thigh, as if to soothe him, but he couldn’t deny it felt good and kept him calmer than he might be otherwise. Listening to her basically tell him that she’d gone out with Malcom because she’d had a crush on him was tough.
Hearing that Malcom had treated her like shit was downright infuriating.
“I thought twins were supposed to be really close and a lot alike,” Zoey said after a moment.
Bubba shrugged. She couldn’t see him, but she could probably feel him against her back. “Mal and I have never liked the same things. When my dad put us in the same outfits when we were little, one of us would always change. Mal was the more impetuous of the two of us, rushing headlong into situations before thinking about them. I was always more cautious. And let’s just say there’s a reason girls didn’t hate my guts when we broke up.”
“It was a letdown,” Zoey admitted. “I don’t think I went on another date for the rest of the year.”
“How come you aren’t married by now?” Bubba asked. “I mean…you aren’t, are you?”
She shook her head against his chest, and he could smell the light scent of her shampoo. Even after their day trudging through the forest, she still smelled good.
“I’m not married. Hell, I haven’t even really dated much in the last few years.”
“I don’t understand that,” Bubba admitted. “You’re beautiful. Considerate. Smart. What the hell’s wrong with the male citizens of Juneau?”
She huffed out a breath. “Thanks. I guess I just want…more. And this might sound stupid, but I didn’t want to marry the first man who asked just because he might be the only man to ask. I want to be with someone who can’t imagine not being with me. A man who can’t wait to get home at the end of the day because he knows I’ll be waiting for him. Someone who will treat me with respect and encourage me to go after my dreams, instead of insisting that I find some crappy job so he can buy all the weed and alcohol he wants.”
Bubba tensed under her. “Did someone actually do that?” he asked.
“Yeah. But don’t worry, I broke things off with him two-point-three seconds after he suggested it. I know I’m a romantic, I can’t help it. I want a partner in life. Not someone who I have to take care of, and not someone who thinks I need to be taken care of. I’m a grown-ass woman who has managed to keep a roof over my head and food in my belly for all of my adult life. I might not be a millionaire, and I might not have a dream job, but I think I’m doing okay.”
“You are,” Bubba told her. “And you shouldn’t settle. I think that’s a huge issue in our hometown. People think if they don’t accept the first person who comes along, there won’t ever be anyone else. Excuse the cheesy cliché, but there are lots of fish in the sea, and you shouldn’t settle for the first one that jumps into your net.”
“Yeah,” Zoey agreed.
They were silent for a while, until Bubba asked, “So if I had asked you out, would you have said yes?”
“In a heartbeat,” Zoey said immediately.
“I wanted to,” Bubba admitted. “But after you went out with Malcom, I thought it might be weird. I didn’t want people to think you were going out with me because of him. Childish, I know.”
Zoey nodded, but didn’t comment.
“I think I also didn’t ask you out because I knew I was leaving right after graduation. Deep down, I knew if we started dating, it was going to be that much harder to leave.” Bubba felt Zoey flinch slightly against him, but she didn’t say anything and didn’t turn around. “And even though it’s years later, I know I was right. It would’ve hurt both of us when I left, and I didn’t want to do that to you.”
“I’m glad you didn’t ask me out,” Zoey said after a minute or two.
Bubba blinked in surprise. That wasn’t what he’d thought she would say after hearing his confession. “You are?”
She nodded. “Yeah. It would’ve killed me to say goodbye to you if we’d gotten close, knowing you weren’t ever coming back. And look at you. What you’ve done is amazing. You’ve saved countless lives, you’re serving your country, and you’re doing what you love. Staying in Juneau would’ve suffocated you. You’re a good man, Mark, and I’m proud of you. I know I told you already, but it bears repeating. Your dad talked about you all the time.”
Her words felt good. He hadn’t talked to his pop much, and hearing that his old man had been proud of him went a long way toward lessening the guilt in his heart for not being there when he passed.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
Zoey squeezed his thigh where her hand was resting. “You’re welcome.”
Bubba could feel how tense Zoey still was against him. He wanted her to relax. To lean on him. “Relax, Zo. I’m not going to bite, and I’m not going to think you leaning against me means you want to strip off all my clothes and have your wicked way with me.”
She chuckled. “But what if that’s what it does mean?”
Her words struck him hard, but he forced himself to stay calm.
“Then I’d say when we get to civilization, I’m more than happy to let you do whatever you want to me.”
She chuckled uneasily. “I was kidding,” she said quickly.
“I wasn’t,” he said softly.
To her credit, she didn’t leap out of his embrace and berate him for coming on to her. “I don’t understand how, in romance books, when the couple is fleeing bad guys in a jungle, they always stop to have sex. I mean, it’s only been one day, less than that really, and I feel disgusting and dirty. Not to mention, I’m freezing. The last thing I want to do is take off my clothes to get freaky.”
Bubba practically choked. Then he laughed. “Well, that’s not my genre, but I’m guessing it’s the romanticism of it all.”
“No offense, but this isn’t romantic,” Zoey countered.
“What? We’ve got a nice fire, beautiful scenery, and great conversation. What’s not romantic about this?”
“Um…it’s cold, we have no idea where we are or if anyone knows we’re missing, someone obviously wants us dead, and we might be out here for weeks.”
“All of that is true, but you have to look on the bright side, Zo.”
“There’s a bright side?” she asked.
“There’s always a bright side,” Bubba told her. “It doesn’t look like anyone is out here with us, trying to kill us; it’s not winter, and while it’s chilly, there’s no snow on the ground and it’s above freezing; I’ve got a compass so we can’t get lost; and we aren’t going to starve because I can hunt and cook any small animals dumb enough to walk into my snare. And we’re not alone. We’ve got each other.”
“True,” Zoey said in a small voice. “If I were by myself, I have no idea what I would’ve done. Probably have a nervous breakdown.”
“Nah, you would’ve done what you’ve always done.”
“And what’s that?” she asked when he didn’t immediately finish his thought.
“Pulled yourself up by your bootstraps and gotten shit done.”
“I think that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me,” Zoey told him.
“Then I’ll have to work harder to top it,” Bubba said. And he wasn’t just placating her. Everything he’d learned today had been enlightening. Zoey Knight wasn’t someone who let life get her down. “I’m glad I’m not alone either,” he told her after a while.
She made a scoffing noise.
“What?” he asked. “I’m being serious.”
“As if you need anyone else. All I’m doing is slowing you down.”
“Not true,” Bubba told her. “Having a team is the most important thing in a situation like this. You’ve got my back and I’ve got yours. That’s how a team works.”
“You got stuck with a pretty shitty teammate then, Mark.�
�
His name on her lips never failed to make his belly do flip-flops. “Don’t say that,” he scolded. “When I was going through BUD/S, we were taught that every single person is vital to the mission. Yeah, today has been tough for you, but I’ve watched you get more and more confident in your abilities as time has passed. You know how to start a fire and make a shelter, now. But probably more important, you’ve kept me company. Losing my dad was like a sucker punch to my gut. I have a lot of guilt and regret about our relationship, and having you talk about him, telling stories about him, made me feel a lot better. So don’t think you aren’t a vital part of this mission, Zo. Because you are.”
“So this is a mission now?” she asked.
The sun had finally set, and the fire in front of them was the only light around for miles and miles. It felt intimate and cozy.
“It’s absolutely a mission,” Bubba told her. “Someone wanted us gone, out of the way. We need to figure out who and what they have to gain from it. We need to survive long enough to get back to civilization. We’re bound to run into someone eventually. Even though this is Alaska, there are thousands of people living off the grid. We don’t want to get eaten by a bear or moose, we have to find our own food and water, and most importantly, we have to stay positive. So yeah, Zo, it’s definitely a mission.”
“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Zoey said.
“And I’m glad you’re here with me too,” Bubba returned.
Several minutes of silence passed. Zoey shivered in his arms, and Bubba tightened his hold on her. He should be exhausted, but just like when he was on a mission for the navy, his mind wouldn’t shut down. As was his way, he couldn’t stop trying to figure out why someone had gone through the trouble of stranding them. He kept going over everything Zoey had said about his dad, and about the people who were closest to him.
“Do you know exactly how my dad died?” he asked after at least twenty minutes of silence. “I mean, I know it was his heart, but that’s about all I know.”
“I don’t know all the details. He’d been feeling under the weather for quite a while. I’d made him chicken noodle soup and stuff when I visited. Some days were better than others. But he’d been feeling better. I was relieved about that. I thought it was safe for me to go to Anchorage. Your dad hated doctors, never wanted to admit that he needed one. If he had any kind of chest pains or anything, I know he wouldn’t have gone to the hospital like he should’ve. Anyway, Malcom went to the house to check on him, since he hadn’t shown up at work, and found him in his bed. He’d apparently passed away sometime in the night.”
“I didn’t even know he was sick,” Bubba said softly. “I hate that.”
Zoey then did something that blew Bubba away. She picked up his hand, kissed the palm, then put it back around her chest. “He didn’t want anyone to know. I only knew because I was at his house every other day getting his mail, straightening up the place, things like that. Sean knew, and Malcom. Oh, and I guess Kenneth knew too, but that was about it. None of his employees were aware of how ill he’d gotten, and that’s how he preferred it. I begged him to go to the doctor, but he always said he’d feel better in the morning and kept putting it off. But I swear neither of us thought he’d have a heart attack.”
“That’s totally my dad.” Bubba sighed. “I’m gonna miss him.”
“Me too,” Zoey agreed. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Same as today. We keep moving south. Hopefully I’ll have caught something in the trap and we can get some protein in us. We’ll keep our eye out for edible mushrooms and berries, and we can nibble on certain leaves too. There’s no danger of us dehydrating because it seems as if every hundred yards we have to cross one stream or another. We’ll just keep moving until we either run into some sort of town, or we cross paths with someone.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Zoey complained good-naturedly.
“One foot in front of the other,” Bubba told her. “That’s all we can do.”
“Do you really think your friends will realize something’s wrong?”
Earlier when they were setting up the camp for the night, Bubba had mentioned his team, and how he was sure they’d figure out something was up and come looking for him when he didn’t get in touch.
“Yes. I’d bet everything I own that Rocco has already called in the troops.”
Bubba felt Zoey finally relax against him. She gave him her weight, and that small step toward trusting him felt amazing. As if he’d crossed some huge hurdle that he’d been working at for days.
He shifted until they were both on their sides. He kept his arm around her waist and pulled Zoey back against him. She had the fire in front of her and hopefully his body heat would keep her warm as well. It was chilly, though nothing that he hadn’t been through before. But Zoey wasn’t used to this at all, and, like she said, her body temperature seemed naturally low. He’d have to watch her carefully to make sure she was holding up all right.
“For the record?” Zoey said.
“Yeah?”
“The next time we go camping, I want the glamping experience.”
“Glamping?”
“Yeah, camping with all the comforts of home. A real bed, real pillows, shower, maybe even a Jacuzzi. Fireplace and room service.”
“Is this really a thing, or did you make it up?”
“It’s a thing,” she told him. “Look it up. Well…you’ll have to look it up when we get home. I don’t like sleeping on the ground.”
“I’m not a huge fan myself,” Bubba told her. “But I promise to take you glamping when we get back.”
“Good. Mark?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t know how you’ve managed it, but I’m not freaking out. I’m scared…but with you by my side, I think we might actually make it home.”
“We will. I swear to God, I’m going to get you home safe and sound.”
“Of course, getting home doesn’t mean that whoever orchestrated this little camping trip won’t try to get rid of us again,” she murmured.
Bubba tensed.
Fuck. He hadn’t even thought about that. Of course they would. Because someone didn’t go to the lengths they had to make both him and Zoey disappear if they weren’t serious about it. He had no idea if both of them were the primary targets, but at the moment, it didn’t matter.
“I’m going to find out who did this and make sure you’re safe to live your life the way you want to,” Bubba vowed.
But Zoey hadn’t heard him. She was breathing deeply, indicating that she’d dropped off to sleep.
Tightening his hold, pulling her into him until he didn’t know where she ended and he began, Bubba thought about his friends.
Rocco, you better have called in the troops when I didn’t call you like I said I would.
“Something’s wrong,” Rocco muttered under his breath. He’d been half-joking when he’d told Bubba to call after he’d landed. But when the time came and went, and then several hours passed, Rocco got more and more uneasy.
His uneasiness increased when he’d called Bubba’s phone and it had immediately gone to voice mail. He’d checked the news reports and found no mention of a plane crash in the Anchorage area. He’d even pulled some strings and tried to find out the details of the chartered flight he’d been on, with no luck.
No one in the Anchorage airport could, or would, tell him anything about a flight that was supposed to have left around the time he’d last heard from Bubba.
His “oh shit” meter had been pinged, and enough was enough.
Rocco picked up the phone and dialed the number of the one person he knew would be able to help him immediately. Tex.
He hoped like hell he was overreacting. That Bubba had landed safe and sound in Juneau and was simply too busy dealing with his dad’s estate to remember to call.
Even as he had the thought, Rocco dismissed it. Bubba was a professional. He’d no sooner “forget” to call Rocco than h
e’d head out on a mission without ammunition for his weapons.
No, something had happened. Something bad. And Rocco wouldn’t rest until he’d found out what that something was and brought his friend home.
Hoping like hell he wouldn’t bring Bubba home in a pine box, he held his breath as he waited for Tex to pick up the phone.
Chapter Six
“Tell me more about your team,” Zoey asked the next day as they trudged south.
The morning had gone as well as it could. Mark had caught a small rabbit and Zoey had felt terrible for the little thing. She wasn’t thrilled about watching Mark skin and gut it, but had refused to turn away. If she was going to be his partner out here, she had to learn how to do more. To pull her weight.
She hadn’t thought she was going to like rabbit. Especially when she thought about how cute and furry the little thing had been. But the smell of the meat cooking had made her mouth water, and by the time it was done, she no longer felt any reluctance to try it.
Her stomach had been growling nonstop the entire time Mark had cooked. She wasn’t used to not eating anything but berries and a piece of candy for dinner, and while she’d been a little reticent to take the first bite, after that, she was hooked.
Manners that she’d learned from a young age went out the window after one bite of food. It tasted so good. A little bland and tough, but so damn delicious. They’d both eaten all the meat they could get off the bones then set off feeling stronger and more determined to find some sign of people and civilization.
Three hours later, her enthusiasm for the adventure had dimmed. Even though her boots and socks kept the moisture from getting in, her feet were still cold. Mark marched on as if he could go another hundred miles, and that annoyed her a little…because she knew he actually could. She’d fall over in an exhausted heap way before that.