"What?" I asked, confused.
"Just trying to take your mind off this," he said, indicating my hand. "Think you could work with me?"
"Oh," I said, feeling like a dope. "Um, yeah, we live about as close to the beach as you can get. My mom inherited her grandmother’s house when I was a baby. It's old, but I love it," I said, feeling a wave of homesickness as I thought of the seaworn house I had spent almost every night of my life at.
"That must be cool," Mason said.
"It's definitely got its perks. It was hard when I first got here to camp to fall asleep at night, since I'm used to the crashing waves putting me to sleep…" My words trailed off as he pulled my finger and pushed the bone into place. Waves of pain rolled through me as I gasped for breath.
“Holy frick all,” I complained.
"Is it cold living on the water during the winter?" he asked, wrapping my finger deftly.
It took several minutes for his words to register and for his face to come back into focus. By the time I could think about answering his question, he was done with my finger. He studied me with sadness and gently kissed the bandaged digit.
"It's all good," I said, copying his words from earlier.
"Kimberly, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you're hurt, and I'm even more sorry I got us into this mess."
"You didn't do this," I said, confused.
"I told Rick I’d protect you and I failed—him and you."
"Oh, yeah, because you caused the rain? And oh wait, you caused the trail to erode out from underneath us, that’s right. Don't be a martyr, buddy, it doesn’t become you. Besides, if we're handing out blame, I'm the first that should step forward. If I would have checked on Alyssa, maybe I could have headed her off before she decided to run off."
He laughed. "Talk about martyrs. None of us could have foreseen that."
"Yeah, well, did you foresee the mountain collapsing out from under us, Mr. Know-It-All," I pecked back.
He smiled at me and I saw through his ploy.
"Thank you," I said, holding up my throbbing finger.
"The least I can do," he said, indicating his own injury.
"Well, let’s get this show on the road. I'm sick of this never-ending rain," I said, grasping his jacket in my hand to start dragging him along again. He helped out as best as he could, propelling himself forward by kicking off against the ground with his good foot every time I tugged. It took more than a half an hour to drag him the two hundred yards since I was forced to take several breaks.
"You couldn't have found a closer tree for us to hunker down under," Mason teased after my fourth break. I could tell he was concerned about me, but more importantly, I could tell he was in a lot of pain.
"Oh, you'll be thanking me soon enough," I huffed as I started the slow climb up to the shelter I had picked. My forward motion up the incline was painstakingly slow and my arms screamed at me from exertion. Finally, I stopped just short of our destination and Mason was able to crane his neck around so he could see our temporary shelter.
"Very nice, beach bunny," he said in a weak, pain-filled voice as he took in the deep indention in the mountain where we'd finally be able to escape the steady drizzle of rain that had yet to stop.
"I'm going to make sure the ground is rock-free and such so you can have that comfy bed I promised you," I lied as I cautiously entered the small cave. What I really wanted was to make sure we weren't intruding on some wild animal’s shelter. I switched on the flashlight as I walked under the huge granite rock that was jutting out from the mountain. I scanned the small space that was roughly the size of a large walk-in closet. I was pleased that the ground was dry and relatively flat. Grateful we wouldn't have to share our shelter with a bear or anything, I returned to Mason's side.
"I'm going to drag you into the mouth of the cave there until I can get you settled in," I told him, grasping the hood of his raincoat in my hands. My high of finding us a dry place gave me the adrenaline I needed to muscle him into position.
"Man, you'd give Wonder Woman a run for her money," Mason said to me, opening his eyes.
"Told you I could do it," I said, gasping for air.
I waited several minutes before heading out again. I searched until I found a pine tree branch with all its needles intact that would help me sweep some of the loose rocks out of the way. I also gathered several branches. My plan was to let them dry out and maybe eventually start a fire.
I returned back to our shelter and cleared the spot where I planned to lay Mason. Several minutes later, I stepped back to admire my work in the dim light. After spending almost twenty-four hours out in the elements, the small rugged space felt as welcoming as a five-star hotel.
I moved to Mason's side and saw that he was dozing again. Being careful not to wake him, I scooted him across the dirt floor until I had him where I wanted him.
"You're my hero, beach bunny," he said before drifting back off to sleep.
I watched him sleep several minutes before my own eyelids began to droop, but I shook it off. I knew the next important task was to remove as many of our wet clothes as possible. We wanted to try and avoid hypothermia. Since only the legs of my pants were wet, I left them on. I removed my raincoat and laid it wet-side down on the ground to sit on top of it. Next, I removed my sopping tennis shoes and then my socks. My feet protested and ached as my frozen limbs began to thaw slightly now that they weren't encased in wet material. It felt like hundreds of small needles were pricking at my skin. “That’s gross,” I said to myself, looking at how white and prunish they were. Using my one good hand, I began to vigorously massage them one at a time, trying to get some circulation going.
Once they were sufficiently thawed out, I moved to Mason's feet, relieved to find that his boots seemed to be waterproof. “Lucky dog,” I stated. Only the top section of the socks that peeked out over the edges of the boot were wet, so I gently peeled them back and looped them back over the boot so they were no longer touching his flesh. His raincoat, although torn, had kept him relatively dry underneath, but both of his legs were soaking wet from being exposed to the elements. There was no way I was pulling his jeans off over the makeshift leg brace I had fashioned earlier, but there was a large tear in his jeans above his thigh. I slid my hand through the hole, thinking maybe I could use it as a starter and tear the jeans the rest of the way down his leg.
"Um, beach bunny, are you trying to seduce me?" Mason asked, opening his eyes to look at me.
"Har har, you're a crack up," I said, suddenly aware of the lean thigh muscles resting under my hands.
"I'm just saying, you're going about removing my pants the wrong way," he teased.
"Well, Mr. I'm-A-Perv-Even-With-A-Broken-Limb, I'm trying to save you from hypothermia, so maybe you can help me by lifting your leg so I can finish tearing the material in the back."
He complied, but was still smiling slightly as I continued to tug at the material. It wasn't until I reached his inner thigh that I started to blush, knowing exactly what he was thinking in that perv brain of his.
He let out a groan and I stopped tugging at the material, thinking I had hurt him.
"Are you okay?" I asked, leaning over him.
"Could you kiss me or something so I don't feel so perverted?" he asked.
I couldn't help my laugh of relief. Still, I had to admit, the way he was looking at me was pretty hot.
"Really? Even with an exposed fracture you're thinking of something like that?" I chastised.
"It's not like everything's broke," he said, sounding mortified.
Still laughing, I leaned over and gently kissed his forehead. "There, does that help?" I asked, pulling back slightly.
"Not even close," he said, snaking his hand up into my hair. He dragged me in close, pulling me to his lips.
After a moment, I pulled back. "All right hot stuff, let me finish my work," I said sternly as my hands moved back to his thigh. Knowing he was turned on made me hyperaware of where I placed my hands. The material was hanging by
a thread and I gave one more tug to finish the tear. With his thigh now exposed, I couldn't help running my hand down his leg to tease him a little more.
"You're seriously playing with fire, beach bunny," he said.
Glancing up at him, I saw that he had his arm thrown over his eyes, obviously torn between desire and pain.
"Teasing," I said, removing my hands as he protested. "That's the last thing we should be thinking about," I said, still chuckling.
"Knowing and telling your body are two separate things," he said, smiling at me in return. "You look exhausted," he said, brushing my hair back off my forehead.
"I'm good," I lied.
"Come here," he said, holding his arm up.
I crawled up under his arm and lay down beside him. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in close. I knew I should get up and figure out a way to start a fire, but all the work today had caught up with me and my lethargic limbs groaned in protest at the thought of moving. I curled up as close to Mason as I could get without actually touching, falling asleep almost the instant my head hit the backpack I was using as a pillow.
Chapter 11
I woke several hours later, disoriented by the dim light that peeked in through the opening of our shelter. Checking my watch, I was surprised when I saw that it was almost five o'clock in the evening. I had slept for more than two hours.
I glanced over at Mason and saw that he was awake and watching me.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Not bad," he said.
"Really?" I asked, even though I could tell he was lying.
"I could go for a nice steak and a loaded baked potato, but otherwise, I'm fit as a fiddle," he teased.
"Well, you're in luck, I just happen to not have either of those in my pack, but I do have a nice chunk of beef jerky," I said, pulling the economy-sized bag of jerky out of my pack.
"That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me," he said, tearing the tab off the jerky and opening the bag.
The smell of the jerky filled our small shelter and my mouth began to water. Since I had puked up my last meal hours ago, my stomach was painfully empty. Mason handed a large chunk to me and pulled one out for himself before resealing the bag. While munching on my jerky, I dumped out the contents of my bag in front of me to get a stock of what else was inside. Two filled bottles of water, a dozen energy bars, a bag of shelled peanuts and the bag of jerky. At least we had enough food, not to mention the first aid kit and box of waterproof matches. The last items in my bag puzzled me until Mason explained them.
"They're like glow sticks you might get at Halloween, but these are battery activated and will glow for several days."
"That's cool," I said.
"They'll help a search party find us if it's dark outside," Mason explained.
"That's good, right?"I asked.
"Yeah, that's good," he reassured me. "I think we should try to mark where we are since we're hidden from view in here. Are you up to going back out in the rain?"
"Of course," I said, ignoring my protesting muscles. "What do I need to do?"
"I think we should use my raincoat as a sort of beacon. It's pretty much tore up from my graceful tumble down the mountain anyway. I figure if you climb up onto the rock we're under, you can anchor it there by using heavy rocks. We'll use one of the glow sticks at night as a beacon, although I doubt Rick will send out a search party at night, especially with all this rain."
"Do you think they'll find us?" I asked, fiddling with the zipper on my jacket.
"I know they will. No one knows these mountains better than Rick. Not even me. The only problem is, they may not know we're lost or hurt yet," he said as he struggled to take off his raincoat.
"How can that be?" I asked as I reached over to help him. Several pain-filled curse words later, we finally wrestled him out of his bright yellow coat. He panted in pain from the exertion and I felt sick for causing him so much pain. Without consciously thinking about it, I leaned over to lay my head lightly on his chest to offer some kind of comfort. The moment my head rested on the rock hard planes of his chest, I second-guessed my movement. I didn't want to start something up again. His hands snaked up and tangled themselves in my hair holding me in place.
"Not yet," he said gruffly.
I smiled slightly and pressed my head back down. Though his chest was hard and lacking any kind of padding, it felt insanely comforting. Maybe it was the steady heartbeat beneath my ear or the way my head seemed to fit the contour of his muscles. I closed my eyes with pleasure as his hands massaged their way over my scalp kneading away the tension that had gripped me since the night before. My breathing quickened as he continued to move his hands over my head and down my neck.
I moaned with pleasure at the feelings he was evoking in me. I felt him chuckle softly beneath me and I pulled back, embarrassed at my wanton behavior. I knew I had been had. He had turned the tables on me. Without looking at him, I snatched up one of the glow sticks and his raincoat and scurried out of our cave. I could hear him chuckling behind me, but I ignored him as I pulled on my raincoat. Heat flooded my cheeks. I didn't like not having the upper hand and it wasn't until I was standing in the rain that I realized I had left my shoes and socks inside.
"Oh well, at least you didn't have to shove your feet in them," I muttered to myself as walked up the incline. Small rocks and sticks dug into my tender feet. Ignoring the pain, I dragged several large stones up to the roof of our shelter. I laid the raincoat across the large flat rock and anchored it into place with the large stones. While I worked, I thought of the sparks that had flared up between Mason and me. Mixed emotions continued to twist and turn through me as I tried to remember that making out with him wasn't the best idea under our current circumstances.
I stayed out longer than necessary, waiting until the sun had fully set behind the thick clouds before I headed back inside. The inside of the shelter was pitch black, so I paused to flip on the flashlight I had stuck in my pocket. I swept the beam across the interior of the space and sighed in relief when I saw that Mason was once again zonked out. Shrugging off my dripping raincoat, I placed it down on the ground with the dry side up to have something to lie on. My eyelids drooped with exhaustion and I turned on my side with my back facing Mason.
I woke the next morning to rain pounding on the roof of our shelter once again. I was dismayed to find that although I was curled up in the same position I had fallen asleep in, I had obviously scooted as close as I could get to Mason while I was sleeping since my butt was snuggled up to his side and my head rested on his arm.
I started to pull away, but his arm held me snugly into place. "You're not darting away this time," he said, blowing gently on my hair.
"But I'm invading your space and you can't be very comfortable with my head crushing your arm," I said, trying to move away again.
"Why do you keep doing that?"
"What?" I asked confused.
"Um, I don't know, pulling away," he said with just a trace of sarcasm.
"Because, you're hurt among other things…" I said, letting my voice trail off.
"What other things?"
I sighed. "Like the fact that we're stranded in the middle of nowhere and no one knows where we are, which reminds me, you never answered my question yesterday. How could they not know we're missing?" I asked.
"They may be under the assumption we're holed up somewhere waiting the rain out. Rick trusts me enough to keep you safe until this cold front passes," he said, sounding bitter.
"You're doing the best you can."
"Right, because I'm some hero by letting us fall off the side of the mountain."
"That wasn't your fault. I thought we were going to die," I admitted, recalling my terror from the fall.
"So did I, to tell you the truth," he confessed. "Do you know what I was thinking as I careened down the mountain, crashing into everything imaginable?"
I shook my head against his arm.
"All I cou
ld think was that I was never going to experience the love my parents shared before they died and that scared me. I've spent weeks pushing you away, fighting the attraction I felt, convincing myself that you would only cause a kink in my life.
"Did you say 'attraction'?" I asked glibly.
He chuckled before asking his own question. "Are you trying to tell me it's one-sided?"
I merely shook my head, unsure of how I exactly wanted to answer that question. Our relationship was unlike any I had ever experienced. I was used to the typical four-step dating ritual—meet, flirt, date and then declare any feelings. Mason and I had blurred the steps and I was scrambling to readjust.
"Kimberly," he said, breaking into my contemplation.
Tucking my embarrassment away, I flipped over to face him. "No, you're not alone in the whole attraction thing," I said, ducking my head slightly.
He reached over with his free hand and lifted my chin. "I'm not used to this shy you. Where did the sassy girl go?" he teased.
I smiled at him "That sassy girl never existed before I met you," I admitted.
"Aww, so I bring out the rebel in you," he said, tugging me back down in his arms.
I snuggled in. I was done with overanalyzing the situation. "It's raining hard again," I said, voicing my concern over the never-ending rain.
"Yeah," he said in a strained voice.
"Is that bad?" I asked, tilting my head back to look at him.
"It just means we may be stuck here a little longer than I anticipated. Can you think of anything we can do to fill the time?" he asked suggestively.
I snorted unladylike. "Sure, I'm sure you are on top of your game with that leg," I teased.
"You doubt me?" he teased back, tightening his arm around me.
"Um, hell yeah," I said, laughing. "How long will we be here?" I asked, returning back to the matter at hand.
"I'm guessing when we didn't make it back the other night, Rick is probably assuming something happened and we needed to hunker down to wait out the rain. He knows as well as I do that the continuous rain will make the trails treacherous. It needs to stop raining long enough to let the ground dry out," he said softly.
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