Rattled

by Kris Bock

  When she stepped away from the edge of the arroyo, into full sun, she realized she had lost her hat. She spotted it in the direction of the rattlesnake nest.

  She stared at it for a good 30 seconds, refusing to look directly at the snakes. She considered asking Drew to retrieve the hat, but with a sigh decided she wasn’t going to start playing the helpless female now. The snakes had settled back into their nest and the hat was 10 feet away, surely a safe distance. “Get back on the horse,” she whispered. “Face them now or you’ll never want to look at another snake again. Don’t let them have that kind of control over your life.”

  She slowly stepped closer. Holding her breath, Erin crouched and stretched out her hand until her fingers touched the brim. She snatched up the hat and hurried away, barely holding back from a full-fledged run. The new surge of adrenaline helped get her up to the top of the canyon.

  Erin joined Camie as the helicopter blades stopped spinning. The women met Drew as he opened his door. Erin resisted the urge to throw herself at him but didn’t try to hide her smile. He winked, reached into the back seat, and pulled out a cooler.

  Camie moaned. “Please tell me you have cold drinks.”

  He opened it on a selection of sodas. They each snatched their favorite and started guzzling like they were being filmed for a commercial. Erin thought she had never tasted anything better in her life

  Drew watched them, grinning broadly, pleased that his gift had been such a success. He seemed to smile a lot around these women. They looked dusty and exhausted, but that didn’t detract from the graceful slope of Erin’s neck as she tipped back her head to drink. Her thin cotton shirt, damp with sweat, clung between her breasts. Drew’s hands itched to touch her.

  Erin lowered her soda at last and smiled at Drew with half-closed eyes. She looked pale, except for the dark circles under her eyes and flushed spots on her cheeks. She swayed, as if she might fall over at any moment. Drew frowned. “You don’t look so good.”

  Camie, crouched by the cooler, said, “Such a lady killer, Drew. You just pour on the charm.”

  He winced. He knew she was teasing, but between his mother and sisters you’d think he’d have learned how easily a woman could find an insult in the most innocent remark. “Whoops. I meant it in the most flattering way.” He ran a hand lightly down Erin’s back. “Seriously, you’re pale and look like a breeze could knock you down.”

  “I’m all right.” She gazed at him with a lazy smile. “It’s just the heat, and the snakes.”

  He jolted. “Snakes?”

  “Oh my God,” Camie said in tones of awe. “Erin, if you don’t marry this man, I’m going to grab him for myself.” She turned from the cooler, holding out her find like some precious treasure.

  “Ice cream bars!” Erin gasped. She reached toward one, then instead turned and threw her arms around Drew. “Thank you.”

  He chuckled and hugged her back, holding on even when she would have let go. “At first I was sorry I couldn’t get here this morning, but I had work to do. Now I realize the advantage of waiting until mid-afternoon. Let’s find some shade and you can tell me about these snakes.” He hauled the cooler over to a rock outcropping that gave tolerable shade now that the sun had started its arc down the western sky. Erin and Camie dunked bandannas in the melting ice from the cooler and laid them over their necks.

  “I’ll understand if you want to go right for the ice cream bars,” Drew said, “but I did bring sandwiches too.”

  “You know, that actually sounds good,” Erin said. “I’ve hardly felt like eating, with the heat, but suddenly I’m ravenous.”

  Tiger stalked toward them, mewing loudly.

  “He wants to know what you brought for him,” Camie said.

  Drew dug into the cooler for a can and can opener. “I wasn’t sure what a cat would enjoy on a hot day, but I went with chilled tuna.” Tiger was purring and rubbing against him before he had the can open.

  “He deserves a treat,” Camie said. “He’s a hero.” She glanced at Erin who nodded for her to go ahead. Camie started describing Erin’s fall.

  When she got to the rattlesnake nest, Drew reached out and put a hand on Erin’s knee. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’d dealt with rattlesnakes before, but to land face-to-face with a nest like that would send the toughest cowboy into a panic. And Erin was still recovering from all the horrors of the last week. The thought of her close call made him sick. And he hadn’t been there to help. Almost worse than that, they hadn’t needed him.

  When Camie finished, Drew scowled for a long minute, trying to get his feelings under control. Finally he shook his head. “I’m glad you’re all right. I’m sorry you had to go through that. And damn it, I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

  “You don’t have to be sorry for that,” Erin said. “It’s not like you knew what would happen, and you did warn us about the dangers of the desert.”

  He gave her a crooked grin. “Yeah, but I would have liked to play the hero. It’s humiliating being outshined by a cat.”

  Erin smiled and placed her hand over his. He turned his palm up and linked his fingers with hers. He wanted to grab her and hold her tight, just hang on until he could forget the sickening image of a rattlesnake striking at her. He wanted to drag her back to the helicopter and take her out of there, back to civilization where she belonged. He told himself to stay calm. She wasn’t panicking and didn’t need him to. He’d take her home in a second if she asked, but it had to be her decision. Some women liked being bossed around. He didn’t think Erin was one of them, and she’d had enough stress for one day. For a whole lifetime, really.

  Drew settled for pulling her closer so he could put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder as if it belonged there and let out a sigh. The sound stabbed into him, painfully sweet. How could she be so vulnerable and so courageous at the same time?

  Camie dug into the cooler again. “If bringing ice cream bars doesn’t make you a hero, I don’t know what does. Did you make a trip out here just for this?”

  Drew shook his head. “I wanted to let you know what happened last night. A couple of guys were waiting for me when I got back. I’m almost sure they were the bastards who followed you two in the SUV. They wanted to know where I’d taken you.”

  Erin and Camie gazed at him. Neither bothered to ask if he had told or not. Drew appreciated the confidence. “What happened?” Erin whispered.

  “I tried to bargain a bit, just to see how much money they would offer. You might be interested to know that your location is worth five thousand dollars.”

  Camie snorted. “Cheapskates.”

  “I agree,” Drew said, “but remember they’d have to make it cash, if they didn’t want a paper trail. Anyway, they didn’t have even that much on them, so I told them to come back in a couple of days. I thought it might buy you some time.”

  He wondered how to bring up the fight. He didn’t want to sound like he was bragging, but he did want them to know he hadn’t just been lazing around while they worked so hard and faced dangers in the wild. He’d imagined Erin’s adoring reaction when she heard that he’d fought two guys. He’d looked forward to it. But compared to facing a nest of rattlesnakes, his fight seemed pathetic. He felt foolish introducing the subject.

  “So then what?” Camie prompted. “Don’t tell me they just went away quietly.”

  Drew shrugged. “Not exactly.” His face felt warm. Good God, was he actually blushing? Maybe it was just the heat.

  Camie gave him a severe look. “Spill it.”

  He tried to sound casual. “They attacked, but I fought them off.”

  Erin gasped and squeezed his hand. “You fought two of them? Are you all right? You’re really not hurt?”

  His pride recovered and he grinned. “Thanks, I needed that. No, it wasn’t that bad. Remember, I have military training. Plus, two brothers. The big guy was more of a wrestler, which threw me for a minute, but his fighting technique seemed to be gr
ab and hold. The other guy had a knife—”

  Erin gave a little cry of distress. Drew was torn between pleasure at her concern and guilt that he was upsetting her. He tightened the arm around her shoulders. “He didn’t get near me with it. I threw the big guy in front of him, and then I got into the hangar. I was hoping they would follow so I could maybe lock one out while I dealt with the other, but they took off. Sorry I didn’t get more information.”

  Erin gazed at him, her eyes moist. “I’m just glad you’re all right.”

  Drew gazed back, losing himself in the warm hazel depths of her eyes. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a woman look at him that way before. He thought he could get used to it.

  “I’m just glad they gave you an excuse to bring us ice cream bars,” Camie said. “How many do you have in there? They won’t keep, you know, so we should eat them now.”

  “You’re a real romantic, you know that?” Drew said.

  “Hey, nobody’s making puppy dog eyes at me. You want one of these, or should I eat them all myself?”

  They took ice cream bars. Erin closed her eyes and moaned with pleasure at the first bite. Her color looked more normal. Drew felt glad of that, but what was the world coming to when women fought off dangers on their own, and the man just came along after to offer food and comfort? He didn’t think of himself as old-fashioned or sexist, but a man was supposed to protect and provide, or he wasn’t a man.

  He wanted to be on hand if anything else should happen. He wondered how to bring up the idea. Maybe if he subtly pointed out how useful he could be, they’d think of it themselves. He said casually, “Any luck today?”

  Camie shook her head. “The Finder seems to be working, but we haven’t found a cave. We haven’t been at it that long, though. It took half the day just to find the right spot and then go back for The Finder.” She stood and studied the western sky, then dropped back into the shade. “We’re running out of time today, since we have an hour hike back to camp. We could be at this a couple more days.”

  “Does that mean you’d like a lift back to camp?”

  Erin gave a glad cry and hugged him. Camie said, “I guess that’s a yes.” Even Tiger meowed, as if he understood.

  They finished eating and loaded up gear. Since they didn’t have to rush now, Camie showed Drew how The Finder worked and let him run it for a few minutes. “Ground penetrating radar has been used for a while,” she said. “But this uses audio waves instead. It’s more portable and gives a clearer view deeper.”

  “You invented this?” Drew asked.

  “Yep.” Her pride was clear in her voice. “Patent pending.”

  “Impressive.” And, Drew had to admit, a little scary. He liked Camie a lot, but could understand how men found her brains intimidating, especially when combined with knockout good looks and a prickly personality that didn’t let you get away with anything.

  The sun turned the clouds on the western horizon fiery red and liquid gold, with dark purple shadows. Beams of light speared through the gaps like rays coming down from the hands of God. “Isn’t it amazing?” Erin said. “You see those Western paintings with the dramatic skies and think it has to be exaggerated. But it’s not.” She turned toward the east, where the distant mountains glowed salmon pink under a rosy band of sky. “And the sunsets go all the way around. It’s my favorite thing about New Mexico.”

  You’re my favorite thing so far. The thought came unbidden to Drew. His first instinct was to deny it. He liked Erin, enjoyed her company, admired her. But they’d only known each other a few days. He didn’t need to get in over his head.

  She turned her smile from the sunset to him, and he realized maybe he already was.

  Chapter 19

  Erin watched out the side window as they flew back over the canyon. It was astonishing how quickly the helicopter ate up the ground that had taken them so long to hike. She tried not to think about the next day, about making that hike again. When they landed, and the noise of the helicopter’s engine faded, she told Drew, “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to end the day like this, instead of hiking back.”

  “Does that mean you’d like a ride in the morning as well?”

  She wanted to shout “Yes!” She struggled to be reasonable. “You can’t fly all the way down here just to carry us two miles. You must have other work to do.”

  “Actually, I have to be in Silver Valley tomorrow for a business meeting. But I don’t have to fly anyone down. It’s a big group so they’re chartering a plane. I thought it might save some time if I just stayed down here tonight and flew over in the morning.”

  Camie leaned over from the backseat. “Let me guess—you just happen to have your sleeping bag with you.”

  Drew shrugged. “I might.”

  “And you thought a little bribe would buy you a spot at our campfire?” Camie sneered.

  Drew shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Erin. “If it’s too much trouble, I can always go on to Silver Valley and stay there.”

  Camie winked at Erin, who bit back a smile. She knew how Camie loved to tease, but she couldn’t bear to see Drew feel awkward after all he’d done for them. “Of course you’re welcome to stay! We’d love to have you.”

  “And I bet he’d love to have one of us,” Camie murmured, poking Erin in the shoulder.

  She felt the heat rise in her face and quickly got out of the helicopter. She’d been so out of it earlier that she’d hardly known what she was doing when she’d snuggled right up to him like they were a couple. The moment she’d seen him, she’d wanted to throw herself at him. At least she’d resisted that urge. She’d been fragile and emotional after the snakes, but he hadn’t known that. He might have thought....

  She had no idea what he would have thought. He hadn’t seemed to mind her affection. He’d held her close and she’d felt safe.

  She wondered when he might hold her again.

  Erin and Camie changed into warmer clothes as the temperature dropped quickly. Erin was glad for her short dark hair. It might be limp and matted to her head, but at least it wouldn’t show grime the way Camie’s poor blonde curls did. Then they all laid out their sleeping bags on a clear patch of ground and sat down for a snack. They talked like old friends as the saffron light of dusk faded to indigo and then to black. The air turned soft and cool. An owl hooted, low and plaintive.

  Lazy contentment stole over Erin, and she stretched out on her sleeping bag with a sigh. “Just look at the stars. It almost scared me the first time I saw them.” At the chuckles, she added, “Oh, you two grew up in the middle of nowhere, but I’m a city girl. You’re lucky if you can see a few constellations. Sure, you know intellectually that there are billions of stars up there, but you don’t see them. And then this.” She gestured toward the sky. Dusk had long since faded and the moon hadn’t risen yet, so the stars stood out against an inky black background. So many stars you couldn’t begin to count them, could hardly even pick out the familiar constellations among the cluttered pinpricks of light. On some clear, moonless nights you could see a thicker band of stars arcing across the sky—the Milky Way. Erin found it astonishing that you could actually see the Milky Way.

  “That’s what made me fall in love with New Mexico,” she said softly. “The sunsets and the night sky.”

  Drew turned toward her, propped on an elbow. “It’s easy to forget you’re a city girl when I see how well you handle yourself out here. I can’t believe I thought you were fragile when we first met. Although, in my defense, I didn’t see you at your best the first couple of times.”

  Erin smiled up at the sky. “I don’t think I’m fragile, but I’m not sure I handle myself that well, either. I’m just following Camie’s lead, trying to keep up, when I’m not fainting from heat exhaustion or scared witless. I’m glad if I come across as halfway competent, but believe me, it’s a trick of the light.”

  Drew reached out with his free hand and stroked his knuckles down her cheek. “Not competent. C
ourageous.”

  She turned her face toward him but could see little of his expression in the dark.

  “You do what you have to do, to get what you want,” he said. “I call that courage. Remember what I said about bravery?”

  Erin gazed at him, her pulse fluttering and a tingling warmth flooding her. Her lips parted but no sound came out. Her mind was blank.

  “I think I’ll turn in,” Camie said cheerfully. “I’m just going to go over here. Way over here, out of the way.” She gave a yawn too loud to be real. “See you in the morning. Sleep tight.” She moved off chuckling and Tiger followed after, purring like an engine.

  Erin didn’t know whether to laugh or blush. Then she realized that Camie seriously seemed to believe something would happen with Drew. It couldn’t, surely—not out here in the middle of the desert, with Camie and Tiger right around the corner. Erin hadn’t even showered since the previous morning!

  Erin felt the blood rise to her cheeks. But underneath the embarrassment and nerves lay desire. Drew wanted her. Lord knew why, but he did. She could feel the heat coming from him as he lay close, propped on one elbow, stroking his fingers lightly up and down her arm. He wasn’t rushing things, he was letting her get used to having him so near, giving her the chance to back away. She couldn’t see him well in the dark, but she could see his smile.

  Her heart stuttered. It was smarter to wait. Until they were back in civilization, inside a house, on a bed. Until they were clean and tidy and could clean up again afterward.

  But she wanted him. Drew thought she had courage, and that meant facing your fears. She remembered her own commitment to be adventurous, try new things. She’d only known him a few days, and yet it seemed like a lifetime. They’d spent hours talking. She’d seen his cool confidence in a crisis, his thoughtfulness when she hurt, his patience when she panicked.

  With a quick intake of breath, Erin rolled toward him. They lay on their sides facing each other, inches apart. His hand slid down to caress her hip. She stroked her hand up his cheek and into his hair, careful with her broken finger. Her lips parted as she pulled his head toward hers.