Together they lifted the man off the ATV. With the support of Travis on one side and her on the other, they managed to get their patient lying in the basket. Travis placed the enclosed blanket over Mr. Gunter. Dana saw to it the straps were secured over him.
Mr. Gunter looked first at Travis and then to her. “My cabin?”
“It’ll be fine,” Travis assured him.
“It’s all I have.” The old man reached a hand out, his rheumy eyes pleading.
The radio squawked. “We need to do this. The wind’s picking up.”
“We’re ready down here. Pull him up.” Dana said into the radio. She and Travis stood back allowing plenty of room.
The basket swung once so violently she feared for Mr. Gunter. The basket had just been pulled inside when the wind lashed the helicopter pushing it to the right.
“We can’t hold here any longer.” The pilot voice came over the radio. “Sorry. You’ll have to return to base.”
Dana’s chest tightened with anxiety as she watched the helicopter disappear over the top of the trees and into the horizon. She glanced a Travis. They’d be together longer than she’d anticipated or wished.
CHAPTER FOUR
TRAVIS CONTEMPLATED THE fact that his and Dana’s ride out of a burning forest had just flown away. This trip had turned into more than he’d bargained for in more ways than one. He looked at Dana. She’d been completely unexpected. They’d be spending even more time together.
“Understood.” Dana spoke into the radio. Her voice filled with disappointment. Her gaze met his.
She didn’t look any happier about the situation than he was. He had a practice he needed to get back to. One night roughing it was one thing, two was another. Losing days of work for one patient hadn’t been his idea.
She took a few steps back and said flatly into the radio, “Base, it’s Dana. The wind has increased. Rescue couldn’t pick up Dr. Russell and me. We’re returning to Gunter’s cabin. We’ll secure it and walk out.”
“Ten-four,” came back over the radio. “Be advised the fire has turned.”
“Ten-four. What’s the weather report?”
Base came back. “By evening, front should have passed through. It should be a calm night.”
“Ten-four. I’ll check in again this evening.”
“Ten-four.”
Travis ran a hand through his hair. “I guess we’re in for a hike.”
“Yep. You up for it?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think I have a choice.”
“You don’t. Let’s get busy securing Gunter’s cabin.” She started toward the ATV. “Then we’ll be on our way out.”
“I’m driving back,” Travis announced.
Dana whirled to face him. “Don’t think you’re going to start giving me orders.”
He took a step toward her. “All I want is to do the driving.”
“You can ask instead of giving an order,” she snapped back.
“I didn’t realize I was giving an order. You don’t always have to have the final word in a situation.”
For a second she looked as if he’d slapped her, then she glared at him. “It sounded like an order to me.”
Travis walked back to the ATV. “Instead of standing here arguing let’s get started back. If that fire picks up again I want to be hell and gone from here.”
A contrite look came over Dana’s face before she hung her head. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that pettiness. This situation has taken on a life of its own. We’re both on edge.”
“I have to say life is more interesting around you.” To Travis’s surprise there was some real truth to that. Compared to the last twenty-four hours, his world looked dull. Being out of the norm added some spice to his ordered, comfortable life.
Dana came over to him. “Let’s go. Thankfully right now the fire isn’t nipping at our heels and I want to keep it that way. You can drive.”
“Sounds like a solid plan.” Travis slung a leg over the ATV and settled on the seat.
Dana placed a hand on his shoulder and slid up behind him. He started the ATV. As they rode over rough terrain, Dana grabbed the sides of his shirt. Despite the distance, Dana never relaxed. He felt the tension in her body as if she feared any contact between them.
At one time they had been friends. Shared a companionship that he’d never had with another woman. After what had happened between them years ago he didn’t expect her to let go completely of her animosity, but by now he wouldn’t have thought she’d still be hanging on to it so tightly. They needed to clear the air. Ease the strain between them.
The return trip went much faster. He pulled up to Mr. Gunter’s cabin. Dana climbed off the ATV as soon as he stopped.
Travis turned on the seat. “About what happened years ago—”
“That was my fault. A silly girl-crush.” She started toward the back of the ATV.
He continued to watch her. “Please look at me, Dana.”
She finally did.
“I didn’t think it was silly.”
“I embarrassed myself and you. I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you. I shouldn’t have put you in that position. I knew you had a girlfriend.”
“Hey, it was a heat of the moment thing. I was flattered.” After he got over the initial surprise.
He knew what being unfaithful did to a relationship, since his father slowly killed his mother with his extramarital affairs. Travis promised himself he’d never do that to someone he loved. It caused too much damage and pain. Being faithful had been important to him. That’s why it had crushed him so when his ex-wife had run around on him.
“We were friends and I ruined that.” She removed the chain saw from the back of the four-wheeler.
“I should’ve done a better job of letting you down. I’ve always been your friend.”
She said over her shoulder, “It’s all good.”
He stepped off the ATV. For some reason it really mattered to him that they returned to that friendship of old. “Is it? I’d like it if we could still be friends.”
“We can try. Right now, though, we need to get started on securing this area. I can’t guarantee the cabin won’t burn but we can at least give it a chance. You start on a fire line. I’ll cut back the brush. Less fuel we give the fire the better.” She raised her head. “What we need to do is hope the wind doesn’t pick up. If it does it won’t matter what we do.”
Dana had gone into smokejumper mode. Had closed him and their discussion off.
“You start in the shed. See if there’re any gas cans or flammables. What we don’t need we’ll bury along with anything else inside that might survive. We’ll water down what we can, the best we can. Maybe that’ll stop the worst of it. I’ll stay in touch with base for the latest weather changes. That should give us a day’s worth of work. If all remains as is, we’ll stay here tonight and start out tomorrow morning. If not, we’ll have to hotfoot it ahead of it.”
He stood straighter. “Yes, boss.”
Dana pursed her lips, giving him a contrite look. “We agreed that when we’re outside I’m the boss. Let’s get started. I’ll start cutting back brush.” She didn’t give him time to respond before she started checking the chain saw. “Bring any gas or oil you find and leave it here for me. I may need it.”
Travis started around the cabin. Dana knew her job.
“Hey, Travis, take the four-wheeler with you.”
“We can’t ride it out?”
She shook her head. “The terrain is too rough. No roads. Only footpaths. If we’re lucky. We’ll be making our own path most of the time. Put it under the shed and see if you can syphon the gas out.”
“Will do.”
He had some difficulty finding a hose to use to remove the gas but he finally found a piece of rubber tubing on a shelf in the back of the shed.
With a gas can sitting on the running board of the ATV ready, he put one end of the tube in the gas of the ATV and the other in his mouth. He sucked.
“Travis!” Dana’s high pitch scream filled the air.
Gas entered his mouth and he quickly spit it out as he ran toward the front of the cabin where he’d last heard the sound of the chain saw. He slid to a stop. A large rattlesnake sat curled in front of her with its head reared high and its tail rattling. Dana stood back against a large tree. If she moved the snake could strike her.
Her attention didn’t leave the snake. “Help me, Travis.”
The desperation in her voice went straight to his heart and seized it. She depended on him. This tough woman must be deadly afraid of snakes to have that begging note in her voice. “Don’t move.”
A limb she’d just cut lay nearby. He snatched it up and slowly dragged it over the ground, distracting the snake from Dana. “Slowly move behind the tree.”
Keeping her back to the tree, Dana stepped around it and to safety.
Travis dropped the limb and took a wide path around the rattler until he reached Dana. Her eyes were wide with fear and she shook. He reached out his hand and she took it. They slowly moved away from the area.
As soon as they were out of harm’s way she removed her hand from his. She stood with her eyes closed taking heaving breaths. Her eyes opened. Panic still hung there.
Without thinking, he gathered her into his arms. She trembled. To his amazement she hadn’t pulled away. She’d truly been terrified.
With a shuddering breath so bottomless that he felt it all the way through him, Dana stepped back and squared her shoulders. “I’m okay now. Thanks for helping out. I hate snakes. As far as I’m concerned they’re the worst part of my job.”
“No problem.” He glanced around the tree to the snake. “It was a big one. Mean too. We’ll give it a few minutes to move on.”
Dana’s gaze finally met his. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about how silly I acted to anyone. I just really hate snakes.”
His brow wrinkled as he looked at her with astonishment. “You’re afraid someone will make fun of you?”
Dana nodded, then moved away.
She was that vulnerable? That afraid to show she had a weakness? Why did she believe she must be strong all the time? He followed her. “I remember how hard you worked to prove yourself during training. Do you remember how difficult and scary it was the first time you jumped off the tower during jumper training? We talked about it afterward.”
“Yeah.”
“But that first real jump had been invigorating. There has never been anything like it since. I remember the huge smile on your face when you landed just after me.” Dana’s face had been brilliant with excitement and exhilaration. Even now he could still picture it. He wanted to see that look again.
Her face took on a soft smile. She glanced at him and it disappeared. “We need to get back to work.”
Had he hurt her so much that summer that she didn’t want to remember anything about it? That saddened him deeply. He headed toward the shed. “You do know that ignoring something doesn’t mean it goes away.”
She grinned. “Like you?”
Travis sighed. That was more like it. The Dana he liked so much. “Yeah. I does seem like we’re stuck together for a while.” He went to the shed with a grin on his face.
He finished with the ATV and securing the shed, then started on the fire line. It would require hours of backbreaking work. They took a breather around midday and returned to work again. Afterward Dana joined him on the fire line.
When they were done Dana said, “Now we need to take care of the rest of the things around the cabin. We need to get the flammables buried.”
“You keep piling on the excitement.” He grinned and slung the Pulaski over his shoulder. “You sure know how to show a guy a good time. I’ll start digging a hole.”
* * *
Dana had to give Travis credit for being a good sport. He could be making the experience more difficult. She’d sure been glad to see him when she’d been cornered by the snake. They had a way for making her brain shut down. It had felt good to have his protective arms around her. She had needed them for a few minutes.
Two hours later, when she came around the side of the cabin, she found Travis on the porch with glasses of water in his hands.
“Here, you need this.” He handed her a glass and sat on the bench under one of the windows. “I have the hole you requested dug.”
“Great, but before you get too comfortable we still have to water down what we can.”
“You keep this up and I’m going to ask to be the outside boss.”
“Sorry. We’ve already agreed on the boss division.” She gulped down the water. “I’m going to check the perimeter to see if there’s anything else we need to do. I’ll also talk to base while I’m doing that.” She put down the glass.
“I’ll start filling the hole.”
“Okay. I’ll be done out here in a minute and start on the inside.”
“Base, this is Dana.” She called as she walked away. “Can I get a weather report? Over.”
Static filled the air before a male voice came on. “It’s still looking calm for the night.”
“What about the fire?”
“Still headed your direction. But fifty percent under control.”
“Ten-four. We’re staying put tonight. Will head out tomorrow morning on Coyote Loop Trail toward Bright Light lookout cabin.”
“Ten-four. Stay safe.”
“Will do.”
Dana found Travis standing over the hole he’d dug.
He leaned on a shovel handle. “I was waiting to see if you need to put anything else in it before I cover it.”
“Nope. If you have all the flammable stuff in there then I say cover it.”
“Is there anything else we need to do?” Travis filled the shovel with dirt.
“I still need to sort through Mr. Gunter’s food supplies and see if there is anything light enough for us to carry. We didn’t bring enough food for the extra days we’re going to be out. We have at least three days of walking ahead of us.” She looked off at the sky over the top of the trees. It would be dark in a couple of hours.
“Did you get that weather report?”
“Yeah.” She told him what base told her.
Travis continued to dump dirt over the items in the hole. “That sounds like good news.”
“It was. We’ll stay here tonight after all.”
“I like that idea. I’d rather sleep with a roof over my head. Just in case there is rain.”
She turned toward the cabin. “We’ll leave at daylight and make our way as far and fast as possible.”
“I’ll be ready.” Travis picked up his pace with the shoveling.
Forty-five minutes later Travis joined her inside the cabin. He took a seat in one of the chairs with a groan. He rubbed his lower back.
Dana winced, then turned to look at him from where she stood in the kitchen. “You okay?”
“You better not laugh at me. I’m not used to so much manual labor.”
Dana had to admit Travis had been a hard worker, sharing the load and following her lead—most of the time.
She smiled. “You don’t look out of shape.”
“Thank you. Have you been checking me out?”
Dana snorted. She had been, but she wouldn’t let him know that. “What’re we in? High School.”
He harrumphed. “If we were I’d be too tired to make a pass at you.”
As if he really would. “I’m going to take a shower before dinner.”
His brows rose. “Is that your way of telling me to cook?”
“Not really. You’re welcome to see to the food if you wish. If you don’t, I will.”
She looked at him her eyes wide with astonishment. “Thanks for that. Some guys still don’t think that way.”
* * *
A spot in the center of Travis’s chest warmed.
A few minutes later while busy in the kitchen he heard her yelp. She’d apparently stepped under the water. He grinned. His smile quickly disappeared when the picture of her naked in the outdoors slid into his mind. That wasn’t a thought he needed to let take hold. He swallowed hard and kept applying all his attention to putting something for dinner on the table.
They weren’t young adults any longer. If he kissed her now it wouldn’t be so easily put behind them. He didn’t want to hurt Dana. But he had nothing to give her. She deserved better than a fling because they were alone in the wilderness. But that was all he was offering these days. He’d tried for a real relationship and failed at it, miserably.
Travis looked Dana’s way when she entered the cabin. All his earlier convictions disappeared like a sprinkle of rain against an uncontrolled fire. Her flushed face fresh from scrubbing and her hair hanging damp around it made her look younger than her years. Dana didn’t need makeup to make her attractive. She had a sparkle of life about her that made him want some of it for himself. To absorb it. Feast on it.
Come to think of it, he’d not known that feeling since the summer they had spent together. Somehow he’d been going through the motions. Being around Dana made him want to grasp life and squeeze all he could out of it.
He stepped toward her but stopped. A cold shower would be good right about now. He gathered his stuff. “We’ll eat after I get a shower.”
“Then I’m going to rebandage your arm.”
He said over his shoulder without slowing down, “And I need to see to your face.”
“What a pair we make. Not even together twenty-four hours and we both have injuries.”
Yeah, and he had other issues, as well.
As the cold water flowed over his back, he moved his head from side to side then rolled his shoulders. What would they feel like after another two days? At least his body aches and pains helped keep his mind off the uncomfortable thoughts he had toward Dana. Those had to stop. Dana sat at the table with sandwiches and soup waiting by the time he reentered the cabin.
Reunited with Her Daredevil Doc Page 6