Wilderness Peril. Elizabeth Goddard
that same wild and distant gaze she’d seen before, as though his mind had dragged him to a place that was anywhere but here and now.
Shay didn’t like it. Nor did she like that her hands were shaking. Her whole body trembled, and if it weren’t for Rick holding her against him, she’d probably lose control completely.
Her mind wandered as well, taking her back to the day when she’d last seen that look in his eye—the day when he’d aimed a weapon at her head. She’d startled him taking a nap in the office and she’d found herself looking down the muzzle of a gun. After seeing the darkness that tortured him, she knew she’d been right to keep her resolve not to give in to her attraction to him. She couldn’t fall in love. It was too risky, especially with this man.
The guy had issues.
Something bad must have happened to him during his military service. But Rick kept it all hidden inside. Even if she were prepared to fall for someone, she couldn’t handle another man in her life who kept it all inside. Who didn’t open up. Her father had hurt her enough. It wasn’t worth the risk.
She closed her eyes, remembering how Rick’s hands had gripped her and, in the span of a heartbeat, yanked her from the sliding box of death, his body cushioning her as they fell, branches and bushes breaking their fall.
Rick had saved her. He’d saved them both. In light of that fact, Shay shoved aside the shadows she’d seen behind his eyes—shadows that had nothing at all to do with their current predicament.
Their current predicament was enough.
With his arms wrapped around her, she could almost forget her aches and bruises. But she was still dazed from their near miss with death and needed to catch her breath. How did she thank him?
Was he ready to let her go? She risked another glance at him. The tenderness and concern she saw were too much. Rick had never looked at her that way before. His gaze locked on hers, searching, questioning.
Creases appeared between his brows, and he brushed a few wisps of her short hair from her forehead. “You’re hurt.”
Shay ran her hand over her forehead and a sting from the open cut rewarded her. “It’s just a scratch. It couldn’t be very deep or it would bleed all over the place.”
She couldn’t stand being in his arms anymore, and she worked to free herself from his protective embrace.
“Let me go, Rick,” she whispered. “They’re gone now.”
Rick’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t realized he’d been holding her so long. When he loosened his grip, Shay rolled free, feeling a sudden chill replace the warmth of his nearness.
“Watch it.” He guided her from a thorny bush.
Shay moved to stand, but Rick stopped her. “Wait,” he said, his voice low. “I need to be sure.”
He crawled over and slowly peeked through the brush that blocked his vision.
“What are you looking for?” she asked. “Of course they both got into the truck and drove away. They think we’re dead.”
Rick stiffened. He didn’t move. Was she wrong? Had someone stayed behind to wait and see if they had survived after all? Her pulse pounded in her neck. Her body ached from the fall, even though Rick had cushioned her from the brunt of it.
Breathe.... Just breathe....
Rick took his time before speaking when he turned to face her. “You’re right—”
Suddenly he was at her side, gripping her arms again. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I thought...” She’d thought the worst. “You scared me, that’s all. Why are you still looking for them? They’re gone, right? Please tell me they’re gone.”
Surely he didn’t think they would be back.
“For now, yes.” Rick stood to his full height and assisted her to her feet, as well.
Not expecting the incline, she stumbled a little and he steadied her.
“What do you mean, ‘for now’?” She stepped away. She didn’t need him to smother her. “Rick, why do those men want to keep us from the mining claim? We don’t even care about that. We’re here for the plane.”
Rick shook his head. “I don’t know. I just know that we need to get out of here. Find a way up to the road and get back to the village. Even if we’re safe from those men, the weather could turn on us, and the night will be cold. In the thirties, at least.”
He shoved from their hiding place on the small terrace of greenery before the rocky drop. Shay followed cautiously, careful not to step too close to the drop-off where the Jeep had met its final demise.
Looking up at the edge from where they’d fallen, Shay shook her head in disbelief.
How...how did we survive that? The trembling started up her legs again. To think they’d rolled from the Jeep and...Rick had taken the brunt of that fall, protecting her more than she could have imagined.
His back to her now, she took in his broad shoulders and noted a few rips in his sweatshirt, all the way through the shirt underneath. He had to be in pain, yet he hadn’t said a word. Shay took a step toward him and lifted her hand, wanting to touch his back, but she quickly withdrew. Unwilling for him to see her shaking again, she wrapped her arms around herself.
Rick gazed up the ledge that led back to the road. “I don’t think we can make it back up from here. The top of the ledge is just out of my reach. There’s nothing for me to grab onto, even if I was a rock climber—which I’m not.”
Neither was she. Shay’s heart sank. “What are we going to do?”
“We’ll have to find a different way.” He scratched his jaw and turned his attention to the valley below.
Glad she’d dressed in layers, Shay rubbed her arms, this time from the chill in the air. “Even if we could have made the road, we need our coats, don’t we?”
“Yeah, and we need our gear. The weather could turn ugly. And if that’s not enough, the guy I paid to rent his Jeep for the day isn’t going to be happy. Come on.” He held his palm open. “We’re getting out of here.”
When Shay hesitated, he frowned. “What? Don’t you trust me?”
There was a question she was sure he didn’t want answered. The truth was, she could only trust him so far. “It’s not that,” she hedged.
Rick withdrew his hand and waited. A stiff breeze wrapped around her.
“Then what is it? We need to hurry.”
How did she tell him? She looked at the valley, at the drop where the Jeep had landed. “I don’t know if I can.”
He shifted his weight, his gaze skimming the gorge and the valley beyond. Understanding dawned on his face. “Sure you can. We’ll make our way around and descend along the slow decline. I’ll be right there with you every step of the way.”
“Rick, just standing here like this, everything is spinning. If I look around...”
His forehead crinkled. “You’re not telling me you’re afraid of heights, are you?”
The words hung in her throat, so she nodded.
* * *
He studied Shay, her cute short crop hugging features that still looked pretty despite the smudges and the scratch from their crash through the underbrush. They’d barely escaped with their lives, so he should be grateful a few scratches was the most she had, but it wasn’t over yet.
How was it that an airplane mechanic was afraid of heights?
Now, that was a story he wanted to hear.
That could also explain much of her stiffness during their travel to Alaska.