She flung open the door, stopping it just before it hit the wall. As Travis entered, she saw a shadow of concern in his eyes. Did he fear she’d changed Leo’s mind? Or that she hadn’t changed his mind and Travis would be stuck with her. She glared at him. “When’s the last time you jumped?”
“Three months ago. I jump a few times a year. I can assure you that I’m able to manage a jump.”
She fired at him, “We’ve moved to a new system in the last year. We’re using BLM now.”
“The square parachute. Yeah, I’ve used it. I don’t have a lot of experience with it but I’ve jumped a time or two with one.”
“Good to hear,” Leo said.
Dana inwardly sighed. Travis had an answer for everything. Leo fed Travis’s confidence.
“Then be here in two hours ready to go. The wind is supposed to pick up this afternoon and a front is moving in.”
“I’ll be ready.” Travis’s voice remained firm.
Leo looked at her.
Seeing no way out, Dana nodded and started for the door. She said over her shoulder to Travis, “Be on time.” She retrieved her backpack from the chair on her way by, heading for the outside door with hands shaking and jaw clinched.
Exiting the building and reaching her truck, her hand rested on the door handle when fingers lightly touched the top of her shoulder. A shot of electricity flew through her. She jerked around.
“Dana.”
Embarrassment heated her cheeks. She looked anywhere but at Travis.
“It’s nice to see you again. I’d no idea you were working here. I’m impressed you’ve stayed with smokejumping. You’ve moved up the ladder, as well. But that doesn’t surprise me. You’ve always had the brains and brawn for it.”
“Brawn, huh? Sounds real...”
“Nice. I always thought it looked good on you.” His ice-blue eyes met hers. “Your smarts and instincts have served you well.”
His words made her quake. Why, oh, why did Travis still have that power over her? She should’ve grown up and out of the crush she had on him. Maybe it wasn’t that but just embarrassment. What must he think of her? It could only be she was acting like the naive girl she’d been the last time he’d seen her.
She needed to get away. Find a few minutes to regroup before she had to spend the next twenty-four hours with him. “Yeah. I’m still fighting fires. I been working out of this base for three years. I really should go if I’m going to be back in two hours.”
Travis backed away. “Yeah. See you then.”
As she drove away she looked out the rearview mirror to find Travis watching her.
* * *
Travis had been struck dumb to see Dana. The last time he’d seen her he’d unintentionally hurt her feelings. He’d felt bad about it then, still did. She’d been humiliated and he hadn’t known how to make it better. Dana had wanted something he couldn’t give. He hadn’t been happy about what had happened between them but it had been necessary at the time. He’d wounded a woman’s heart he’d called a friend. That was the last thing he’d wanted to do.
In truth, he hadn’t kept up with her over the years. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t thought about her. All the usual stuff had gone through his mind. What if he hadn’t had a girlfriend at the time, what if he hadn’t been entering medical school, what if they had really kissed, what if...
There had always been something special about Dana. She’d been a great friend and team member that summer. Hard work had been in the center of their time together, but there had been laughter and a comradery he’d not known since. It had been the best time in his life. One he remembered with a great deal of fondness.
Dana had changed, but then, she hadn’t. She still acted headstrong and determined, willing to speak her mind. Like before, she had a body to rival any athlete. The physical demands of her job and her growth from a coltish woman he’d known before to the full-grown woman she was now enhanced her appeal. Her warm brown eyes clearly expressed her feelings.
Her thoughts had been clear through those eyes when she’d seen him in Leo’s office. Total shock. Travis had recognized that feeling. He’d felt gut punched, as well. They’d have to work past that. Despite their history, he had to trust her to help him get old man Gunter to the care he needed.
A couple of hours later Travis again pulled into the parking lot in front of the large white aluminum-sided building with the long narrow windows, a tall center section and the words US Forest printed on the side. He lifted his medical pack from the passenger seat and climbed out.
He looked around the area at the other buildings comprising the firefighting center. No Dana. He’d parked beside her truck so she must be there somewhere. Starting up the steps to the smokejumpers’ building, he stopped when the door opened and Dana exited.
“We need to get moving.” She pushed past him. “Let’s get over to Cache and get our supplies. The wind is picking up.” Stopping at the bottom of the steps, she gave him a pointed look. “Remember, on this trip you take orders from me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They headed toward the building adjacent to the main office. There all the supplies and equipment were stored.
Inside Dana went to a storage locker and started removing equipment. She nodded toward a staff member behind a high wooden counter. “Art can help you with the basics.” She looked at Travis from top to bottom. “Tell him not to forget to give you a Nomex shirt and pants. You need to be in something fire resistant.”
“Got it.” He turned to walk away.
“Wait up. Let me see your boots.” Dana stopped what she’d been doing and looked at his feet.
“What’s wrong with them?” He picked up one and then the other looking at the soles.
“I wanted to see the heel. You need to be wearing ones with a low heel. None of those fancy hiking boots. Steel-toed?”
He nodded.
“Those will do.” Her attention returned to her locker.
By the time Dana joined him he had a bright yellow shirt, dark green cargo pants, a black supply bag and jumpsuit lying out on the counter.
She handed him a small radio.
“I get one of these?” He turned the radio over, looking at it.
“Yes. The protocol changed a few years ago. Everybody has a radio now.”
He nodded. “Sounds like a good change to me. It should’ve been done sooner.”
Travis grabbed the shirt and pants. “I’ll have these on ASAP.” He stepped out of sight.
He returned to find that Art had placed two sleeping bags, fire blankets, cook can, batteries, strapping, first-aid kit, and a collapsible bag for water on the counter along with flares and a helmet.
Dana had already gathered them packaged food or MREs. “I don’t need to give you instructions on packing your bag, do I?”
She wasn’t cutting him any slack. He gave her a smirk. “No, I got it.”
Ten minutes later they were picking up their parachute pack. They each stepped into and zipped up their jump pants. Travis pulled his suspenders over one shoulder and then the other as Dana tugged the heavy matching tan jacket on. She took time to make sure the cone-shaped neck collar stood high. Travis followed her lead.
She gathered her parachute. He took it from her. To his surprise she gave him no argument as he held it for her to slip her arms though the shoulder straps. She did the same for him. They then secured their own leg straps and closed the chest clip.
“Your chest strap is too loose.” Dana stepped close.
Near enough the warm fresh scent of female filled his nose. He remembered Dana’s smell. If he’d been asked if he did he would’ve said no, but he recognized it right away as something special to her.
All business, Dana pulled on the strap end until it fit secure across his chest and quickly moved away.
“I do k
now how to do this.”
“Maybe so, but you’re my responsibility on this trip and I intend to return you in the same condition as I took you.”
He grinned. “So I’ll have a guardian angel.”
Her eyes rose to meet his. “No. I’m just being a safe smokejumper.”
Travis adjusted all the equipment hanging on him. “I forgot how daunting and cumbersome all this equipment is.”
“Yeah, but you’ll be glad to have it when we’re on the ground.”
“Never doubted it.” Maybe with a little levity she wouldn’t be so uptight. Tension swirled around them. Surely they could coexist for a day.
Travis closed the Velcro of the jumpsuit at his ankles and wrists then clipped on his personal pack to his waist. Picking up his jump helmet, he then followed Dana out the door. They lumbered toward the already running prop airplane waiting on the runway.
“We’re going in a Cessna instead of a Sherpa?”
“Yeah. Since it’s just the two of us we don’t need the larger plane.” She stepped aboard.
The spotter nodded and took the large supply bag from Travis before he took a seat on the bench across from Dana.
They strapped in and were on their way down the runway minutes later.
Dana laid her head back and closed her eyes, effectively shutting him out. Travis studied her a moment. She’d let her straight brown hair grow. It hung around her face and bounced around her shoulders. There were lines around her eyes. Had he been a part of making those appear?
In Leo’s office, he’d appreciated her simple T-shirt, cargo pants and sturdy boots that might’ve looked unflattering on another woman but suited Dana. Her clothes had showed curves that had been girlish years ago but had a developed femininity to them now, especially the black shirt that pulled tight across full breasts. He couldn’t help but notice.
Did she have a significant other? Had she found the happiness that he hadn’t?
The look of devastation in her eyes that day when he’d rejected her had haunted him for a long time. It seemed to have gone deeper than it should have. When he’d told her he had to stop, the life had gone out of her eyes. Sadly a friendship had died, as well.
He’d been so focused on himself back then he’d not recognized Dana’s interest. The excitement of starting medical school and his plan to ask his longtime college sweetheart to marry him had filled his head. He and Dana were good friends, partners in a grueling, demanding and dirty profession who’d gotten carried away in the heat of the moment. It was but a second in time, yet it carried lasting power.
It was the last jump of the season for them and they’d just helped put out a particularly difficult fire. They were celebrating when he pulled her into his arms and she wrapped hers around his neck. The next thing he knew their lips were only inches apart. Dana moved and he’d turned his head before their lips met.
Travis had released her and taken a step back. Dana, I can’t.
Dana’s stricken look ended further words. Oh. I’m sorry. So sorry.
Pain hung around them like mist on the mountains in the morning seconds before she ran. Before he could say more. The next morning he hadn’t been surprised when he couldn’t find her to say goodbye, but he was filled with disappointment she couldn’t face him.
Maybe he should’ve handled it differently. Done a better job of not hurting her feelings. Dana was younger than him. He had college behind him she only had two years under her belt. At the time he thought it was just as well. If she was mad at him she’d get over him faster. In fact, he never thought he’d see her again. Yet he’d thought of her. More than once. She’d been an important part of a summer he’d remember in detail.
His focus shifted to her lips. When she’d attempted to kiss him, he’d initially been surprised but soon felt flattered followed by disappointed it hadn’t happened. Although along with that came the guilt of knowing he shouldn’t have feelings for Dana when he loved and planned to marry another woman.
As close as they once had been, there was more than an aisle in a plane between them now.
Dana’s eyes opened. She looked directly at him. “Why’re you staring at me?”
He grinned. There was that straightforward attitude he remembered well. There was something about it that brought back those secure feelings of so long ago. He shouted over the roar of the wind and the shaking of the plane. “I’d think you’d be used to men staring at you.”
She blinked and her mouth drew into a line. “Men who I work with don’t stare at me.”
Travis shrugged. “I don’t work with you.”
“You do for the next day or so. So stop it.”
The spotter stood and showed all five of his fingers. He mouthed. “Five minutes.”
Travis looked out the small window over his left shoulder. In the distance smoke flumed into the sky. Thankfully the wind blew it away from them. He wanted to get in, get Mr. Gunter out and be gone. The worst-case scenario would be a shift in the wind with nothing but the dry undergrowth and trees as fuel between it and them.
Dana stood and started toward the door the spotter had just opened. Travis followed her. Hooking her parachute line, she rested her feet on the step. He hooked his as well but waited inside the plane. The spotter tapped Dana on the shoulder. She jumped. Travis soon joined her.
He found parachuting exhilarating. More than once he’d wondered if it was better than sex. It began with the chaos of a wildly beating heart, then the furious swish of the wind in his ears as his adrenaline pumped. Then it quickly turned into the sound of silence, the gentle tug of the airstream allowing him to enjoy the freedom and beauty of seeing the earth from above.
He looked down at Dana. Her light-blue-and-white canopy not far from him.
With his weight it didn’t take him long to catch up with her. It’d be his guess she barely met the size limit of one hundred and twenty pounds. Which meant she would carry almost her bulk in equipment when they hiked. She was something else. He had recognized her fortitude years ago but now he’d aged enough to admire it.
He discerned the moment the wind current caught her, pulling her away from him and toward a cluster of trees. Despite the Ram parachute system giving her better control in the burst, the last he saw before he needed to prepare for his own landing was her canopy being grabbed by a limb.
Bringing his knees up so his feet faced the ground, Travis landed on his calves and rolled to his side before coming to his feet. He quickly pulled his parachute down, gathering it in his arms as he went. Moving with knowledge and efficiently, he took off his helmet and unclipped the parachute harness. He dropped that to the ground and loped toward Dana.
She hung about seven feet from the ground. Using her body weight, she swung back and forth trying to grab the tree trunk.
He reached up and could just touch her ankles. “Unclip and drop down. I’ve got you.”
“Let go. I can handle this.” She ground out as she glared at him.
He met her unwavering look with one of his own. “We don’t have time for you to be stubborn. I’ve got you. Would you accept help from one of your crew?”
With a huff she gathered a length of a parachute line and clipped it to her jump jacket. “Okay.”
Travis went into a stance with one foot ahead of the other. He raised his arms. She stiffened, going as straight as possible before she released the clasp. His hands grasped her waist as she slid through his arms slowing her decent. Dana’s hands quickly rested on his shoulders. He rocked back as he held her weight but steadied.
As soon as her feet hit the ground he stepped back and let her go.
She pulled on the parachute. “I’ve got to get this canopy out of the tree.”
“Can’t we just leave it?”
She gave him a pointed looked that included gathered brows. “You should know better than that. Nothing has
changed since we trained. We have to haul out anything we bring into a national forest. Set an example to the visitors. Also no added fuel for a fire. Plus I’ll need it for my next jump after I sew up the tears.” She unclipped the line and started pulling.
He joined in the effort as much as Dana would allow. A couple of times his extra muscle helped pull it free when it was stuck. Finally they had it down. Dana rolled it up.
It wasn’t until then he saw the gash on her cheek. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine.” She pulled off her helmet. “We need to get the kicks boxes open and stow away these jumpsuits.”
He’d not even noticed their larger supply bags lying in the middle of the meadow near where he’d landed. The spotter had pushed them out of the plane. Travis caught up with her as she stalked toward them. “No, you’re not. Let me have a look at you.”
When Dana didn’t slow he grabbed her arm. “Let me see.”
She jerked her arm away from him. “Please don’t touch me.” Her eyes grew wide as if upset she’d shown that much emotion. Her voice took an even tone as she said, “We need to get going.”
“Quit fussing and let me clean you up.” He lifted her chin so he could see more clearly. “How did this happen?”
“A stick broke as I was pulling on the canopy and I turned back and it came through the face guard of my helmet. Stupid mistake.”
“It just missed your eye. I’m getting my bag.” He went to his supply bag and found his medical backpack. He returned to where Dana removed equipment from her kick bag. After going into his pack he pulled out a packet of four-by-four gauze pads and sterile water. “I’m going to clean you up and see what we’ve got.”
To his amazement, she stilled and presented her face to him. Stepping closer, he went to work removing the dried blood around the puncture wound. He dug into his bag again for a tube of antiseptic cream and a butterfly bandage. “If we weren’t out here I’d say you need a small stitch or two not to have a scar.”
“That’s no big deal.” Dana shrugged the idea off.
It should be. She was too pretty to be marred. “I’ll try to make the butterfly as tight as possible. Maybe it’ll do the trick.”
A Wedding for the Single Dad Page 18
