by Hoff, Stacy
Redd was making a lot of noise outside but it wasn’t conversation. Unless random curse words could be considered dialogue. She stopped herself from shouting, “Need any help out there?” because offering to help would be futile at best. And, at worst, start a fight.
Not being able to help out was hard. Restless and frustrated, she grabbed the sleeping bags and unrolled hers. After a few minutes of sitting on it, staring at the tent’s walls, she unzipped it and crawled inside. The bag was also cold, but eventually it would get warm. Hopefully, her hands would, too. They were starting to sting. Despite the pain, she felt her eyes droop and her thoughts get fuzzy.
I must be dreaming. I keep hearing popping and cracking noises outside . . .
“Ana?”
Ana bolted upright in her mummy sleeping bag.
Redd let out a sharp laugh. “Wow. Now I know what King Tut would look like if he rose from his tomb.”
“Funny,” she said, letting out a yawn.
“Yeah, I’m a laugh-riot. Sit up for a little bit, Ana. I’ve got a fire going and I want you to warm your hands before you fall asleep.”
“You got a fire going? How?”
“I built up a pile of small logs so the fire’s off the wet ground. Fortunately, I took some of your riverbed branches with us since they burn easier.” She watched him breathe in deeply. “It smells nice out there.”
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply herself. The smell of fresh snow, pine and smoke was surprisingly pleasant. Clean and pure, like a bar of fresh, scented soap.
“Here, move up,” he coaxed her. “Toward the tent’s flap.”
She did. In turn, he took out his own sleeping bag. The two of them huddled closer, sitting by the entrance. They warmed themselves as best as they could from the fire a few feet away.
“I was able to melt a lump of snow in the pot they gave us,” he said, offering it to her. “The metal is not too hot now. Go ahead and drink. It’ll warm you up.”
“Thanks.” The lukewarm water flowed down her throat giving more relief to her dried out body. “Don’t you want any?” she asked, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
“I had some. You can finish it. Then you should go to sleep. I’ll take the rocks in with us again when the flames die down. Given this heavy snowfall, that won’t take too long, I’m afraid,” he said.
“It’s okay,” she said, exhaustion straining her voice. “I don’t think I could sit up for too long anyway . . .” Her eyes were closing. Molten lead was weighing them down . . .
“I’ll stay up. When you go to sleep, I’ll stand outside for a bit to see if I can dry your gloves out.” He paused. “You know, taking them off while working outside was very . . .”
“Stupid. I know,” she said sleepily. Might as well cave in. I’m too tired to fight.
“I was going to say dedicated. Strong. Helpful. Wonderful teamsmanship . . .”
“Well, which one of those things, mister?” she joked.
“I was going to say all of them,” he answered quietly.
“Yeah?” If only her eyes weren’t closing, she could properly thank him for that. Maybe they could even start to bond. But warding off sleep was as impossible as warding off the snowfall outside . . .
A feeling of warmth spread over her. Spreading everywhere. Warming her fingers. Warming her heart . . .
Ana’s eyes popped open. Her hands were wrapped in Redd’s. He was rubbing them in gentle circles, no doubt trying to get her circulation back. His eyes met hers soulfully as he held first her right hand, and then her left. Then put one of her hands up to his mouth, blowing warm air.
“Thanks,” she gasped.
“You’re welcome. The color is back in your fingers so I’m going to stop now. You need to get some sleep.”
He helped her scoot the sleeping bag deeper into the tent and dragged his own bag next to hers. “I’m going outside to see what I can do about your gloves and then I’ll be in.”
Ana nodded, almost in a dream state. “’Night, Redd.”
Redd spent a solid hour outside in the cold not feeling the sting of the weather. His body was too overheated thinking about Ana. It wasn’t just his attraction making him feel hot. Part of it was annoyance, too. Normally, a woman had every right to say and do whatever she wanted. That philosophy did not apply, however, when the woman was under his protection and had no knowledge how to survive on her own. He wouldn’t have tolerated a renegade woman in Special Ops. Not that he needed to. The several rescue missions he’d been on involved female hostages. Those women had been thrilled to follow his exact orders to make a safe escape.
Not so much for Ana. She was clearly going to do her own thing even if she wound up doing things wrong. Risking her own security in the process. Speaking her own mind, regardless of the impact. It was a lot of effort to continue to fight her and manage both of their survivals.
He was a Marine, damn it. His “I take no shit from anyone” demeanor scared not only women but men, too. The result was exactly what he wanted, being left alone. Energy was better spent on completing the task at hand anyway. When lives were at stake, the more he could concentrate the better. Successful missions meant everyone under his command survived.
Ana, for whatever reason, didn’t seem to scare easily. Or if she did, she certainly wasn’t afraid of him. Engaging him was apparently something she liked to do, considering she did it at every opportunity available. She’d managed to throw invisible ladders over his fortress and was determined to climb up. And conquer.
He was equally determined to keep her out. Or was he? Even he had to admit if his true mission was to lock her out, he failed. Laughing along with her, warming her hands with his mouth, encouraging her to take physical risks by helping him, was not conducive to a “back off” stance. In fact, his determination was as volatile as the Arctic Circle’s weather in June. Creating yet another, perhaps more powerful, super charged atmosphere.
Why had he warmed her hands with his hot breath? Slowly rubbed her fingers? Sure, he could try to attribute it to simply helping her out, but somehow it seemed more than that. There was something seductive about their touches. He had felt his eyes widen in surprise as heat coursed through both of them. Even now, standing outside in the cold, he was getting warm enough to break out in a sweat.
“Redd?” a sleepy-sounding Ana called out.
“Yes?”
“Get in here. I don’t care if you are trying to dry my gloves. You’re going to get sick if you stay out there any longer.”
Redd resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The need to please her tugged so hard he clamped down on his knee-jerk reaction to yell back, “I can take care of myself.” Instead, he called out, “All right. I’ll be right in.” He put out the fire and carefully gathered more hot rocks to carry into the tent, along with her gloves.
“I knew I could make you come inside.”
Though Ana’s back was facing him, he could feel her grinning broadly. “Don’t get too used to me doing what you say.”
“I will,” she quipped.
He found it hard not to laugh. She was willful, headstrong, and very cute. He bit back a comment. Anything he said could and would be held against him in a court of Ana. Redd sighed. He was now taking orders from a pipsqueak. Military. Days. Over.
“Seriously, Redd, I want to thank you for all you’ve done to take care of me,” she said quietly into the darkness. “Guiding us to better ground, teaching me how to make it out here. I know you want the prize money but I just want to save my job. I didn’t truly understand how hard all this would be.” She paused, her back still to him. “You’re standing out there in the freezing snow to dry my gloves. I’m . . . touched. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Ana. Go to sleep. Tomorrow we’ll have our hands full so the more re
st you get tonight, the better.”
He could swear she scooted backward, pressing the back of her sleeping bag into his front. But the move wasn’t sexual as much as it was something deeper—a sense the two of them were physically bound together. At least for the next ten days.
Chapter 14
Ana awoke the next morning finding it hard to breathe. The air was cold enough to almost be painful. Man, this isn’t New York. She cleared her scratchy, dry throat as best she could. Still wrapped in the sleeping bag, she heaved her upper body into a sitting position. Redd was gone.
“Redd?” she called out.
No answer came. Ana fought back a sense of panic. Did something happen to him? What if she needed to save him? How would she carry him back down all the way to the tundra? And if she couldn’t? If she fired the flare gun she had no idea whether a helicopter could fly close to trees. Could it even drop down a gurney to haul Redd up, akin to a Coast Guard save?
More animals howled in the distance. The sound was low pitched and ominous, albeit from somewhere far away. What animals made such a sound she had no idea, but no desire to find out. “Redd!”
She clamored out of her sleeping bag and darted out the tiny tent flap, nearly head-butting his leg in the process.
Instantly Redd burst out laughing. “Whoa there, little Nelly. You okay?”
Heat shot up to Ana’s cheeks. They were probably cherry-red. “Sorry. When I saw you had left the tent . . .”
“You were worried how you’d survive on your own?”
Ana felt her brow furrow. “No. I was worried if something happened to you I wouldn’t be strong enough to get you to safety.”
He was silent for a full minute. Had she said something wrong? There was no way to know with this guy. He always seemed to interpret what she said contrary to her meaning. Then again, he wouldn’t be the only person who couldn’t figure her out.
“You won’t have to worry about that,” he said gruffly. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, and I can certainly take care of you.”
The words were a magical balm, calming her down. “Okay. You’re right. I overreacted. I know you can do this.”
“We can do this.”
Shocked, but pleased to hear his words, she managed to stay focused on the tasks at hand. “Then let me help you pack all of this stuff up.” A thought occurred to her. “Let me tape the next few minutes.” She took out the camcorder and held it up, pointing it at herself. “It’s still snowing out here, folks. And it’s bone cold, too.” Then she turned the camcorder around to capture the snowfall and then aimed it at him. “Redd, what’s our game plan?”
“The plan is for us to find a better structure to stay in. Hopefully one where I can have a fire that’s enclosed in with us.”
“You mean like a cave or something?”
“Dunno. Despite the weather, it is June, so the bears will be out. Do they go back to their caves during a storm? I think we might have to find out. Prolonged exposure to these kinds of conditions isn’t good.” He bent down to help pack up. “Can you wait to eat until we find a safer place? Or do you want energy now to keep you going?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure what to do. I have a headache from not eating, but I’m nauseous from not knowing where we are going to end up.”
“How about a middle ground? I’ll make us a hot tea to get us in gear, and then we’ll get going.”
“Sounds good.” She turned the camera off and shoved it in her backpack. “Did Teleworld stash teabags in our backpacks?” she asked hopefully.
“Nope. I’ll make a fire again, boil some snow and add pine needles.”
She frowned. “Yuck. No thanks. Let’s get going.”
He laughed. “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Pine needles can actually be nicely fragrant and refreshing.”
“I’m knocking it. Time to go.”
“Pushy, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” She spun around, hands on her hips. “You gonna deal with it, or what?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Redd laughed. “Maybe I need to give you a peace offering.” He reached behind a snow pile and pulled out a mess of branches. “Here you go,” he said, shoving two handfuls of tangled wood at her. “These are for you.”
“Geez, Redd, I know Gates of the Arctic doesn’t have any gift shops, but that’s still no reason to branch out.” She wiped a tear off her cheek from laughter. “Sorry. My jokes are totally wooden lately.”
“Are you done?” he asked coolly.
“Kinda. I’m not completely sure.”
He shot her a look. “These are snowshoes. I made them for us by stringing the wood together with fabric strips, Ms. Comedienne.”
“Where’d you get the fabric?”
“I tore up the extra tee shirt they gave me.”
She fell silent. “That’s not good. I don’t want you to go through your clothing like that. You’ll need it.”
He shrugged. “There was no alternative. There’s no walking out here in this thick snow without them. Anyway, there’s more.”
“You mean more snow? I can see that.”
“No, I mean more to give you.” He took off his glove and shoved a bare finger at the edge of the fire’s ash. The soot blackened his fingertip. Without a word he smeared the soot under her eyes.
“Hey! What was that for?”
Redd looked at her with an expression that showed he was garnering patience. “It’s to help absorb the light so you don’t go snow blind. If you don’t like it I’ll have to craft snow goggles for you, but that will take some time.”
“Hmm, goggles would look a whole lot better though, right? It’s not like I’m vain, but since we’re being taped, I’d like to minimize how stupid I look.”
“You’ll look better like this. The goggles will just be a slat of wood across your eyes with little holes so you can see.”
“Okay, I’ll leave the ash.” She felt herself scowl. “I must look like an undersized football player.”
“Maybe it’ll help you score higher ratings than Monday Night NFL.”
Hopefully. At least something good should come out of my looking like a chimneysweep.
He helped her pack up and after a short while they were on their way. But who knew to where?
Once again they were hiking in the woods. Even with the snowshoes, they sank low to the ground. But without them, they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.
After several hours had past, it was hard not to ask, “Are we there yet?” But what would be the point? Redd had no more of a clue than she had. They would either find their way somewhere more hospitable or they would die trying.
Walking this long, and on an empty stomach, was starting to make her see things. She slowed her pace to focus on what looked like a small, dead pine tree. Only this pine tree was walking. Walking? My God, I really am losing it.
Yet the tree continued to walk on at a similar pace. It changed its size, from tall to short, as it went along. What the f—
“Redd?”
He turned back around, some yards ahead of her, gun in hand. “Yeah?”
“I think maybe I’d better stop and get something hot to drink after all. A little food would be good, too.”
“Sure.” She could see him squinting at her as if making an assessment. “How are you holding up?”
“I don’t know,” she answered weakly. “I don’t feel so good.”
He frowned and made his way back to her. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“My head hurts. I feel dizzy. And it’s so cold.”
“You’re going to be fine. I’m going to make sure of it.” He placed a hand on her forehead, perhaps to see if she was running a fever. “You do seem warm. But that could be from all your exertion.”
“Mayb
e.” She shook her head. “But you know, I’m starting to see things.”
“That doesn’t sound good. What kind of things?”
“Never mind, you wouldn’t believe me. I’m sure I’ll be feeling better soo . . .” She stopped when the dead walking tree came in to better view. Distance-wise it was a few subway car lengths away, but the tree-thing was coming closer. And it looked menacing. “Um, Redd?” she said again, this time in a horse whisper. “Don’t move.”
Irrespective of her words, Redd snapped around. A large black bear was making its way forward on its four legs. Then it stood up on its back legs, almost as tall as a small pine tree. The bear’s black hair stuck out at crazy angles, giving the look of pine needles.
The animal lumbered forward on its mighty hind legs, leaving Ana’s blood cold.
Redd calmly pointed the rifle at it. “We probably don’t have anything to worry about,” he said, no trace of fear in his voice. “You know what to do. Make a lot of noise, and fight the urge to run. Be ready on the count of three. One, two . . .”
Before he could say “three,” the bear took a running charge at them. Ana held her breath and tried not to faint. Redd shoved her to the side and her knees threatened to buckle under, almost giving way. He steadied the gun. She gasped in horror. The bear was heading for Redd with unimaginable speed.
“Hold your ground,” he ordered her.
Ana shrieked.
The bear turned its direction toward her. And then the animal sped up, charging again. She collapsed to her knees. “Redd!”
A shot rang out.
And all went black.
