We broke through the trees and came to the river bank about a hundred yards upstream of the campsite. The SUV was gone but the camper was still there and there was smoke drifting up from the campfire pit.
“That’s it!” I said. “We found it!”
“There are some rocks just upriver,” Ryker said. “You can wade across there and then trek down to the camp site.”
“Aren’t you coming?”
“No.” He shook his head. “No, I don’t need all the attention. You’re safe, my job is done, I’m going home to my peace and quiet.”
“Oh. I guess this is good-bye then.”
“I guess so. Good-bye Emily, it was nice meeting you, even if it wasn’t the best of circumstances.”
“Thanks for saving me Ryker. Thanks for everything.”
He nodded and disappeared into the trees.
I followed his directions to the rocks and made my way carefully across the river. As I made my way carefully downstream on the other side of the river I could hear Joel’s familiar voice.
“But she’s been missing more than forty-eight hours, they have to get someone down here. I don’t care how unlikely it is that she’s … hello? Hello? Damn phone!”
I stepped out of the trees and watched him for a moment. He was still wearing khaki shorts and his sandals and a polo shirt. His hair was carefully mussed and gelled in place. I glanced over my shoulder. Is it too late to go back into the bush and find Ryker? Is it too late to stay lost?
And then Joel saw me and it was too late. He stared at me, his eyes too wide. “Emily?”
I nodded. “I made it back,” I said, smiling lamely.
“You’re alive?”
I nodded.
He took a step in my direction and then his phone rang. He jabbed at the button and brought it to his ear. “Hello?” He paused to listen. “No, forget the cops, forget the helicopters, just get an ambulance down here now.”
“Joel, I don’t need an …”
He held up a hand to silence me. “She’s standing right in front of me! No I’m not imagining things. Just get the ambulance down here to take a look at her would you!”
He hung up the phone and ran to me. He hugged me tight. “Oh, Emily, I thought I’d never see you again. How did you survive?”
I thought of Ryker, alone in his cabin, alone and peaceful and happy, and I said, “Just luck, I guess.”
“Luck! I saw you get swept away, Emily. You weren’t moving, you weren’t fighting, you weren’t trying to swim, you were just floating away.”
“Well, I’m alive and fine and safely back here. Is my bag still in the trailer? I could use some clean clothes and some dry socks.”
He nodded. “Yeah, it’s still here. Buddy and Julia just took the truck back to the nearest town to find help because cell reception is so patchy here.”
He followed me into the trailer and sat on the bed while I changed. He’d seen me naked a hundred times but this time I kept my back to him. It felt like I was somehow betraying Ryker, but wasn’t it the other way around? Hadn’t I nearly betrayed Joel when I almost slept with Ryker?
When the ambulance arrived, just behind Buddy and Julia, the paramedics looked me over while Joel and Buddy and Julia packed everything up.
“How did you survive being swept unconscious down the river?” one of the paramedics asked.
They were less likely to take luck as an answer so I said, “There was a man camping down river from here. He pulled me out. He saved my life. He helped me find my way back to camp.”
“You’re very lucky then. If it was a few weeks earlier in the year I’d be worried about hypothermia but since you’re not huddled in a ball somewhere shivering I think you’re past that danger. You’ve got some serious bruises everywhere and I suggest going to a doctor when you get home to double check that goose egg on the back of your skull, otherwise you’re fine.”
“Thanks.”
The ambulance left and Joel wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He smelled like expensive cologne and city, even out here in the woods. “We’re going back a day early,” he said. “We’re all too tired and stressed to enjoy camping anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “You don’t have to stop your trip just for me.”
“Sorry? Emily, you’re alive, that’s apology enough, okay? Let’s get you home, I’m sure you could use a hot shower and a real bed.”
“Oh, a hot shower sounds nice.”
“Was it really just luck that got you back to me?” he said.
He roughly pulled me close and kissed me. I touched his weathered cheek and smiled. I kissed him tenderly, letting each kiss linger.
“No,” I said. “There was a man camping down river from here. He pulled me out. He saved my life. He helped me find my way back to camp.” I repeated the lie word for word. I wasn’t going to tell anyone about Ryker. For whatever reason he wanted to be alone with the woods and the wild and I wasn’t going to send people flocking to his door for any reason.
“I wish I could thank him,” Joel said. “Why didn’t he come into camp with you?”
“He had to hike all the way back,” I said. “It was a very long walk and I had to cross the river and he didn’t want to get his shoes wet.”
“Well, I’m glad he got you back to me safe and sound.” He kissed my cheek.
“Come on!” Buddy hollered from the SUV. “We’re all packed and ready to go. Traffic’s going to be heavier on the highway because it’s Sunday afternoon so we should book it.”
“We’re coming!” Joel shouted back. He led me to the SUV.
Joel sat in the back with me and I sat leaned against his shoulder with my eyes closed and they let me pretend to sleep the whole way back. I already missed the peace and quiet of the wild but it was time to go home.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kristina King is an erotic romance author who specializes in unique scenarios, locations, and time periods. She enjoys writing both realism and fantasy romance with strong female characters. Kristina lives off the grid in the countryside outside Toronto. When not researching or travelling you can find her working on her small organic farm.
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Kristina King
ROMANCE: BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The CEO's Game (CEO Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance) (New Adult Romance Short Stories) Page 15
