She let that last comment pass. “We’re going on business, Dane. Zach is planning a trip for the foundation that requires my approval.”
“So there will be others with you?”
She paused, then answered honestly, knowing there was no point in hedging, since he’d just drag it out of her anyway. That was the downside of having a twin who was also an investigator. “No. But,” she hurried to add when he tried to break in, “we’ll have separate tents and everything. We’re simply colleagues. He knows how I feel and—”
“How do you feel? Honestly. I mean, you guys haven’t spoken since you were kids, and there was certainly no great affection between you then. As a matter of fact, isn’t one of his teeth capped because of you?”
Dara wasn’t ready to explain—even if she could—what her relationship was with Zach. “As for the tooth, he started it, so he deserved what he got. As to your other question, I don’t know. Honestly.” She knew she shouldn’t ask, but she couldn’t help herself. “And what did you mean, about us not being able to be alone without … you know. We’re both adults.”
“I guess I just know how he is with women. He’s the kind of guy who could walk into the men’s room and still find himself instantly surrounded by women. I just don’t want you to mistake his … attentions for something they’re not.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this.” Dara laughed. “Don’t you think I understand the difference between idle flirtation and … you know, something more serious?” It was precisely because she wasn’t sure at all if she could tell the difference when it came to Zach, that she turned the tables back on Dane. “And he’s your best friend, for goodness’ sake—”
“And you’re my sister. Come on, Dara. I know you date, but I could have given you the same advice you gave me.”
“And if I took it, Zach Brogan would probably fill part of that advice quite admirably.” She smiled at the strangled sound he made. “I can handle it, okay?”
There was a deep sigh on the other end of the phone.
“Dane?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I know you’re an adult, and I know you can take care of yourself. But I also know how immersed you’ve become in your work. You give everything to those kids.”
“Look who’s talking. I love my work, you know that.”
“I do, and don’t get me wrong, that’s a wonderful thing. But dating one of the foundation’s stuffy lawyers or that insecure guy from accounting—”
“Phil’s not insecure,” she broke in, “he’s just shy.”
“And safe.”
Dara paused, at a loss for a comeback. “Well, one thing Zach Brogan isn’t, is safe. So you should be thrilled.”
Dane sighed. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. But ever since Daniel died, you haven’t been the same. You’re quieter, more serious. Which isn’t bad, but that’s more like me than like you.”
“Can you blame me, Dane?”
“You know I admire the hell out of you, facing what you did and how you’ve turned it into such a positive thing. It’s just that when it comes to your own happiness, you tend to go for guys who don’t, I don’t know, challenge you. The sort of guys you wouldn’t be in danger of falling for.”
Dara didn’t know what to say. As close as she and Dane were, he’d never spoken to her so candidly. And never about this. She felt her throat constrict and her eyes burn. He went on before she could respond.
“I guess I just think someone out there should be working at least half as hard as you do for those kids, making your dreams come true. And while I still think Phil from accounting isn’t the right guy, neither is Zach Brogan.”
Dara’s heart swelled a bit at his tender words in her defense. He wasn’t one for overt displays of emotion, quite the opposite. More often it was gruff displays of overprotectiveness. “I called for camping tips,” she teased gently, “not advice for the lovelorn. Which I’m not, by the way. I’ve lost two men I loved very much. You of all people have to know that the very last person I’d fall for is a man who takes the sort of risks Zach does. We’ve agreed the past is past, and I think he’d make a nice friend—” She broke off when Dane uttered a few choice words under his breath. “I mean it, Dane. I realize this sounds impossible, all things considered, but I think he’s a nice guy. A helpless flirt and a maniac with a death wish, but underneath, a nice guy.”
“Dara,” Dane warned.
“I can handle it, big-brother-by-all-of-one-minute. Now, do I have your help or not?”
He sighed. “Okay, I’ll help. I’ve got to conduct a few interviews out at TRACON this afternoon. How about we meet in Tysons Corner around eight, okay?”
“Deal. And Dane?”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I love you too. Just don’t go getting yourself hurt. I’d hate like hell to have to kill my best friend.”
Only Dara would pack for a fun weekend trip like she expected to traverse a war zone. Zach’s gaze scanned over the equipment-laden truck bed as he backed into an open spot between two oak trees at the base of the mountain.
She’d been waiting at the curb, all decked out in her new hiking shorts and boots, standing in the middle of a pile of camping gear that any scout leader would sell his merit badges for, and shot him that I-dare-you look. He’d been a goner before he’d put the emergency brake on.
Hell, if he were honest, he’d probably been a goner since the first time she’d socked him back when they were six. He’d just been too young and stupid to know true love when it stared him right in the eyes. Of course, he could only see out of one of them at the time.
“Why are we stopping here?” she asked now, almost three hours later.
He glanced over at her as he put the truck in neutral and set the brake. “Because this is where the trail begins.” He pointed to the old service road that zigzagged its way up the hill in front of them, disappearing into the trees before the third switchback.
He watched her scan the trail.
“If you’re worried about the truck, don’t be. This is private property.”
“Private property?” She looked back at him, then waved him silent. “Never mind.” Sighing as she unhooked her seat belt, she said, “Another example of how different we are, I guess. The kind of people I know are the sort that might own a small sailboat and a time-share condo in Ocean City. Your friends own mountains and hot-air balloons.”
He shifted and let his arm rest on the back of the seat, tucking his fingers into a loose fist to keep from touching her. “This is a problem? What our friends do or don’t own?”
She turned her attention back to the trail. “Not really, at least, not in and of itself. But it does go a way toward defining why we’d be better off as friends.” Before he could comment, she laughed. “Besides, thanks to you, I guess I could now say I have friends with access to hot-air balloons and mountains. Makes for good conversation at cocktail parties.”
Zach released his own seat belt. He wondered what she’d say if he told her he wasn’t much for the cocktail party circuit. But he didn’t think it was wise to give her more ammunition at the moment. She probably thought he was a party animal anyway.
Only time spent together would make her understand, show her who he really was beneath all those labels she was busy hanging on him to keep her distance, to ignore what was happening between them.
And he couldn’t remember looking forward to spending time alone with another person as much as he had this weekend with her. Even his annual jaunts with her brother and Jarrett didn’t give him this sense of anticipation, of expectation. Nothing had ever felt like this.
But the idea of being just a friend to her simply wouldn’t jibe in his head. The thought of being near her without touching her, of laughing with her but never kissing her. He simply couldn’t imagine it.
“Well, I guess we’d better get our packs set up.” Zach opened his door, suddenly desperate for some fresh air and a little more space between them. Her voice stopped him with his hand st
ill on the door handle.
“What do you mean, get our packs? I thought we’d take the truck up. I mean, I know the kids are going to ride up in their buggies on the real trip.”
“Because they can’t walk. We can. Isn’t that why you bought the hiking boots?”
“The hiking boots were for hiking, not mountain climbing. You know, as in leave the campsite for a jaunt in the woods?”
“That’s not all there is to camping.” He slid out of the truck and started digging in the heap of gear for their packs.
She got out and spoke to him from the opposite side of the truck bed. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t camping the part where you pitch tents and make a campfire? Who said anything about having to tote the campsite up a mountain on your back?”
Zach looked up. She was serious. He tried not to laugh. “First off, this barely qualifies as a mountain. Everest it’s not. And secondly, just how did you think this stuff was going to get up there when we do this trip for real? Did you think the kids would take it on the buggies? There will barely be enough room to strap on their own stuff.”
He watched her flush in embarrassment and anger. It made him want to vault the back of the truck in a single bound and take her in his arms until all that heat was channeled into an entirely different sort of passion. Until he made her understand how intrinsic that passion was to her entire self, until he convinced her that burying it didn’t make it go away.
“I guess I thought your guys would take everything up ahead of time and we would hike up for fun. You know, for the kids’ sake.” Her voice dropped to a low grumble as she added, “Dane told me I was wrong about that part, but would I listen? Noooo.”
Zach had been pulling his bedroll out from under her tent which—even rolled up—looked as if it would sleep at least eight. Her mumbled words stopped him cold. He looked up at her. “You went to Dane for help on this trip?”
She glared at him, then shrugged. “I’ve never done this sort of thing before,” she said, obviously uncomfortable now, but determined not to back down. He felt a tug near his heart.
“And you asked Dane for some tips so you … what? So you wouldn’t be embarrassed?”
“Which you can see worked very well.” She sighed. “Go ahead, laugh. I should have known better than to try and impre—”
Zach’s smile spread to a wide grin when she broke off and began digging furiously in the back of the truck for who only knew what.
Walking around to her side, he stopped just behind her. He began to reach for her, but she must have sensed it, because she stiffened. He knew he shouldn’t touch her, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Come here.”
SEVEN
Zach gently placed his hands on her waist and tugged her around to face him. He waited a minute, knowing her well enough to realize she was incapable of not meeting a challenge. Finally, she lifted her gaze to his.
“I’m flattered you went to so much trouble, Dart.”
“I didn’t go—”
“Shhh.” He placed a finger on her lips, then left it there when the warmth of her skin gave him a slight rush. “Did you really think I would hassle you?”
She arched a brow. “What, you’re kidding, right?”
His grin faded. Her ongoing low opinion of him hurt more than he cared to admit. “You could have just told me. I’d have been glad to help you. I just figured you’d camped before or I would have said something.”
She pulled away from the finger he’d begun rubbing across her lower lip. “I’m here to look out for the kids’ interests—they’ve never camped either. My expertise comes in knowing their needs. Yours is to make sure the trip meets them.”
“Didn’t your folks ever take you and Dane camping?”
“No. My dad was gone too much for anything like that.” She looked away for a moment, then back at him. “And Stan is not exactly the outdoorsy type.”
Zach frowned. Her tone had been dry and self-deprecating, but there was old pain under the surface of her words. “So I guess you missed out on a few other things as well, huh? Pretty tough for a kid like you. I bet you wanted to ski, sail, surf. Do it all.” He slipped his hand into her hair and tilted her head back when she tried to look away again. “I’m sorry your dad didn’t have time for you when he was alive, Dara. I’m sure he’d love to have done all those things with you. He loved challenge as much as you. Who knows, you’d probably be flying planes now.”
She tried to jerk away from him, but he kept her gently yet firmly in his grasp.
“I loved my dad more than anything, you know that,” she ground out. “But it was long ago. I don’t resent anything about the time we spent together. And Stan is wonderful. He’s made my mom incredibly happy.”
Zach brought her face up to his again. “Is that what you’re looking for then, a younger version of Stan? Someone safe?”
Her skin paled a bit, but it was anger not pain that lit her eyes now. “There’s not a damn thing wrong with wanting security and stability.”
“No,” he answered calmly, “there isn’t. But you’re not your mom, Dara. And I think if you really wanted someone like Stan, you’d have married him by now.”
“And I’m supposed to take marital advice from you? The reigning king of commitment and responsibility?” she asked sarcastically.
Zach picked up her hand and pressed a soft kiss on her palm. She gasped. That was one way to break an impasse with her. “How did we get on the subject of your family?”
“Because I didn’t want to deal with how idiotic I feel about packing enough camping supplies to outfit the Boy Scouts’ annual jamboree?”
Her laugh had him drawing her closer, intending to pull her into a deep kiss. But she ducked away. He let her go, knowing now was not the time to push despite how badly he wanted to. There would be other times, other kisses. There had to be.
She rooted around and pulled out her sleeping bag. “Why didn’t you say something to me back at my house?” she asked. “We could have left most of this stuff in my garage.”
He leaned back on the truck beside her and crossed his arms. “Because you looked so cute and adorable in your new hiking ensemble, I didn’t have the heart.”
She made a face. “Cute and adorable. Now there’s two adjectives every woman yearns to hear.”
Zach leaned closer. “I have a whole list of words to describe you. You want to hear some more of them?”
She shot him a droll smile. “Since I’m fairly sure I’d be lucky if two out of the first ten would be complimentary, I think I’ll cut my losses now.”
He dropped a quick kiss on her nose. “You’d be surprised, Dara.”
“That’s mountain laurel.” Zach pointed to the bushes lining the edge of the forest. “Those trees are yellow birch, and over there is some red dogwood. The firs around here range from eastern hemlock and balsam fir to white pine and red spruce. There’s some late-blooming trillium.” He pointed to the ground near a fallen log. “The blossoms start out pink and change to white.”
Dara’s boots were killing her, and she relished anything that would take her mind off her blisters, even listening to Zach detail every aspect of the flora which surrounded them. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was all just foliage to her. Pretty, soothing foliage, but nothing she was interested in knowing about on a scientific level.
“How did you learn all this stuff?” She stopped and pretended to pick a stone out of the tread of her boot.
“My parents and I hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail and around Skyline Drive occasionally, and I remember some from my dad. The rest is just part of the standard research in putting together a trip.”
Dara knew she’d stalled as long as she could, so she carefully stepped forward again, taking small pride in not visibly wincing in front of him. “You research the plants and everything?”
“Depends on the trip. Most of the time it pays to know what is indigenous to an area, not just to prepare for any inherent dangers,
but also as a safety precaution.”
“And partly because you love soaking it all up, right?”
He grinned. “Best education around.”
His eyes took on a vibrancy, and his voice became more animated as he spoke. The excitement and pleasure he took in his job was obvious. Even feeling like she did, his attitude was infectious. And for that very reason disquieting.
“You said something about safety precautions,” she said. “You mean like if you got lost or stranded you’d know what was edible and what wasn’t? That sort of thing?”
“Partly. In the mountains, even relatively small ones like these, storms can come out of nowhere and depending on where you are there can be flash floods and even snow or ice storms in the spring. And no matter where you are, you want to make sure you don’t invade the turf of an animal who prefers his own kind to humans.”
Dara laughed, albeit a bit nervously. “I guess when you travel to exotic locales that would come in handy.”
Zach looked over at her. “Yes, but it also holds true in the States. Even here in Virginia.”
“What animal could we possibly spook up here that would represent a danger? I mean, there is an occasional bear sighting, but even I know that doesn’t happen often. So that leaves, what? Squirrels, deer, raccoons, bunny rabbits?”
“Snakes. The timber rattler, for one.”
Dara stopped dead. “Snakes?”
“Yes, snakes.” He stepped closer to her, his expression serious. “Don’t worry,” he deadpanned. “We’re miles from a biology lab. No one will make you dissect one.” He broke into a wide grin. “Or kiss one.”
Dara thumped his chest. “Very funny, Mr. Macho Mountain Man. I’ll have you know it wasn’t myself I was concerned about. I was worried about the children. Their mobility is limited, and they might not be able to move out of the way of danger in time.”
Zach looked as if he was buying her story, until he started laughing.
“It’s a plausible concern,” she insisted.
Born to Be Wild Page 9
