Being in Scott’s company was surprisingly refreshing. His knowledge of the wilderness and what to do to find food and water was amazing, and she’d . . . trust him with her life.
His enthusiasm was infectious, and the things he pointed out and showed her about the beauty all around them were things she would never have noticed on her own or taken the time to see.
When’s the last time you thought a weed with a little flower on it was pretty as it struggled to cling to life among dry dirt and rocks?
She peeled her eyes away from his broad back, the t-shirt he wore doing little to hide the display of muscles along his arms and below his shoulders. She mentally shook her head.
The more she noticed little things about her surroundings, the more she was also starting to notice Scott as someone other than a companion in this lonely wilderness. She’d shrugged off her attraction to him during the first time they’d met. He’d simply been a good-looking guy, someone to admire from a distance for a few minutes and then forget. He’d acted like a jerk, but she’d read that wrong, too. He’d simply been reacting to the way she’d been behaving toward him.
Back home, she wasn’t even in the same league as Scott Kincaid, but here, alone with him in the past, she’d allowed her mind to wander about how nice it had felt to have him hold her, and regretting that she hadn’t allowed him to fully kiss her. Each time her mind strayed a bit too far in that direction, her hand went to her back pocket. There was no future for her. She had no right to start something with him.
While following the creek, he’d passed the long hours with stories of his life in Montana. He hadn’t brought up her cancer again. He’d told about his adventures river rafting, mountain climbing, and backpacking. There’d been a slight hesitation when he’d mentioned his mountaineering escapades, and a somber look had come over his face. Before she’d had the chance to ponder the behavior, he’d already started a new story.
“How long have you known Chris?” she’d asked when he’d mentioned the name.
“We were practically neighbors. Grew up on horse ranches that bordered each other and went to school together. He went off to college in Texas, and I stayed in Montana.”
Amber had frowned. “I didn’t realize Chris came from affluent parents. He never really talked about it, and I have to admit, I never really asked. I only knew he was adopted.”
Scott had offered a wide grin. “His folks own quite a spread. It goes further back in Montana history than my folks’. I told you that one of my ancestors moved his cattle ranch from Texas, right? I wish I knew exactly what year we were in, and I could pay them a visit.”
The sky continued to change color right in front of her with every minute that passed. First, the reds had mixed with the blue as the sky overhead grew steadily darker, creating shades of purple and orange, but the red remained the dominant color.
“Beautiful sky, isn’t it?” Scott nudged with his chin, holding a stick in his hand and pointing at the sky as if he were giving a presentation. He sat next to her by the fire, his other hand on the skewer, rotating it as he continued to cook the rabbit.
“It’s gorgeous,” Amber whispered. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve never seen a sky so brilliantly red.”
Scott shifted and moved the skewer off the flames, inspecting the meat. “It means all is calm, and there’s nothing to worry about. Now, if it were a morning sky and we were out at sea, we’d be in for some rough weather.”
Amber turned her full attention on him. “Seriously? You think it might rain? It’s been so warm.”
He chuckled. “Rough weather can come at any time. We have to be prepared for everything.”
She scoffed. “But we’re really not prepared for anything, are we? We should have stayed in that room at the back of the diner. Maybe then we’d have had some answers, and a way to get home.”
Scott’s bright smile was back, as if he was triumphant about something. He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes as if assessing her. “You sound like you’re having second thoughts about your well-laid plans, Amber. Maybe you’re realizing that there’s always something to hope for.”
Amber dropped her gaze to the ground. She picked at some dirt on her pants. Darn the guy! He was right. Roughing it all these days, battling hunger, thirst, and exhaustion among countless other discomforts should have made her more miserable than ever. Instead, it had invigorated her.
Scott held out a large chunk of meat. “Dinner is served. Enjoy it.”
Amber took the meat. Nothing had ever tasted so good. She let out a soft moan as her teeth sunk into the simple fare.
“Good, isn’t it?” Scott tore into his own piece, and they sat in silence, enjoying some real food that might actually fill her belly for the first time in many days.
Thinking about her plans, and how they’d become less important as the days wore on, brought back Scott’s words from several days ago about knowing more than most when it came to dying. There hadn’t been a good time to ask him to elaborate, because it would inevitably lead back to her.
“What did you mean when you said you know more than most about being at death’s door?”
Had she even voiced the question out loud? Wide-eyed, she stared at Scott. Her heart beat faster with sudden anticipation and unease about what his answer might be. He couldn’t possibly be a cancer survivor, could he? That would be too coincidental.
He glanced at the piece of meat in his hand rather than at her. He tore off a chunk with his teeth and chewed, then set the rest aside. Shifting on the ground, he faced Amber, the grin on his face replaced with a serious look.
“A little over a year ago, I had a mountaineering accident,” he started, staring at her. “I survived, but my body was broken. I could have given up and felt sorry for myself, but instead I worked every day to get my strength back and to heal, and I don’t take a single day for granted. Every day is worth living and fighting for, and making the best of things. It’s all up here, Amber.” He pointed at his temple with his index finger. “It’s all about attitude.”
“What exactly happened?” The thought of Scott being anything but fit and full of life was incomprehensible.
“My climbing partner and I were rapelling in an area with unstable rock. The anchor of my rope wasn’t secure enough. I fell, and landed on a ledge.” He shook his head and laughed quietly. “The fall itself should have killed me. I remember being in pain and scared as the hours wore on. I was on my back, lying on that ledge, unable to move and not knowing when or if help would arrive. We were in a pretty remote area, so my buddy had to go quite a ways just to get cell service. The ledge I’d fallen on was a difficult place for the rescuers to reach.”
Amber reached her hand out and curled her fingers around his wrist. The pain and anguish in his voice was so unlike Scott. He wrapped his hand around hers, and offered a quick smile.
“All I wanted during those hours was to die. I just wanted the pain to go away. At the hospital, I nearly gave up, and then the anger took over. Something in me changed.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, and a determined gleam passed through his eyes. “That damn mountain was not going to get the best of me. I could have crawled home and taken the safe route, married Cheryl like she wanted, and settled into life behind a desk at the ranch to please my folks.”
He shook his head again and scoffed. “I think she was almost happy I had that accident. She thought it would finally get me to propose. It actually did just the opposite. Lying there, waiting to die, I became more determined to live. To live every day to the fullest because tomorrow might never come. Truth is, I was scared as hell, and I vowed I never wanted to feel like that again.”
Amber listened, the vision of Scott fighting for his life too difficult to imagine. New respect grew for him, even though she already admired him more than anyone.
“So now you're running from your demons, out to prove that you're invincible?” she guessed.
He n
odded. “Something like that.”
A flash of lightning lit up the sky at that moment as if on cue, the jagged lines looking ominous against the backdrop of the dark red sky. Scott’s tense body relaxed. Clearly, it had been difficult for him to talk about a time in his life when he’d struggled physically. His grin was back.
“Looks like we might get some rough weather, after all.”
Chapter 12
Amber lost track of the days as they continued to follow the creek. There was no indication that it would turn into a wider body of water or meet up with a river. It continued to wind its way through terrain that varied from forested mountains to almost desert-like canyons.
“Why do we have to follow this stream again?” Amber had asked multiple times while they followed the creek through a narrow ravine. This place was creepy and confining, with the high canyon walls seeming to close in on them.
“It will get us to where we’re going,” Scott kept saying. “And I don’t want to stray too far away from our water source.”
There was no reason to doubt him. Scott would have fit into the past with remarkable ease. He had no problem living off the land. Where Amber had viewed the land as barren and inhospitable, Scott had found edible plants near the water that sustained them enough to keep moving forward.
There was no telling what he might have been able to accomplish with a horse and a gun. All he had was his little pocket knife and something he called a multi-tool. It had all kinds of gadgets on it, from scissors to a saw he’d used to cut limbs from trees for firewood and for making a spear.
He’d fashioned a fishing hook out of a safety pin he’d had in his first aid kit and had tied it to some dental floss, then managed to catch fish in the creek. At night, he’d set snares and other assorted traps, hoping to catch another rabbit, but without much luck.
So far they hadn’t crossed paths with any more snakes. Amber had been especially vigilant about those. If she stepped on one, her ordeal would be over, but not without a lot of pain and suffering first. While they crossed paths with armadillos on multiple occasions, Scott had refused to hunt them for food.
“I’ll eat a lot of things, but I’m not desperate enough to try one of them,” he’d told her after he’d successfully caught one by the tail and held it up. After a few seconds, he’d released it.
Amber had wrinkled her nose. “They are really ugly. I can’t imagine it would be tasty.”
“I don’t know if my knife would even be able to get through that thing’s armor. Besides, I wouldn’t trust eating it. They carry the bacteria that causes leprosy, and although the chances of transmission are fairly low if the meat’s cooked right, I don’t want to take the chance.”
Amber had stared with wide eyes. “No, I definitely don’t want to eat it. I’d rather starve for a few days.” Even grubs and termites sounded better than eating an armadillo.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, followed by lightning. Amber wrapped her arms around her middle and shivered. A light rain had fallen for a few hours during the night, and it looked like there might be more on the way.
She’d huddled under the shelter Scott had built out of dried wood and branches, which she’d helped to cover with grasses and shrubs. It had kept most of the water out, but some of it had leaked through and dampened her clothes enough that she’d spent a cold night huddled up against Scott.
Under different circumstances, it might have been a pleasurable experience, but the cold and wet had only made her shiver, and wish for a hot bath followed by a soft bed and a warm blanket. Scott had wrapped her in his arms, offering himself to keep her warm. How he’d managed to maintain all that body heat was beyond her comprehension, but she’d taken full advantage of what he’d offered.
“If that’s the only way you’ll let me hold you for now, I’ll take it,” he’d whispered against her ear in the dark. It had been difficult to tell whether he’d been serious or in one of his sarcastic moods. She hadn’t asked him to elaborate. It had been safer not to.
By now it was clear that she was quickly developing more than an infatuation for Scott Kincaid. If circumstances were different, it would be all too easy to explore that attraction further. It was best to keep it casual, however, and he seemed to know it, too. Other than keeping her warm at night by letting her huddle with him, or when he helped her navigate some difficult terrain, he hadn’t touched her or made any attempts to act on what she’d glimpsed in his eyes.
Whatever he saw in her remained a mystery. She didn’t wear make-up, unlike so many of her peers. She was of average looks, short in stature, and she had no money to spend on fancy clothes or the latest styles in haircuts. She’d splurged recently on the hair because of her plans. Might as well go out looking half-way decent.
In contrast, Scott had everything going for him. He was gorgeous, athletic, fun to be around with a great sense of humor, even if his positive attitude got annoying at times, and he came from a family with lots of money.
A low rumble of thunder grew steadily louder, followed by a flash of lightning that cracked through the sky as if splitting it in half. Amber jerked in surprise, and tripped over a rock. Her hands flew forward in an effort to brace the inevitable fall, but a strong hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her back.
“Careful.” Scott grinned, not letting go even after she’d found her balance.
“The lightning startled me.” She stumbled over her words, staring up into his dark eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart sped up as her eyes connected with Scott’s. Concern in his gaze and some unspoken longing drew her in.
Amber blinked and mentally shook her head. She tugged on her arm as a signal for him to let her go. This attraction was a response to being alone in the wilderness, and the stressfulness of the situation they were in, that was all. Had they remained in Heartsbridge, they would have gone their separate ways at the diner, both irritated with the other, and probably never seen each other again.
Out here, she’d let her guard down, and had told Scott the secret she’d only divulged to one other person. Likewise, he’d opened up to her, and allowed her into his world to see things he probably didn’t talk about with most people.
Another ominous rumble of thunder rolled through the air, echoing off the canyon walls. Scott released her arm, and he broke eye contact. Amber followed his gaze as he stared at the dark clouds that gathered and covered the tips of the mountains behind them.
“That doesn’t look good.”
Amber’s remark was met with a concerned look. Scott shifted his gaze to the creek, then up the steep walls of the ravine.
“We need to get to higher ground,” he said, almost to himself.
Amber’s eyes widened as she raised her eyebrows. “You expect me to climb these walls?”
“If need be, yes.” He grabbed her hand and all but dragged her along, looking up the canyon, obviously trying to see if there was a place to climb out. It looked impossibly steep everywhere.
“Are you trying to show off your mountain climbing skills?” She smiled. “Can’t we keep going and see if there’s an easier place to get out of the canyon?”
Scott shook his head, the frown on his face showing his displeasure at the idea. “I hope that’s not our only option. It looks to be widening up ahead, but we need to move fast.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the dark sky. “There’s a storm blowing in fast, and that means there could be a flash flood.”
Amber’s mouth dropped open. She increased her pace to keep up with Scott, who jogged along at an ever-increasing pace. Amber’s lungs burned after a few minutes. She gritted her teeth to keep up with him, running as if her life depended on it.
She almost laughed at the irony. She was running to save herself from possible death. A week ago, she would have been running toward it. Her fingers gripped tighter to Scott’s hand. It was all his fault.
He’d chiseled away at the plans she’d made for months to the point where she feared the thought of not maki
ng it back to town, and back to their proper time, alive. And, she feared the thought that she might never get the chance to spend more time with Scott.
A fat drop of rain splattered her face, making her blink in surprise. Another followed, and then another. A gust of wind blew through the canyon, sending a shiver down her spine. She glanced upward, squinting at the ominous sky as her hair whipped around her.
“Where did this come from all of a sudden?” she called. How could the weather change in almost the blink of an eye?
“I should have paid better attention.” Scott turned his head slightly to answer. The rain plastered his black hair to his head, making strands curl forward over his eyes. “It looks to be widening up ahead. Hopefully there will be a place where we can climb to higher ground.”
The flash of worry in his eyes before he looked straight ahead again didn’t go unnoticed. There was no easy-going grin on his face this time. A grim tensing of his jaw had replaced it.
The canyon was definitely widening the further they went and the wall didn’t seem quite so high, but the rain had also increased. It was getting more difficult to see far ahead as wind and rain pelted her face. Water rushed down the sides of the canyon walls, bringing with it gravel and sand. The creek looked to be moving faster, the clear water turning dark and murky.
Scott stopped all of a sudden, and turned. A low rumble grew louder behind them, followed by a terrifying gushing sound.
“We need to climb. Now.” Scott dragged her to the canyon wall. “Grab hold of whatever roots and shrubs, and tree limbs you can, but move upward,” he called over the sound of the wind and the roar of water.
Amber’s heart raced furiously. She grabbed for anything that might aid her in pulling herself upward. Scott could easily get ahead of her, but he stayed below her, guiding her and instructing where to put her hands and feet. Muddy water streamed down, splashing her in the face.
“Keep going until you get to the top,” Scott called. “Don’t stop, and don’t look back.”
Timeless Bond (Timeless Hearts Book 8) Page 9
