Travis slipped into his shirt and stalked to the tent, angry with himself for letting Mattie get him all worked up. It was beyond stupid. This was the last time he’d allow that to happen. He had more important things to do, especially now that they had a sick team member.
Before entering the tent, he turned to Mattie. “Go get the first-aid kit from my truck. It’s behind the seat.” The worried look on her face made his resolve falter. He wanted to hold her, tell her all would be well, but that wasn’t happening. He’d reassure her instead. “He’ll be okay.”
She inhaled, then took off for the truck.
Travis entered the tent.
His concern tripled when he saw the pasty complexion of the man lying on the cot. Sweat beaded his face and upper chest.
Mattie raced inside the tent and handed Travis the kit. “Is he going to be all right?”
“We need to try and bring down his fever. Grab that basin and a washcloth, start cooling him down.”
She did as instructed. Mattie’s quick compliance and demeanor told Travis that the man meant a lot to her. A sudden stab of jealousy caught him by surprise. He had no right to feel anything, especially when he wasn’t going any further with her than those kisses.
*
Mattie dunked the cloth into the basin, squeezed the excess water out, and wiped it over Drew’s pale face. She was terrified for his life. She’d never seen anyone so ghastly white. She’d been at his side for hours, bathing his face and upper body, hoping it’d bring down his temperature, all the while praying for his recovery.
Travis had given him a fever reducer. So far, nothing had brought down the spiked temp.
“You have to fight, Drew,” she whispered into his ear. “I need you.”
“You need to take a break,” Travis said in a gruff voice, standing in the tent door, holding the flap open.
Dana Rutherford stood next to him. “I’ll take care of him for a while, Mattie.” Mattie hesitated, afraid if she left her friend’s side something awful would happen.
As if reading her thoughts, Dana repeated, “I’ll take care of him. I promise.”
Mattie nodded, then glanced at Drew one last time. “Stay strong,” she whispered, and rose.
Travis was still in the tent’s door, markedly avoiding her gaze.
Right. He no doubt felt embarrassed about what had happened earlier. Probably used to brainless model types, not gangly nerds.
But then, why stare at her the way he had that afternoon if that were the case? She wasn’t stupid. She knew lust when she saw it, and while she’d been swimming, that expression had been reflected in his eyes.
Mattie scurried from the tent, refusing to look at him again.
To hell with him. She was here to work, not fall in love with some man who found her irresistible one moment, repugnant the next.
She made her way into her tent. She needed to get some rest so she could go back and care for Drew.
Inside, she slipped out of her shirt, removed the still damp underwear and threw on a T-shirt. Then she slid into the cot and closed her eyes, images of Travis in the moonlight instantly inundating her. The man had taken her breath away as she’d stared in wonder at the sharp planes of his chest. She’d never seen anyone so perfect, so appealing. Her core had quivered with want just looking at him. When he’d kissed her, her senses had spun.
Even now her nipples beaded at the memory.
She’d never done anything like that before—practically throwing herself at him. Now she felt mortified, especially when he couldn’t even look at her.
Mattie rolled toward the tent wall and covered her face with her hands as heat raced up her neck. How was she going to face him again?
Just pretend it never happened. That’s what she’d do and hope that things would blow over between them.
With that thought relieving her, she relaxed and concentrated on falling asleep.
* * * *
Travis jumped into the truck and grabbed the two-way radio receiver. He needed to call the reserve and get a medic. Without one, he was afraid Mattie’s boyfriend would die. His fever refused to budge and Travis hadn’t encountered a situation as dire as this before. He’d had crew members come down with illness but never to the point that he’d tried everything he could think to do but nothing had worked.
He clicked the Talk button on the handset. “This is Kane. Guide on the botanist expedition. Anyone read.”
The radio crackled. “Outpost Seven,” a man responded. “What do you need?”
“We have a man in his mid-thirties running a high temp. I need a medic to come out and look at him.”
Silence followed.
“That might be a problem. They’re all out in the field right now with emergencies.”
Travis blew out a breath. It was rare for something like this to happen, and just his luck. “Do you have any suggestions?” Travis asked.
“Where are…” The man’s voice broke up. “…you?”
“We’re camped at the first falls some forty plus miles from Manu.”
Seconds ticked by, then the man said, “We have a medic about a half day’s ride from you. Is there any way you could travel to him?”
What was Travis going to do? This was the last thing he needed. If he sent Drew to the medic then he’d have to send along one of the women and James to drive. That would leave him with three women. Not a good situation, but he’d have to do it or Mattie’s guy could die.
“Give me his location. I’m going to send a truck back.”
Travis wrote down directions that James could follow and walked back to camp.
“James,” he hollered when he saw the blond man pacing next to the edge of the pool. The botanist turned and started toward Travis.
“I don’t think we have a choice but to take your colleague back. I’ve written down directions to where our closest medic is right now. Do you think you could take him?”
“Of course.”
Travis handed him the slip of paper. “Take one team member with you and plenty of water. We need to do this now. He’s not getting any better.”
“I’m on it. I’ll need help getting him into the truck.”
Twenty minutes later they had Drew loaded and the truck rolled out, with James taking Beth with them.
Mattie would be angry that he hadn’t awakened her to go along, but the small group needed to leave as soon as they got everyone into the cab.
“Do you think he’ll be all right?” Sara asked from behind him.
He turned to see worry lines scrunching around her eyes. He was concerned too, but he didn’t want her to know. It’d only make her worry more.
He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be fine once they get him to a doctor.” At that moment, Mattie came out of her tent, her gaze instantly connecting with his hand and where it rested on Sara’s body. If looks could freeze, he’d have been iced solid at that moment.
Travis withdrew his hand and stepped back. Why, he had no idea. It wasn’t like the woman didn’t have a boyfriend, which had become obvious as he’d observed her caring for Drew. Mattie’s whispered “I need you” in Drew’s ear still gave his gut a twinge. Why the hell had she been messing around with him when she already had a man to satisfy her?
Was she like his mother? A woman who moved from one man to the next like it was some kind of square dance? If that were the case, he was glad it hadn’t gone any further than a few hot kisses.
“Where is Drew?” Mattie’s question brought Travis out of reliving their encounter.
“He needed a medic. James and Beth took him back.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” The anger in her tone and eyes only lit more of a fire under Travis.
“Look, I’m in charge. He needed to be transferred out of here. We didn’t have time to think, let alone ask your permission.”
Her bottom lip quivered and Travis felt like the biggest heel. What the hell was wrong with him? This was the man she loved. She
was worried and here he was screaming at her for wanting to be with him. “I’m sorry for snapping at you, Mattie, but his temperature wouldn’t come down. I thought it best to move quickly. James will see that he gets the help he needs. Okay?”
She nodded but he knew she was still upset.
“What are we going to do while they’re gone?” Sara’s question broke the silence that had closed in around them.
Travis turned his attention to her. “I think it’s best to stay put for now. I’ll radio the truck in a few hours to make sure they’ve made it to the medic. If your friend is transferred to Manu, I’ll have James and Beth come back here. So get comfortable. We’ll be here a while.”
Travis glanced toward Mattie, who refused to look at him. Good. Being angry with him would keep her away. Something he needed. This whole mess was just a distraction for him. He should be looking for treasure, not trying to soothe a woman who belonged to another man.
Chapter Seven
The world folded in around Mattie. Drew was gone and she had no idea if he’d live or die, and now Travis had moved on to his next conquest. To Sara Dalton, a beautiful redhead who was closer to the image of the type of woman she would’ve pictured for him.
Then again, what had she expected? Mattie was a plain Jane. Why would he choose her over a curvaceous, auburn-haired beauty? That would be like picking Gerald over Travis. It’d be crazy.
Enough!
Instead of dwelling on all the negative stuff, she’d get her notebook and catalog the area’s plant species. That would keep her busy until Travis radioed James to find out if Drew was all right.
She raced into the tent and grabbed her supplies, then trotted off to the other side of the pool. The bright colors and musical birds helped to drown out her troubled thoughts. In no time, she got caught up in her work. Minutes turned into hours as she described plants found with different shaped and sized leaves, comparing them to the reference books she’d brought along.
“I thought you’d like something to eat.” His voice splintered the peace she’d woven around herself.
Mattie looked up to find Travis holding two bottles of water and three or four large pieces of jerky.
“Have you heard from James yet?”
He squatted down beside her. “I talked to him about ten minutes ago. They’ve arrived at the medic’s location. Drew is still alive. That’s all I can tell you right now.”
Mattie took a relieved breath. “Do you have any idea what he could have, since we all had our inoculations?”
He shook his head. “It’s hard to say. It could be any number of things.” He held out a bottle of water to her. “Here, you need to stay hydrated.”
Mattie reached for the bottle, accidentally brushing his hand, the simple touch shooting tingles up her arm. Her attention turned to his face and she was surprised that he looked frazzled at the slight touch as well.
Something odd was happening between them. She’d never felt such a powerful pull toward anyone, even when she’d been trying hard to ignore the feelings.
Heat swept over her body. To cool herself, she twisted the cap from the water and took a long swallow.
“Do you want some meat?”
Mattie’s mouth went dry. She took another gulp of water, her thoughts going straight to his crotch. Her mind had gone off track completely and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
He held out a strip of jerky.
Mattie gazed at it as if it were poison. She shook her head. “No thanks.”
Her refusal had his brows drawing together. “You have to eat, Mattie. You could get sick if you don’t. Do you think Drew would want that?”
No, he wouldn’t. He’d be the first to tell her to keep her strength up.
She sighed and snatched a slice of the beef, yanking the corner off with her teeth.
“Happy?” She gave him an exaggerated smile, then chewed.
He grinned back, a gesture that about made her choke. Travis Kane was handsome as hell, but when he smiled, he was downright irresistible and that sent vibrations through her belly like a bowl of Jell-O in a magnitude seven quake.
Mattie studied the ground and sipped her water to wash down the jerky. Travis needed to leave or she was going to do or say something stupid—something they’d both regret—and she’d already had her quota of stupid for the year.
“I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.”
Thank God he’d managed to see how uncomfortable she’d become.
“I’ll let you know if James radios again.”
Mattie cast a glance his way as he rose. “Thanks for the food and water.”
“No problem. Oh, keep an eye out for snakes.”
“Snakes?” Her gaze darted to the foot-high grassy area off to her left. The thought hadn’t even occurred to her. Jeez, snakes could be hiding anywhere.
“They like water too.”
Mattie had always been terrified of snakes—even the small, garden variety that wouldn’t hurt a fly. “Maybe I’d better head back with you.”
Travis frowned. “You’re not afraid of snakes, are you?”
“Of course not. Anyone with half a brain knows they’re as scared of you as you are of them.” Except for her. She was way more than frightened. It was a full-blown phobia with her.
With that, she gathered her things and scurried toward camp, her attention at her feet the whole way. She could have easily stepped on one on the trip around the pool, thinking it was a clump of dirt under her feet.
The mere thought made her tremble.
Travis caught up with her. “Slow down, Mattie. Most of the snakes in the region are big enough that you could hardly step on one without knowing it. It’s hard to hide an anaconda.”
“Anaconda?” She felt the blood drain from her face, her head swimming as spots shot around in her vision.
Large, capable hands caught her as she went down. Travis lifted her into his arms and called her name again and again.
Mattie stayed focused on his voice, unsure of what had just happened.
When her eyesight cleared, she found him looking at her wide-eyed. “Are you okay?” The deep timbre in his voice spoke of concern.
Why did that revelation thrill her somehow? Did she want him to care? She wasn’t sure. The whole experience confused her.
“This is why you have to eat. You’re too thin to go without food, Mattie.” He carried her toward the tents.
“I’m okay. You can let me down.”
“I will when we get back to camp.”
“No! Put me down now.” Mattie squirmed in his arms. “Sara and Dana will see.”
He held her tight, the determined look in his eyes making her give up the fight. She knew it wouldn’t do any good anyway. He was a man who thought he was right and that’s all that mattered. Who cared what she or the team thought about it?
*
Travis savored the feel of having Mattie close, the scent of her peach-scented hair stirred by the heat. It almost made him light-headed himself, especially since he knew from their passionate kisses that she was as sweet as the succulent fruit.
No longer would he obsess over her and Drew being a couple. It certainly hadn’t stopped him from wanting her. Hell, he’d make love to her now if they were alone. Thank God they weren’t. The last thing he needed was to make that mistake.
At camp, the ladies came to his aid. “What happened?” Dana and Sara asked, their voices filled with panic.
He sat Mattie down on a folding chair. “She almost fainted. I can’t reiterate enough how important it is for all of you to eat. I know the heat makes your appetite wane but you have to try, at least a little.”
Travis allowed the women to take control of Mattie’s care. He needed distance. The woman did crazy things to his body and he had to get away to cool down.
He retraced his steps to the other end of the pool, allowing his mind to drift back to the letter he’d read from his grandfather’s journal that
seemed almost coherent for a man who had believed he was one of the Knights Templar.
If indeed he had belonged to the order, it was today’s Knights, a branch of the Masonic temples, not the monks who’d given their lives for a cause—men who’d sacrificed all worldly possessions for what they believed in, an order of men who’d allowed themselves only the clothes on their backs. Honorable, admittedly, but was it worth it in the end? Travis didn’t see how. The people they’d claimed to work for were the same who had ultimately cost them their lives. All in the name of religion.
If this was what his grandfather wanted for him, the man was crazier than he’d first thought. Travis refused to give up everything for something that had no return. Last he’d heard, there were no Saints left in the world. Everyone was out for themselves—like his mother had always been. Why should he have to adhere to a certain standard with Cedric when his own daughter hadn’t? The man had to have been nuts to think Travis would.
One thing he did have to give his grandfather props for was his effort in trying to save him from a bad situation. Obviously blood meant something to him. Too bad Lucinda hadn’t inherited that trait.
Travis sucked in a ragged breath. All his grandfather’s death and letter had done was bring his painful past back, which was something he had to stop dwelling on. Brooding never changed anything.
Maybe it was best not to read any more of the journal and concentrate on the treasure instead. He was still a full day’s drive from where the first landmark on the map should be found and, with Drew’s illness taking precedence, it’d be days before he could actually start to dig for the relics.
“James is on the radio,” Sara shouted from twenty feet away, drawing him back to the present.
Travis stalked back to the truck, anxiety getting the better of him.
What if Drew died? How was he going to comfort Mattie? Would she want him to?
He doubted it. She’d probably hate him for not allowing her to be with her boyfriend when he took his last breath.
The thought made his pace falter. He didn’t really know the man who had captured Mattie’s heart, but he didn’t want him to die—if for no other reason than he hated the thought of seeing her in pain.
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