Spring Into Love

by Chantel Rhondeau

  “Just like I get sensitive, painter Quinn all to myself?” She figured it was that version of him that tipped the scales in his favor as far as sleeping together.

  He nodded. “Just like that.”

  After a few moments of listening to the waterfall and Quinn’s breathing, he heaved a heavy sigh.

  “What’s wrong, Quinn? Did you have a bad dream too?”

  “No, nothing like that. I just don’t want to go back to real life. I’m liking being here with you too much,” he said. “But the storm is over and I should try and call for help.”

  “Why don’t we wait for tomorrow morning?” She didn’t want the day to end either.

  A gurgling sound erupted from her stomach, and Quinn laughed.

  “We don’t have any food left, beautiful. It’s obviously past dinnertime, as your stomach has informed us.”

  Embarrassed, Larissa rolled off Quinn and clapped a hand over her betraying stomach. “Maybe some water would do the trick.”

  “It’s going to take more than that.” Quinn got to his feet and snagged his pants off the ground, turning around to dress quicker than Larissa would have liked. She didn’t mind staring at his firm thighs and butt.

  Hopefully, once they left the magic of this place and got back to real life, he’d still want to show it to her again.

  That put a damper on her contented mood, and Larissa crawled across to get her own clothing. Quinn truly was a different man around his family. This could have been a one-night stand for him. That might be the reason he was so anxious to call for help now.

  Quinn had his phone in his hand and turned it back on. “Damn it. Still no bars,” he said. “I’m going to climb to the top of the falls and see if I can get a signal.”

  Larissa nodded. “Sure. Sounds good. I’ll go to the meadow and look for fruit or something while you do that.” Not to mention use the bathroom, but that didn’t sound romantic. She wanted to keep him thinking of her as sexy, for as long as she could keep up the fantasy.

  He reached his hand down to help pull her to her feet, wrapping her in another hug as she rose.

  “Can you make it down the rocks?” he asked. “I don’t want you getting hurt. You’re too important to risk. I can search for food after calling if you want to wait here.”

  Too important to risk? It certainly sounded like Quinn wasn’t calling for help just to get rid of her. Perhaps this was more to him than a fun afternoon with no commitment after.

  “I’ll be okay,” she assured him. “Promise me you’ll be careful too? The whole hill must be slick after the storm.”

  “There’s a pool of water at the top of the falls. It’s always slick, but I’m used to it.” He rubbed his stubbly chin along her jaw as he closed in for a tender kiss. “I’ve climbed up there tons of times, so don’t worry. You won’t be without me for long.”

  Better and better. Larissa grabbed the back of Quinn’s head, drawing him in for a deep kiss. “I miss you already.”

  A grin hitched across his face when he pulled away. “I’ll be back before you know it, and we’ll have time to kill while waiting for rescue. I’m sure we can think of something to do.”

  Before she could think up a sexy response, Quinn turned and ducked beneath the falls, not even bothering to put shoes on.

  Shaking her head, Larissa tied the laces on her tennis shoes, knowing her feet weren’t cut out for the cold rocks of the hillside, and who knew what she’d step on in the meadow.

  She wondered if there was even hope of actually finding something to eat. At least it gave her a job to do so she wouldn’t feel useless while Quinn hiked the face of the waterfall.

  When she ducked out from beneath the water herself, she was shocked to see how late it had become. The sun would set soon. They napped longer than she figured. Maybe the horses had already reached the stables and someone was searching for them.

  She glanced up, seeing that Quinn had already scrambled halfway up to the top. As she watched, his foot slipped and his body lurched in a sickening manner.

  Larissa sucked in some air, holding her breath and praying he caught himself.

  Quinn dropped his body low against the hillside, stopping his sliding motion. He glanced over his shoulder, smiling widely when he saw her. “I’m okay,” he shouted above the roar of the water.

  “Be careful,” she screamed back.

  With a shake of her head, she knew she couldn’t watch him anymore on the hillside. It would give her a heart attack. Besides, she had her own slick rocks to navigate.

  Taking a deep breath, Larissa started down the wet path.

  ***

  Quinn watched Larissa pick her way down the hillside, unable to stop the grin spreading across his face. The day turned out better than he dared to hope. While he hated to admit his parents were right for meddling in his life, he’d be happy to hand them this victory. After all, he was the one getting the prize.

  Once Larissa reached safety, she never looked back up at him. Quinn could only guess she was too worried to watch his progress. It felt good, having a woman worry about him. Camille’s only worries had been the budget and whether he was making money for the company and for them. After all, she’d had grand plans of being a socialite on the back of Quinn’s family money and those things were important to her. If only he’d understood that earlier.

  No one ever understood why he hadn’t worked harder at his marriage. In fact, Quinn often questioned it himself. Being with Larissa, seeing the type of woman she was, he knew why. He’d been destined for something better. Someone who didn’t care about money and fame, but cared about his artwork and the things he wanted in life. He’d never had a woman to share that sort of thing with before. Camille would have laughed in his face and told him to quit dreaming if he’d ever admitted to her that he wanted to spend his life painting, not running the resort.

  Larissa disappeared into the trees and Quinn decided it was time to get in gear. If Dad sent out the helicopter to retrieve them, he could have Larissa back home in time to treat her to a nice dinner at Shane’s restaurant.

  Climbing the remainder of the hill wasn’t easy. Breathless, Quinn realized just how out of shape he’d become since he gave up exploring the island in favor of managing it.

  His parents had been right, however, with their constant nagging. He didn’t need to spend all his time in the office, not really. When he’d agreed to take over the management position, he thought he had to give up his other dreams completely. Spending time with Larissa today, sharing his artwork and having her so appreciative of it, he felt like perhaps he really could have the best of both worlds. And hopefully she’d stick around to be a part of it.

  Upon making it to the top, Quinn pulled his cell phone from his pocket. No signal. Cell service had improved on the island over the years, but the signals came from towers on the Hawaiian Islands. It seemed he might be out of range.

  Holding the phone up, Quinn carefully made his way around the pool of water, searching for any blip of reception. Nothing.

  He returned to the waterfall, defeated. He had been determined that this date wouldn’t end in disaster like their others, but it seemed things just wouldn’t go his way. Now he had Larissa stranded miles from home with no hope of rescue until his family figured out on their own what had happened.

  It looked like they wouldn’t get that fancy dinner tonight. At this rate, it would be a miracle if Larissa ever agreed to date him again... or do anything else for that matter. And he really wanted a repeat of their earlier activities. He never knew how nice it could be spending time with a woman who genuinely seemed to care about him beyond his last name and family money.

  Quinn stepped out onto the faint path down the rocks to start his descent, deciding it would be best to help Larissa search for food rather than wasting more time messing with a phone that wouldn’t work.

  As he made his way down, he tried not to be too nervous about how slick the hillside was. Moss and unstable rocks made his foo
ting even less certain heading down. Suddenly, a small rock turned beneath his foot. Quinn slid several inches, turning and dropping to all fours to hug his body against the hillside. His heart thumped hard, but luckily he stopped sliding. He had to get off this damn thing.

  When he took another step, several rocks came loose all at once.

  With a shout of fear, Quinn clawed uselessly for purchase as shifting rocks gave way all around him.

  Chapter 15

  Larissa hit the jackpot, if only she could figure out how to get at the fruit. The papaya lower on the tree were yellowing and appeared ripe, but so far she’d only been able to dislodge two of them by throwing rocks. What she needed was a good, sturdy stick to whack them loose.

  A loud shout from the direction of the waterfall ripped through the area, silencing the twittering birds in the trees around her.

  Larissa turned toward the sound, heart shifting into overdrive. Quinn was in trouble.

  She took off across the area, running as fast as she could. When she broke into the clearing, Quinn was nowhere to be seen on the rocky hillside, nor was he on top of the waterfall.

  “Quinn?”

  No answer.

  She ran at top speed, frantically searching the area. Where could he be?

  “Where are you, Quinn?”

  As she reached the water, she found him. Quinn lay face down inside the pool of water, floating away from the thundering waterfall.

  Not taking time to think, Larissa leapt off the edge and plunged into the pool. The water was colder than expected, stealing her breath away as she fought to break the surface.

  When she crested the water, she didn’t waste time worrying about her own need for air, turning to swim for Quinn. He hadn’t moved. She paddled over, fear turning her insides icy when she was near enough to see the liquid coating the back of his head. It wasn’t clear. Red discolored the water around him.

  “Quinn!” She made it to his unmoving body and struggled to turn him while keeping herself afloat. He wasn’t breathing.

  “No, you can’t do this to me.”

  Kicking her legs while holding onto Quinn under his armpits, Larissa struggled to get to the gentle slope on the side of the pool where the water outlet was. It was the only place she had any hope of dragging him onto land.

  “Please, Quinn, please wake up.”

  Tears mixed with the blood from Quinn’s head against her face, but Larissa continued kicking. After every few strokes, Quinn’s weight pushed them under the surface. Water rushed up her nose, choking her and making her fear they’d both drown before she made it to the edge of the pool.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her feet hit something solid. Larissa backed up the slope, pulling Quinn along. The real problem came as she rose from the water. Quinn weighed a lot more than she did, and she’d used most of her strength just getting them this far.

  “Stop it, Larissa,” she told herself firmly. “You’ve survived everything life has thrown at you. You can get Quinn out of this water.”

  Using her legs to dig into the mud, Larissa pulled him to her chest, using the leverage of her legs rather than her arms to heave him along.

  After a few steps, she was able to sit on the grass at the edge of the outlet. Her arms shook and she wanted to rest, but she knew if she lost her hold on Quinn now, she’d never get him out of the water again before he drowned.

  She flopped backward into the grass behind her, holding onto him with all her might. She didn’t know how she found the strength, but she kept her grip strong and Quinn’s body rose from the water to fall across hers on the edge of the pool.

  She relaxed her hold, but knew she couldn’t rest yet. He wasn’t breathing, and she didn’t know how much time had passed since she first heard him yell. It felt like forever, but couldn’t have been long. She had to get the water out of his lungs and hope he regained consciousness.

  Larissa shoved him off the top of her and climbed to her feet. Grappling Quinn’s arms, she walked backward to pull his dangling feet from the water. Luckily, the slick grass made her job easier and Quinn slid without much effort.

  “Quinn, wake up,” she pleaded, dropping to her knees beside him.

  Larissa put her hand in front of his mouth and nose, but didn’t feel any moving air. He must have water in his lungs. It had been a long time since her high school CPR classes, and Larissa had never used the training, but she checked for a pulse using those long ago lessons.

  Though her hands shook and she couldn’t be certain, she thought Quinn’s heartbeat felt strong. Now for rescue breaths.

  Tilting his head back, Larissa plugged his nose. When her lips met his to force air into Quinn’s body, his skin was icy. She forced four breaths into him and then turned to listen at his mouth and watch to see if his chest rose.

  Still nothing.

  Larissa breathed into him again.

  Water flooded into her mouth, and then Quinn made a gagging sound and started coughing.

  “Yes! Good. Keep coughing.” Larissa turned his head to the side to let the water fall onto the ground. “That’s it, Quinn. Get it all out.”

  She sagged with relief and collapsed into the grass, all her energy spent. He was breathing. That was all that mattered for the moment.

  “You’re going to be okay,” she murmured, shoving him onto his side as he continued to gag. “You have to be okay.”

  ***

  Quinn’s head pounded with pain and his chest burned. He opened his eyes to find Larissa sitting next to him, her face pinched and tight.

  “What happened?”

  “You fell.” Larissa sobbed softly and put her hand to her mouth. “I thought you were going to die. I’m so glad you’re awake.”

  Quinn gently prodded the back of his aching skull. Something sticky coated his fingers and he looked down, seeing the red blood. “I hit my head?”

  Larissa blinked rapidly and nodded. “You must have hit it on the way down. I heard you scream and then found you face down in the water.”

  Looking up, Quinn realized they faced the waterfall from the far side of the pool. “I can’t believe you were able to pull me out.”

  “Honestly, I can’t either. I’m just so relieved you’re awake.” She caressed his cheek, the anxiety in her face not making her appear as relieved as she claimed to be. “Can you stand up?”

  Though his head ached and he felt nauseated, Quinn struggled to prop himself onto his elbow. Things grayed out in his vision for a few seconds and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

  “Are you okay?”

  She sounded so afraid, and Quinn wanted to do what he could to reassure her. Problem was, he didn’t know the answer to that question.

  “I’m trying to be,” he said, deciding that was the most honest answer he could give without scaring her out of her mind. “Can you give me a hand?”

  Larissa gripped his forearm and stood, pulling as she went.

  Able to use her support, Quinn rose, grimacing against the pain that shot down his left leg when he put weight on. It was worse than the pain in his head. He clutched Larissa’s shoulder to keep from falling. “I screwed up my leg.”

  “Crap. Is it bad? Can you walk?” She glanced around the clearing. “It’s going to be dark soon and it looks like it’s going to rain again. We need to get inside the cave. What if there’s more lightning?”

  Quinn attempted to put his weight on it again, gritting his teeth against the pain. “I probably pulled something,” he said, once the first wave of discomfort passed. “I’ll be able to get back to the shelter, though.”

  Larissa ducked beneath his left arm. “Use me for support.”

  Though it was difficult, they made their way around the pool. Quinn wasn’t entirely certain how he would get up the rocks hopping on one foot, but he had to try. Larissa was right. They couldn’t be caught out in the open when the next storm hit. Who knew how long it would be before someone came looking for them. All he could hope now was that
Shadow found his way home sooner rather than later.

  “I’m going to go up behind you,” Larissa said. “That way I can hopefully catch you if you fall. I don’t think I have the strength to get you out of the water again, so let’s not do that.”

  He nodded and started up the slippery trail to the cave entrance. It was slow going and painful. Quinn feared he’d done more to his leg than simply pull a muscle, but complaining wouldn’t do any good. Larissa’s hands grabbed his hips and helped steady him anytime Quinn thought he might falter. For her sake, he had to keep going.

  Once they reached the cave, she came back to his side and helped him to their makeshift bed.

  Quinn collapsed onto the ground, sucking in his breath painfully but hoping she wouldn’t hear. He was sure Larissa was worried enough as it was, he didn’t want to make things worse for her by admitting just how bad the pain was.

  “Let’s get those wet clothes off you and get you in the blankets.” Larissa unfastened his pants and tugged at the waistband.

  He forced a laugh. “Wish you were taking my pants off for a different reason.”

  “Trust me, so do I.”

  After his clothing was off, Larissa helped him roll onto the bed. Then she ran her hand up his leg, prodding gently as she went along. “We have to find out how bad your leg is,” she said. “Maybe I can help work it out if you pulled a muscle.”

  Quinn did his best to be macho and pretend everything was okay, but when Larissa touched something in his inner thigh right above his knee, he yelped and pulled away.

  “Shoot.” She patted his knee. “I think I found the spot, and it is certainly tight in there.”

  He shook his head. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I’m afraid to do too much without knowing for sure what’s wrong. Did you get your phone to work?”

  Quinn glanced away, not wanting to see her reaction when she found out that, not only had he failed, he’d made their situation worse because now they couldn’t hike out in the morning. “There’s no signal. I’m sorry, Larissa. We’re stuck here until my family comes looking for us.”