a reason to live(58)

Shane had eaten while he checked the rafts, keeping his distance from Sage. Now that it was time to shove off, he wanted to check on her for safety's sake. At least, that’s what he told himself.

“You take it easy out there,” Shane advised as she put on her helmet. “Your muscles are weakened from the first leg. If you fall in, you’ll have a harder time swimming.”

“I’ll be careful,” she answered back. “But I’m not worried if I fall in.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I know you’ll have my back. I trust you to watch over me,” she answered without hesitation, then threw out, “See you at the finish line,” before she turned and climbed into her raft.

Shane froze as she walked away, blind to anything else but the woman walking away from him.

I trust you to watch over me.

“Christ.”

“Let’s do this,” Gregor shouted, shoving off.

Shane hurried back to his kayak and positioned it in the water, then he climbed in and adjusted his spray skirt to keep the water out. “Jesus, forgot my paddle,” he groused, so he detached the spray skirt and climbed out. “Damn woman has me off balance.”

Paddle in hand, he climbed back in, secured the spray skirt, and took off after the rafters.

The second leg was uneventful as well. The river ran at a fast pace, but not aggressive. Shane only fished two rafters out of the water and no injuries occurred.

Sage kept looking back at him, smiling when she caught his eye, and as the day wore on, Shane’s mood went from frustrated to an all-out bad mood. Now they were organizing their supplies while the rafters picked spots to lie beneath the stars, and Shane was so tense he could split wood with his jaw.

“I need to gather wood,” Sage stated as he and the other guides unloaded the food for the night’s meal.

Jared, a college student home on summer break, nodded then mumbled, “I’ll help you.”

“You find rocks for the pit, I’ll help her find the wood,” Shane ordered.

“That works,” Sage responded, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

“You’ll run into a wolf if you wander off. I’m just keepin’ you safe.”

They continued sorting through the food without small talk, but Sage muttered absentmindedly, “You must be hungry,” so he stopped and looked at her.

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re growling,” she snickered.

“I don’t growl,” he growled.

Jared and the third guide, Nelson, a newly married man of twenty-five, both scoffed at him, and he looked back at the two.

“You got something to say?” he asked, his brows raised in challenge.

“Nope,” they both answered without looking up.

“Just find the rocks,” Shane growled again and then picked up one of the sixty-gallon coolers and walked toward the location of the fire pit.

“You’re looking surly,” Gregor noted when Shane set down the cooler.

“I don’t growl,” Shane growled, yet again, and then sighed.

“Could have fooled me,” Gregor guffawed.

“I’m hungry, is all.”

Turning back to check on Sage, his right eye began to twitch. Joel had decided to hang out after checking for injuries at the final put-in point of the day and was now engaged in conversation with Sage. When she threw her head back and laughed, jealousy reared its ugly head, and he whistled between his teeth to catch her attention. When Sage looked in his direction, he jerked his head toward the woods and she nodded.

“We’re goin’ to get firewood,” he told Gregor.

After pinning Joel with a look to warn him off, he headed toward the forest with Sage pulling up the rear.

The sky had turned darker with clouds since they’d beached the rafts, thunder rolling in on the tails of them. Shane checked for lightning as they moved forward into the gloom of the forest.

“I hope you can carry all the wood because my arms are aching,” Sage stated, then bent and picked up a decent sized branch.

“It’ll be worse in the morning,” Shane answered.

“A soak in Maxine’s hot tub would be welcome right about now,” she said, stretching her arms over her head. Images of the first night they met bombarded him as her shirt rode up, exposing her stomach. Sage in her wet T-shirt and the way it clung to her body. Her flushed cheeks and hooded eyes filled with unleashed passion after he’d kissed her.

He slammed his eyes shut to block out the images, but they morphed into Sage on his bed, her body laid bare to him as he took his fill.

“Earth to Shane.”

He turned and looked at her, biting his lip to keep from reaching out and taking what he wanted.