She needed to relax and enjoy her surroundings for just a little bit before she sat down and began working on her book. Her laptop was already charged and was ready for an afternoon of editing. The car charger had been one of the best purchases she had ever made—especially now that she was in a campground that had no electricity.
Stepping out of the tent, she zipped it closed behind her and headed straight across the campground toward the stream. She could hear the sound of someone chopping wood as she neared the stream and could see a man at the bottom of a small hill near a circle of rocks. His back was to her as he raised the ax and swung it down powerfully to split the log. He wore no shirt and his broad chest and bulging muscles were covered with perspiration. Rachel couldn’t help but admire the strength and the beauty of his body. She mentally made a note of the scene before her. It would be perfect to use in a novel that she would write in the future.
She started down the hill to walk toward the stream and found that the hill was steeper than she had thought. She had to run the last couple of steps to catch her balance before she could stop at the bottom. The man threw aside the newly split piece of wood and turned to face her. Rachel’s breath caught in her throat in surprise as she realized that it was Sam, and her eyes flashed with uncertainty.
Perspiration covered his body, making the sculpted muscles of his chest glisten. His stomach was a six pack of heaven and, once again, she fantasized about kissing his chest and circling his nipples with her tongue. She followed the path of dark hair that lightly dusted his chest and trailed the midline of his body to escape her gaze below the waistband of his jeans. How she wanted to trace that line of hair and cup the hidden treasure behind his pants. Her breathing was labored as she looked up to meet his gaze, the crystal blueness of them seeing straight into her soul. She was afraid that he could see directly into her hidden thoughts and desires. She had to keep her distance from him. Her heart couldn’t take much more.
Sam noticed her at the exact same moment and stopped his chore to watch her silently. He saw the look in her eyes and wondered sadly what had happened to the young woman whose comfortable friendship with him had made him so happy. He wasn’t sure what he saw right then, but he was sure she was gazing at him with open admiration, and something else. Perhaps desire? No. It couldn’t be.
“No, Rachel, we do not have electricity and we do not have showers,” he teased her, trying to rekindle the easy relationship that they had once had.
Rachel looked at him silently for a moment, unable to speak because of the absolute gorgeousness of him. She shook herself mentally, not wanting to jeopardize the friendship that they had once had but knowing that she had to keep him distant for her own protection. She couldn’t take the deep sadness she knew she would feel over the lost love that she knew only she felt. The added pressure of a one-sided love was something she couldn’t handle. Especially now. Her face mirrored her myriad of emotions until the anger and determination settled over her to form a barrier of protection.
“Maybe you should drive into one of the bigger cities and see if you can find a nice hotel to your liking,” he told her finally, his voice harsher than he had meant it to be. He had been thinking about Allison again and Rachel had just shown up at the wrong time. Seeing the anger on her face just pushed him that extra bit too far.
“If you’re trying to make me angry you’re doing a wonderful job,” she told him evenly, fighting to control her temper. She wished she hadn’t walked near his site. She wished she had approached the stream from further away so that she wouldn’t have had to go anywhere near him.
Without another word, she turned and walked away from him. She couldn’t help but mutter to herself as she made her way through the area of trees that separated her from the stream. She had to get as far away from him as quickly as possible before her mood was totally ruined. If that happened, her afternoon would be useless and unproductive.
She followed the path along the edge of the water then snaked her way through the maze of trees to find a secluded spot far away from the sites of the campground. Once she stood next to the crystal stream she was determined to force herself to forget all about Sam McCoy.
It was so beautiful here. She had to find a way to keep Sam from her thoughts, just as she had done for the past ten years. She walked a little further downstream and climbed across some rocks to one large boulder that sat in the middle of the rushing water. She sat down on it, looked down into the clearness of the stream and found herself absorbed by the beauty around her. Everything was so peaceful.
Thirty minutes passed quickly but she remained where she was. For the first time in such a long time, she was totally relaxed and at peace. As she looked into the sparkling water, memories drifted through her mind, and she found that she was becoming overwhelmed by her loneliness.
“Enough of that,” she whispered, standing quickly and carefully walking across the stones to make her way back toward the streambed. She would not allow herself to be dragged down into a depression. She had to get back to her site and begin working on her edits.
As she walked toward the trees a bird flew overhead, catching her attention. She looked up to admire it, for the moment not paying attention to the ground before her. She stepped on a small rock which turned under her right foot, making her twist her ankle and lose her balance. She reached out to prevent herself from falling and succeeded in grabbing hold of a tree branch that was within easy reach beside her. She fell forward and scraped her arm against another branch before she was able to regain her balance. Her blouse sleeve tore slightly and pain shot through her right arm.
She sat down on the ground, not knowing which to grab first, her ankle or her arm. Both were throbbing with pain. She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself, fighting the pain and frustration. Once she had her emotions under control, she began to assess the damages. Her arm was bleeding but the cut didn’t look deep. After catching her breath, she stood carefully to test her ankle. It was sore but she didn’t think that it was broken. She thought she could walk if she were careful and took her time to get back to her tent. She knew that she would have to baby it for a few days.
“Rachel, you’re batting a thousand!” she muttered angrily to herself as she tried to hobble forward. When she put her weight on her right foot she had to bite back the cry of pain that nearly escaped her. She stopped for a moment and wiped the beads of perspiration from her forehead in an effort to calm herself then headed slowly back toward the stream.
She sat at the edge of the rushing water and removed her sneaker and sock. She gasped as she submerged her foot into the icy coldness of the mountain stream. She kept it there as long as she could stand it, but the frigid temperature forced her to take it out within a few minutes. She held her foot in her hands, trying to rub some warmth back into it.
She decided it would be best if she tried to walk back to her tent before all the feeling came back to her injured foot. She put on her sock and then carefully eased her sneaker back on, lacing it tightly to give her foot more support. She stood carefully and began the slow journey back to her tent.
She hoped that Sam wasn’t in the same spot she had left him less than an hour before. She didn’t want to have to pass him and risk him seeing that she had gotten hurt. She couldn’t handle him touching her or showing any concern for her. Her wall of protection would crumble if he was the least bit kind to her. Or sarcastic. That would be all that she needed—his sarcasm on top of her pain.
She hobbled through the trees and concentrated on walking as normally as she could once she entered the clearing next to Sam’s camper. He was stacking logs when she emerged from the seclusion of the trees. She was glad that he was ignoring her and she was able to pass by him without his comments. Quietly and as quickly as she could, she tried to walk up the small hill but had to stop halfway up when the pain in her foot became too much for her to continue.
“Are you lost?” he called to her, goading her from the bottom of the hill.
Rachel turned to face him angrily. “I don’t find any humor in your obnoxious remarks, and I would prefer that you save them for someone else,” she told him abruptly.
Sam folded his arms across his chest as he looked up at her silently. He was covered in perspiration from the exertion of his chores. “Reprimand received and noted,” he said quietly, nodding his head slightly in agreement. He really had to stop teasing Rachel. There was just something about her that made him revert to the same relationship they had when they were younger. He had to remind himself that she was no longer a teenager. She was a mature woman who had no right to look as appealing as she did.
He couldn’t help but take in the full vision of her and smiled in appreciation. It was then that he saw the blood on her right sleeve. He was beside her in three long strides, scaring her in the process and making her back up in fear. When he reached out to touch her arm she panicked and pulled away from him sharply.
She tried to continue up the hill but her ankle gave way beneath her and she collapsed to the ground. He was by her side immediately and reached out to help her up but she pushed his hands away in anger.
“Don’t touch me!” she screamed up at him. She saw the confusion on his face but she didn’t care. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need anything from you, so leave me alone.” She tried to stand but the pain in her foot forced her to sit back down on the ground.
Before she knew what was happening, she was being lifted by strong arms and carried up the remainder of the hill. The expression on Sam’s face was calm but determined. He ignored her as he carried her up to his camper. Rachel had no choice but to hold on to his powerful arms as he carried her upward. She may be stubborn but she was not stupid enough to not hold on.
She was uncomfortably aware of his lack of clothing and did not like being forced to touch his naked, although drool-worthy, body. His muscles were taut under her hands, making her aware of the incredible strength that this man possessed. He wasn’t even winded when he reached the top of the hill. She was shocked into silence until she realized that he was heading toward his camper.
“Put me down!” she said finally, afraid that he would actually take her into his camper.
“Be quiet,” he said coldly, ignoring her protests as he carried her inside the camper and set her down gently on the double bed that was set up at the right side of the camper. He left her there for just a moment while he opened a cabinet below the sink and began pulling out medical supplies.
Rachel took the moment to survey her surroundings. The pop-up camper was well organized. Two mattresses extended from either side of the camper with a table with bench seats and a small cooking area complete with a sink and a stove in the center of the camper. There was a small area to walk around in at the entrance. Supplies for cooking and cleaning were stacked neatly on the counter that connected the small sink and stove area. There were books stacked on the opposite bed and clothes were folded neatly beside them. She looked down at the small ledge that was below her where he had placed her on the mattress and saw a plastic container filled with water on top of what appeared to be a chest refrigerator.
“Take off your shirt,” he told her firmly, his deep voice invading her thoughts.
She looked up at him in shock. “What?” she asked incredulously. “Are you crazy?”
“No, I’m a doctor,” he reminded her calmly.
Rachel looked at him with instant anger. She had no response to his honest statement. Instead she crossed her arms across her chest and looked at him with a stubbornness that wasn’t about to be breached.
He stared at her for a moment then reached forward, ignoring the way she cringed away from him, and took hold of the ripped seam at the top of her sleeve. With one quick pull he separated the sleeve from her shirt.
Rachel gasped in shock. “You
are
crazy!” she yelled.
“Shut up,” he told her calmly.
Rachel opened her mouth to speak then thought better of it and snapped it shut. It was better to lose her shirtsleeve than her dignity.
He set to work quickly and efficiently, opening up packages and laying them out before him. He picked up an antiseptic gauze and raised it to clean the wound.
“This may hurt a little,” he told her, hesitating for a moment.
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy that,” Rachel said angrily, turning her head away from him and staring at the camper door.
“I’ll enjoy every minute of it,” he answered her quietly, holding her arm gently but firmly as he began to clean the wound.
She gasped slightly at the initial stinging of the antiseptic then clamped her mouth firmly shut, refusing to let him see her pain. She felt a coolness of air brush across her skin as Sam slowly blew on her skin. She closed her eyes at the relief from the pain only to clench her teeth together at the sensation of Sam’s gentle caring. A familiar ache tugged at her stomach at the desire she had for him and the loss she felt from being away from him for so long. The silence continued as he taped three bandages across the cut and covered them with a sterile gauze.
“I’ve put butterfly bandages on your arm,” he told her quietly as he taped down the gauze. “The cut wasn’t deep enough to require stitches but it won’t heal neatly without the butterfly strips.”