Scattered Ashes (5 page)

She shrugged.  “Yeah, well, I was sort of taking a break.”  Gritting her teeth, she moved her leg, starting to lift it so that she could look at the sole.

“Oh, my.  You found a cactus.”

“No shit,” she muttered, looking at three large spines, the sight of which made her light-headed. 

Jordan knelt and removed his pack.  “Yeah, well, you look like you’re about to pass out, so how about you not look at your foot right now and let me deal with it.”

Nicole gladly looked away, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment.  She lay back and stared at the sky, preferring that to watching Jordan. “Did I mention I wanted to be a nurse until I passed out giving blood?”

“Why does that not surprise me?” he muttered with his usual calm voice.

“Doesn’t anything rattle you?” she snapped, suddenly more than frustrated by the situation.

“Well, this probably would if my foot were the pincushion.  Then again, one of us has to be calm, and I don’t think you’re feeling it.”  He took a deep breath and looked closer.  One hand, the one with the black watch band, gripped her ankle as he examined her.  “Okay, I can’t get the shoe off to look at your foot until I pull out the spines.  You okay with that?”

“Great.”  Nicole gritted her teeth.

“Okay.  Deep breath.”

Immediately, she felt more pain as he tugged the spine out, and she held her breath, waiting for him to finish.  The pain lingered for a few seconds then diminished.   

“One out,” he said and glanced at her.  “Damn, you’re pale.  You aren’t going to pass out on me, are you?”

If Nicole’s foot hadn’t been throbbing so hard, she might have laughed at the expression of horror on his face; instead, she shook her head and took another breath.  “Nope.  I’ll stay conscious just for you.”

“You have absolutely no idea how grateful I am.”  His words sounded almost like a sigh of relief.  He regarded her foot again before glancing back at her face.  “Ready to tackle the second one?”

“Sure.  Why not?”  She shook her head.  “Basic outdoor recreation, my ass.  This is not---OWWW!” 

Jordan cringed as he pulled out the spine.  He felt Nicole’s ankle suddenly tense.  “Sorry,” he said.

She breathed in and out quickly and shook her head.  “It’s not your fault, Jordan.  It’s my own.  If there’s a cactus, I'll find it.  If there’s poison ivy, I'll find it.   I’m lucky like that.”

He shrugged.  “Well, there's one good thing about the cactus.”

“What?” she exclaimed in disbelief.  “What could be good about stepping on a cactus?”

“A cactus spine was on our list.”  He waved one of them at her, careful to hide the part that had been bloodied from going into her foot.

“You’re an optimist, aren’t you?” she demanded.

“In the flesh.”  He looked back at her foot.  “One more to go.  You ready?”

“Of course.  I’m always ready for pain.”

He nodded and smirked.  “Oh, you like those kinds of web sites.  I get it.  You really did do this for fun, combining the Japanese foot fetish with masochistic tendencies.”

Nicole huffed up and threw some leaves at him.  “I am not mas—DAMN! That hurts!!!” she screeched.

“Yeah, but it’s out, and you were so busy yelling at me you didn’t seem to notice the pain until the spine was almost free.”    He grinned  and waived a particularly large spine at her.

“That was in my foot?”

He nodded.  “Why do you think I distracted you?  Sneaky, eh?”

She laughed.  “Definitely.

“All right.  Let’s take your shoe off and get a look at that foot.” As he leaned over, she spotted a gold cross dangling from a chain around his neck.  It was kind of different, though, a Celtic design.

“Okay.”  She raised up so she could prop her elbows behind her and support her body as she felt Jordan untying and removing her shoe.  Then he gently tilted her foot so that he could get a better look.

“Well, Bones, what’s the verdict?”

He chuckled and in his best Deforest Kelley, said, “Damn it, Jim, I’m a graphic designer, not a doctor.”

Picking up a bunch of leaves, Nicole hurled a handful at him, and more than a few got stuck in his hair.  “Boo!  That was terrible.”

He wagged a warning finger at her.  “You started it!”  He glanced at her foot again.  “You’ve got three punctures in your foot that need cleaning.”  He reached into his bag and pulled out a small spray container whose contents he quickly applied to her foot, and while she thought it might sting, all it did was tickle, and he fought to keep her still.

“This isn’t getting the germs out, Nicole.”

“It tickles!”

He shook his head.  “Okay.  That should be good.”  He also pulled out three bandages and put them on her foot before putting the sock and shoe back on.

Once he'd put the first aid items away, she pointed to his hair.  “You have leaves in your hair, Jordan.”

He nodded.  “Of course I do.  You put them there.”  He started batting at them, and all but one fell out.  The last he actually had to pull free, and he looked at it as he tugged it loose. 

“Hey!  Good work.”  He flipped the leaf toward her and said, “Viola--moss.  You just scored two points—moss sample and cactus spine.”  He slid his pack on and rose, lowered his hand to help her up.

“Yay, me.”  She grabbed it and got to her feet, but the first step she took on the wounded foot almost made her fall.  Jordan quickly steadied her. 

“You okay?”  He nodded to her foot.

“Yeah, it just hurts like hell.”

He pulled off the backpack.  “I figured.  Here, put this on.”  He held out the pack.”

“What?”  She reluctantly took the pack.

“Trust me.”

Shrugging, she slipped it on, and he turned and bent for her to climb on his back.  Blushing, she stepped away.  “I don’t need a piggyback ride.”

“Okay, have it your way.”  Without warning, he hefted her over his shoulder.  “Of course, it’s probably going to be much harder to find things this way since the list is in my back pocket.”

“Put me down!” Nicole said between giggles.

“Nope.  You’ve achieved your disaster quota today.  Could you kindly get the list and tell me what I’m looking for?”

Figuring there was no point in arguing, Nicole saw the edge of the list protruding from his pocket and eased it out before unfolding it.  “You know reading from this angle isn’t easy.”

“But think of all the cactus and poison ivy you’ll miss.”

It took another hour to gather the last few scavenger items, and Jordan didn’t complain about carrying her.  She eventually did switch to riding on his back, figuring that if he were going to carry her one way or another, it might as well be the way that made her less dizzy.  He spent most of the time telling her jokes or stories, distracting her from thinking about a humiliating day, and when they returned, she found herself sad, knowing the day was drawing to a close and that each of them would be returning to worlds that had nothing to do with the other.

After completing their final assignment, a quiz about what they had learned, Nicole found her foot able to withstand the weight of her body, and Jordan walked her to her car, where she reached into her glove box and pulled out a scrap sheet of paper which she jotted her name, phone number, and email address. 

“I’d like to keep in touch, if that’s all right.  One can never have too many friends, if you know what I mean.”

He laughed.  “You just like me because I’m good with cactus spines.”  He looked at the information and tore away the lower half of the paper so he could jot his information, which he gave to her.  “And you’re right about friends.” 

He offered her one last smile, and she drove away, watching him standing there, staring at her car until she couldn’t see him anymore.

Chapter Three

“So, tell me all about your weekend class,” Sarah said, eating her spinach salad as they sat in their apartment living room.  Sunlight spilled through the Bohemian-style curtains, making the dark burgundy of the sofa and walls appear lighter than they really were.  A soft, cool breeze wafted through the open window as Nicole stared at her own salad, suddenly not hungry.

“There’s not much to tell.  I went canoeing and hiking.  That’s about it.”  She averted her gaze, not wanting her best friend to see the mixed feeling buried there.

Mmmhmm,” Sarah said, brushing the long auburn strands from her brown eyes.  “Nothing happened.  That’s exactly why you came back with a nasty limp.”

“You know I’m clumsy,” Nicole said.

“So what happened?”

Nicole rolled her eyes and leaned back against the couch.  “Well, okay.  I stepped on a cactus and Jordan had to pull these huge spines out.  They were so sharp they went into my shoes, if you can believe that.”  She took a bite of her salad, something to take off the nervous energy she felt.  She hadn’t talked to anyone about Jordan because she was still trying to sort out her feelings.

“Who’s Jordan?”  Sarah set down her fork and crossed her arms over her chest.

A flush heated Nicole’s cheeks, and she shrugged.  “Just this guy I met.  We sort of partnered up for the canoeing and hiking, and he was nice enough to help me out with the cactus.”  She took another bite.

“And is he cute?

Nicole’s shoulders sank.  “It doesn’t matter. He has a fiancée, Sarah.  He was just a nice guy.  A friend.”

Smacking her on the head, Sarah lamented, “Of all the guys you could have met, you find the one who has a fiancée?  What is wrong with you, Nicole?”

Nicole fidgeted with the salad a bit longer before setting it on the coffee table and staring off into space.  “I wish I knew.”

“But he was cute, right?” Sarah asked, smirking as she leaned back, her head close to Nicole’s as though they were conspiring.

Nicole laughed.  “Hell, yeah.”  Once the giggling had stopped, she turned to her best friend.  “Besides, he seems like a wicked cool guy friend, if you want to know the truth.”  She pulled the scratch paper out.  “And I got his email and cell number just to, you know, keep in touch.”

Snatching the paper from Nicole, Sarah unfolded and read it.  “Jordan Carroway.”  She arched her eyebrows at Nicole.  “Why am I picturing a guy that is about 6’2" with dark brown hair and amber eyes?”

“Because you know me too well, that’s why.”  She took the paper back and wished the blush would leave her.  She didn’t even have to close her eyes to see him--the way his lips turned into a smile, and the sound of his robust laughter.  She could remember well how his hand had felt around her ankle.  Even the pain of the spines hadn’t overcome that sensation.

Sarah frowned and scrutinized Nicole’s expression before sitting up straighter and pasting a serious expression on her face.

 “You know, if you think you have feelings for this guy, you could just be honest.  What could it hurt?”

Nicole launched herself from the chair.  “What could it hurt?  Are you kidding?”  She paced the living room, her arms folded across her abdomen.  “He’s getting married next month, Sarah.  He’s planned a life with somebody, and if he’s happy, he deserves to have that happen.”  She gritted her teeth.