Wildfire (6 page)

Donovan gave her one of his endearing smiles. She cared for all the members of her crew, but Brad and Donovan held a special place in her heart. They had worked together for years, even before she had made captain and they had been in some pretty hairy situations together. Besides knowing that both of them had her back, regardless of the situation, neither of them tried to bullshit her and they both treated her with the utmost respect.

When she had finally made captain, they were the first to congratulate her. She had been with the service longer than either of the men and she knew their words were sincere.

Donovan looked up at the sky. “I brought you extra supplies. I figure you will be snowed in before too long if the latest weather report is accurate.”

She smiled at him. He was always looking out for her. She was the boss and he acted like he was her older brother. “Thanks, Donovan. I really appreciate it.”

She was almost back to her truck when his voice stopped her. “Hey, Cap?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful up there.”

She gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I will. You do the same.”

She slowly drove back up to the cabin. She would need to check the fuel level in the generator and restock her supply of wood. The food that Donovan had given her would last her for quite awhile. She glanced at what he had brought and smiled. Along with the canned goods, he had made sure to bring plenty of meat. The box included the customary ground beef and deli-sliced lunchmeat, but also included two choice New York Strip steaks and a few pork chops. She was particularly surprised to find that he had even remembered to include applesauce, which she loved to eat with her pork chops. She wasn’t much of a breakfast person, although she loved her morning coffee and he often preached to her about the importance of eating breakfast. She wasn’t terribly surprised to find that he had made a point of adding turkey sausage, eggs, instant oatmeal and bagels to her order of coffee.
Real subtle
,
Donovan.
He had even added fresh fruits and vegetables. Leave it to Donovan; she would certainly be eating well! Too bad her meals would be unaccompanied.... Oh, hell, she was thinking about Devon again.

She stopped the truck and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t remember ever being attracted to Grace or any other woman, the way she was attracted to Devon. Her hands shook slightly as she held the steering wheel. Even now her body warmed as she thought about Devon. Her body’s response frightened her.

She allowed herself a smile, though, as she thought about Devon’s parting words. Devon had known that she was there the whole time and hadn’t let on. She had been stunned by the flirtatious smile that Devon had thrown over her shoulder.
Damn, that woman has a wicked sense of humor, but I still have to apologize for the Peeping Tom act I pulled
.

She reached Devon’s camp early the next morning. Everything was quiet and she wasn’t sure if Devon had left already or if she was still asleep. She was flustered by the situation, wanting to apologize and leave as quickly as possible. She was humiliated enough as it was, she didn’t want to have to seek out the other woman in order to accomplish her mission. She couldn’t just stand here and imagine Devon asleep on the other side of the tent wall, hair mussed, face relaxed.

She had decided the only thing she could do was leave, but had gone only a few feet when she spied Devon kneeling on a large rock just up the river. She couldn’t quite make out what the woman was doing, but it certainly looked as though Devon was about to go headfirst into the water. Elaine didn’t think as she instinctively ran toward her.

Devon was reaching for her clipboard as Elaine clamped down on her leg. She swiveled her body around and nearly shouted, “What in the hell are you doing?”

Elaine shook her head. Great, now the woman probably thought that not only was she a peeping pervert, but that she was inclined to accost women as well! She quickly released her leg. “You looked like you were about to fall in.”

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much!”

Devon’s angry frown suddenly changed into wide-eyed panic. She wobbled, flailed for Elaine, clipboard clattering down between the rocks.

Elaine grabbed her leg and again shifted her weight back to stop Devon’s forward descent.

“Twist around here and give me your hand.”

Devon did as she was told. Her shirt had slipped up and a fair amount of her stomach was exposed.

Elaine had a flash of her in the pool and damn near dropped her.

Devon looked alarmed again. “Are you sure we aren’t both going to go tumbling in?”

“Do you doubt me?”

Devon looked back at the water and then back at Elaine, who was now kneeling between Devon’s legs. Her disorientation faded into a teasing smile. “Seems like I’m in no position to doubt you.”

Elaine grinned as she took Devon’s hand. In one swift motion she pulled Devon up while standing to free her legs. Devon recovered her clipboard and they both climbed off the rock.

Once on terra firma, Devon said, “It would seem that I owe you a thank you.”

Elaine managed to say casually, “Just doing my job.”

Devon laughed. “Your job is to scare women off rocks so that you can rescue them?”

“Only on good days.” Elaine hoped she sounded wicked or enticing or anything but stupid. She couldn’t help the flirtatious little wink that she added. She felt her stomach tighten at Devon’s sharp intake of breath.

Devon half turned away to stare at the trail. “What brings you to my home away from home?”

Elaine’s bravado faded. “I owe you an apology…for…uh…for the other day.”

Devon shrugged. “Accepted.”

Elaine’s eyes widened. “That’s it?”

“What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know. I expected you would be mad.” Elaine paused, not knowing what else to say. She certainly didn’t want to encourage Devon to be angry. “I guess I should get going.”

Without another word, Elaine walked briskly away along the trail into the forest. She could feel Devon’s gaze on her back, but it was not the response she had wanted. She wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted. But the end result left her feeling like an idiot.

“Hey!” Devon waited for the man to look up at her. They were across the river and he had been leaning down to fill his canteen from the river directly across from her. It took just a moment for Devon to realize there was someone else with him, an attractive woman who also appeared to be in her mid-twenties.

The man finally looked up. “Yeah?”

“You can’t drink from there. It’s contaminated.”

He shrugged at her like she didn’t know what she was talking about. She had half a mind to let the fool drink the damn water. Just because he was too stupid to know that, although the surface was running cleaner, the pool he had chosen to fill from was still mostly standing water and would have poisons leaching out of the soil. But she just really couldn’t have that on her conscience. If the idiot was going to ignore her she was going to have to get his attention.

She knew that she was in no danger of actually hitting him. So she heaved a large rock in his direction and was lucky that it got close enough to get his attention.

“Damn it, lady. What the hell? We’re just going to get a drink and be on our way. What’s it to you?”

Where the hell is a good forest ranger when you need one?
“Go upriver about a hundred yards and cross over and I’ll explain.”

Devon could tell that they had heard her because the woman with him prodded him to do as he was told. Though they spoke in low tones, she was pretty sure he had just called her a bitch. She paralleled them on her side of the river until they came to a tree that was half fallen across the river that would lead to some boulders and her side of the river bank.

The woman was far more agile and looking at the two it was clear which one was more outdoorsy. Her boots were well worn in comparison to his, which appeared to be brand new. Her gear seemed to be broken in. If she had to guess, he was out here because he didn’t think “the little woman” could do it without him.

Devon waited patiently for them to cross. When they finally made it onto her bank she held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Dr. McKinney.”

Devon didn’t normally use her title to introduce herself but she wanted to make it clear from the onset of this conversation that she knew what she was talking about. She looked closely at the young man she supposed some women might find attractive, but the man’s attitude and scarcely concealed resentment made it difficult for her to see how any woman could tolerate him. The man looked at her with blatant hostility and it was obvious he didn’t like taking instruction from women.

The young woman stepped around him, obviously trying to cut him off and keep his rudeness from escalating. “I’m Angela and this is my boyfriend Steve.”

Devon shook both of their hands. “I’m sorry for throwing that rock back there but I really needed you
not
to fill your canteen from this part of the river.”

Steve’s insolence was obvious from his stance, but thankfully it was Angela who held the conversation. “If you don’t mind me asking, why is that?”

“This is the spill site from about a year ago. The surface water is starting to run cleaner but there are still toxins in the soil and they leach into the water. You could have gotten very sick even if you did use purification tabs.”

Angela gave Steve a look that Devon easily understood. It was clear that Angela thought Steve was an idiot. “Are we really at the spill sight? We are supposed to be about two miles from here.”

Devon smiled. “Yes, you really are. But there is a ranger stationed up the mountain there who can probably get you back on track.”

Angela looked up the hill as though she was trying to gauge where they would need to go.

Steve took hold of her hand.
Like a dog marking his territory. Men are so damn predictable.
“I’ll get us there, honey.”

“Like you got us here?” Angela’s tone suggested that she’d lost some earlier dispute about their direction.

Oh good God! I so do not need this.
Devon looked at her watch. If these two could keep up, she could lead them to Elaine’s cabin and she would only lose a day of work.
And I get to see Elaine.
Damn, she really needed to put an end to these thoughts.

Devon smiled as politely as she could knowing that she would probably have to listen to these two bicker all the way up to the cabin. Oh well, once she turned them over to Elaine they wouldn’t be her problem. That thought produced a smile.

“Come on.”

Angela and Steve continued to argue somewhat quietly behind her as Devon led them back down the river bank. She decided not to waste time by gathering up her tools and putting them away. The sooner she was rid of these two the better. Instead, she grabbed her daypack and slung it over her shoulder and indicated they should follow her.

Halfway up the mountain the bickering ended and Devon suspected that had a lot to do with the fact that Steve was winded. She thought about taking a break for his sake, but Angela seemed to have no problem keeping up and they really needed to keep moving if she was going to get back to her campsite before the sun set.

Not to mention, it didn’t seem like a good idea to put herself unnecessarily in Elaine’s company when she had a deadline. Her schedule was tight and babies didn’t wait on anything. When they are ready, they come at a moment’s notice.

“So Dr. McKinney, what are you doing up here?”

Devon turned and flashed a quick smile at the young woman. She wondered when curiosity would set in. “I’m a botanist with the EPA and I’m collecting samples to study how much regeneration has taken place and how badly the plant life has been affected.”

“So you’re studying the water as well as the foliage along the river?”

“That’s right.”

“Hey, wait. You’re Dr.
Devon
McKinney?”

Devon stopped and turned around. Steve immediately leaned against a tree breathing hard and obviously thankful for the break no matter how brief it might be. “That’s right. How did you know?”

Angela flashed a smile as though she had just unlocked one of life’s great mysteries. “You were quoted in one of my biology textbooks last term. I also went to one of your guest lectures at the university. The one Dr. Langford hosted.”

Devon thought for a moment. Yes, she remembered that lecture. She hadn’t really wanted to present, but her bosses pressured her into it. If there was one thing Devon loathed it was public speaking, but the lecture had seemed to go well enough. Well, obviously it had if this young woman could remember who she was. Devon couldn’t list half the people who had been there to speak and they were her peers and colleagues. All she really remembered about it was how much she had wanted to get the hell out of there. But if she had left an impression on at least one mind then she supposed it was worth it.

“Yes, I do remember that lecture.” Devon turned and continued up the hill. She took a little satisfaction when she heard Steve grunt as he pushed himself from the tree. It wasn’t like her to be so bitchy, but she really hated pricks like him who automatically assumed that they knew best, mostly because they were men. Exactly the kind of guy who didn’t take a polite
no
from a woman they found attractive.