Corrie scanned his face, then glanced at Jon and Memo. “Sure you were.” She then walked up to Ford and put her hand on his shoulder. “You’re a terrible liar,” she whispered.
If that were the case, then she wouldn’t even be there. Good thing he was only a selectively bad liar.
The light crested the trees, signaling that it was time for the day to begin. After eating a light breakfast and packing, they set out on the river. They’d finally gotten a feel for the raft, easily meandering through the swift waters. The lack of rapids—so far—made things easier. So long as they didn’t have any more falling-out-of-the-boat incidents, they should be on track to hit both sites and make it to camp before dark. And, if they were lucky and site number two wasthesite, then they could skip site three altogether.
But they weren’t lucky. Site two was a complete and total bust. Ford started to think this was one of life’s sick jokes—luck had been on his side for the first thirty-eight years of his life, yet suddenly luck was nothing but a distant memory. The last two years had been nothing butbadluck. One crap event after the next. And this dig and rafting expedition were looking more and more like they might be adding to the string.
Even if the final site turned out to be the precious one—which Ford had no hope of any longer—all it meant was that they could have simply hiked to it from camp and saved themselves an entire day.
Add it to the list of bad decisions Ford had made.
They paddled leisurely on the river. The other three took in the sights and sounds of the jungle. Breathing in the air. Basking in the warmth of the sun. Brilliant red macaws sang from the branches, complementing the running trickle of the water. A mama tapir and her calf foraged for food near the riverbank, pausing and raising their proboscises, presumably to take in the unfamiliar human scents of their crew. Exactly the idyllic setting Ford had pictured before taking this job. Corrie leaned out to the side of the raft and let her fingers skate along the river. She was calm. Peaceful.
The opposite of Ford.
Corrie glanced over her shoulder, noticing Ford staring at her.
“What?” she asked with a friendly smile, warming his insides and quieting the anxiety in his stomach.
“Nothing. Just wondering how you’re so relaxed right now.”
She shrugged. “It is what it is, Ford. Why not enjoy being out here while we can?”
“ ‘It is what it is’? Those don’t sound like the words of someone who’s been waiting their whole life for this moment.”
“And what moment is that? Spending time with you?” she asked, pulling her hand out of the water and flicking the droplets at him with the most adorable, sexy smile Ford had ever seen.
How could he not smile back?
“Please. Don’t act like I’m not growing on you.” He smirked.
She shrugged again with a sultry batting of her long lashes. “Eh. You’re not as bad as I remember.”
“Thanks for the compliment. In fact, that might actually be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Though, in his humble opinion, the truly nicest thing she’d ever said to him had been his name when she’d been grinding her ass against him this morning.
Her smile started to fade. Uh-oh. Could she read his dirty thoughts?
She closed her eyes, not saying a word.
“Corrie?”
“Shh.”
Jon and Memo turned around, but Ford shook his head, not knowing what was going on. Corrie sat still, turning her head as if listening to something in the wind. Listening to a rumble that hadn’t existed before now. What was that? More rapids? A waterfall?
“This is it,” she finally said, opening her eyes and speaking quickly. “We’re here. Pull over to the side there. Quick!”
The guys immediately shot to attention, guiding the raft to the riverbank. They moved so fast Ford barely had time to contemplate what Corrie had said.This is it. How did she know? How could she tell?
Ford didn’t have an opportunity to question her as she jumped out of the boat, planting her boots firmly in the dirt onthe shore. She took several steps forward, then squatted to the ground, placing her hand on the dirt. Her back was to them, but Ford didn’t need to see her face to know what it looked like. She was taking it in. Taking in the earth. The air. Everything around her.
She shot up from her crouched position and set out toward the trees.
“Where are you going?” Ford called out, still pulling gear from the raft.
“Come on!” she called without looking at him.
