At that, we climbed into the backs of pickup trucks. Logan followed behind and sat next to me on the floorboard. He originally left a few inches of space between us, but as more people climbed in, eventually the whole side of his body pressed against mine. I became extremely aware of every bump in the road that would cause his body to attach to mine like a BandAid. He’d been playing the crowd all night, laughing with friends, but anytime he wasn’t physically near me, his eyes had always found mine.
We were dumped in the middle of a stubbled hay field with only the stars and moon to guide our steps. Layne informed us we would have a five-minute head start to scatter and hide before the four-wheelers came hunting.
Jake gave us both a pat on the back. “Well, you two, good luck out here. Don’t forget to hold hands. Sure would hate for you to get lost in the dark.” Then, he ran off with the rest of the crowd, scattering down to groups of two or three, leaving Logan and me by ourselves.
“Alone in the dark. About time Jake has a good idea.”
I turned toward him. “What are we supposed to do out here in the dark all by ourselves?”
“I’d rather not talk about it, but I’d be happy to show you.” He folded his arms and smirked at me.
I hesitated, my eyes dropping to his lips for a split second before blinking me out of my stupor. This Logan wasn’t quite what I had in mind tonight.
“I didn’t know you enjoyed stargazing so much.” I began walking in the field toward the house. We needed to be running, but I thought I’d give Logan a chance to warm up.
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
I shook my head and pushed at his arm.
“See any rocks around, Jailbait?”
“Rocks?” I looked around at my feet but it was too dark. I’d need to get on my knees and do some digging. “No.”
“I knew we shouldn’t have picked them all out of this field.” Logan sighed and held out his hand toward me. I pushed back the smile threatening to escape and took it—allowing myself a sweet moment immersed in the feel of his large hand wrapped around mine.
He was silent as we made our way across the hay field, a contemplative air between us. Then, he cleared his throat. “Aren’t you a runner, woman? Why are we still walking?”
“You sound like you might be better off walking. Those are some wheezy breaths you got there.”
“You’re slowing down for me? That sounds almost like you care.”
“Kelsey would kill me if I left her brother to die out here. Well, she wouldn’tkillme, but maybe a stern lecture before we hit up the movies or something.”
This was all good. Fun. Felt more like ourselves. Until Logan stumbled over a rock and went flying into a large patch of mud made from water leaking out of the ditch.
I froze in shock. Then, the sight of Logan in a muddy puddle was almost more than my heart could take. His elbows had stopped his face from smashing into the wet mud, but he would be spending a miserable run back to the house in heavy, wet clothes.
“Hey, I should warn you, the field is bumpy. Lots of mouse holes,” I couldn’t help but add.
Slowly, he rolled over so he was on his back, holding his shoulder. The mud had missed his face and head, but now it was everywhere else.
“You alright?”
“Ow,” came his muffled groan.
“Get up,” I said, my ears perched in alert as I scanned the fields, hearing the sounds of a distant four-wheeler creeping closer. “We have to move.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Are you serious?” The urgency in his voice caused my amusement to come to a stop. I leaned toward him but without taking a step closer, just in case.
His right hand massaged his left shoulder. “This is the shoulder I hurt in high school. I think it’s jammed. I can’t move it.”
The four-wheeler was getting close enough that they would soon be able to see us in their spotlight. We were sitting ducks. The only place we could hide and still stand a chance wasinthe ditch, not above it.
“They’re getting closer. We need to do something, unless you wanna just call it. We can get caught, if you want.” Even as I said the words, it made me a tiny bit sad. We had barely begun the game, and I wanted to steal the flag from Kelsey so I could rub it in her face forever. But those thoughts were petty and selfish. There was a man down. I needed to help. If he needed my strength to hold him up the rest of the game, so be it. If wrapping his arms around my shoulders and leaning his sexy body against mine was going to save him, then I would suck it up and do it.
He took a deep breath and shook his head, nobly insisting we finish this game. My goodness. He really was hurt. Big, tough Logan had gotten himself injured in a little game of fugitive.
