Visible relief crossed her face. “That’s great. I was a bit worried how we were going to get around if you couldn’t even twist.”
“It still hurts, but it’s bearable now. My ankle is the worst.” I turned my leg slightly. Bruising had crept down beyond the bandage and closer to my toes. “I need to fashion a crutch or something before we hike to the plane. Once Walker can get in here, that is.”
Digging through my pack, Lana nodded as she produced two packets of dehydrated food. “I’ll go look for a branch tomorrow. After the rain stops.” She paused and looked at me. “Unless you think you need one now, so you can go out to use the restroom?”
I would crawl before I would let her go back out in this weather. “I’ll figure it out. Hand me the camp stove.” I pointed at my pack.
She waved a hand. “I can heat up our food.”
“I know you can, but you also need to change your socks and hang up your wet things by the fire outside, so they dry.” I gestured to my bag again. “Now hand me all the stuff.”
Her lips thinned as she sent me a look of disapproval, but she didn’t argue. “Fine.” Gathering all that I’d need to make our food, she set the items beside me, then scooted toward the door. “Don’t burn my dinner.”
I couldn’t stop myself. “Or what? You’ll abandon me to my fate?” I asked with a grin.
“No.” She tossed a smile back at me as she opened the tent flap. “I’ll hide the cookies I brought and not give you any.” With that quip, she was through the entrance and zipping it shut again.
I barked out a quick laugh, watching her go. Every minute I was with her, she impressed me a little more. She’d held her own in a wilderness emergency and was risking her own safety to make sure we had all the supplies we needed as well as drag my injured ass back to civilization.
A stirring of something I hadn’t felt in a long time crept through me.
No.
Swiftly, I tamped it down, shoring up my walls.
Impressively tough and beautiful or not, I did not want to lust after Lana Decker. Or any other woman. I’d had the love straight from the pages of a romance novel and lost it. That was a feeling I never wanted to know again.
Chapter 11
Lana
Iducked back inside the tent, dryer than when I left. I was still chilly, but not chilled to the bone, like before. My wet things were hanging over some sticks I shoved into the ground near the fire, drying out, and I had dry socks, waiting for me to slip them on.
“That smells good.” My stomach growled at the aroma of beef and seasonings filling the tent’s interior.
“Beef stroganoff,” Toren said, gesturing to the two steaming packets he’d prepared. “Not gourmet, but it’ll warm you up.”
I unrolled my sleeping bag and sank down onto it across from him. Finding my dry socks, I slipped them over my feet. Instantly, a bit more of the chill disappeared.
“Here.” Toren passed me a steaming packet. “Careful. It’s hot.”
Grabbing it by a corner, I propped it on the ground against the edge of my sleeping bag and dug into my pack for my utensils.
Spork in hand, I picked up my food. The steam carried the smell of rehydrated noodles and sauce to my nose, making my mouth water.
“This is perfect, thank you,” I said, and meant it. I wasn’t sure how far I hiked today, but between the regular hike, lugging Toren’s massive frame back to camp, then going back to retrieve his heavy backpack, I’d burned probably two to three thousand calories since lunch.
The first bite was hot enough to burn my tongue, but I didn’t care. The warmth spread through my torso as the food hit my stomach, doing wonders to chase away my remaining chill. I probably wouldn’t be completely warm and toasty until I slid into my sleeping bag and went to sleep, but I was much warmer than I was just a little while ago.
For a few minutes, we ate in companionable silence. The wind continued its assault on our tent, snapping the nylon sides, but under the rocky outcropping, the steady drum of rain stayed away.
“Thank you,” Toren said quietly.
I looked up, spork halfway to my mouth, and frowned. “For what?”
“For not panicking when I fell. For getting me out of there. For going back for my pack.” He met my eyes. “We’d be in a much different situation right now if you hadn’t kept your wits about you.”
“Oh.” I blinked, surprised. It hadn’t occurred to me to do anything other than what I did. He needed help. I was able to help, so I helped. “I don’t think I did anything special, but you’re welcome.”
