Loving Lauren (15 page)

She was thankful that she was wearing a dark pair of cotton panties, so at least she had something to hide from his view.

They laughed and talked while floating in the small stream. Just before the sun finally sank below the trees, she walked to the edge of the stream and gathered her clothes.

“Leaving so soon?” He looked at her without getting up.

“I'll just start dinner.” She tried not to look back. It had been hard enough being so close to him like this. She hadn't really relaxed and enjoyed the water. She was sure that the water was actually steaming off her body, and she knew her face was heated and probably red from what she was thinking.

Shaking their clothes out, she hung them neatly on a low branch. He'd been right. They were already almost completely dry and smelled a good deal better than before. She knew she did as well.

She gathered her boots and carefully walked back to her tent and pulled on her backup pair of jeans, then slid on a t-shirt over her almost dry tank top. Her hair was tangled a little and after starting a fire and putting a can of soup in the pan for dinner, she sat on a log. Dingo lay on the ground beside her as Lauren started combing her hair.

Minutes later, she watched Chase walk towards his bag with nothing but his boots and a wet pair of boxers on. He stood in one spot and balanced as he pulled each foot out of his boots and pulled up his pair of jeans. Then he put on another button up shirt, and started putting up his tent.

“You know, you could probably sleep three in there.” She put another large stick on the fire and stirred the can of tomato soup she was heating up.

He looked over at her and smiled over his shoulder. “You're welcome to join me.”

She was very thankful that it was probably too dark for him to see her face, because sitting there watching as he finished putting in the stakes for the tent, her mind kept playing a scene of them tangled in a large sleeping bag.

“That smells good.” He finished his tent, then walked over and sat on another log across from the fire and looked at her.

“Isn't it funny that when you're exposed to the elements, everything smells and tastes better?” She poured him a healthy bowl of soup, then helped herself to some. “I mean, having a can of tomato soup at home, cooked on a stove, it just doesn't taste this good.” She took a spoonful and closed her eyes at the rich taste.

“I know what you mean. It could be that we worked our tails off today.”

“Hmmm.” She shook her head. “I think it's because man was made to be outside.”

“Hunting and gathering?” He took a spoonful of his soup and smiled.

“Exactly.” She pointed her spoon in his direction. “I mean, food is good inside, but out here”—she motioned around them—“you have the smells and sounds of nature around you.”

“Our animal instincts kick in.” His eyes heated.

She nodded and took a bite of the loaf of bread she'd brought along, tearing it with her teeth like an animal would, then smiling over at him. “Exactly,” she said and he laughed.

By the time she settled down in her sleeping bag with Dingo to keep her company, she was exhausted. Every muscle in her body ached. The cool water had done little to relieve the tension that she had felt being so close to Chase all day.

She loved riding horses, but after six hours, anyone would have felt the effects. Not to mention all the work it had taken moving the fallen trees and fixing the barbed wire. When her head hit her pillow, she was out. In her dreams, she played over the image of Chase almost naked and dripping wet.

It was dark when she opened her eyes. She lay there for a few seconds trying to figure out what had woken her. Dingo vibrated next to her. The dog’s low growls barely made any noise. Then she felt shivers run down her body as she realized there were no sounds outside her tent. The crickets that had been a steady rhythm in her ears all night, the croaking frogs, the owl that had occasionally hooted were now all silent. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. Grabbing her pistol, she held onto Dingo's collar and slowly crawled towards the zipper of her tent. Before she could reach it, it started to unzip. She pulled up her pistol and pointed it towards the opening. Flipping off the safety, she took a deep breath.

Chase lay in his large tent, listening to the night sounds. He just couldn't get Lauren out of his mind. He lay there thinking of a million excuses to crawl into her small tent. To feel his body next to her soft skin. To run his hands, his mouth, over every inch of her wonderful body. It had been pure torture bathing with her in the water, and he'd walked away with images that would forever be embedded in his mind.

He lay there imagining a million different scenarios then realized that all sound outside had stopped. He crawled to the opening of his tent and peeked out just as he saw a dark figure lean towards Lauren's tent. He was out of the tent and across the clearing in ten seconds flat. Sticks and rocks bit into the soles of his feet as he approached the figure from behind. The man was crouched down, unzipping Lauren's tent when Chase flew at him from the side.

“What the…?” He heard right before he landed with a grunt on his back. A large rock protruding from the ground struck him in the ribs and stole his breath for a moment. The man struggled to get out of Chase’s hold and swung his elbow out, catching Chase in the jaw. Chase lost his hold for just a second, and in that second, the man gained his feet and started backing away quickly. Chase reached out and grabbed his pant legs.

“Stop!” he heard Lauren screaming. But he didn't stop since he could very well be fighting for his life and, more important, hers. “Chase, stop!”

Finally, her voice broke through the haze that had fogged his brain. When he released the man, he sprinted off into the trees at record speed. Chase watched as the darkness consumed the figure. He hadn't even gotten a good look at the man's face. Damn!

“You've scared him off.” She stood over Chase, her pistol pointing in the direction the dark figure had just disappeared to. Her other hand was holding onto a very pissed and barking Dingo.

“What the hell?” He sat in the dirt, wiping at his nose. Blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth. “Grab a light, will you?” he asked, sitting in the dirt. She told the dog to stay then rummaged around in her tent for the small lantern she had. Dingo walked over to Chase and laid her head in his lap while he pet her between her ears.

When the light hit him, he heard her gasp. “Oh! You're bleeding.” She rushed over to him and set the light on the rock that had jabbed him in the ribs a few seconds ago. Taking her outer shirt off, she used the edge of it to wipe at his mouth. He watched her sit close to him in nothing but a white tank top, the light of the lantern causing her skin to glow, and his mouth went completely dry.

She leaned over him, her face a breath away from him. Her hands shook as she wet the cloth and used it to clean his mouth.

“I'm okay, Lauren,” he told her, not really wanting her to back away. She just kept talking about how stupid he was to jump the guy and that she’d had everything under control. He looked down at the loaded gun and the sleeping dog.

“What if it had been me?”

“What?” She stopped what she was doing and tilted her head and looked at him.

“What if it had been me trying to sneak into your tent?”

“It wasn't.” She raised her hand to continue cleaning his lip, which at this point was completely clean.

“But it could have been.”

She looked at him. “I wouldn't have shot you. I doubt I would have shot whoever that was either.” She shrugged her shoulders.

He seriously doubted that. He'd seen her practice shooting in the makeshift shooting range her father had built on the side of the barn. She'd been raised around cattle and he knew for a fact that she'd had to put down several herself. But he let it slide this time.

“Who do you think that was?” She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, then started rubbing them with her hands.

“Beats me.” Even though the night air was still sticky with heat, he saw small goose bumps rise on her skin. Leaning over, he took a log and tossed it on the embers in their fire pit. Then he put a few smaller sticks and some leaves on it and got the fire going again. “Come over here.” He patted the ground next to him. When she scooted over to him, he put his arm around her and leaned back onto the log.

“Do you think it was the same person who was hunting yesterday?”

“I doubt it. Maybe it was just someone who was lost, and thought they'd steal something.” He doubted it, but she seemed to relax next to him.

“Thanks for coming to my rescue.” She rested her head on his shoulder as he chuckled.

“Lady, you were packing heat. If anything, you came to mine.” He felt her chuckle and pulled her closer.

“I don't think I can sleep anymore tonight,” she mumbled.

“If you want, you're welcome to join me in my tent.” When she pulled back and looked at him, he smiled. “I'll be good. Scout’s honor.” He held up his hand and made the Scout’s secret oath.

“That would be nice. But I want to sit here for a while longer. For some reason, I'm chilled.”

“Shock,” he said and pulled her closer. “I'm a little cold myself, even though it's probably still in the high seventies tonight.”

She sighed and rested her head back against his chest. He started running a hand over her hair, enjoying the feel of it.

“Talk to me. Get my mind off what just happened.”

“Hmm, okay. I've decided to keep Buddy, the three-legged dog. My dad tells me it's about time I had a dog of my own. He says it shows everyone in town that I'm back to stay and that I'm ready to settle down.” He chuckled at that. “Funny, that's the main reason I came back to town, anyway.”

“Are you really? I mean, I've heard people talking at the diner and they all say the same thing about you and Grant. Everyone thinks that you'll both be gone within the year.”

He smiled. He'd heard the rumors going around as well. He thought that it was the main reason for her hesitance in building a relationship with him. “Yeah, funny. I talked to Grant the other morning over breakfast, and we both agreed that wild horses couldn't drag either of us out of town again. Don't get me wrong, city life was nice for a while. But after sitting in traffic every morning, standing in line for thirty minutes to get a cup of coffee, or just having to deal with finding a parking spot at the grocery store, you kind of get tired of it all.” He looked off into the fire and stroked her hair as he spoke. “I like walking into Mama's and having a hot cup in my hands in less than a minute. Or parking in the front spot at the Grocery Stop.” He chuckled. “And the last time Fairplay saw a traffic jam was when that herd of cattle ran down Main Street fifteen years ago.” She laughed at that. “No, I like it right where I am.” He wrapped his arms around her.

“Me, too.” She sighed and settled more deeply into his arms.

Chapter Nine