Page 52 of Fire Peak

At the lodge, the helicopter was swarmed with helping hands. Elias and Hailey, an extremely worried-looking April, Sam and Molly, and one of the guests who Charlie knew to be an orthodontist. Charlie knew that several staffers had rudimentary medical training, including April herself. So the fact that April had requested the help of a guest—even if he specialized in teeth—touched her heart. April must be really concerned for her.

Some antiseptic, a hefty dose of painkillers, a professionally applied bandage, and she was declared “treated.” No surgery required. No need for an airlift to Anchorage. By some miracle, she’d been shot in the thigh with an arrow with no serious damage done.

“I had a similar injury once. The muscles will take some time to knit back together, so you’ll be limping for a while,” the orthodontist told her. “Take it easy. No trail running or hiking for a while.”

“Gotcha. I’ll stick to the community volleyball game and an occasional climb up Ice Falls.”

“Sense of humor intact. That’s a good sign.”

Finally everyone cleared out of her room and she was alone with Nick again. He hesitated, lingering next to her bed. “You can stay with me,” she offered.

“I was hoping you’d say that. April offered me and Hailey a room for the next couple of nights. I’m pretty sure Hailey would be happy to have it to herself.”

“Did you give her the boy lecture?”

“No need. She’s heard it all from her mother, and she knows if she breaks any of Jill’s rules, it’s back to Tucson for her. Anyway, Elias went home already. I watched him go.” He winked at her as he stretched out on the bed beside her. The warmth of his body next to hers was so relaxing, she nearly purred.

“Lectures only go so far when you’re talking about temptation.” She turned her head to gaze at him, and felt her head swim. Those painkillers really packed a punch. Or maybe it was his dark eyes with those long lashes. Could eyes pack a punch? His sure did. Right in her solar plexus. “Holy shit. I got shot with an arrow.”

“You sure did. I’m sorry.” He smoothed her hair away from her face.

“I guess it’s the price I have to pay for being a curious bitch.”

He smiled slightly. “God, you’re something. You have more bravado than anyone I’ve ever known.”

“Bravado…” She sounded the word out. It felt funny on her tongue. She was starting to drift. “Is that a good thing? Is that like an Italian kind of brave, like espresso instead of coffee?”

He was still stroking her hair. The tender caress made her melt inside. But she couldn’t show it. She was Charlie Santa Lucia, not some sentimental softie to be lulled by a man’s touch. Even if it was so very soft and gentle and hypnotic…

“It means you face every situation with your head held high. It means you have nerves of titanium. It means I…” He broke off, looking embarrassed. “It means I admire you.”

“You shouldn’t admire me. I’m kind of an outlaw. Maybe that’s why I caught an arrow. Karma.”

Oh my God. What was she saying? What kind of painkiller had they given her? Truth serum?

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not the sheriff,” he said.

“I didn’t hurt anyone. The opposite, I was trying to help people. And get a little revenge at the same time.” Her eyelids started to droop shut, but she forced them to stay open to see his reaction. He was listening closely, his dark eyes on hers, but he wasn’t pulling away.

“Your secret is safe with me.”

“All my secrets?”

“All of them.” He said it so firmly that she believed him.

On the edge of sleep, she scooted toward him, close enough to whisper in his ear. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m really into you. Very, very into. Very. I’m very attracted to you.”

The word “very” suddenly sounded strange, and her mouth was filled with cotton, and she could no longer fend off the drug of sleep. All she saw, before she dropped into the sweet darkness, was Nick’s intimate smile.

23

Nick hadn’t slept so well in weeks. So much time spent chasing Charlie, and now here she was sound asleep next to him. Not going anywhere. He wanted to stay up to savor that fact—as well as her confession that she was “into him”—but he was just as exhausted as Charlie was.

He surfaced from sleep sometime in the middle of the night—though daylight already shone in slivers past the curtains’ edges. A cold reality set in. Charlie had admitted to being an outlaw. He was a law—well, not exactly a law enforcer. But he was certainly law-enforcement adjacent. Where did that leave him and Charlie? Where did he want it to leave them?

The light filtering through the shades made her skin look luminous. He took his time, feature by feature, cataloging sadness in the corners of her mouth, determination in the set of her jaw, and sheer sass in the tilt of her eyebrows.

“You could say I’m into you, too,” he murmured to her sleeping form. “You could say a lot more than that. But I have no clue what to do about it.”

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