Page 13 of Scent of Peril

He nodded, knowing he wouldn’t be able to rest until he’d set up their camp and had a fire going. Turning, he went outside to the east side of the shanty. There was an open area that appeared relatively flat. He shrugged off his backpack and went to work setting up the small pup tent. He had a small thermal pad to line the bottom, which would help keep them insulated.

To his surprise, Jess didn’t sit down to rest. She dropped her backpack, rolled her shoulders to work the kinks out, then began gathering wood for their fire. He couldn’t help but smile as he put the tent up. Being stuck on the mountain with Jessica was no hardship. In other circumstances, this could be a date.

But not when they were only there because a gunman had attempted to shoot down his plane.

“I don’t suppose you have a lighter,” she asked.

“I do.” He rummaged in the pack that was half empty now that he had the tent up and the sleeping bag unzipped and spread out inside. He tossed the lighter to her, and she lit the small branches she’d gathered, blowing gently to get the flames to catch.

“Who taught you to camp?” he asked, once she had the fire going well enough to add larger branches. “Chase?”

“Yep.” She drew Teddy closer to the fire. The dog stretched out beside her, resting his head on her knee. Then the K9 let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. She stroked his fur. “He made sure we all know how to set up a makeshift camp in the woods. I was probably sixteen back then, and he’d just opened his hunting and fishing guide business.” She nodded toward the fire. “He insisted we learn how to start a blaze without a lighter, using flint stone, but it’s much easier this way.”

He chuckled. “That’s true. We can eat our protein bars and some of the dried fruit and nut snacks for dinner. We may want to save the rest for morning.”

“Sounds good to me.” She frowned and rummaged in her backpack for Teddy’s food. “Actually, I have four granola bars too.” She grinned. “If I had remembered having them, I probably would have eaten them by now. But this way we have breakfast and lunch. Not too shabby.”

“We won’t starve.” He hoped they’d be able to head out at first light. He pulled the radio out of his pack and tried to get a signal. There was nothing but static. He shoved the radio aside and checked his cell phone. No service there either. With a sigh, he gave up. If they ended up staying a second night, he’d have to hunt for small game or maybe try catching some fish. He wasn’t the expert Chase was, but he’d done his fair share of hunting and fishing.

He watched as Jess filled a collapsible bowl with food for Teddy. Despite his obvious fatigue, the K9 eagerly jumped up to eat. Logan dropped down beside Jess with the rations of food. They ate in silence, watching the crackling fire and basking in the warmth from the flames. Using what was left of the hunting shanty as a wind block helped keep the temperature up.

But the clouds overhead had grown dark and thick with moisture. Once it started snowing, they’d lose the fire and would be forced to rely on body heat to stay warm inside the tent.

When they finished eating, he reached for his backpack. “We need to store our stuff inside the tent to keep the animals away. And we’ll use our outer coats as an extra layer of insulation. Between the thermal pad on the bottom of the tent and the sleeping bag that I’ve opened to use as a blanket, we should be okay.”

“I’m sure we will.” She managed to sound confident.

He shoved his pack through the opening, then turned to face her. “I need to check the perimeter. Ah, you may need to find some privacy among the bushes too.” He hoped she couldn’t see his face turning red with embarrassment. “I’ll stay away long enough for you to finish up.” He cleared his throat, feeling awkward. “Once you and Teddy crawl into the tent, I’ll know the coast is clear.”

“That works. Teddy will need to relieve himself too.” She leaned forward to run her bare fingers over his lower legs. “Wow, I’m impressed. His fur is already dry.”

“Good.” He knew her first concern would always be her dog. He quickly rose to his feet and headed away from their camp. When he rounded the corner of the shanty, the wind hit him full in the face.

It was going to be a cold night. Hopefully cold enough to keep the gunman back in his warm hunting cabin.

After taking care of his needs, Logan walked the perimeter, scanning the area for signs of an intruder. He also wanted to make sure Jess had more than enough time to get settled in. Thankfully, he didn’t see anything suspicious. He completed his loop around the shanty, nodding with satisfaction when he returned to the camp to see a faint glow coming from inside the tent. He could see the shadows of Jessica and Teddy as she moved what must have been a flashlight from side to side.

The fire was slowly burning out, so he waited a few minutes, then kicked the glowing coals apart to hasten the process. Just as the fire was out and no longer a threat, the snow began to fall, fat snowflakes hitting his face and melting instantly against his skin.

Just in time, he thought, as he dropped to his knees beside the tent opening. “Coming in,” he announced as he unzipped the flap.

“It’s going to be a tight fit,” Jess said as he crawled in. She was using her backpack as a pillow. “I don’t think this tent was made for two people and a large dog.”

She was right about that. He wiggled out of his winter coat, setting it around his side of the tent. “Better than sleeping outside in the snow.”

“Snow? Really?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “I had hoped it would hold off.”

“Unfortunately, it’s coming down.” He wiggled around so he could close the zipper. He made sure the two window flaps were open just enough to provide some ventilation, then he lifted one edge of the sleeping bag to slide beneath. “Do you want Teddy between us?”

“Ah, he’s probably better at my side.” She sounded slightly nervous. “He moves around a lot at night.”

“You’re safe with me, Jess.” He stretched out beneath the sleeping bag and adjusted his pack as a pillow as well.

“I know that.” She wiggled closer, rearranged the blanket to help cover Teddy too. Then doused the flashlight. “I trust you, Logan.”

“Thanks.” He should have been exhausted after their long day, but the enticing scent of her hair teased his senses. He did his best to ignore the sweetness. It wasn’t just that Jess trusted him. He knew the entire Sullivan family expected him to treat Jessica with respect and to do everything possible to keep her safe.

And he would. No matter what.

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