Page 29 of Deadly Target (Rocky Mountain Courage 2)

ELEVEN

Early morning light cut through her dreams. Oh, wait. She hadn’t been dreaming that she’d slept in Nathan’s arms. They’d needed to generate body heat. She and Nathan had snuggled in the corner of an old concrete tower originally built along with the dam decades ago. No one had returned to the dam.

Erin shifted, and instantly the aches and pains from yesterday’s fight with the flash flood returned. The shock of hard, cold concrete against her back fully woke her, and she shivered. Opening her eyes, she saw Nathan standing a few feet away near a big opening at the tower along the edge overlooking the failed dam. His appearance was rough against the backdrop of the mountains. Stubble thickened along his jaw. And her heart bounced around erratically.

Nathan looked so good. Nathan was good—on the inside and out. She wished she hadn’t walked away.

No choice. I had no choice.

She stretched and rolled her neck to get the crick out and chase the dangerous thoughts away. She hadn’t been cold in his arms last night and had slept hard. Licking her lips, she rubbed her eyes, then started to climb to her feet. Nathan had closed the distance and reached down to assist her.

“I’m okay. I can get up on my own.”

“I know you can. I didn’t want to be a jerk and just stand there and not offer to help.” He grinned down at her.

“Fair point.” She took his hand, thinking that would make him feel useful.

His thick hair was especially mussed this morning, even compared to yesterday’s tangle of sticks and debris and mud. She must look a mess too, and probably looked worse than she felt.

He held on to her hand a moment longer than necessary and stared down at her. Erin couldn’t move if she wanted to. Just when she thought she might figure out what emotion surfaced in his eyes, he released her hand, then returned his attention to what was left of the dam and the river flowing freely from what had been a small reservoir. The day wasn’t anywhere near being warm enough yet, and in fact, early morning was the coldest part of any day. She subtly leaned closer to soak up some of his body heat.

Catching on to her plight, Nathan wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, where she settled in to fit nicely against him. If only she hadn’t noticed.

“I didn’t want to leave you sleeping in the cold,” he said, “but I heard activity. Trucks or big equipment. A search helicopter. So I got up without waking you.”

He didn’t mention that she snored in her sleep. Phew.

“They’ll find us today, don’t worry,” he said. “I almost wonder if they gave up the search last night because, well...”

Nathan hadn’t finished that sentence. He didn’t have to. “They’d switched to recovery. Believing we were already gone, they planned to search for our bodies farther downriver.” It sickened her to think of what their friends and family were going through. “I wish we could have done more to alert them.”

“I’m sure they searched as long as they could,” he said. “The terrain is much too hazardous for searching on foot at night.”

“I hope no one else was hurt,” she said.

“I have a feeling no one ventured too close to the area because of news that a shooter was on the loose.”

“Our disadvantage was that we were much too close to the dam when it gave. You probably could have made it to higher ground without me.” Erin leaned her head against his shoulder, not caring at the moment that she was getting too comfortable.

“No. We were both goners. But we’re here now.” His voice was thick with emotion.

“I know. That silver lining.”

“Not really a silver lining this time.”

“Oh?”

“More the grace of God.”

Okay. “I need coffee.” She couldn’t consider the differences without strong, black coffee. Spending the night with him under such intolerable circumstances had left her feeling far too familiar with him—all over again. She was in dangerous territory, yet desperate times called for desperate measures.

They were in survival mode.

Her heart was definitely shifting into a survival mode of its own. And hadn’t it taken her much too long to get him out of her system before? Even the smell of him now—that outdoorsy, woodsy scent mingled with masculinity—sent her heart and head tumbling back, only she wasn’t in the past, she was in the present. And caring much too deeply for him as if no time had passed.

“Look!” Breaking his hold, Nathan gestured toward the ravine.

Relief whooshed through her on multiple levels.

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