Just This Once, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge #3) (20 page)

Gage angled his head to the side, his gray eyes somber. “What do you mean?”

Aidan squared his shoulders and figured the only thing he could do was be honest. “When I got here, I basically told her she meant a lot to me and I wasn’t going anywhere. I, uh, think Becca was getting ready to shut me out. I couldn’t stand by and let that happen without making sure she knew how I felt.”

Marley sighed and glanced at Gage. Gage met her eyes and turned back to Aidan. “Like I said on the phone, Becca’s been pretty damn committed to staying alone. That’s why I suggested you get your ass up here. Even though I’m still wrestling with the fact you have a thing for my little sister.”

Aidan was too focused on wondering where Becca was to get rattled by Gage’s comment. Marley rolled her eyes and punched Gage lightly on the shoulder. “Save your bad ass big brother routine for another time. We need to figure out where Becca is.” She tugged her phone out and tapped it quickly, bringing it to her ear.

After what must have been many rings, she set the phone on the table. “No answer.”

Delia pushed through the swinging door at that moment. Marley waved her over. “Have you seen or heard from Becca today?”

Delia shook her head, her honey-gold hair swishing back and forth in its ponytail. “No, is everything okay?”

Gage shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.” After he quickly filled Delia in, she immediately called Garrett.

Moments later, she slid her phone back in her pocket and shook her head. “Garrett hasn’t heard from her at all. He asked if she went for a hike.” Delia’s eyes swung to Aidan. “Did she mention where she was going?”

“No. She just took off.” He was getting more worried as time passed.

Delia glanced to the clock on the wall above the archway leading out of the restaurant. “I’ll check in with the staff up front and see if any of them spoke to her when she was leaving.”

A while later, Aidan walked outside with Gage. After checking with the front staff, Delia had reported back Becca had asked for suggestions for local hikes. Despite several more calls to Becca’s phone, there was still no answer. He and Gage planned to split up and check every trailhead nearby for Becca’s car. Garrett was covering the other side of town.

Aidan climbed into his rental truck and followed Gage down the winding driveway. He and Gage had broken down the list of trails and divided up which ones they were checking. He’d already punched them into his GPS, so he simply followed the soft commands as he drove. The overcast sky was fading into dusk with darkness on its heels. He couldn’t stop wishing he’d tried to track Becca down earlier, but he hadn’t thought he needed to be concerned beyond worrying about what she was thinking and feeling.

***

Becca took another step and breathed through the pain. She knew she’d make it back eventually, but she was exhausted and weary from walking on her sore and aching knee. She fought the urge to sit down and rest. She must have checked her phone for reception over a hundred times. She was trying to stay positive, but she was tired.
No matter what, you have to walk back.
She kept putting one foot in front of the other, her pace brutally and painfully slow.

The constant pain didn’t keep Aidan out of her thoughts. Though almost choking fear raced through her when she considered how she felt about him, she’d resigned herself to the fact he meant far more to her than any man ever had. The way she felt about Kyle seemed small and inconsequential now. The sharp pain of Kyle’s betrayal paled beside the mere thought of how she might feel if she let Aidan go. Her pride, her pesky pride, was strained—pushing and pulling against the depth of her feelings for Aidan.

The light was almost gone in the spruce forest. The evening air was chilly, and she’d forgotten her jacket. A tiny corner of her wondered if anyone had noticed her absence.
It wouldn’t matter if anyone did. You didn’t bother to let anyone know where you were going. Yeah, because you were acting like a damn idiot about Aidan.
She’d give just about anything for an off-switch to her brain sometimes. She spent so much time with herself, the running commentary in her brain could be relentless.

She kept up her molasses-like pace and tried to ignore the pain. Part of her wished Aidan would show up and rescue her, but most of her would be annoyed with that. It was bad enough she had to come to terms with her feelings and admit maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have the magical willpower to keep her defenses up with Aidan. She didn’t need to tolerate being rescued by him on top of that. Maybe this hike wasn’t the best plan, particularly since she forgot to let anyone know where she was going and didn’t consider she’d be without cell reception, but she was perfectly capable of getting herself back to her car.

***

Aidan turned into the next trailhead on his list to find another empty parking area. The thin light of dusk left nothing but shadows of trees cast across the parking area. A light rain had started to fall. Though it was clearly pointless, he tapped his phone screen to call Becca for what must be his hundredth call to her. The phone rang and rang. Suddenly, she picked up.

“Aid... Are you…?”

Her words were broken and scratchy.

“Becca!” He called her name loudly as if she could somehow hear better even though the reception was utter crap.

The line went dead after he said her name several times. “Dammit!” He leaned his head against the headrest and sighed. He felt Oscar’s cool nose against his hand on the steering wheel and lifted his head to look over at him. Oscar whined softly and stretched over, resting his head on his thigh. Aidan gave him a stroke and tried calling Becca again. This time, the phone rang and rang again. He quickly dialed Gage and Garrett, conferencing the calls into one.

“Hey guys, finally got Becca on the phone.”

Gage and Garrett spoke at once. “Where is she?” “Did you find out where she was?”

“Dammit. No. The reception sucked. Just wanted to let you guys know she’s okay enough to answer the phone. I have two more trailheads to check. I’ll keep trying to call her.”

He hung up and swung out onto the road, his headlights flickering through the trees ahead. Only a light sense of relief washed through him to hear Becca’s voice. He still didn’t know where she was, or if she was okay. He was doing his damnedest to stay calm inside, but his adrenaline was running high. His mind spun in circles with worry. This was nothing like the kind of danger he used to face where he had a plan to execute with several back up options. He felt more helpless than he ever had because all he could do was keep looking and hoping to stumble into the right location and find her.

He raced down the road, following the politely intoned directions from his GPS and kept hitting redial on his car screen, hoping Becca would pick up again. Another empty trailhead loomed in front of him when he reached it. He pounded his fist against the steering wheel. Oscar looked to him and then alertly out the window again. Aidan backed the truck up and headed onto the last trailhead on his list.

Moments later, he turned into the small parking area. Becca’s hatchback was parked there by itself. He let out a whoop. Oscar replied with a sharp bark. Aidan parked his truck beside her car. Impatient though he was to head down the trail, he forced himself to call Gage and Garrett again. “Guys, found her car.” He quickly gave them his location. “I’m headed out with Oscar.”

Chapter 26

Becca shivered and rubbed her arms quickly. The thin cotton of her jersey shirt was damp from the light rain that had started to fall within the last half hour. She thought she was close to the top of the trail, but in the dark of the spruce forest, it was hard to see. She wasn’t familiar enough with landmarks to know what to look for. She was going only on a vague sense. She’d almost jumped up and down when she finally heard Aidan’s voice on the phone earlier. Her knee prohibited any jumping, so it had been more of an imaginary jump.

Since hearing his voice, her throat had been tight with emotion. Dammit, she’d never wanted to care this much about anyone again. Aidan had sailed straight through her defenses effortlessly. The only thing saving her sanity was what he’d said the morning he arrived at Last Frontier Lodge. He’d laid out his feelings and how long he’d held them in. Her heart had soared at hearing how Aidan felt, and she’d still tried to shy away because it terrified her. Now, she was face to face with her own feelings and couldn’t seem to dodge herself anymore. She kept walking. The pain in her knee had dulled to relentless throb. She knew the swelling was worsening, but she had no choice but to keep going, so she did. One step at a time, one breath at a time.

Through the gloaming, she heard the sound of an animal running through the trees. Anxiety knotted in her chest. She’d done a damn good job of plain ignoring the potential for encounters of the wild animal kind because she figured it would do her no good to worry. If only she could apply that power of thinking to the whims of her heart. She stopped where she was, waiting to see if the animal in question would pass by, hopefully sight unseen in the trees. She had no need for her curiosity to be satisfied. Suddenly, Oscar darted out of the trees onto the trail and almost knocked her over in his excitement.

“Oscar!” She nearly cried with relief. She knew if Oscar were here, Aidan would be right behind him.

Oscar circled her, his tail wagging madly. She tried to kneel down to pet him, but she couldn’t manage it. She glanced around and took a few steps to a boulder nearby. She sat down with a sigh and reached over to stroke Oscar. He sniffed at her knee and sat down beside her.

A few minutes later, Aidan came striding down the trail. Unlike Oscar, he’d followed the trail, so it had taken him a little longer to reach her. His tall form loomed in the shadows. She started to stand and flinched. The short rest had sharpened the pain, simply because she’d had a respite from the relentless step after step of walking for hours. What had seemed like a short hike on the way down was, in actuality, close to three miles. Throw in a dislocated knee, and it was a damn long hike back.

Aidan moved swiftly. He was at her side before she could say a word, his strong arm sliding around her waist to steady her. “Hey, take it easy. Are you okay?”

She glanced up and tears threatened. She willed them away. He flicked a flashlight on and aimed it toward her feet, angling it back up to light the space between them. The angled planes of his face were in sharp relief in the shadowed light. His eyes were on her, assessing. She could practically see him trying to gauge her pain.

 
She took a breath, gathering herself. “I’m fine. I fell and dislocated my knee. I almost made it back though.”

The concern in his eyes didn’t waver. He knelt at her side. “How did you walk back?” He set his hand carefully on her calf, the warmth of his touch a balm to her weary nerves.

“I had to pop it back in.”

His head whipped up. “Becca! How the hell…?”

She cut him off. “I dislocated it once before, so I knew I had to get it back in to walk. It sucked, but it had to be done.”

He stood slowly, the concern deepening in his eyes. “I’m guessing you’re in a lot more pain than you’re letting on.”

She didn’t know what to say to that, so she merely shrugged, fighting the tears that threatened. A part of her was so relieved he was here, she didn’t know what to do with herself. Immediately, she was annoyed with herself. She
was
perfectly fine if she didn’t count her knee, and she
had
made it almost all the way back on her own in spite of it.

As if he read her mind, Aidan glanced down and smiled wryly. “A little worse for the wear, but of course you made it back on your own. If anyone can hike a few miles uphill after a dislocated knee, it’s you.”

She met his eyes and a laugh bubbled up. “Right. I really didn’t want to be rescued.”

He arched a brow and was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his words were measured. “Well, don’t consider this a rescue. We’re only about five minutes from the parking lot. Plus, Oscar found you first.”

She burst out laughing. His low chuckle followed, sending a thrill through her. Which instantly sobered her. Here she was after a bad fall on a trail in the woods in the rain, and all he had to do was laugh, and her body spun like a top. She took a breath and glanced up again. In a flash, electricity sizzled in the air around them, so hot it wouldn’t have surprised her if the rain evaporated.

He tore his eyes from hers. “We need to get you back.” He glanced around and back to her.

“You can walk if you insist, but it’ll probably be quicker if I carry you.”

The misty rain fell around them. A shiver rushed through her when she glanced up at him, and it had nothing to do with the cold. His lips crashed against hers—searching, hot and deep. In seconds, flames licked through her as she poured herself into their kiss. Every stroke of his tongue sent heat coursing through her. One hand slid down her back, his touch strong and sure, while the other cupped her cheek. She arched closer to him, and flinched when she shifted her weight on her feet.

He tore his lips from hers, swearing softly. “Let’s get going.” His eyes met hers again as the rain shifted from a soft mist to actual rain. “Your call. Are you walking or not?”

Oddly, she loved that he was giving her a choice. She knew it probably drove him mad, but he would stand by and let her limp the rest of the way back to the parking lot if she insisted. “I don’t need to walk.”

The relief in his eyes was evident. He slipped an arm under her hips and lifted her against him with ease. He walked quickly through the rainy darkness, Oscar at his heels every step of the way. The heat of his body held the shivering cold at bay.

***

Aidan paced back and forth in the waiting room at the hospital. It had taken most of his willpower not to demand Becca go to the hospital immediately when they returned to his truck. He’d forced himself to ask her if she wanted to go. Her eyes, conveying exhaustion and pain, had met his. After a long moment, she’d nodded. Aidan made a quick call to Gage and Garrett and sped toward the hospital with Becca giving him directions. The nurse had allowed him in the room for the initial examination, but she’d shooed him out when it came time to run a scan on Becca’s knee and get an x-ray on her arm.