Chapter Three

Bang – bang – bang! "We're burning daylight, campers. Let's go!" Walker beat on the old pot with the big spoon again.

A startled Lena turned over and fell off the narrow cot. "He is going to die," she grumbled aloud as she peered into the pre-dawn half-light and struggled to get off the ground. The sun isn't even up yet.

"Come on. Some coffee will fix you right up." Eileen already wore jeans and a sweatshirt along with a wide smile. Her cot neatly made, her backpack sat on top, and she looked raring to go.

If she bursts into song, she's going to die too. Lena grimaced at the pain running through her shoulders and down into the muscles of her legs. She thought she was in pretty good shape, but evidently not. Stiff and clumsy, she changed into clean clothes and brushed her chin-length hair. Not wanting to think about putting her sore feet into boots, she limped for the coffee pot.

Rob greeted her with a hot cup of coffee and leaned in to kiss her. At her deep scowl, accompanied by a hostile glare, he thought better of it and backed away.

Lena stood in line to get a piece of toast to go with her coffee. The guide shoved a tin plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon at her. She pushed it right back.

"If you don't eat, you can't keep up," he pointed out then offered the plate once again. "Once you've finished eating, I'll see to your feet so you won't make them worse today."

For the first time, Lena really looked at their guide. Eyes, the brilliant green of the summer grass, looked back into hers. Blonde hair, just long enough to curl a bit, brushed his forehead and earlobes. He stood a full head taller than she did and twice as wide. A scraggly blond and brown beard followed his jaw-line while a bushy moustache hid his upper lip. His cheekbones were tanned and angular – a strong face – at least what she could see of it.

"How did you know about my feet?" Lena accepted the plate without thinking.

"You wore new boots to the party and you're barefoot now. Stands to reason. Find me before you put those boots on, okay?" Walker smiled down at her as he handed a full plate to Clark behind her.

"Okay," she answered, a bit bemused, and went to sit on the ground near Eileen to eat her breakfast.

While Rob and Clark cleaned up the camp kitchen after breakfast, Walker put salve and bandages on Lena's feet. "Now, wear two pairs of socks, lace the boots up tight and you should do okay. It's not far to the river. You'll make it fine."

"Thank you. They do feel much better now. But... Can't I just stay here and wait for you guys to come back?" Lena thought it a perfect solution. She could take a nap and read the paperback she'd brought. Maybe she could salvage something from this vacation.

Walker shook his head as he got to his feet. "Sorry. Everyone goes or everyone stays. I can't break up the group. If you can talk the rest of them into foregoing the fishing..."

"Forget it. You know I'll never convince them to stay."

"Probably true. But when we get to the river, you don't have to fish. You can always rest there."

"Yeah... But it's the part between here and there that's bothering me." She grinned up at him.

He watched the smile spread and light up her entire face. She fairly glowed with it. An unfamiliar, warm feeling grabbed Walker in the chest. He felt the crazy urge to stand there forever, gazing into her doe brown eyes. Dang it, she spells big trouble.

* * * * *

Mid-morning found the group approaching the roar of the Wind River. The warmth of late June made it easy to forget the melting snow in the higher regions caused the river to flow fast, full and rushing, through the narrower gorges. Walker warned the hikers before leaving camp that the water would be around forty degrees Fahrenheit and to be wary of the rapids. They could sweep an unwary fisherman off their feet and downstream in the blink of an eye.

The eleven mile stretch of river Walker frequented with his groups cut through private land. The owner sparingly handed out permission for its use. Only the occasional kayaker or rafter might disturb them as they made their way down river. Steep trails followed a winding path through large boulders down into the canyon cut by the rushing waters. Edging the river, the banks were flat and wide in scattered spots, allowing for fly-casting for four species of trout and the occasional carp or whitefish.

Helen and Janie couldn't wait to assemble their fly rods and pick out a fishing spot. The time of the year warranted the use of top of the water lures or "dry flies," according to their guide. They listened eagerly to Walker as he explained what the trout were hitting. Then the ladies sought out the most realistic looking Stonefly lure they had in their recently purchased fly case. After agreeing to stay within shouting distance of Walker and in sight of each other, they gleefully headed to the water.

When Eileen discovered her line was tangled and needed waxing, Kevin hastily assembled his rod. He chose an artificial fly before ambling down to the water's edge not far away to practice casting while he waited for her.

Rob turned to Lena. "Do you want me to stay here with you? I can skip the fishing."

Seeing the disappointment lurking in his eyes, Lena smiled up at him. "Of course not. You go on and kill a fish. That's why you came, after all. I'm going to get some sun and read my book. I might even take a nap."

Still uncertain, Rob asked, "You'll yell if you need me, right?"

"Absolutely. One thing I can do well is scream." She made a shooing motion with her hand then turned, searching for a flat rock to sit on. Once seated, Lena watched Rob make his way down the river and find a spot to cast out his line. At least, she guessed that was what happened from the back and forth motion of his arm. Looked like an awful lot of work to her, with all that whipping line to and fro.

Clark and Derek needed help with their fishing rods and more instruction before they could be turned loose near the river. Walker patiently showed them how to put the pieces together and thread the waxed line through. Then he taught them the necessary motion of flipping the line forward and back while playing out more line until the lure landed where it should.

Lena tried not to stare, but couldn't help watching the play of Walker's shoulder muscles beneath his faded chambray shirt while he worked with the two men. The rest of him didn't look too bad either from where she sat. Broader than Rob, he appeared tough and capable. But it was his gentle touch as he'd taken care of her feet that clung to her memory. Something about their guide just...reached out...to her. On that disturbing thought, she shook her head then opened her book to read.

"Lena, I need to check on the ones fishing farther down the river. You won't wander off, will you?" Walker looked down at her from a boulder nearby.

"Nope, I'm good right here, thanks." Gosh, do they all think I'm a moron? "Going to keep reading my book." She flashed the cover of the paperback romance at him.

At least that was her plan. Lena watched Walker jump from a boulder then walk off down the river. Everyone except Derek must have hiked downstream, looking for a better place to fish.

Derek remained a little way upstream, his line tangled in a bush. With a snicker over his jerking and thrashing about, Lena rolled over to stretch out, belly down, on the large flat rock to continue reading.

But the snake she faced stopped her in mid-roll. It slithered right up onto her rock, soundlessly gliding toward her. Its tongue flicked left and right.

A scream hung in her throat as Lena flung her body in the other direction, rolling off the rock to smack the ground. She scrambled up then made it halfway to Derek before the first sound escaped.

When Derek heard her screaming like something wild, he looked up. Instead of waiting on her or coming to help, he threw down his fly rod and bolted the other way like a scared rabbit.

She kept running, tearing after him in an effort to put as much distance between herself and that snake as possible. Then something grabbed her from behind. Lena whirled with every intention of fighting free.

"Lena, stop! It's me, Walker. You're safe now. What the devil happened? Where's Derek going?"

Gasping for breath, Lena leaned into Walker. She'd never been so glad to see anyone in her entire life. "A sn... A snake! It was after me. On the rock."

"Did it strike at you? Were you bitten?" Walker carried an anti-venom kit with him in case someone had a run-in with a poisonous reptile.

"No, I'm okay. I got away in time. But it crawled right up on the rock. It was after me. Ugh... Just the thought..." Lena shuddered and tried to crawl into his shirt.

Walker grasped her upper arms and urged her back from him. She felt entirely too good nestled against him. "The snake wasn't after you. They lay on the rocks to sun. If it had known you were there, it would have gone the other way. Now, stay here while I go find Derek."

"Oh, no you don't. You're not leaving me here alone," she told the guide as she clutched his arm. "Where you go, I go." And he would never convince her that the snake didn't have her picked out for its lunch, either.

"Okay then, keep up," Walker briskly told her as he headed toward the spot where Derek disappeared into the trees.

Not needing to be told twice, Lena stayed close on Walker's heels.

They caught up with Derek several minutes later. He lay facedown on the ground with his left foot tangled in a tree root.

"Derek, are you hurt?" Walker squatted near the boy and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. "What happened?"

"I-I don't think so. Knocked the...breath...out of me is all. What are we running from? Is it a bear? Rabid wolves?" Derek turned over and sat up. He swiped his face and spit out dirt.

Walker helped untangle his foot from the root. "A snake. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

"I think I'm okay." Then Derek self-consciously looked up at Walker. "She scared the gee-willies out of me. Come running at me, like that. I thought we were being invaded or about to be eaten."

Lena couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up. "I must have made quite a picture, running at you, screaming like a banshee. I'm sorry." She didn't sound too contrite as a flood of giggles overwhelmed her.

"All I saw by the time I got there was the back of you two as you high-tailed it into the woods." Walker grinned at them and helped Derek to his feet.

The young man favored his left foot a bit, but insisted he could walk back to the river. "Do me a favor, Lena. Next time you take off, yell out whatever it is you're running from, okay?" He accepted the walking stick Walker cut for him and they made fairly good time back to the riverbank.

By the time they returned, the rest of the group were gathered around the large flat rock, waiting. Water and sandwiches were passed around as they all laughed at Lena and Derek's tale about running from the snake. Derek stood up well to his share of ribbing for taking off.

Lena ate standing up while several feet away from the rock. She kept a wary eye out for the snake and any of the friends it might bring back with it.

Walker examined Derek's ankle then had him dangle his foot in the cold, rushing water for twenty minutes. He wrapped it before helping Derek get his boot back on. "Nothing seems to be broken. Baby it a bit and you'll soon be good as new."

Rob sidled up to where Lena stood a bit apart from the others. Not sure of his reception, he asked, "Are you really okay? I mean... By the time I got here, Walker had already come after you. I thought it best to stay with the others."

"I'm fine, Rob, honestly." Though she felt no anger toward him now, Lena knew for sure she didn't want their relationship to go any farther. And she sensed he felt the same way. They needed to clear the air and move on. She'd have to search for the right opportunity to talk to him.