Chapter Seven

Lena found she could build an adequate fire with the right instruction. Walker patiently explained how to build a pyramid shape with twigs and pinecones in the base and thin pieces of wood. He carried a small waterproof cylinder in his pocket and Lena almost jumped for joy when he pulled out one of several matches.

But his next instructions filled her with dismay.

"I need you to go over there and move some of those small rocks. There should be grubs or worms under them—"

"No way!" Lena jumped back and held up a hand like a stop sign. "I am not near hungry enough to eat bugs."

Walker hooted with laughter then groaned and held his sore ribs. "Oh Lord, Lena, you're going to kill me yet." He waited for the pain and the amusement to pass. "Honey, I have a fish hook and a few feet of line in my pocket survival box. I thought if you could get a grub or a worm, you might be able to catch our supper."

"Oh..." Lena dropped her hand and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I could try it. But only if you promise I don't have to bait the hook or, should miracles actually happen, I don't have to touch a fish."

Fighting back laughter again, Walker agreed. He watched in disbelief when Lena turned over a few rocks, but refused to touch the white grub she uncovered. She used a small stick, raked it onto a leaf, and then brought it to him, holding it far away from her body.

He pierced it with the small gold hook and handed her the long stick to which he tied the line. "Now, whatever you do, don't let go of the stick. There's a good spot right over there where you can dangle the bait in the water." Walker reached out and tugged gently on the line. "When you feel a tug like that, tug back then lift up the end of the stick. You'll have a fish for us to cook for supper."

"Hmm... Okay, if you say so." She frowned and chewed her lower lip, but then left him to go dangle the end of the line containing the hook and bug into the edge of the water. Lena shifted from foot to foot and smacked a bug away from her face. She remembered why she hated fishing. It required patience and she'd also flunked out on that more than once.

After several minutes of nothing, she became totally bored and began lifting the grub up and plopping it back in the water. On the third plop, she could hardly raise the stick again. It required both hands and the stick actually wiggled and tried to jump out of her hands.

With a giggle, thinking she was hung on a limb, Lena pulled really hard off to her right side. A nice sized fish flopped up onto the bank surprising her so much she almost dropped the stick.

"Walker," she squealed. "Look! I did it. I really did it." She began dancing around the fish.

"That's a great catch. Don't let it get back to the water." Walker laughed with her. Then he watched her lift the stick to bring the fish away from the river toward him. He caught the line and held the glistening rainbow trout up for inspection. "What a beaut. This will cook up tasty."

Lena swallowed hard as she watched the fish flap its gills, struggling to breathe while out of the water. Her whole life had seemed like that kind of struggle. "No... Please...let me put it back."

Walker looked up to see her pretty doe brown eyes staring mournfully at the fish. "But, Lena—"

"Please, Walker. I couldn't...kill it...or eat it. It's beautiful..."

She shifted her pleading gaze to meet his and he was lost.

Against his better judgment, but knowing they could catch another if necessary, Walker gave in. "You caught it. You can do whatever you want with it," he told her softly. "But it will mean going hungry tonight."

"How do I get it off the hook?" Then a thought struck Lena. "Oh, Walker...it will mean you going hungry too. You really need to eat after getting hurt." She realized what she asked of Walker.

"Here, I'll hold the fish and you just back the hook out as gently as possible. I think I can miss a meal or two without any long term harm."

She cast him an appreciative smile and carefully eased the hook out of the rainbow trout's mouth. Lena allowed Walker to place the fish in her hands before she returned to the riverbank and lowered the beautiful multi-colored fish to the water's edge. The fish disappeared immediately with a silver flash of its tail. After staring into the water for several minutes, she returned to sit quietly near Walker and the fire.

"I'm sorry, Walker."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Maybe you can catch an ugly fish next time. One you won't mind cooking," Walker teased.

Her smile rewarded him for giving up on having fish for supper.

Lena laughed, thankful he was so sweet about it, and fed more wood to the fire.

* * * * *

Sporadically, Lena gathered wood until Walker told her she'd collected enough for several nights. It was getting late and with the sun dropping behind the hills, he didn't want her wandering around any longer.

"Come over here and try to get some rest," Walker insisted, once it became fully dark. He patted the ground to the left of him. "You must be exhausted after everything that happened today."

Lena sat down beside him, but kept her distance for fear of hurting his injured ribs. "I am tired. But I don't want the fire to go out. You said it keeps lions and bears away, right?" What she really wanted to do was crawl in his lap, curl up, and sleep until daylight.

Walker grinned to himself as her head nodded and she jerked it back up, fighting off the drowsiness time and again.

"Honey, come on over here. If you lean against me on this side, I think it'll be okay. Besides, I'm getting a bit cold."

"Your shirt! I forgot." Lena jumped up, groaning at the pain in her sore legs and everywhere else, glad of something to do, even for a minute. She grabbed his dry shirt from the bush where she spread it out earlier. Bringing it to Walker, Lena knelt along his side, planning to help him slide his arms in the sleeves.

Instead, Walker caught her with his left hand and tugged her down against his left side. "I have a better idea. Snuggle against me and we'll both use it for cover."

Lena wanted to protest, but couldn't find the energy. Besides, his warm flesh felt so good against her tired, achy body. Her head fit perfectly on his left shoulder and his arm nestled just right around her waist. She helped Walker spread the thin shirt over their upper bodies.

"I know it's not much," Walker whispered hoarsely. "But it will help hold in some of our body heat." Her nearness already helped him to warm up nicely. She smelled like clean mountain water with a hint of lilac. Without thinking, he lowered his nose and sniffed her hair. Yep, definitely lilac.

Lena raised her head to look up at him. "You didn't?"

"What?"

"Sniffle in my hair?"

Walker chuckled and felt his face flush at being caught. Slightly embarrassed, he admitted, "Umm... Not sniffle. I thought I smelled lilac and I sniffed to see. Sorry."

Relaxing back onto his shoulder, Lena told him, "I love lilac-scented shampoo and bubble bath. I'm surprised you can still smell it."

"I can sniff out lilac anytime, anywhere. My grandfather always gave lilac-scented stuff to my grandmother on their anniversary and at Christmas."

"That's nice." She sounded drowsy to her own ears. "Wake me in a bit and I'll put more wood on the fire. You won't let it go out, will you?"

"I can reach enough to keep it going while you nap. Now, go to sleep." He didn't want to think about what might happen if she didn't.

* * * * *

Sometime during the night, they shifted to the side and stretched out together on the ground. Lena woke to feel Walker spooned closely to her back, his arm draped over her waist with his hand splayed out beneath her breast. The fire barely smoldered as she eased away from him to put more limbs on it. Stiff and sore all over from the battering she'd taken, she bit back a groan. The night air caused her to shiver without Walker's body heat to keep her warm. And, drat it all, she had to go pee.

"Lena? Don't wander off," Walker warned sleepily when he saw her headed away from the fire.

"I have to go. I'll be right back."

True to her word, Lena hurriedly took care of business then dropped down to lie beside him again.

Walker felt her shiver and tucked her in under the shirt, drawing her closer to his body. She seemed soft in all the best places and firm where she should be. He longed to run his hands over her rump to see if it was soft or firm. Thinking about it created a whole new problem and made him yearn to get closer still.

Lena shifted on the hard ground, trying to get comfortable and turned on her back. Her right arm brushed across the left side of Walker's bare chest. He groaned before clutching her tighter.

She touched his cheek, concerned. "I'm sorry... Did I hurt you?"

"You're killing me. There's only one cure..." He couldn't put it off any longer. Walker leaned over her and lowered his mouth to hers.

Startled, Lena gasped as his warm, firm lips settled on her cold, tense mouth.

Patiently, as he seemed to do everything, Walker coaxed and encouraged until Lena's lips softened and welcomed him. Nibbling and caressing, he warmed her mouth and soon she returned his kisses.

Warmth flooded Lena's body from her quivering lips down to her toes. Another thing about Walker that fit perfectly – his lips on hers. She could only imagine what else might fit. She gave up to the excitement and passion of his kiss and moaned in delight as he deepened the caress. She turned to face him and pressed against him eagerly. The proof of his desire thrilled her.

Walker stroked Lena's bare tummy and back then slid his hand up, beneath her cut-off shirt. He felt on fire for her touch. Her warm, welcoming responses made him bold. He forgot his injured ribs and cupped her rounded butt to draw her nearer to his lower body. Pain arced sharply through his chest as his right arm tightened on her.

Loosening his grasp on Lena with a smothered curse, he rolled onto his back and tried to breathe.

"Oh, Walker... Tell me you're not dying. Please..." Lena urgently whispered. Her head reeled from her emotional response to this man. She was terrified he might be hurt worse.

"Okay... Give me...a minute..." Walker worked to control his breathing so the pain would ease off. What a dumb thing to do anyway. He chastised himself for touching her. It was definitely against all his rules.

Lena sat up and drew away to put more wood on the fire. Once she turned back to Walker, he extended his left arm toward her.

"Help me sit up... Please," he added when she hesitated.

She helped him sit up and lean back against the large boulder once more. Using her cupped hands, she brought water for him to sip until he said he had enough. Then she gently washed his face and dried it with her shirt. Unable to do anything else, Lena sat down near him, locked her arms around her folded knees, and waited.

Walker closed his eyes then rested his head back against the rock. When the pain sufficiently subsided so he could breathe normally, he told her, "Wow, Lena. You really pack a punch...in more ways than one. But...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

Lena cut him off. "If you say any junk about being sorry you kissed me, I'm going to clock you one. I enjoyed it. You didn't see me fighting you off, did you? I'd do it again and probably more if not for your ribs. Now, honestly, are you really sorry?" She arched her brows as she watched his face in the flickering light from the fire.

Grinning at her, Walker shook his head. "No, honey, I'm not really sorry I kissed you." Lowering his voice to a sexy growl, he went on, "I'm sorry we couldn't finish what we started. Are you always so...straight forward?"

"Yes, and it gets me into tons of trouble and discourages most men very quickly."

He reached out with his left hand and encouraged her to slide over to snuggle against him once more. "Do I look discouraged? Come, get me warm."

Lena stared up into his green eyes, searching for an answer. She saw warmth and desire with a twinkle of humor...or was that the reflection of firelight? Either way, she would take it. "No, I can't see you letting a straight-talking woman change your direction."

Gently, Walker lifted her chin and placed a sweet kiss on first her nose and then her lips. "I think I'm about to," he admitted, more to himself than to her.

Then he changed the subject. "It's not long until daylight. A rescue team should arrive soon. We need to get some more rest while we can."

Snuggling against his shoulder, Lena pulled his shirt across them. After several minutes of silence, she told him, "I don't even know your full name."

"I mostly use Walker, my last name. And the only reason I know yours is because of the form Rob turned in."

"Not fair," she protested in a low, sleepy voice. "You know my height, weight, age, address, and marital status. No more kisses unless you at least tell me your first name."

"Promise not to laugh and... I need a kiss as soon as I tell you."

Lena shifted a bit to look at his face to see if he was serious. "Okay, I won't laugh and I'll give you a kiss if you tell me."

"It's Rufus."

Lena held back a laugh – not at the name, which was decidedly old-fashioned – but at the way Walker said it, like he was telling her his dog died. "Rufus...? No, I think you're right. You're definitely more of a Walker. But thank you for telling me." She reached up and planted a light kiss on his lips. "There, I kept my part of the bargain too. Where do you live?"

Walker wanted to pursue a more in depth kiss, but fought back the urge. He told her about his log cabin on the edge of town where the group had gotten together. He stopped talking when he realized she'd drifted off to sleep. He leaned his head back and relaxed, enjoying holding this woman he'd recognized as trouble from the start. He knew she would change his whole world.