“So how do we get to the ground?” she asked.
“We jump.”
She stared again. “Jump?”
“I’ll go first. Once I’m down, you jump and I’ll catch you.”
“Uhm.”
“Don’t worry. I’m a marine. Done this a thousand times. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
Anita thought this jarhead plan was as crazy as the last one.
“Trust me, okay?”
She didn’t, but again what choice did she have.
“I’m pretty sure the bird’s stable enough for me to leave you, so no sense in waiting around.”
To her added horror, he raised himself in the seat. Before she could blink, he was crouched on the edge of the door. “See you in a minute, Counselor.”
And he jumped!
She scooted to the window and saw him hit the ground and roll. He got up dusted himself off and called up. “Come on down!” he yelled in a voice reminiscent of The Price Is Right.
She couldn’t believe he had jokes! It made her smile but only for a moment. The thought of actually jumping scared her witless. He said he’d catch her but she didn’t see that happening. What she saw instead was breaking both legs.
As if sensing her indecision, he called up again, “You’ve been a trouper so far, Anita. Don’t punk out on yourself now! Try and relax when you jump.”
Relax! Knowing if she didn’t jump soon, the fear would totally paralyze her and she’d be stuck in the chopper until Christmas. So again, she prayed. Hard. And tried not to think about broken bones. Closing her eyes on one last prayer, Anita jumped.
As the ground rushed up to meet her, she held on to her scream. He caught her just as he’d promised. His strong arms latched on to her and the impact sent them both tumbling. When the world righted itself again, her happy eyes met his.
“Nice,” he said.
Only then did she realize that she was stretched out on top of him, their bodies flush like lovers in bed. Instantly horrified, she jumped up and willed her thumping heart to stop.
He on the other hand propped himself on one elbow and looked up at her grinning. “Welcome to terra firma, Counselor.”
She wanted to kick him, but instead, grated out, “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
Although her body still felt the hard heat of him, the last thing her brain wanted to reference was anything having to do with pleasure—especially with him. “Where to now?”
He stood and she noticed that he was favoring one leg. “Are you hurt?” she asked.
“Yes, but I’ll check it out once we get to the cabin.”
Suddenly, the silence exploded with the sound of crunching metal and he grabbed her hand. “Run!”
Anita didn’t have time to ask why, because he was already pulling her behind him like a kid with a kite. They were in a small clearing and were still running when a crash shook the surroundings. She looked back just in time to see the banged-up chopper plunge to the ground and burst into flames. The fireball was so bright she had to shield her eyes.
Steve sighed. That bird had served him well. He watched it burn. “Damn.”
“My purse and phone are in there!” she cried.
“Too late. Sorry.”
“You don’t understand. My life is in that phone. All my contacts, the email addresses of my clients!” Greg’s stupid email. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Start life over?”
“This is not funny!”
“Didn’t say it was.”
Anita wanted to curse whomever was responsible for this awful day. “So, now what?”
He looked around. “Not one-hundred-percent sure where we are, but I think we’re close to the cabin.”
“You think?” she asked doubtfully.
“Hey, it’s better than saying, we’re totally lost.” He paused and studied her. She looked a mess. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I lost it when we crashed,” she replied sullenly.
He shook his head. “You’ve got to learn to roll with the punches, Counselor. Enjoy life a little more. We’re alive. That’s what counts.”
Anita was grateful to be alive but, at the moment, she didn’t give a damn about adventure. All she wanted was off this merry-go-round so she could return to the resort, have another massage, a hot shower and a chilled glass of expensive wine, and then fly home, but instead, this vacation from hell would now involve an extended trek through the wilderness. “Which way?”
Steve thought she was a hard nut to crack. He looked up at the sky. It was still gray and cloudy, so using the sun to steer by was out, thus he relied on his inner compass and hoped it was accurate. “West.”
And when she marched off in the proper direction, he chuckled to himself.
CHAPTER 7
Anita didn’t know east from west, and had no idea if she was going the right way, but because he didn’t stop her, she kept marching through the foggy tree-lined valley. Behind the trees, mist-shrouded cliffs rose heavenward in staggered, ragged columns, making the place seem cut off from the world beyond.
It occurred to her that he might not be saying anything just to watch her walk around in circles, but she put that out of her mind and plowed ahead. Granted, the surroundings were incredibly beautiful and the silence serene, but she’d had her fill of beauty and serenity. After the harrowing day, all she wanted was L.A.’s smog, crowds and bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Plus, the grass she was walking through was wet and, because she was wearing sandals, so were her feet. Had she been informed back at the resort that by midafternoon she’d almost be killed in a helicopter crash, she’d’ve opted for sturdier footwear, but seeing as how no warning had been given, she might as well be barefoot for all the protection the sandals provided.
She wanted to curse, scream and jump up and down like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum, but that wouldn’t change anything, so she kept moving and hoped the sun would come out to beat back the chilly damp air and maybe dry her wet clothes.
She thought back on the conversation she’d had with her father and his wish for her to be in a situation that rocked her world. She hoped he was happy because she was so out of her element, she might as well be walking on the moon. Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw that Blair had picked up a large branch and was using it as a cane to aid his injured leg. The sight deflated the sense of bitchy selfishness she’d wrapped herself in since this whole hellified situation began. In truth, she was so grateful not to be out here alone. Without him, she wouldn’t’ve survived and she owed him her thanks instead of the bad attitude she’d been subjecting him to. Greg’s email was adding its share, but Blair had nothing to do with that, either. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Me.”
Confusion creased his brow.
“I’ve been acting like a three-year-old when I should be telling you how grateful I am for all you’ve done for me today. Thank you,” she added quietly.
Admittedly, Steve’s first thought was that she was delirious from the bump on her head, but the sincerity in her eyes and how utterly miserable she appeared made him take her seriously. “I appreciate that, but don’t worry about it. Like I said earlier, you’ve been awesome. No whining, no tears, no hysterics. Couldn’t ask for a better partner in this mess.”
He thought he saw tears in her eyes just before she turned away. When she faced him again she said softly, “You’re very kind. I’d like for us to start over, if we can.”
He wasn’t s
ure what she meant.
She stuck out her hand. “Hi. I’m Anita Hunt. Pleased to meet you.”
His lips curved into a smile, and he shook her hand. “Steve Blair. Nice meeting you, as well.”
“Where’re you from?”
“Texas. You?”
“Born in New York, but, after my parents split, I spent my summers in L.A. with my father.”
“Siblings?”
“None. You?”
“One. Younger brother named Kyle.” He searched her face and decided he liked this version of her. “Feel better?”
She nodded. “I do. Thank you.”
Something grew between them at that moment. They seemed to be seeing each other in a new light. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but sensed she felt it, too, because she looked him over hesitantly before asking, “What’s going on with your leg?”
“Wrenched my knee in the crash. Jumping out of the bird didn’t help.”
“Then how about we walk slower.”
“Good idea.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Not unless you can carry me.”
“I’m appreciative, but not that much.”
He liked it when she smiled.
“How much farther?” she asked.
“Probably another hour’s worth of walking.”
She sighed in response but followed it with, “Then let’s keep this adventure rolling.”
Yeah, he liked this version much better.
As they walked, they talked about everything and nothing: her firm and the impending partnership; how long he’d had the tour business, and why he’d never live on the mainland again.
He told her, “This place gets in your blood. Not sure how to explain it but everyone I know who’s moved here, never goes back.”
“That’s how I feel about L.A. The energy’s addictive. All the shopping, the entertainment. You can’t beat it. New York’s similar, but for me it can’t compare to L.A. Weather’s better, too.”
“I see that big rock on your hand. What’s your husband like?”
She stopped and looked down at the ring. She’d become so accustomed to wearing it, she’d forgotten she still had it on. “Thanks for reminding me.” She slid it off her finger.
He appeared confused, so she explained. “My fiancé sent me a text this morning breaking off our engagement.”
“A text?”
“Yep.” She wanted to fling the ring into the trees, but pushed it into the pocket of her capris instead.
“That’s pretty cold.”
“He’s going to marry a woman in his office. They’re over in Tokyo. He said she was smart, spontaneous and a lot of fun. Which means I’m none of those things, I suppose.” Her anger and humiliation rose again.
“Damn.”
Silence grew between them for a moment and Anita found herself going back over the last couple years with Greg in an attempt to see if there were any signs she might have missed. She thought back on Cancun and wondered if she’d been played.
“You want me to fly us to Tokyo so I can kick his ass?”
She laughed and wiped at the sheen of tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to dump this on you.”
“It’s okay. And I meant it. I will fly you to Japan and I will kick his ass.”
She met his eyes and saw a hint of anger in them. “You would, wouldn’t you?”
“Oh, hell, yes. What kind of gutless jerk breaks up with a woman by text? Especially you.”
Anita stilled. “But you don’t know anything about me.”
“Sure I do. You’re frosty, gorgeous and fearless. A man doesn’t need to know much more.”
She didn’t know how to take that, but his words were doing a lot to salve the reignited hurt and, even if he didn’t mean them, they made her feel better. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“You’re welcome.”
They started off again, Anita’s thin-soled sandals were now so wet her feet were sliding around as if they were coated with olive oil. She ignored it as much as she could. “What about you? Married?”
“Nope. Not likely to be, either.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “Too solitary. Too laid-back. Too selfish to want my wings clipped by a nine-to-five, or a mortgage. I like my life the way it is. I fly my chopper. I hike through places like this, and occasionally ride a board.”
“You surf?”
“Learned as soon as I moved here. Part of that jarhead thing, I think.”
She nodded understandingly. In spite of their conversation, she still knew next to nothing about him, but what little he’d revealed made her want to know more. “Suppose you decided to marry someone from say, Wisconsin, and she wanted you to move there. Would that be a deal breaker?”
“More than likely.”
“Really?”
“Sure. Knowing I don’t want to live any other place but here means the marriage probably wouldn’t last very long.”
“Makes sense, I suppose.”
Once again, their gazes lingered and she felt a call inside that she’d never heard before.
They pressed on. Every now and then she glanced over to see how he and his bad knee were doing and each time he looked at her, she found it harder and harder to break the contact. She’d never been with a man who affected her the way he did and she had no idea what to do about it, or if she wanted to. Next to Greg, Steve Blair was as wild and untamed as the island he cared for so much.
Thoughts of Greg made her wonder what he’d’ve done had he been stuck in a helicopter. It went without saying he wouldn’t’ve had a jarhead solution nor would he have asked her to make a forty-foot jump into his arms. He functioned well in the world of cocktail parties, judicial settings and black-tie events but out here in the wide-open spaces of Kauai, he’d be as out of his element as she was. To be fair, comparing the two men was like comparing apples to oranges; Blair seemed honorable. Greg was not.
Steve was doing his best not to come on to her. As he’d noted back at the hangar in L.A., he didn’t do high-class, executive types, but for some reason, she was getting past his barriers. He didn’t know what it was about her that had him going against his principles. At first glance, she was everything he didn’t like, but he’d been impressed by how she’d met the challenges they’d faced today and how she seemed to be holding up over being betrayed. He still found her story of being dumped by her fiancé unbelievable. Outwardly she appeared to be handling that well, too. Didn’t her ex appreciate the steel beneath all that glamour and attitude? Being the son of a strong Southern woman, Steve respected and admired female strength so he was thankful Anita wasn’t one of those weak, sniveling types. From a strictly male perspective, her lean toned body was a plus, too, but her backbone and courage was the icing on the cake.
Steve was also doing his best to keep pace. Even though they were moving slow, his knee was fighting him all the way. Had he not been injured, they’d’ve already made it to Ferg’s place. Instead, he was hobbling along like an old man and the marine in him hated it. Knights in shining armor weren’t supposed to limp. He glanced over at his companion. She looked whipped. He could see her trying to warm herself against the damp chill by rubbing her hands up and down her bare arms, but he knew it wasn’t helping much. He’d’ve offered her the shirt tied around his waist, but it was as damp and wet as the rest of him. After she returned home to L.A., she’d probably never want to return to the islands again, and that would be too bad, because there was so much more he wanted her to see. “Think you’ll ever come back here once you get home to L.A.?”
“Nope. Not going to lie. I can’t wait to leave this place.”
“That’s too bad. There’s still a lot I’d like to show you.”
&nbs
p; Anita slowed and stopped. “Like what?”
“The sunsets at Polihale Beach, the whales and seals at Port Allen. The thousand-foot cliffs overlooking the water at Na Pali. The lagoon at Wailua River where we’d go snorkeling.”
The tone of his voice and the intensity in his gaze had her heart racing.
“I’d even teach you to surf.”
Once again, she found herself overwhelmed by his larger-than-life presence. Everything about him was so tantalizing and seductive, she bet very few women told him no. In an effort to save herself from succumbing to the spell he seemed to be weaving, she tossed back as nonchalantly as she could, “Are you hitting on me, Blair?”
“I think so, but I’m blaming it on the pain and the concussion.”
She shook her head and smiled.
“How long were you engaged to the dummy?”
“A year, but we started dating when I was in high school.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Yes, it is, especially when it ends up like this.”
“Did you love him?”
She shrugged. “Yes, I guess. There weren’t any sparks or fireworks like in one of those romance novels but I was okay with it.”
“Wrong answer.”
She stopped. “What do you mean, wrong answer?”
“I’m no expert on love but, judging by my parents and the marriages of my aunts and uncles, there’s supposed to be fireworks and sparks. My folks are in their sixties and they can’t keep their hands off each other. Embarrassed me to no end when I was in my teens and I’d walk in the kitchen to find them kissing. Yes, if I ever do get married, that’s what I’ll be looking for.”
“Real life isn’t a romance novel.”
“Tell my parents that and, if I had been your fiancé, the wedding would’ve taken place the day after I put that big fat rock on your hand.”
She felt as though she was drowning. All she could manage in response was, “That’s not how it works.”