She’d sensed his disapproval at her transformation when he’d walked into her hospital room and saw her in cashmere with diamond studs in her ears. She wasn’t going to apologize to him for who she’d become. She’d built a good life for herself and April through plenty of hard work. No one had handed anything to her on a silver platter.
Nonetheless, she enjoyed the rare chance to wear minimal makeup. Although she hadn’t let anyone in public see her without her game face on for a decade, she much preferred bare skin. It was how she’d grown up and she felt younger, softer somehow.
Ten minutes later she emerged dressed in her new clothes, a lightweight long-sleeve shirt, khaki cargo pants, and shiny brown leather boots that squeaked a little as she walked. The only purchases she’d left in the plastic bag were the sports bra and cotton panties. She’d never been a cotton girl and she was wearing her regular silk and lace undergarments.
Sam’s eyes widened when he saw her, and she pushed back her shoulders and lifted her chin. She’d thought the outfit was pretty cute, but she’d been wearing different versions of the same thing for so long, it felt strange to put on something completely different. Almost as if she’d shed a layer of skin and stepped into a new, unfamiliar one.
“Everything fit okay?”
She would have expected him to have forgotten what size she wore by now, but he’d remembered exactly, all the way down to her size nine boots. A rogue butterfly flew loose in her belly at the thought of their intimate past, and the realization that he hadn’t forgotten about her any more than she had him.
“Perfectly,” she said, and then, “I haven’t thanked you yet for buying everything for me. Thank you.”
She was usually the queen of thank-you cards, of hostess gifts. But Sam made her flustered. Awkward.
“I want you to know I’m going to pay you back for everything.”
Dianna wasn’t comfortable with letting a man buy her things. For the past ten years, she’d always paid her own way—and oftentimes her dates’ as well.
“I don’t think I have enough cash in my purse, but—”
He grabbed their packs and headed to the door in the middle of her sentence.
“I can cover it,” he said, his voice suddenly hard.
Well, that was about as clear as it got. She assumed he was still angry from the night before and she knew she needed to apologize for her mudslinging right away. But he was already halfway across the parking lot and she had to jog to catch up with him.
“Sam, I—” she began when she got her breath back, but when she looked up, his hotshot friend was waiting for them outside the back entrance of the hospital, leaning against the bumper of his truck. There was no way she could explain things in front of his friend, Will.
She wasn’t at all surprised by the local firefighter’s tall, rugged good looks. Hotshots were a shockingly good-looking bunch who attracted women like bees to nectar. Dianna knew firsthand how difficult—scratch that, impossible—it was to resist a wildland firefighter.
“Nice to meet you, Dianna. Sam tells me you’re looking for your sister?”
“Her name’s April. And I’m afraid she doesn’t have a clue what she’s mixed up with.”
Will handed a map to Sam as they got into the truck. He held the front seat passenger door open for her and her stupid heart actually went pitter-patter at his chivalry.
“I’ve highlighted the route I think you should take to the commune,” Will said. “Any questions?”
Sam studied the map in the extended cab as they exited the hospital’s parking lot. Dianna pulled her hat down tighter over her hair and averted her face as they passed a TV news van.
“Looks pretty clear,” Sam told his friend.
“There’s no cell coverage anywhere in the area,” Will said, looking concerned. “So don’t get hurt, okay? Could take a little while to find you if you do.”
Dianna shivered at his warning. She’d lived in the city for so long she’d forgotten that there were places cell phones couldn’t reach, that you couldn’t always call for help the minute you needed it.
They quickly left town and started climbing into the mountains, the pavement turning to gravel, then dirt. Will switched into four-wheel drive as the road became increasingly primitive and rutted. The three of them remained silent as they drove between tall pines and towering redwoods. Thirty minutes later, he stopped the truck in front of a huge tree trunk that was lying across the road.
“I’m afraid this is as far as I can take you.”
With Will’s engine off, she could hear birds singing, the river gurgling, even the way the breeze was turning the leaves into mild-mannered wind chimes.
Out here, amid mountains and streams, was Sam’s world. This was where he belonged, whereas she was utterly out of her element.
Maybe he’d been right and she should have let him go alone?
She squashed the thought as quickly as it came. It was only fear speaking. She’d been afraid before and she’d survived. Thrived, in fact. She’d do any and everything she had to do to find her sister and bring her home.
After saying his good-byes, Will was clearly reluctant to leave them, and as he slowly turned the truck around and headed down the road, Dianna also wished he would stay a little longer.
Anything to avoid being alone again with Sam.
Her mouth went dry as he held out her loaded backpack. Turning her back to him, she slipped her arms through the straps and braced herself for the heavy weight. But instead of pulling her off balance, it was surprisingly light.
She’d seen how much gear there was to carry the night before, and as he strapped on his own pack, she saw that he was loaded down with most of her things.
“You don’t have to take everything for me,” she said. “I want to do my fair share.”
He barely looked at her. “I’m used to the weight. You’re not.”
Case clearly closed. No discussion. No room for debate. She knew his word was law out here. The question was, would she ever get used to taking orders from a man? From Sam?
Seconds later, he was disappearing into the woods and she had no other choice but to hurry and catch up with him.
The day wasn’t going well so far, Sam thought as he led them down the trail to the river’s edge.
He’d woken up with the best of intentions, planning to smooth over the rough edges they’d pulled up the night before. But then she’d gone and insisted that she would pay him back for the hiking gear and his pride had gotten twisted up all over again.