Chapter Five
Wren
The wind was steady, but it was hitting us from the back, so Jasper’s emergency blanket was doing its job. “Thank you for sharing the blanket,” I said, begrudgingly.
We’d done nothing but argue since we met, but I appreciated we were in this together.
“I wouldn’t have left you out in the cold. I’d have let you in the cabin.”
I bumped his shoulder with mine and smirked.
In the heat of the moment, when he wanted to go back to the condemned looking cabin and I wanted to aim for Kara’s place, I was ready to argue into the ground.
Now, as we sat here soggy knowing that neither of our plans would have worked, the heat of the issue had died.
“There were probably mice in there anyway,” he said.
“Spiders too…and going back to Kara’s place is overrated.”
He stretched out his long legs then pulled them back under our little shelter. “Who wants beer and steak anyway.”
“Exactly.”
We were quiet for a while, just listening to the sound of the drops hitting the canopy. “Where do you work in search and rescue?” I asked. “Will we have your coworkers come looking for us if we aren’t home by dark?”
He laughed. “I’d never live that down, but no, Springwood, BC, Canada is where I work. Most people haven’t heard of it.”
“I’ve fought fires all over the world, I’ve worked in that region a few times.”
“Really, what made you want to—”
“Run toward the thing everyone else is sprinting away from?” I finished for him, picking at a hangnail.
“I don’t know. It’s… simple, in a way. Working with people can be draining and complicated.
They have ulterior motives and agendas. Fire is just a problem to solve. They’re honest if that makes sense.”
Jasper huffed out a quiet laugh. “Honest is one word for it.”
I shrugged, a small smile tugging at my lips. “Okay, maybe brutally honest. But I like knowing where I stand.”
He nodded and stared at his hands too. “Search and rescue isn’t that different,” he said after a moment. “The specifics can be complicated, but the big picture is simple. No time to overthink it. No time to second guess.”
“Just react,” I said.
“Exactly.”
Another gust of wind blew through the clearing and I shifted closer to Jasper, soaking up the heat of his body and hell maybe the comfort of his presence too.
I glanced at him. “Do you ever get tired of it? The going, I mean. The…unpredictability? Never being able to make plans or whatever?”
His mouth twitched. “You mean the part where I don’t date anyone for longer than a season and I’ve got a duffel bag permanently packed?”
I smirked. “That obvious?”
“Apparently.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Sometimes. But every time I think about settling, I guess, I just—” He exhaled, shaking his head. “It feels unfair.”
“Unfair how?”
“To them,” he said simply. “You start building something with someone, you make plans and then your phone goes off and you’re gone. Or worse, they’re phone goes off and it’s not good news.” He gave a small, crooked smile. “Kind of a lousy deal for the other person.”
I let that sit for a second, feeling the truth of it settle somewhere under my ribs. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “I get that.”
He glanced over. “Yeah, you would get that in your line of work.”
“Mm.” I pulled my knees in closer, tucking my chin against them.
“I’ve tried. A couple times. You meet someone, and for a bit they understand the crazy schedule.
You start picturing having a home base and a person who knows your favorite coffee mug without asking.
” I huffed a soft laugh. “Then they get sick of you canceling plans, and being gone. I’m living out of a pack, out of cell range and they are packing up and moving on to someone more stable. ” I shrugged.
“Like living in two different worlds,” he said.
“Exactly.” I pointed at him. “Two lives that don’t overlap.”
We shared a small smile of understanding.
“I think,” I added after a beat, “it’s not even just the leaving. It’s the worrying for them. Not knowing if I am going to come back, or where I am. It’s a weight that is too heavy for most.”
Jasper nodded slowly. “Yeah. I’ve seen what that waiting does to people.” Those deep chocolate eyes looked into mine again. “I’d rather be the guy who never quite settles than the one who makes someone live like that.”
“Same,” I said.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The rain kept up its steady rhythm, the wind nudging at the edges of the blanket keeping us from really staying warm.
“Guess we’re both terrible long-term investments,” I said finally, a hint of a grin creeping back in.
Jasper snorted. “Hey, speak for yourself. I come with excellent survival skills and a solid sense of direction.”
“Debatable,” I teased. “We are currently stranded in the woods.”
“Temporarily inconvenienced,” he corrected, nudging my boot with his. “Big difference.”
I laughed, the sound surprising me.
“Still,” he added, a little more quietly now, “it’s kind of nice. Talking to someone who gets it.”
“It is.”
Something shifted. The drama of the airport was forgotten as we sat shoulder to shoulder in mutual misery and understanding.