25. Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
Monday morning: Jonathan
J onathan awoke feeling refreshed. The night before, an unrelenting slumber crept in and blocked out the rest of the world. Ordinarily, he didn’t allow himself to drift so deeply while leading a backpacking excursion. Typically, he remained alert—if only slightly—to tend to whatever needs or perceived emergencies his customers happened to have. He’d gotten so adept at sleeping lightly that he could wake to the sound of a cautiously opened tent zipper from across the campground. The slightest noise drifted through the air, and boom—Jonathan was awake and ready to handle anything. That was how he’d been so quick to respond to Lucy’s screams of terror the other night when she’d had the run-in with that opossum. But, because of this self-proclaimed superpower, he rarely felt restored after crawling out of his hammock each morning. Full recharges happened after an outing once he collapsed into his bed at home. It was bizarre that he had blacked out so completely this time around.
It must have been the stress and exertion from the day before.
Jonathan reached his elbows up above his head to stretch his stiff shoulders. Settling back down, he placed his hand on his belly.
Wait.
Not his belly. This was firm and round yet supple.
In a forgetful panic, Jonathan jerked his head up. Lucy had sprawled out at some point during the night, finding her more in his space than her own. A little smile tugged at his lips. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one comfortable enough to pass out so hard. He let his eyes appreciatively drift over her. She’d thrown her left leg entirely over his waist. Her left arm was completely wrapped around his leg, hand cupping his calf. The side of her face cradled between his shins. A tangled halo of chocolate waves splayed haphazardly. Her breast rested heavily against his lower thighs, rising and falling with each breath.
And his hand was resting squarely on her ass cheek. Parts of him stirred in response to the contact.
He pulled back abruptly, feeling like an accidental creep. The hammock was close quarters. It wasn’t exactly outside the realm of possibilities that one of them would end up getting a handful of the other. Jonathan was just glad she hadn’t woken her up to his unintentional morning grope session.
Priority one: detangle himself from Sleeping Beauty. The trick would be doing so without startling her awake. With as much care as he could muster, he was able to straighten Lucy’s leg and slide it off his waist. Next, he gently rose to a seated position and gripped the hand that cupped his lower leg. At this, she roused, rolling her head off his shins, and deposited a hand between Jonathan’s thighs. It was far too close to his straining boxer briefs than he felt comfortable with, especially given her state of unconsciousness. Scoping his fingers under her wrist, he was able to shift out from beneath her.
Jonathan quietly opened the cover and slid his legs over the side of the hammock and into the crisp morning air. The cool breeze that drifted over him was cleansing. He took a deep breath, realizing just how stuffy it was with both of them huddled up inside. He moved to dismount, aiming to land on sturdy feet, but he hadn’t looked where he was going. The second set of boots tripped him up, and he landed on his ass with a noisy grunt .
“What happened?” Lucy yelped, bolting upright.
He massaged the point of impact as rocks and sticks poked him in all the wrong places. “Your boots got me,” he grumbled.
“Shit,” she said drowsily with a yawn. Leaning over the edge, she rubbed the sleep from her eye and looked at him. “You ok?”
“Yeah. Fine.” He was no worse for wear aside from a bruised ego. Rising to a stand, he brushed dirt and pine needles off his legs. Jonathan looked up and caught Lucy following his motions, her eyes lingering from time to time. He should be embarrassed by the tumble, but her perusal warmed his blood. Then he remembered the pup tent he’d been sporting since settling a hand on her lower half.
“A little privacy?” he chided. Turning quickly, he snatched up his pack and pulled out clothes for the day. As he tied his laces, he looked back up to the hammock where Lucy must have laid back down. “Need help getting out? Clearly , it can be tricky.”
“I think I can manage.”
He stood near anyway, reaching out in case she needed the support. Carefully, Lucy made her way out of the hammock, using his outstretched hand to stabilize herself once she was on her feet.
“I need to visit the privy. Do you feel up to starting the fire?”
She nodded. “I’ll give it a try. But no promises.”
He held out the magnesium fire starter. “Just shave some of this off with the serrated edge and make a pile about the size of a quarter where you want the flame to start. Flip it over and make the spark with this side.” He mimicked the motion of striking the bar, being careful not to actually make contact.
She took it and smiled. “How hard could it be?” she mumbled then turned to gather sticks and moss.
A few minutes later, Jonathan returned to find Lucy kneeling over a small crackling flame, blowing gently to encourage more twigs to catch. He stood by and watched as she continued tending the fire, building it up carefully until it became a small but stable blaze. Something strongly resembling pride puffed up in his chest.
“Well done, Eagle Scout Lucy,” he teased, walking over to stand beside her.
“Got a merit badge for me?” she asked, sitting back on her haunches and looking up from her work.
“Sadly, no. I stashed them in your pack before we left the trailhead, so now they’re off a cliff somewhere.” Jonathan grinned, waggling his eyebrows.
Lucy stuck out her tongue and tossed the fire starter to him. “I got this beauty going, so it’s time for you to cook.”
“Fair enough.”
As he went about preparing oats for their breakfast, Lucy handled a few morning necessities and returned to sit beside the fire. The oatmeal came together quickly, topped off with a generous handful of trail mix to add a little texture. They practically licked their bowls clean.
“I’ve never been an oatmeal person, but that was really good,” Lucy sighed.
“It’s the near-death experience we had the other day. Makes everything taste better.” Jonathan said, completely deadpan.
Lucy snorted. “So it seems.”
“How’d you sleep last night?”
“Pretty well. I barely remember closing my eyes, then I was out.”
“It was the near—”
“Yeah, I know, the near-death experience,” Lucy interrupted him.
“I was going to say nearness to such a hottie.” He gestured up and down himself. “I’ve been told I am very snuggly. ”
Her cheeks flushed, and she glanced away. “Hot is right. I was sweating like a maniac all night.”
All right, pal. We talked about this. Ease off the flirting throttle.
Jonathan cleared his throat. “You were warned.”
“I was.”
Once they finished eating, Jonathan inspected their water supply. There wasn’t much left, certainly not enough to sustain them for the day. If the temperature was anything like the day before, it was going to be warm, at least mid-seventies. Finding a water source was at the top of the to-do list.
Jonathan replaced the bottles in his pack and rose to his feet. Unfolding the map, he scanned the region, looking for the nearest lake or stream, utterly unaware of a stray water bottle lying in the dirt. His purposeful stride came down squarely on the Nalgene. His foot flew out from under him, knocking the wind from his lungs as he landed hard on his back.
“Jonathan!” Lucy screeched, scrambling to kneel beside him.
“Fuck, that hurt,” he ground out through clenched teeth, eyes held tightly shut.
“Here, let’s get you up.”
“Give me a minute.” He raised a hand to halt her. The shock of the fall dazed him. He labored a moment to pull in air and was eventually breathing steadily. Relaxing his body, he opened his eyes.
And lost his breath all over again.
A radiant goddess, face smudged with dirt and eyes full of worry, hovered over him. The low morning sun backlit a curtain of warm carob hair, illuminating glimmers of gold among the waves and tangles. Freckles and pink adorned her cheeks, evidence of sun exposure from the day before .
“How can I help?” A sweet, husky voice wobbled with nervous energy. Straight white teeth worried over her soft lower lip.
“I need—” The words came out in a prepubescent squeak. He cleared his throat. “I need to sit up.”
She nodded, clasping his outstretched hand and wrapping her other arm behind his broad shoulders as best as she could. “On three, we’ll work together. Ok?”
“Yep.” His clipped tone was a cocktail of pain and awe.
“Here we go. One. Two. Three.”
He relied on her efforts, only able to contribute so much as his lower back tensed in complaint. Sitting upright, Jonathan cursed. He reached his hands around and prodded the angry muscles.
“Shit. You’re . . . you’re really hurt,” Lucy stuttered. Her eyes were wide. She scanned his body as if trying to decide if she could manage to carry him out of the woods. Her deflated expression showed she knew it would be impossible.
“I get muscle spasms sometimes.”
“Can you walk? How long does it last? Would it help if I carried the pack? Do you want me to—”
Jonathan raised a hand to stop the rapid-fire questions. He needed to think. A few years ago, he’d seriously strained his back while helping his mom tear down an old shed in her backyard. He’d taken a few ibuprofen and ignored the pain. The next morning, he had to literally roll off his bed and army crawl to where his phone was plugged in. Miguel took him to the ER. It was a slipped disk, but fortunately, it was minor enough that surgery wasn’t necessary.
“My lower back acts up from time to time. If I relax for a while, it’ll quiet down.”
“How long is a while? ”
Jonathan took an excessively deep breath in, held it, and then slowly blew it out. “If I rest today, I’ll be good to go tomorrow morning,” he said, irritated at himself. He was aware of his own limitations, regularly heeding the expressed warning from the ER doctor that fighting through the pain would only exacerbate it. Rest was the only way.
“Tomorrow morning?!” Lucy’s jade eyes widened with shock. “But we’re so close. You said we could make it out by this evening.”
“That was before I ate shit on your water bottle.” There was an unintentional sneer in his voice, and he immediately felt like an ass when she recoiled slightly. Jonathan pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. That’s not fair. My back is throbbing, and I get angry when this happens.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I get it. It’s ok.”
“No, it’s not. And unfortunately, there is no way around it. I need to rest, or it will only get worse.” He sheepishly looked back at the water bottle with the aggressively cheery sunshine sticker on it. “And we’re almost out of water. Can I count on you to handle that?”
Lucy looked around the campsite, wringing her hands together. She was probably working up the nerve to accept the mission.
“Hey.” Jonathan gently pulled her back to the present and caught her eyes with his. “You got this.” He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
She nodded, though her expression was evidence that she hadn’t fully banished her apprehension. “Ok. We should probably get you comfortable first.”
With great effort, they managed to make their way back to the hammock, Jonathan’s angry back screaming in protest the whole way. Once he was in, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. From the backpack, Lucy retrieved the emergency muscle relaxer prescription Jonathan kept on hand just in case. He swallowed one with a splash of water and handed the bottle back.
“Snag the map, will ya.” He wiped his mouth and pointed to where it lay crumpled in the dirt. She trotted over and snatched it up. He took it from her and spread it open on his lap. “Getting water is really the only critical thing right now. We need all of our bottles and the hydration pack topped off.” He pointed to a spot on the map. “This is where we are. And these”—he pointed to identical blue blobs about equal distance away from camp—“are two alpine lakes. Both are a few miles away. But I think this one will be more of a straight shot.” Tapping on the lake directly west of them. “Can you manage?”
“Yes, I can. Eagle Scout or no, I’ve used a map and compass before.” She smirked at him. “Plus, someone has to keep us hydrated since you’re on a break.”
Jonathan, not entirely appreciating the joke, wanted to chuckle and scowl in equal measure. He could take a ribbing but felt awful that his finicky back was going to delay them an extra day. Lucy must have read his thoughts.
“Jonathan, this isn’t your fault. I’ll be fine getting the water. You take it easy and rest. Ok?” The calm, reassurance of her eyes displayed her honesty. She gave a little smile and squeezed his forearm. “Want me to leave you with a snack? Not sure how long I’ll be.” She dug into the bag again.
“Yeah, maybe some trail mix. But be sure to take something with you too.”
“Way ahead of you.” She pulled everything out of the pack except for the water bottles, hydration pack, filtration pump, jerky, compass, and bottle of biodegradable soap. “Need anything before I go?” she asked as she piled her hair on top of her head and secured it with a tie.
Jonathan folded up the map and handed it over to her. “No, I’ll just be hanging around.” He drawled, gesturing to his prone position. “But really, thank you, Lucy.”
“No problem.” With a resolute nod, she smiled. “I’m off.”
She turned, and Jonathan watched her stride purposefully from the campsite. The slight bounce in her step gave him a little reassurance that she wasn’t terrified of venturing off alone. He reminded himself of her pluck and determination. He’d never met a more resilient woman in his life. She would be fine.
Frustrated with his momentary debilitation, Jonathan settled in for a long day of waiting.