Chapter 5
The world seems to spin in a haze of thunderous noise and choking debris as Garrett”s powerful frame slams into me, sending us tumbling as a thick cloud of dust and a barrage of rocks envelop the trail we’d just been standing on.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, the onslaught ends. The rumbling fades to an eerie, muffled silence broken only by the crunch of settling debris. Blinking the grit from my eyes, I find myself sprawled beneath Garrett”s massive form—my body shielded from the worst of the rockfall by his quick reflexes.
”You okay?” His gravelly voice is laced with obvious concern as he scans me over.
I give a breathless nod, still trying to process what just happened. ”Yeah, I... I”m fine. Are you—”
But the words die in my throat as he shifts off of me, and I finally take in our surroundings. What was once a narrow trail has vanished, replaced by a hellscape of shattered rock and rubble. The path back to the outpost is now completely blocked by a towering wall of boulders and scree—impassable without climbing gear.
”Shit,” Garrett growls, seeming to realize the severity of the situation as he pushes upright. ”This is exactly why I warned you about the risks up here. But you just had to insist on pressing forward for that perfect damn photo op.”
My jaw clenches at his accusing tone, defenses instantly flaring. ”How was I supposed to know this would happen? It”s not like I can control freak rockslides.”
”No, but you could”ve listened when I said it wasn”t safe to come out here,” he fires back, running an aggravated hand through his disheveled hair.
The condescension in his voice has my teeth grinding. I open my mouth to unleash a biting retort, but Garrett cuts me off with a curt shake of his head.
”Save it. What”s done is done.” He sweeps a critical eye over the treacherous slope of scree and rubble surrounding us. ”We”ll have to find another way off this ridge. There”s no going back the way we came.”
The anger drains from me as quickly as it flared, leaving me with a hollow, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Garrett”s right—my bullheaded determination to get the perfect shot has led us straight into this perilous situation. And as much as I hate to admit it, if I”d listened to his warnings, we wouldn”t be trapped out here facing God knows what.
Swallowing hard, I simply give a tense nod, falling into step beside him as we start trying to navigate the unstable, debris-covered terrain. The looming ridgeline seems to taunt us with its impervious presence, the constant threat of another deadly rockfall never far from my mind.
As we move, Garrett keeps up a steady stream of commentary, pointing out potential hazards and analyzing our surroundings for any signs of an alternate route off this mountain face. I can”t shake the feeling that I”ve jeopardized both our lives because of my rash actions. Without Garrett”s mountain expertise, I”d be utterly lost out here, a sitting duck just waiting to be picked off.
But even with his guidance, progress is agonizingly slow. By the time the sun begins to dip toward the horizon, we”ve advanced only a few hundred yards along the ridgeline. And with the waning light comes rapidly plummeting temperatures that have me shivering beneath my thin jacket.
”We need to find shelter soon,” Garrett mutters grimly, glancing at the darkening sky. ”Night temps can plummet below freezing up here, especially with that wind picking up.”
My jaw clenches at the prospect of being trapped in these unforgiving heights as night falls. Exposed to the whipping gusts and bitter chill with no protection or way to start a fire...
It”s a death sentence.
”Over there.” Garrett gestures toward a dark crevice in the rock face up ahead. ”That”s our best option to get out of the open.”
The opening doesn”t look much bigger than a pantry, the jagged rocks seeming to swallow what little remaining light there is. An ominous tomb.
But one look at the determined set of Garrett”s jaw tells me there”s no negotiating. So I simply nod tightly and follow him forward.
By the time we reach the crevice, the last dregs of twilight are fading. I can”t suppress a shiver of trepidation as Garrett ducks inside first, his bulk swallowed by the inky blackness within. The sound of shifting rocks and a low grunt is my only indication that he”s moved farther back before his gruff voice calls out.
”All right, it”s a tight fit but should give us just enough space to get out of the wind and insulate with our body heat. Carefully now...”
Drawing a fortifying breath, I steel my nerves and crouch low before edging into the crevice. The rock face scrapes against my shoulders with each shuffling inch forward, the confined space seeming to close in from all sides in a suffocating grip. My chest constricts as panic starts to flutter in my rib cage.
Then, abruptly, I”m tumbling out of the narrow entrance and into a slightly roomier hollow within. Garrett”s strong hands catch my shoulders, steadying me as the dim light filtering in from the crevice”s mouth illuminates the tight quarters.
It”s barely big enough for the two of us—a narrow wedge of space between the towering rock walls that quickly tapers off into solid stone. I swallow hard against the surge of claustrophobia, trying to control my breathing as the walls seem to press inward.
”Cozy, huh?” Garrett rumbles.
I shoot him an unamused look. ”Oh yeah. The height of luxury accommodations.”
His lips twitch at the sarcasm, but his eyes hold the same grim awareness reflected in my own. This is far from ideal, but it”s better than being exposed to the elements overnight at these brutal altitudes.
With a resigned sigh, I sink down to the uneven floor, tucking my knees up toward my chest to conserve warmth. Garrett settles in behind me, our bodies instinctively aligning in the cramped space. His solid frame presses against my back, the heat radiating from his broad chest searing through the layers of my clothing.
I tense at first, acutely aware of every point where his muscles make scorching contact with my body”s softer curves. But Garrett simply drapes his arm over my waist, the calloused palm of his hand a reassuring weight against my abdomen as he tugs me flush against him.
Despite his anger with me, he can’t help but take care of me.
The silence stretches out, growing heavier with each passing second as the last of the daylight winks out. Unbidden, a violent shiver wracks my frame. The icy wind has found its way in through the crevice entrance, lashing us with frozen tendrils.
”You”re trembling,” Garrett murmurs, the words a heated rasp against the sensitive skin just below my ear that sends a shiver of an entirely different sort skittering down my spine.
”I”m f-fine,” I try to protest, even as my hammering pulse and the goosebumps erupting across my arms betray me. ”Just the chill s-setting in.”
”We need to strip down,” Garrett declares in a tone that allows no argument.
My eyes go wide, certain I must have misheard that gruff command. ”Excuse me?”
But he simply meets my incredulous stare with those intense, unblinking eyes as he starts shrugging off his jacket. ”Body heat will be the only way to stay warm enough to survive the night. Which means getting out of these cold, damp clothes before the chill sets in.”
Oh.
My mouth works soundlessly for a few seconds as the reality of his words sinks in. Of course, he”s absolutely right—a fact my rational brain is aware of. But there”s a big difference between knowing the survival principles in theory and actually putting them into practice.
”You”re sure this is the only way?” I hedge.
”Would you rather freeze to death?” he counters, already making quick work of unbuckling his belt. ”Because I can promise you that”s a cold, lonely way to go.”
The bluntness of his words sends a shiver skittering down my spine that has nothing to do with the frigid draft swirling around us. ”N-no, you”re right.”
With trembling fingers, I fumble with the buttons of my flannel as Garrett efficiently strips off the rest of his layers. I can”t resist the urge to steal a glance at him from the corner of my eye, and what I see has my mouth going dry.
Sweet mercy...
Even in the low light, it”s impossible to miss the sheer masculine perfection on display as he sheds layer after layer. My eyes are drawn helplessly to the roped cords of muscle rippling beneath bronzed skin, the broad, powerful contours accentuated by flickering shadows. The man is quite literally sculpted.
And as if that weren”t enough to reduce me to a puddle, there”s that tantalizing trail of red-gold hair disappearing beneath the low-slung waistband of his boxer briefs in a teasing promise of what lies beneath.
Heat suffuses my cheeks in a furious blush as I abruptly tear my gaze away, focusing intently on my own fumbling attempts to undress in such tight quarters. No matter how tempting the visuals, I can”t afford to get distracted right now. My very survival could depend on keeping a clear head.
By the time I”ve stripped down to my simple cotton bra and underwear, the chill has set in enough to have me shivering uncontrollably. Garrett pulls me back against him in the small space. His body is a furnace at my back, the delicious heat radiating into me and momentarily easing the worst of the tremors.
”I”ll need to insulate us both,” he rumbles in a tone that”s all business, yet somehow still has arousal sparking along my nerve endings.
I nod shakily, not trusting my voice as he arranges us into a tight, compact bundle, my back plastered to that searing wall of muscle.
Every rational thought has fled in the wake of our intimate proximity. All I can focus on is the feeling of his powerful body enveloping mine, the tickle of his warm breath against the nape of my neck, the scorching heat of skin against skin...
This was such a bad idea.
How am I supposed to focus on survival when my senses are overwhelmed by the pure masculine essence surrounding me? When the memories of his touch are seared into my mind in a permanent burn?
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to regulate my breathing into an even pattern. Get it together, Bonnie...
But then Garrett”s arms tighten fractionally, pulling me even more snugly into that solid frame as his nose grazes the sensitive skin just below my ear. The shudder that wracks my form has nothing to do with the cold seeping in from outside.
”Relax,” he murmurs in that deep, gravelly tone that reverberates straight through me. ”You”re safe. Just focus on my voice...”
And slowly, inevitably, I find myself melting into the steady strength cradling me. The tension begins seeping from my muscles, my body instinctively attuning to the even cadence of Garrett”s breaths against my nape. In... out... in... out...
I let the sound and solid presence of him become my anchor in the impenetrable darkness, a tidal rhythm to cling to when the world narrows to this cramped, suffocating space. And gradually, my own breathing evens out to match his, my heart rate steadying.
”That”s it,” he rumbles in approval. ”Just breathe...”
The low vibration of his voice against my skin has me melting impossibly deeper into his embrace. I never imagined such a simple act could feel so intimate. Like the world has contracted to just the minuscule space our bodies occupy, shared breaths passing between us on a continuous loop of exquisite closeness.
And in this strange, suspended moment, the walls don”t seem so constricting. I”m not alone, isolated in the void. I”m wrapped in the protective strength of Garrett”s arms, coddled within the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.
It”s... nice. More than nice. A feeling of peace and security unlike any I”ve experienced before.
As the minutes pass, the tension seeps from my muscles, my head lolling back to rest in the curve of Garrett”s powerful shoulder. And as his fingers trace idle patterns against my bare skin, I let my eyes flutter closed.
”Tell me more about yourself,” I murmur, my thoughts wandering back to the stories he told me in the shed. ”What was it like growing up out here?”
He shifts infinitesimally, and for a moment, I think he”s going to shut down, to deflect the attempt at deepening the intimacy between us with that gruff stoicism of his. But then he lets out a low sigh, the warm gust fanning across my cheek.
”It was the best,” he rumbles at last. ”And the hardest.”
I listen in silence as he describes a childhood spent roaming these woods, learning every nuance of the landscape from his park ranger father. The thrill of scrambling up seemingly insurmountable rock faces before he”d even hit double-digits. The quiet wonder of watching sunrises from remote vistas most people will never witness. The profound connection with the natural world that became as vital as the blood in his veins.
But there was also the loneliness that came from living so remotely, the constant undercurrent of danger, the ever-present specter of grief that haunted every rescue mission...
“Where’s your dad now?” I ask.
”He”s gone,” Garrett says after a long silence, his voice thick with emotion. ”Died leading a climb with some kids from the local summer camp. Me and my buddies were part of that group, all gung-ho teenagers thinking we were invincible.” He lets out a mirthless chuckle. ”We had no idea how quickly things could go sideways out here.”
”Garrett, I”m so sorry,” I whisper, feeling tears prick at the corners of my own eyes. I can”t even fathom the trauma of witnessing something so horrific, the unimaginable grief of losing a parent in that manner. Suddenly, his almost obsessive need to protect makes heartbreaking sense.
He gives me a sad smile then, covering my hand with his calloused one and pressing a tender kiss to my palm. ”It was a long time ago, but you never really get over something like that, you know? It changes you.”
We just breathe together for long moments. When he speaks again, a new edge of determination underpins the gruffness.
”That day set me on the path to do whatever it takes to prevent others from suffering the same tragedy. I owed it to my dad to honor his sacrifice, even if it means being overprotective, or a hard-ass, or whatever you want to call it.”
As Garrett shares glimpses into the man beneath that protective armor, I find myself utterly mesmerized. There”s a depth and quiet intensity to him that I never could have imagined this afternoon. An old soul who has witnessed the highest peaks of life”s majesty as well as the darkest abysses of tragedy.
And yet through it all, there remains an unbreakable core, a devotion so profound that it”s clearly what drives his every action, every decision.
”Now it”s your turn,” he rumbles. “Why are you the way that you are?”
I let out a soft chuckle, nestling deeper into the comforting circle of his arms. ”Well, you can blame my wanderlust on my parents. They were the original free spirits, a couple of nature-loving nomads who raised me on the road.”
Closing my eyes, I”m transported back to those carefree childhood memories of life on the open road, bouncing from state park to state park in our beat-up RV. The endless summers spent swimming in crystalline lakes, hiking through verdant forests, building campfires under blankets of star-studded skies.
”We were a tight-knit little trio, homeschooled and living off the grid, just soaking up all the natural wonders this country has to offer.” I pause, a nostalgic smile tugging at my lips. “I guess being so intimately immersed in nature awakened this insatiable hunger in me to witness more of it, to capture and share those untamed pockets of the world that most people never get to see.”
”It takes a certain breed,” he agrees with a low rumble of laughter.
”I”ll say...” My voice trails off as a wide yawn overtakes me, the day”s events and warmth of Garrett”s solid frame suddenly catching up to me in a bone-deep fatigue. My eyelids feel impossibly heavy, like lead weights dragging them down.
”Get some rest,” Garrett murmurs, giving me a gentle squeeze. ”I”ve got watch.”
My lips curve in a tired, secret smile as I let myself sink deeper into that protective embrace. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel safe. Truly and utterly safe, like nothing can touch me here. It”s an intoxicating feeling—one I could easily become addicted to if I”m not careful.