on the other hand, knew she’d
have trouble finding sleep. She returned the pot to the bag it had come from,
then forced herself to face Jack. His partner was doing his best to keep his
eyes open, but it was evident that he was half asleep already. Jack was far
more alert. And he’d been watching her pretty much since she’d returned to
camp. She didn’t know what unsettled her more, the feeling of having his eyes
on her or the fact that she could feel his gaze so strongly. She cleared her
throat, hoping it didn’t sound as uncertain as she felt.
“You
two might as well get to sleep. We’ll start out again as soon as it’s light and
believe me, it’ll get here a lot sooner than you’ll want it to.”
Skip
didn’t need to be told twice. He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like
“goodnight” and crawled into the tent. Jack figured he’d be snoring in seconds.
He wasn’t in such a hurry, though. He looked at Casey as she went about
throwing some extra wood on the fire. She leaned over to lift a few pieces of
wood, then sank to the ground as her left leg gave out beneath her. Jack was on
his feet instantly. He knelt by her side and reached out to touch her shoulder.
“Are
you all right?”
She
nodded. “I’m fine.” She started to push herself back onto her feet and he took
hold of her arm to help her up. He caught the grimace of pain that flashed
across her face as she started to step away from him. He shook his head.
“You’re
not fine. You’re hurt. What’s wrong?”
Casey
wished that he’d just let her go and forget it. She shook her head. “It’s nothing.
I’ll be okay.”
“You
can’t put any weight on your leg without flinching. I’d say that’s more than
‘nothing’. Did you fall down and turn your ankle or something?”
Casey
knew he wasn’t going to let it go unless she gave him some kind of answer. “I
haven’t fallen. My left leg is just a little weak, that’s all.”
Jack
frowned. “Weak? Why?”
“It
doesn’t matter.”
“It
does if it’s going to hinder you.”
He knew
he’d said the wrong thing the moment he caught the flash in her eyes. She
jerked her arm out of his grasp and set her chin at a defiant angle. “Don’t
worry, Agent Hall. I’m not going to turn into a swooning female just because of
a little pain. I can take a lot more than this.”
She
spun around and strode away, barely even limping on the leg that he knew was
hurting her. He started to go after her, then thought better of it when the dog
suddenly appeared at her side. It was glaring at him, as if it somehow knew
Jack had upset his owner. Hell, maybe the animal did know. Either way, it was
giving him a look that Jack recognized as a warning. It held Jack’s gaze for a
moment, then turned to follow Casey as she disappeared into her tent. It went
inside, then reappeared a moment later and stretched out right in front of the
flap. Jack wasn’t going to get anywhere near Casey with that monster standing
guard. He sighed, then picked up the wood she’d dropped and tossed it on the
fire. He might as well go to sleep. He’d worry about mending his fences in the
morning.
Contents
CHAPTER
THREE
Jack
woke to the sound of snoring. He opened his eyes and stared up at the canvas
suspended a short distance above him. A thousand thoughts sped through his mind
as he tried to sort through the befuddlement of sleep. As it all finally fell
into place he realized why he felt like he’d be hit by a truck. He carefully
raised himself up and clenched his teeth to keep from moaning as his entire
body protested. Skip was still snoring and Jack couldn’t resist giving him a
jab to wake him up. He suppressed a smile when his partner jerked awake, then
gave him a dirty look.
“Was
that really necessary?”
Jack
shrugged. “Our guide is already up and about. I didn’t want you to feel left
out.”
Skip
didn’t bother to answer that directly. He just muttered something foul under
his breath and
have trouble finding sleep. She returned the pot to the bag it had come from,
then forced herself to face Jack. His partner was doing his best to keep his
eyes open, but it was evident that he was half asleep already. Jack was far
more alert. And he’d been watching her pretty much since she’d returned to
camp. She didn’t know what unsettled her more, the feeling of having his eyes
on her or the fact that she could feel his gaze so strongly. She cleared her
throat, hoping it didn’t sound as uncertain as she felt.
“You
two might as well get to sleep. We’ll start out again as soon as it’s light and
believe me, it’ll get here a lot sooner than you’ll want it to.”
Skip
didn’t need to be told twice. He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like
“goodnight” and crawled into the tent. Jack figured he’d be snoring in seconds.
He wasn’t in such a hurry, though. He looked at Casey as she went about
throwing some extra wood on the fire. She leaned over to lift a few pieces of
wood, then sank to the ground as her left leg gave out beneath her. Jack was on
his feet instantly. He knelt by her side and reached out to touch her shoulder.
“Are
you all right?”
She
nodded. “I’m fine.” She started to push herself back onto her feet and he took
hold of her arm to help her up. He caught the grimace of pain that flashed
across her face as she started to step away from him. He shook his head.
“You’re
not fine. You’re hurt. What’s wrong?”
Casey
wished that he’d just let her go and forget it. She shook her head. “It’s nothing.
I’ll be okay.”
“You
can’t put any weight on your leg without flinching. I’d say that’s more than
‘nothing’. Did you fall down and turn your ankle or something?”
Casey
knew he wasn’t going to let it go unless she gave him some kind of answer. “I
haven’t fallen. My left leg is just a little weak, that’s all.”
Jack
frowned. “Weak? Why?”
“It
doesn’t matter.”
“It
does if it’s going to hinder you.”
He knew
he’d said the wrong thing the moment he caught the flash in her eyes. She
jerked her arm out of his grasp and set her chin at a defiant angle. “Don’t
worry, Agent Hall. I’m not going to turn into a swooning female just because of
a little pain. I can take a lot more than this.”
She
spun around and strode away, barely even limping on the leg that he knew was
hurting her. He started to go after her, then thought better of it when the dog
suddenly appeared at her side. It was glaring at him, as if it somehow knew
Jack had upset his owner. Hell, maybe the animal did know. Either way, it was
giving him a look that Jack recognized as a warning. It held Jack’s gaze for a
moment, then turned to follow Casey as she disappeared into her tent. It went
inside, then reappeared a moment later and stretched out right in front of the
flap. Jack wasn’t going to get anywhere near Casey with that monster standing
guard. He sighed, then picked up the wood she’d dropped and tossed it on the
fire. He might as well go to sleep. He’d worry about mending his fences in the
morning.
Contents
CHAPTER
THREE
Jack
woke to the sound of snoring. He opened his eyes and stared up at the canvas
suspended a short distance above him. A thousand thoughts sped through his mind
as he tried to sort through the befuddlement of sleep. As it all finally fell
into place he realized why he felt like he’d be hit by a truck. He carefully
raised himself up and clenched his teeth to keep from moaning as his entire
body protested. Skip was still snoring and Jack couldn’t resist giving him a
jab to wake him up. He suppressed a smile when his partner jerked awake, then
gave him a dirty look.
“Was
that really necessary?”
Jack
shrugged. “Our guide is already up and about. I didn’t want you to feel left
out.”
Skip
didn’t bother to answer that directly. He just muttered something foul under
his breath and
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