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didn’t buy this because it was incredibly warm,” she admitted.
    He handed the shirt back to her. “Put this on over your dress.”
    “I—but you—”
    He ran a hand over his own chest and her gaze was drawn there like a beacon. “I can stand a little cold.”
    She needed to quit staring at his far too nice pectorals. “Okay,” she said weakly, and tugged the shirt back over her head. It helped, a lot. “Thank you.”
    He squinted at the sky, then at her. “It’s letting up. We can grab some of those apples to eat and head out for the cabin before it starts to rain again. You sure you want to do this?”
    “I’m good,” she affirmed. “A little hike won’t kill me. And your knee?”
    Colt gave her a hard look. “If I avoided hiking because my knee hurt me, I wouldn’t be much use as a survival instructor, would I?”
    Ouch. She’d insulted him with her question. “Sorry. You’re right. I wasn’t trying to question your ability.”
    For some reason, his mouth quirked at that. “Oh, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of your needs.”
    A hot flush swept over her face at that. Oh mercy, he didn’t mean that how she’d taken it. Did he? Because now she was thinking naughty things.
    He handed her a few apples, oblivious to her blushing.
    She took them and placed them in her plastic bag, along with another bottle of alcohol. Why not. She’d probably need a stiff drink by tonight. Her hand hesitated over the now-soggy box ofcondoms. She could toss them. Or she…could keep them. Beth Ann flushed even harder, thinking of his hand casually grazing over his chest, and how she’d wanted that to be her own hand.
    I’m perfectly capable of taking care of your needs.
    Wishful thinking
, she told herself, but she left the box in. She was way too cowardly to make a move anyhow, and he likely saw her as an annoying burden for the weekend.
    “Anyone looking for you?”
    His sharp voice startled her out of her reverie and she clasped the bag tightly shut, cheeks flaming. “What?”
    He gave her another one of those intense, narrow-eyed gazes that seemed to see right through her. “You didn’t go home last night. Anyone going to be looking for you?”
    “Oh.” She thought for a moment. “My clients will be annoyed when they get to the salon and I’m not there, but I’ll reschedule them and give a discount, and we should be okay.”
    “I meant family. Boyfriend?”
    There went that flush again. “My parents will think I flounced back to the salon to hide out for the weekend. When I get mad at them, I do that. Living at home is too claustrophobic.” She thought for a minute, and then grinned. “I’ve been doing a lot of weekend flouncing lately.”
    He gave her a slow, wicked smile in return that made the pit of her belly flutter with excitement. “Parents?”
    “What?”
    “You said you hide from your parents. Aren’t you a little old for that?”
    “I moved back in with them after I left Allan,” she admitted. “Everyone thought it would be pretty temporary…except me.”She smiled over at him. “Eleven months later, here I am. Still living at home.”
    “Nothing to be ashamed of in that,” he said, and she could have sworn that he was pleased.
    “You?” she asked casually. “Anyone waiting at home for you?”
    “Just Grant,” he said with a drawl. “Probably wanting to go over class schedules again. So no.”
    “Ah,” she said. So he was a total bachelor? It seemed weird and awkward to ask him if he had a girlfriend, but she suddenly really wanted to know.
    “So no boyfriend?” His lazy drawl almost sounded interested, and her pulse fluttered.
    “No boyfriend,” she admitted, feeling as shy as a schoolgirl.
    He grunted, then stared at the sky. “Come on,” he said abruptly, interrupting her thoughts. “Let’s get a move on before the rain comes down again.”

FOUR
    A lmost there,” Colt told her as they crossed a low, muddy ridge. “In the next valley.”
    “I’ll