his dad was usually the one to witness the tourists’ first impressions of being completely surrounded by nature. In fact, Alex hated to admit it, but having been raised on the mountain, he was so accustomed to the great outdoors that he sometimes had to remind himself not to take it for granted.
“It is pretty incredible, huh?” Alex squeezed her hand, telling himself he was just trying to stimulate more blood flow through her freezing fingers. But when she returned the squeeze, he suddenly had to worry about his own blood flow. And the way it was racing to the part of his body just south of his waistband. He quickly dropped her hand.
Again with the inappropriate thoughts. She was a paying client and he’d never had trouble separating business from pleasure before. Sure, she was a knockout, but she was also from a world very different than his own. If history had taught him nothing else, it was to keep his distance from women like her.
“Too bad we can’t do the photo shoot with this as the background.” Charlotte’s chattering teeth didn’t stop her from smiling. But it did stop him from using his better judgment.
“You know what, why don’t we take the pictures here?” For the hundredth time, Alex looked up at the sky and hoped the weather would hold just a little longer, because his good sense was slowly floating away. “I was actually thinking you could benefit from a little fire and if you can do your cooking thing while I set up a pretend campsite, we can snap a few photos and be back in the raft in an hour.”
“That would be so incredible, if you’re sure you don’t mind.” Her eyes were currently a deep shade of blue and he wondered how to make the violet hue return.
“Nah. To be honest with you, I’d be relieved to just get it all over with quicker and have Commodore meet us at that clearing I was telling you about.” He pulled out his cell phone and looked at the screen. “Too bad we still don’t have reception, otherwise, I could have him waiting for us when we got there.”
“Since we’re being honest...” Charlotte stretched her arms over her head “...I would rather wait on land than paddle through any more rapids.”
It was a normal response for a person who’d never experienced the physical exertion and danger of paddling on one of the most unpredictable rivers in Idaho. Alex respected her candor, even if the admission didn’t surprise him. It was also a good reminder that Charlotte Folsom was from the city and his body had no business reacting to her with anything other than concern.
“Here,” he said, unhooking her waterproof duffel bag and handing it to her. “It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a tree to hide behind and change.”
A blush shot up her cheeks, bringing some much needed color to her cool skin. “How do you know someone won’t see me?”
“This is national forest land and the surrounding thousand or so acres are prohibited to hikers and campers.”
“So, we shouldn’t be here?”
“I know the local rangers. If we get caught, they won’t slap us with too big of a fine.” He was trying to make a joke, but her eyes were completely serious.
“But we’d be breaking a rule.”
“You’ve never broken a rule before?”
She bit her lower lip, her brows scrunched together as though she were trying to recall the answer. “Not knowingly. Besides, I think it would set a bad example for my daughters if they saw me doing something against the law.”
“If it puts your mind at ease, Russell’s Sports has a special permit allowing us access to the river and the areas near the shoreline. Unless we get too deep in the woods over there,” he pointed toward the towering redwoods about a hundred yards away, “we’re not breaking any laws. So, the sooner we get those pictures taken, the sooner I can get you back to your daughters and you can tell them about your great rule-following adventure.”
Charlotte had looked skeptical until he’d mentioned her kids and then the woman couldn’t move quickly enough up the bank and toward to the pine trees surrounding the tall grass meadow.
Alex admired her eagerness to be reunited with her children, refusing to think about other mothers who couldn’t wait to ditch their kids and return to their lives in New York. Not that he was bitter about something that had happened over thirty years ago or anything.
He unloaded several of the dry boxes and carried them to the grass above. Then he returned to the bank to collect a few small boulders to circle around a campfire. He grabbed a small hatchet from the box of supplies and set out in the opposite direction of Charlotte. By the time he returned to the makeshift pit, he had enough dry branches and wood chips to get a small fire going.
Charlotte walked toward him, looking drier and much more relaxed than she had a few moments ago. She also looked more beautiful than she had when she’d stepped out of Commodore’s Jeep. Her damp hair was darker and wrapped up into some sort of loose bun on top of her head, a fringe of bangs covering her forehead. The elastic headband was still in place, but her hair looked more natural, less formal.
From his kneeling position, he tried not to stare at the way the athletic fabric of her yellow, long-sleeved T-shirt clung to her small, pert breasts. Especially since he was pretty certain that her bra was drying with the rest of her wet clothes hanging off a nearby branch.
He struck the first match and got his thumbnail instead. Damn it.
Focus, Alexander. He heard his father’s voice reminding him that the customers come and go, but the river and the land were always there and deserved his full attention and respect. He knew better than to let a woman distract him, especially while lighting a fire. Besides, it was better than Commodore’s voice, which was a gruff, Pay attention, son, accompanied by a light smack across the back of his head.
“Is there anything you need me to set up before I start cleaning Trouty?” Charlotte asked.
He finally got a small flame going and blew on it a few times before responding. “You named our lunch?”
She leaned over his shoulder and looked at his wristwatch. It was well after three o’clock. “Technically, I named our dinner if we don’t hurry.”
Technically, if she moved any closer to him, he’d fall into the fire he’d just lit. He stood up a bit too quickly and the top of his head bumped into her chin.
“Ow,” she said, at the same time he blurted out an apology.
“Are you hurt?” He took either side of her face between his palms and, after nudging her hand out of the way, studied her jaw.
He didn’t know if it was the heat from the fire or something else that caused her face to warm up. But from the way she was avoiding eye contact with him, he had to wonder if she was reacting to his nearness the same way he’d just reacted to her tight shirt. Then he had to wonder why he cared.
“No, it’s my fault,” she said suddenly, taking a step back. “I’m usually not so accident prone.”
“Good thing we have a well-stocked first aid kit, then.” Alex wasn’t good with lighthearted banter. Or with women who expected too much from him. He needed to get back to what he did best. “So, tell me where you want me to set up the tent.”
“I was thinking by those trees,” she said, pointing to the smaller ponderosas away from the river. “It’s too bad the sun isn’t setting, otherwise we’d get an awesome shot of the light coming through the branches.”
“Trust me, we don’t want to be here after the sun sets.”
Her eyes grew into perfect circles and now looked more violet than blue. “Why? Are there bears and wild animals?”
“Probably. But I was actually referring to being on the river at night with a storm coming. And right now, we’re burning daylight.”
“Right,” she said, and set to work going through the container holding cooking supplies. But he noticed the way she stole glances