Jake looked away, as if embarrassed.
“Aria. This isn’t church camp. We’re all grown-ups here,” Jenny said. “Go—get some rest.”
“No,” Jake said. “Listen, don’t make her do something that makes her feel uncomfortable—”
“We’re camped on the side of a mountain, for Pete’s sake!” Jenny said. “We’re all uncomfortable.”
“Still,” Orion said. “He’s right—”
“It’s no big deal,” Aria said. “And yes, Jenny’s right. It’s just . . . I’m the doctor here. I should stay.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Orion said. “But most importantly, you’re injured too. And that leads to its own dangers.”
“We need to get you all down the mountain, alive,” Jake said quietly.
Aria wore a strange expression as she looked at him. Then, “Okay.” She grabbed her sleeping bag and Jake followed her out of the tent, picking up her pack as he went.
Orion turned to Jenny. “We need to heat up some tea, or at least get some warm water in her.”
Jenny nodded. Turned toward the door. Paused. Sighed.
Then she turned back to him and touched his arm. “I’m really glad you found me, PJ.” Then she headed out the door.
Hooah. Now that’s what he was talking about.
He hadn’t been that scared in years. Sure—Jake had experienced worse moments in his life, but watching Aria dangle above a sheer drop while her two friends struggled to keep from sliding into the abyss . . .
Jake still didn’t have an appetite.
He might be getting a little tired of Spam, too, but mostly the raw clench in his gut came from the scream that still echoed deep in the chambers of his mind. Heart. Soul.
Whatever. It embedded there, stirring up a terror he couldn’t shake even hours later.
Seeing Sasha deteriorate with the clear effects of AMS didn’t help either. But mostly, he was worried about Aria.
And her limp.
And the way she eased herself onto the sleeping bag, hiding a grimace, as if she might have broken ribs.
The way she kept clenching her fists and wiggling her fingers, trying to get the blood circulating.
“Okay, that’s it. Make up your mind.”
She looked up at him, frowning.
“First, you drag me up a mountain to rescue you, and now you’re coming up with reasons not to dance with me.”
Her eyes widened. “Dance with you—what—?”
“Let me see that ankle.” Ham had gone outside to help Jenny heat up tea, so Jake sat on his sleeping bag. “I promise I’ll be gentle.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m fine. And I don’t want to dance with you again.”
“Sure you do. You’ve been thinking about me since you left the dance floor. Now stop your crybabying and lean back and let me look at your ankle.”
She gave him a look of annoyance.
He matched it, hoping the pulse in his neck didn’t give him away, but he’d met women like her—strong, independent. In fact, he had five sisters she’d get along with very well. But masking her hurt wasn’t going to get them off the mountain in one piece. “Give it up, Grey’s Anatomy, and show me your ankle.”
“Oh brother.” But she leaned back and let him lift her foot to his lap.
No, this wasn’t going to work. He couldn’t get a good look at her leg with her overpants in the way. “Um, let’s take these . . . uh . . .” And this felt weird . . .
“Seriously. Now you get shy?” She pulled off her jacket and wadded it behind her. Then she unhooked her overpants, leaned back, and wiggled them over her hips. She wore a thick pair of fleece leggings under them.
He pulled the overpants off and handed them to her. She wadded those up too, creating a pillow, and lay back. “It’s not broken, it’s just . . . well, take a look.”
He took a breath, not wanting to hurt her. She closed her eyes, her dark hair splayed on the pillow, her hands fisted on her stomach.
“I haven’t been thinking about you, by the way.”
He smiled as he pulled the thick wool sock down her leg. She grimaced, especially as he got to her heel. “Sure you have. You were thinking . . . It would sure be nice if that charming guy I met in Copper Mountain showed up to save my backside from becoming crushed ice—”
“I did not.”
He pulled the sock over her heel.
She made a noise that took out a piece of his soul, then glared at him.
“Sorry.” He swallowed hard. “Okay, so tell me how this all happened. You’re standing at the top of Denali, and suddenly you decide to take the scenic route?” He was probing her foot, running his thumb down the bones of her ankle, watching her face.
Oh, she had a pretty face. Dark eyebrows, a hint of a sunburn on her aquiline nose, high cheekbones, and long, dark lashes.
“Yeah. That’s exactly what we were thinking.” She’d closed her eyes again. “I mean, descending the usual route, down the Denali wall with 50-mph winds? Boring. Let’s take a header down a glacier instead, maybe really get our hearts racing and slide about a hundred feet. And then I decided to add an extra element to the fun and launch myself right off a ledge, hoping my girlfriends could stop me going thirty miles an hour.”
She raised her eyebrows but didn’t open her eyes, and nodded. “I think we got one of the highest technical scores, but our artistic numbers weren’t great.”
He chuckled, hopefully something light and convincing because her words had grabbed him up and wrapped an icy hand around his heart. He’d known about the avalanche, the fall, but to hear her say it, to know she’d lived it—he couldn’t breathe. “Did you break any ribs?”
He didn’t mean for his voice to sound so concerned and wished he’d said something like, “So, did you crush all your ribs in the fall, or just the two bottom ones?”
Her eyes opened at his tone. “No, Doc. I’m fine.” Her mouth pinched into a dark line. Then she closed her eyes again. “And don’t think I’m falling for your attempt to look up my shirt.”
He wanted to smile. Wow, she was brave. And okay, funny. But yes, he wanted a look at her injuries. Internal bleeding changed the game entirely. “You’re a lousy patient, Grey’s.”
She opened one eye. “Flash me some creds, there, Cowboy, and I’ll be glad to show you some skin.”
“I was a Navy SEAL, does that count?” He didn’t know why he let that emerge, but, okay, maybe he wanted her to admire him a little, too.
It worked. She opened the other eye. “Really?”
He steadied her leg with one hand, and wrapped his other around her foot, ready to move it, to test it. “Mmmhmm. And I was the one with the most medical experience on our team, so—”
“Wait!” She leaned up fast and grabbed his wrist, no kidding in her widened eyes. “That’s enough.”
He cocked his head. “Methinks someone’s been lying about her injury.”
She moved his hand away from her foot. “Not lying. Just . . . okay, listen. I packed it with snow, and the swelling went down. It’s just aggravated from today’s hike is all.” She pulled her foot away. “It just needs ice.”