The shelter didn’t have much in the way of comfort, but it was called a survival shelter for a reason. He crawled over to the corner that held a basic potbelly stove and a pile of dry kindling and wood. In a few minutes he had a good-sized fire going, which added warmth and light to the cramped space.
Girl Riley had gone back to sleep. That wasn’t a good sign if they were dealing with hypothermia.
He stripped off his own clothes as he got to his feet and walked over to her. Being naked actually felt warmer than being in the wet clothes.
“Talk to me, Wildfire. How are you doing?”
No answer at all. Not even a moan. He checked her pulse, reassured when he found it steady and strong.
“I guess you deserve your nap.”
He pulled her clothes off, then dragged her by the armpits closer to the fire.
“Never let it be said I’m not romantic.” She would’ve said the exact same thing if she was awake.
He pulled the Mylar emergency blanket from her medical backpack and wrapped it around her, then grabbed the walkie-talkie.
“Base Camp Two, this is Phoenix. Do you copy?”
A few seconds later a voice came from the other end. “Phoenix, this is Zac. Everything okay? Where’s Riley?”
“I had some sort of mishap crossing Brickman’s Bridge. Felt like some sort of allergic reaction. Riley got me across, but we’re stuck now because of the storm.”
“Did you make it to the hunter’s shelter?”
“Affirmative. We’re safe and relatively warm for the time being. Wildfire is conked out. She used all her energy stores helping me.”
“Roger that. Stay safe until the worst of this passes. We’re getting the rest of the racers to shelters also.”
“Will do.”
Riley grabbed the large winter coat and a scratchy blanket, both folded in the corner of the shelter. He slipped the coat on himself and wrapped the blanket around both of them. Then he laid himself behind Riley, spooning her close to him. Between him and the stove, her body should be warm on both sides.
With the knowledge that they were safe and Wildfire was in his arms, where she belonged, sleep claimed him.
Chapter 19
Riley didn’t wake up any faster the second time than he had the first. Everything was still a little fuzzy.
But this time he didn’t want to wake up, not with Wildfire snuggled up beside him. Her fingers were trailing along the edges of the multiple tattoos covering his chest and shoulders.
For just this minute, everything was perfect.
There was no storm still raging outside.
There was no breakup or distance between them.
It was just the two of them lying in a comfortable silence. How many times had they done this on an early morning or late at night? Just lain there, comfortable with each other, not trying to fill the air with unnecessary noise.
She’d turned toward him sometime in the middle of sleeping. Muscle memory, probably. She always fell asleep wanting her own space. Then woke up draped on top of him.
Which suited him fine. Every single time.
The fire was dying down, but between their proximity and the blankets, they were plenty warm.
He held his breath as her fingers skimmed over his left pec. He knew exactly what tattoo she was touching.
The one right over his heart.
He’d waited a long time to get the tattoo there. He’d wanted to make sure the one closest to his heart was absolutely perfect. He’d gotten it a couple of months ago, although he’d known what he’d wanted there for more than a year.
“This is new.” It wasn’t a question. Girl Riley was intimately aware of every piece of ink on his body. She’d been with him when he’d gotten some of them.
“Yeah. Finally decided what I wanted.”
She lifted her head so she could study it in the dim light of the fire. “A globe inside a compass. Simple. I like it. What does the writing say? I can’t quite make it out. You’re usually one for images, not for words.”
That was true. This was the only tattoo of the dozens on his body that included any words. He’d done that on purpose.
“My greatest adventure.”
She nodded. “A globe. The world is your greatest adventure. That makes sense. It’s a good choice to go over your heart. I get it.”
She didn’t get anything. Couldn’t see it all, at least not the details about it that were most important. “Wildfire…”
“If you had to pick one, what would you say was your greatest adventure?”
No, she didn’t get it at all.
“BASE jumping from the Grand Canyon?” she continued. “Hiking to Everest base camp? Nah, that’s too tame. The X Games? Hell, you have too many gold medals from them for it to be your greatest adventure.”
He smiled. He’d definitely done a lot of stuff in his life. “No, the X Games wouldn’t even rank in my top five.”
The thunder shook the shelter around them.
“Okay.” She tapped his chest with her finger. “Hang on, let me see if I can guess. You have to tell me if I’m right.”
“I’ll tell you if you get one of the top five.”
Not that he’d actively sat around ranking the things he’d done in his life. But his top five were the best by such a huge margin it was easy to label them as the greatest.
“Snowboarding in the Alps when you became the only person in the world to complete the quadruple cork with the rotation.”
He laughed. She was way more into this guessing game than he would’ve ever thought she’d be. “That definitely ranks as one of my more memorable experiences, even though I only held the record for less than a month.”
“That’s not in the top five? I thought for sure that would be number one.”
“Nope.”
“How about when you were part of the group that got to skydive into Washington DC airspace and land on the White House lawn? That has to rank up there.”
“That was good. But nope, not top five.”
She smacked him on the chest, and it was so reflective of the playfulness of their relationship that it was almost impossible to believe they weren’t still together.
He would do almost anything to keep her with him like this. Surely she’d have to see how good they were together. How naturally they fit.
He’d play the Guess the Adventure game until she could see it.
“Come on, Wilde, keep guessing.”
“Give me a hint.”
“How about I give you one of my top five. A freebie, since you saved my life today and all.”
She smacked him again, but this time he caught her hand and held it against his chest. He started talking before she had a chance to pull away. “Scuba diving two years ago. Great Barrier Reef.”
“What? I was with you for that. It was pretty amazing, but I can’t believe it falls in your top five.”
That’s right, sweetheart. You’re the smartest person I know. Figure it out. But he just shrugged. “It’s definitely top five. I’ll even give you another one since your brain is so addled.” He smiled at the sound of her laugh.
“Okay, jackass, what?”
“This race three years ago.”
She nodded against his chest. He loved her all relaxed like this, even if it was because she was too exhausted to do much else.