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"Seems okay to me." Erin chuckled. "Tuesday's opening will be rough, but I own a coffee shop. I can overdose on caffeine."
Everyone agreed to the plan. Ryan thought Laura looked a little uncertain, but he wasn't the only one to notice. Jules or Tyler would talk to her. Personally, he didn't care what they did and when; he was happy to be outside in the woods with Erin. He'd rather be alone with her, but having people around prevented him from making any stupid moves.
Jules rose. "Normally, I'd hang around with you guys, but it was a rough week, so I'm going to go to my tent, read a little, and sleep. We'll plan on having hot water by eight a.m., and we'll want to be on the trail by nine."
"If we don't see you by eight-thirty, we'll come wake you up." Tyler grinned as he got up. "Loudly."
Ryan and Erin joined the stream of people walking to their tents. Jules and Tyler had separate tents—evidently, they weren't a couple. But then, they might not have been a couple, even if they were sharing. Like him and Erin. He pulled a little trowel from an outside pocket on his pack. "I'm going to find a bathroom spot, so you'll have the tent to yourself for a while."
Looking up from her pack, Erin smiled. "Thanks. Makes that whole discussion go away."
Ryan forced a smile in return. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable. If you need me to disappear for a while, say so. I'll go watch the wind blow or stargaze or whatever. Won't bother me any."
"I'll tell you, but I don't think it will be necessary." Erin shrugged one shoulder. "You can do the same."
"Sure." He walked at least a quarter of a mile away and found a decent spot, then headed back to the camp. He sanitized his hands and returned to their tent. The sun glowed gold, dropping toward the horizon, so he was glad they'd broken up a little early. The first night out was easier in daylight, rather than by headlamp. Especially with a new tent—and a new hiking partner.
At the tent, Erin's pack leaned against the nearest tree, with the rain cover on, and she'd tucked her boots under the right-side tent vestibule. He changed into shorts, pulled off his arm and cleaned it, then put the cover on his pack and put it next to hers. His boots and arm went under the left-side vestibule. He hesitated. Should he ask Erin if he could come in? Nah, she'd say something if she wanted privacy. She could hear him loud and clear through the thin nylon.
Ryan stooped down and unzipped the tent, sitting on his sleeping bag with his back to Erin to take off his sandals and brush his feet off outside the tent. He put his bear spray near the door and his headlamp above it, where he could easily grab either. With nothing left to do, he flipped back the sleeping bag top and turned on his back.
He couldn't avoid it anymore, so he glanced over at Erin. She was far too close and too far away; lying there, reading, cool as a cucumber. She wore a pale green tank top, a skimpy pair of running shorts in dark green, with miles of bare legs below, and nothing else. Sexy. The view in the tent was way better than the scenery outside.
Erin looked up from her e-reader. Fortunately, he noticed and met her eyes. She smiled. "How's the pad and bag feel?"
"Good. I like these air pads." Ryan rolled a little back and forth, the pad creaking slightly and giving a little underneath him.
"Yep, they're great. Lightweight and cushy." She smiled again, but it died pretty quickly. With both of them crammed so close together, she didn't seem comfortable.
Ryan nodded and turned on his side away from her. He didn't want to worry her. Plus, something about the way she said "cushy" made him think about other soft things, like her lips. And that was a bad idea in the tight confines of the tent. He pulled out his paperback, but he wasn't reading. Nope, too busy thinking about the woman next to him. They'd set up the tent so that their bags both opened in the center, next to each other. He swallowed hard. Maybe she always slept on the right with the Sarge. The realization hit—these bags were a matching set, meant to zip together. That thought made her even harder to ignore, with a side of guilt.
Ryan lay there on his side, pretending to read, until it got too dark to see the words, then he put the paperback away. Erin's bag rustled as she shifted.
"Goodnight, Ryan."
"Night." It was gonna be a long one, probably without a lot of sleep.
Chapter 24
Tiny Tents Mean Little Sleep
Erin woke, squeezing her eyes shut, blocking the laser-like sun. She moved her head a few inches, then cautiously opened her eyes again. No blinding sun, but Ryan was right in front of her. They were close enough to kiss, and she wanted to lean forward so badly. Those soft lips, open slightly in sleep, were far too tempting, and last night? Last night was worse. She'd hardly slept at all.
She’d badly misjudged the hazards of sharing a tent with him. Yesterday, she’d been far too aware of the man lying so close to her, wearing nothing but silky shorts. She'd shot glances at Ryan from behind her e-reader. When he turned away, she'd given up the pretense and stared. His wide, muscular shoulders tapered down to a narrow lower back, all corded with muscles and decorated by scars. The scars weren't big, but he had both burns and penetration wounds, like hot shards of metal had peppered his left side. How incredibly painful. The less obvious scars on his face must have been corrected by a plastic surgeon, but these hadn’t. Erin shuddered. Did his scars still hurt? She really wanted to kiss them all and make him feel better, but Ryan was eight years younger, an employee, and off-limits. She'd turned away from him, toward the tent door, and tried to put him out of her mind, but she'd tossed and turned most of the night.
She rolled away from temptation and picked up her phone. Well before her alarm, but she couldn't go back to sleep with Ryan lying next to her and the sun in her eyes. She climbed out of the tent. Bright blue sky, the sun rising, birds chirping merrily, and not a soul stirring. Erin shivered a little in the cool morning air until she pulled on her lightweight sweater, hiking pants, and hat. She took her e-reader and water bottles to the cooking area, did her morning routine, cleaned her hands, refilled the hanging water filter, and got a pot full of water for breakfast. Then she went to the bear hang, released the food bags, and carried bags and ropes to the cook site. She had to stay busy and stop thinking about the impossible.
Jules was starting the stove when Erin returned with the second load of bags. "Morning. Thanks for getting all this down." Jules motioned to the bags.
"No problem. I woke with the sun in my eyes, and I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep. Faster we get started, the quicker we get there. Miles to go and cool things to do." She grinned at Jules, who gave her a smiling thumbs up, shimmying in place. Erin pulled her mug, coffee, and oatmeal out and did the same for Ryan, getting it ready for hot water. Hopefully, he'd sleep for a while still. She'd heard him tossing and turning during the night, too. Probably not for the same reason, though.
They chatted as the water heated and everyone else trickled in. Ryan was last, stumbling into camp as Erin finished her coffee.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Jules sang. Ryan winced at her overly cheerful voice, making everyone laugh. His hair stuck up, and pillow wrinkles marred his face. He looked a bit like a bear waking up from hibernation.
Erin prepped his coffee and oatmeal, handing the coffee over when he sat on the log next to her. He grunted, then sucked down a long drink of coffee.
Laura chuckled. "Was that a thank-you?"
