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  That precious time.

  Jack, too, wanted some time away from the city and time with his girlfriend. Little did we know how close to the end we walked. How close to saying goodbye. All we had…

  That precious time.

  Sebastian

  Sebastian met her at the horse-boarding stables to help with the horses. Sweat poured off them both. He’d been happy to meet her, but neither had foreseen the trouble it would be. For a second, she froze, frustrated. Sure, just what she had in mind when she’d asked or his help. Not.

  The owner of the boarding ranch threw her hands in the air at them when they arrived, busy with trying to get the other animals into the barns. All the horses, including hers, stood gathered around all the waterholes. Luckily, both of hers steeped themselves at the same pond. After an intense struggle to even reach hers, she managed to clip their lead ropes on.

  With a toss, Karla gave lead to Sebastian. The other, she kept. First, they tried talking soothingly to persuade Thunder and Lightning to back up and move toward the trailer, then they tried getting the horses to move by pushing on them. When the stubborn equines only tossed their heads, Karla could have screamed. Not exactly how she wanted to start out the romantic week of the outdoors with her infatuation. Finally, she decided that, despite the crush of the herd around them, they’d have to turn the horses’ heads and get them to follow.

  She and Sebastian both pulled and tugged. Her cowboy boots dug into the ground to help with traction, but her horse didn’t budge. Sebastian’s grunts told her he fared no better. Jack and his girlfriend, Rachel, stood off to the side, and occasionally called out encouragement. If Karla wasn’t so hot from fighting the mare and gelding in the heat, she might have laughed at the comical comments they threw out.

  “Hey, Dad. Need help? I hear that horse is stubborn as a mule.”

  Ruff barked as if in agreement.

  Karla had to bite her lip on the last one from Jack. So close to her thinking, it made her grin—where Sebastian couldn’t see her.

  “Thanks, son. I don’t think there’s room for you here. You might get trampled. Stubborn or no,” he grumbled.

  Now Karla did laugh. Not that anything struck her as that funny, but it became either laugh or cry when she tried again to pull on her horse.

  Sebastian seemed to get that her laughter bordered on hysteria. Or did it cross right over? Whichever it was, he talked to her. “What if we do it together? Let’s pull at the same time. Maybe if one starts to move, the other will follow.”

  Jack’s dog kept barking madly at all of them, which didn’t help the horses’ restlessness any.

  “Why not?” she replied with a shrug.

  “Okay, I’ll count. One, two, threeeee.”

  His three sounded more like a grunt than a number, but she yanked her lead rope and dug in. Her teeth clenched, her hands ached, and her legs strained. The horse lifted a foot. “She’s moving!” she cried happily, and too soon.

  The mare moved, but forward. Both Lightning and Thunder did quick steps into the pond. The tangle of rope kept her from releasing before she fell face-forward into the water. As she sputtered and sat up, she heard Sebastian beside her, also sputtering.

  The dog jumped in after them, splashing and barking.

  From the embankment, laughter and howls scattered in the air. When she checked to see how Sebastian was taking the dunking, a look glittered in his eyes which made her laugh. “What? You’re thinking something. I can see the devilment in your eyes.”

  “My son is laughing. I’ll get him, you get the girl, and what say we have ourselves a good dunking party?”

  Karla took to the idea immediately. With matching grins, the two of them walked up the embankment to just past the horses. The teens were laughing so hard, they didn’t realize what the adults’ intentions were until too late. They each slung the kids over a shoulder, Karla with Rachel, Seb with Jack as planned. They were yelling and screaming in laughter while being hauled down to the water. Karla threw in Rachel, and Jack came right after. They were all still laughing, and now, dripping wet and a lot cooler.

  “Dad!”

  “Karla!”

  The adults just grinned. “You thought it was so fun, we couldn’t deny you your part, could we?” she said, blinking innocently.

  That put them into gales of laughter again. “Fine, we’re going back to the car to dry off,” Jack said.

  Now Karla grinned at him. She’d bet a month’s pay they’d find a way to do some kissing while the adults were finishing up.

  “Take Ruff with you,” Seb called after them.

  As they filed out and onto the banks, her two horses followed, heads dropped in a docile position. “What got into you two?” she asked as she patted them on the nose.

  “All of the horses are acting that way. They’re all standing by the waterholes as if the animals expect them all to dry out in the next minute. And the horses keep getting in and out of them. It’s really strange.”

  “I noticed. Let’s get these two in the trailer and go.” If all the other horses weren’t behaving just as weird, she might have left them there. But with all the animals acting strange, she felt her two would be better off with her in the mountains. At least there, she could keep an eye on them.

  Hot, sweaty, wet, and not feeling remotely sexy, she remained glad she’d worked up the courage to ask if she could join him on the trip. “Ready? Sorry to delay you a bit.”

  His ready smile bloomed full force on her. “Not really. I told you hour and half, but we weren’t scheduled to leave for two.” His laughter boomed when she hit him on the arm with the bandanna she’d just loosened off her head.

  “And here I was feeling sorry for you. Let’s hit the road.”

  After securing Ruff in the green Ford Bronco, Jack and Rachel came over to help with the other horses that boarded at the stables, soothing them and calming them while her two loaded up.

  “Thanks, you two. You both are gifted with animals.” Karla pat one of the horses on the rump.

  The teens blushed in a sweet manner. The way they moved and talked, she wondered if maybe they were of the famed “childhood sweethearts” club. When she caught Sebastian’s eye, he nodded to the two teens. So, he’d realized it as well. No wonder he hadn’t told Jack no.

  “Thanks,” the two teens replied, then laughed and held hands as they walked back to Sebastian’s Bronco.

  Then inspiration hit. “How old is Jack?”

  “He’s sixteen.”

  “License?”

  “Yep.”

  “You let him drive that, or is it your baby?”

  His laughter boomed again, sending tingles down her spine. “I bought it for him. Much cheaper to wreck then my work car.”

  “What if you let him drive then? It’ll give them some time alone, and well,” she finished lamely. Well, what? How does he make me so tongue-tied all the time? Why can’t I just tell him I want to be alone with him for a chance to learn more about his likes?

  His aftershave wafted over her as he stepped closer, right into her personal space. Her nipples hardened even more than they had under the onslaught of the cold water. Her stomach clenched in anticipation as if he’d touched her. Wowser.

  “Sounds great,” he said and leaned forward, brushing a quick kiss across her mouth. “I’ll be right back.”

  Her lips tingled, as if he’d taken part of her soul with him. To keep herself from gawking like a schoolgirl staring after the football star, she rearranged the extra gas cans. Ten five-gallon cans. Hopefully, they wouldn’t need them, but she hated to go into the hills with no backup gas on a regular camping trip, much less when she hauled the trailer.

  Time for double-checking that the items on the roof remained properly tied down, the hitch secure, the lights all worked, and the horses’ feed was in the trailer. By that time, Sebastian had said whatever he needed to say to Jack and watched her finish up.

  “I like a woman who’s prepared for anything
,” he said as they hopped into her SUV.

  “Life insurance. My father left me a good chunk. My siblings and I shared it, but it allowed me to buy this and the horse trailer.” Good God, she was babbling.

  They started down the road, heading westward into the Cascades. “Up toward Mt. Rainier, or Rimrock Lake?”

  “Rimrock. I know a lot of good places for the horses as well as the ATVs for the kids. The ATVs can hit the jeep trails, and we can go the opposite way.”

  He faced her, but to her disappointment, his eyes, so light gray they appeared silver at times, lay hidden by the reflection on the sunglasses he wore. His eyes were expressive, and she could stare at them all day, watching them change. Dark, almost black, light almost silver, from one spectrum to the other. She’d never seen eyes like his. Her own amber eyes seemed lighter at times, but had a permanent blue-gray ring around the outside. His whole iris seemed to change, and it fascinated her.

  “Well,” he prompted.

  She started in embarrassment. Heat crept along her skin and she hoped her blush wouldn’t be noticeable. Staring. Dreaming about his eyes. Like a freaking teenager. Lucky for her, they’d been at a stoplight.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled as cars honked behind her. “Rimrock is fine.”

  Trying to hide behind noise, she flipped on the radio. Only a couple stations still came in.

  “...this breaking news. Police are still investigating the deaths of two patrons of The Bear Creek Bar and Tavern. According to witnesses, one man started biting the other and was actually eating the flesh.

  “Sources close to the police cite a combination of marijuana and too much alcohol, and say the man is being observed at a local mental health facility. His actual whereabouts are not being released.”

  “And we thought the animals were acting odd,” Sebastian commented wryly.

  “Right?” She turned up the volume higher to hear the rest of the newscaster’s report.

  “This afternoon, while playing in the backyard, a child was rushed to Seattle Children’s hospital after being bit by what is presumed to be a rabid squirrel. The squirrel was stabbed by the child’s mother when it refused to let go of her son, and the carcass is now being sent to a lab for rabies testing.”

  “Oh dear God,” she said on an intake of breath. “That’s horrific. That poor kid.”

  “Brave mom,” Sebastian said.

  “...Free Fall soap. Saves water and time. Simply wipe it on and brush it off with a dry towel or the superior brush which comes with special packages, and germs go away... Authorities are reminding people to stay cool. Allow children to play in pools and sprinklers whenever possible, and wet down your pets to fight heat stroke. The weather promises to stay hotter than usual for two more weeks. Canals have opened today in most areas, and—”

  She snapped it off. “Who’d want to clean without water in this weather? The heat is cloying on my skin, even though my clothes are still wet and we’re running the air conditioner. I’ll be glad to get up into the hills.”

  “Me too. And”—he turned his body so he faced the back before looking at her again—”you weren’t kidding. You really were going to go camping by yourself. No way you got this together since we talked.”

  The heat flaring in her belly had nothing to do with the sun. Too many nights she’d lain awake, wondering how he’d feel in her arms. Wondering if she’d get the guts to ask him to go with him. Wondering what he’d say if she did. “Yes, I really was going to go camping alone. I’d hoped it wouldn’t be, though.”

  “You took your vacation now, too. How’d you manage that? Only one of us at a time is supposed to take time off.”

  She flashed him an impudent smile. “I’m just the secretary. I get my vacations when I want.”

  “I see how it is.” His laughter filled the truck and helped dispel the last of the creepy sensation the news report had filled her with.

  Chapter Four

  That trip up to Bear Camp would prove to be the last trip I took without looking over my shoulder. Jack did well with pulling the ATVs, and I had a chance to learn a bit about Karla without the pressure of a date or the office interfering.

  How many times would regrets surface over the next few days? Even now, I can’t remember. But at that moment, with laughter and arousal in the air, I had a sense of belonging, of home. She fit me like a bespoke suit.

  Her grace, her kindness, her easy going manner gave me a peace with myself, with my surroundings. A peace I’d sorely miss.

  Sebastian

  Sebastian felt the sexual tension rise as the laughter died down.

  Her smile had always turned his stomach into knots of pleasure and want. But, as she was only twenty-seven, he’d assumed she’d want nothing to do with him beyond a bit of pleasant companionship. It surprised and pleased him when she’d agreed to coffee. A few dates, a few kisses, and he’d backed away. Young and beautiful, she didn’t need to be saddled with a man full of old biases and a teenage boy.

  He’d decided to wait. Wait for her to show him if she had any lasting interest in him, in being more than friends. Slowly, hope slipped away with each passing day. Then this morning, when she’d invited herself along, well, he’d practically skipped home.

  He reached out and held her hand as they went. The turn, the winding roads, and the slow going with the trailers took a long time. But her hand in his pleased him and made every minute better. They continued on until they found their turn-off at road 1000.

  “It’s here,” he indicated, and they started up the paved mountain road. Usually, at this time of year, they wouldn’t be able to get much past where they were. However, as he’d hoped, the heat had caused a lot of snowmelt and runoff. “There’s an area up a bit, about twelve miles, that has an excellent place for horses and a nearby jeep trail. The water is good, and there’s a couple of easy access places. Ruff loves it there.”

  “So good place for human and animal,” she said and glanced over.

  “Yes. I guess that’s what I’m saying.” More like prattling, but she didn’t seem to mind.

  They pulled into Mini Meadows. No one else was around, so they parked the cars in side-by-side sites and spread out.

  “Jack,” he called out as his son and Rachel started to leave camp.

  “Dad,” Jack answered.

  “No leaving camp until we’re set up. Then make sure and take your whistle and Ruff with you.”

  “Da-ad! I’m too old for a whistle. I’m not a baby.”

  “Sorry, it’s the rules. You can fall and break a leg as easy as the next person. Make sure Rachel has one.” He pulled them out of a side pack he had.

  “Thank you, Mr. Cramer. I’ll make sure Jack takes his,” she said as she took two whistles.

  “Thank you, Rachel. And call me Seb. Now see, Jack? You don’t have to be embarrassed. Remember, it’s the mountains, and whatever this heat wave says, it’s still spring, so watch for snow and flooding.”

  The two teens were nearly out of sight before he realized he’d chased them out before things were set up. Karla’s laughter had something to do with that. “Good one, Dad,” she teased. “Guess we’ll have to be the ones to set the table and get the fire going.” That perky mouth of hers had his fires going already.

  With a glance at the direction the kids had taken, he moved over to her and took her in his arms. Her mouth opened as she gasped in surprise and he gave her a good hard kiss. “I plan on doing more than set the table,” he whispered against her mouth. “I plan on a seven course meal. But that takes a lot of preparation.”

  “Does that include dessert?” she whispered back.

  “Hot sticky s’mores, if we get the fire burning,” he said as he backed up. Satisfied at the flush on her cheeks, he returned to setting up camp.

  Every time he passed her, he found an excuse to touch her. Best part, she appeared to be finding the same flimsy reasons.

  He came back from rinsing a pan out in the river. “You know,” he began. �
��I thought of getting some of that soap just for camping, but doesn’t seem clean without water. There’s plenty of water for washing up here. Olivia swears by the dry soap.”

  “Olivia from the office? How does she wash all that hair without water?” Karla’s tone reflected his own disbelief.

  “Hence my reasons to not buy it. All well and good to not need water, but she uses water still for a shower. It’s not shampoo. At least, that’s what she said.”

  “How futuristic of her. She really is into that kind of stuff, so that makes sense. How’d you find out about it?”

  “I was looking for some dish soap in the breakroom to wash my lunch stuff out with. She popped up about the soap for people that didn’t need water, and how we needed something like that for the dishes to save the planet.”

  Karla’s laughter echoed across the water. “Now that sounds exactly like Olivia. I can hear her saying it, too. She never let up on her holier-than-thou attitudes. Funny how she didn’t help push the city council to get an anaerobic digester for human waste, which would have done the most good for our environment right here.”

  Seb shook his head and laughed. “Some people. They really need to put their money where their mouth is.”

  It didn’t take them long to finish setting up camp and the kids to come back and help. Jack really was a great son. How’d I get so lucky? These were the times he lived for as a dad. This camping trip promised to be extra fun. Even more so than a couple of weeks away from the office usually was.

  Chapter Five

  People like Olivia, those intent on trying to save the planet, who did as they were told, were the first hit. The environmental groups said, don’t eat this salmon, or buy this paper, or use this soap, and that’s what so many of them did. Funny how the thing created to get rid of so many germs was, in itself, a virus. They killed a lot of people before anyone could figure out why or how the virus spread.

  Though we laughed at Olivia’s idiosyncrasy, that conversation would stay with us...but again, I’m getting ahead of myself.