When We Fall

Chapter 1 A rock came tumbling down the steep mountainside, bouncing off a tree as it hurtled down the partially wooded slope. Lacey Adams heard it and quickly glanced up to see it heading straight for her. She scrambled out of the way, only to lose her footing on the gravelly trail and crash to the ground onto her hip. “Oomph!” “How’s it going up there?” Quinn Haynes called out. “Just fine!” Lacey called in reply, gritting her teeth against the sharp pain in her hip. She knew she’d be fine once she got back on her feet, so she didn’t think it was worth the bother to whine about her fall. She waited until the boulder came to a thudding stop against a spruce tree at the bottom of the slope before pushing herself up on her hands. Once she was standing again, she took stock and figured she’d have a hell of a bruise on her hip when they got to camp tonight. Otherwise, it was all in a day’s work for her. She and Quinn were leading a guided photography trip in Katmai National Park, deep in the wilderness of Alaska. Katmai was renowned for its remote beauty and particularly for the brown bears that frequented the famed Katmai River Falls where remote video cameras recorded the massive bears feeding off salmon running through the river. Lacey had led several trips here over the years with the area popular for wilderness lovers. The falls were carefully managed with electric fences and viewing platforms positioned at safe distances, curbing the danger that normally came with being in such proximity to bears. They were many miles away from the river falls right now and trekking deep into the wilderness with a group of wildlife photographers committed to more pure forms of photography, namely capturing wildlife in more challenging circumstances than the convenient viewing platforms by the falls. She’d volunteered to check this trail out before they took the group along this route to reach another mountain peak ahead. She’d confirmed what they suspected—the trail had been mostly washed out by the spring thaw when the melting snow turned into raging streams. The gravel here was loose, along with the rocks up above. If Lacey had her way, they’d take the slightly longer route through the trees. In her years of backcountry guiding, she’d learned it was usually wiser to go slow than to take potentially risky shortcuts. It was one thing to risk her own injury, another to risk that of her clients. She ran her own small business from Diamond Creek, Alaska and often paired with other guides she knew from her years of working in the wilds of Alaska. Quinn Haynes was an old friend and occasionally joined her on these trips. She hadn’t seen him in over two years when they confirmed this trip. He’d taken a break from guiding to finish his medical degree. Now, he had a fancy title to go with living on the edge. He’d spent the last year overseas providing medical care in war torn regions. Lacey carefully made her way back down the mountainside and met Quinn at the bottom where he was waiting. Their clients had taken a short hike to a nearby field to watch and wait for wildlife to pass by, hoping for anything from wild birds to moose to bears to give them a chance for some good photos. Quinn grinned when he saw her. “I’m guessing we won’t be using that shortcut. You okay?” She had a slight limp from her hip’s collision with the rocky ground. She figured it would work itself out once they got moving again. The pain had dulled to an ache already. “I’m fine. The slope is rocky and loose. Let’s take the longer way through the trees. Aside from not wanting anyone else to fall on their tail, I’d rather not worry about the expensive cameras they’re hauling.” Quinn’s amber hair glinted in the morning sun when he nodded. His eyes, almost a precise match with his hair, coasted over her. “You sure you’re okay? You’ve got quite the limp.” Lacey sighed, slightly annoyed with his concern. “I’m fine. Give me a few minutes.” He turned to walk at her side when she reached him. They walked back toward the camp at a leisurely pace. Lacey’s hip started to loosen as she’d predicted. By the time they arrived at camp, her limp had almost disappeared. Quinn strode to his tent and came out with a thermos. “Coffee for you,” he said as he handed it over with a grin. Lacey plunked down in a camp chair and unscrewed the thermos lid. The coffee was plenty warm and dark. After a long swallow, she sighed and leaned back. “Thanks. I forgot you somehow manage to make the best coffee even when we’re in the middle of nowhere.” Quinn chuckled and sat down across from her in another folding chair, his rangy form barely fitting in the chair. Lacey caught herself when her eyes began a slow investigation of Quinn. She didn’t know what it was because she’d known Quinn for years, but ever since he’d met her at the start of this trip, she was uncomfortably aware of how handsome he was. He was in superb physical condition, rugged and fit, every inch of him honed muscle. His skin was bronzed from days living in the outdoors. He was a man who threw himself into whatever environment he happened to be in—whether it was the wilderness of Alaska, the beaches of a remote island, or the desert somewhere. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed he was handsome before, but she’d never had any physical response to him until this trip. The last few days had been downright annoying for her. If she had a few spare minutes and he was nearby, he was like a magnet for her eyes and her body hummed with a buzz of awareness. She mentally shook herself and lifted her eyes above the trees. It was early fall, yet still quite warm for Alaska. The sun was up, brightening the snow-covered mountain peaks of the Aleutian Range. Conveniently, the wilderness gave her plenty to stare at other than Quinn. They sat in the quiet with nothing other than the sound of water sliding over rocks in the background. A stream was close to their camp, offering a place to bathe and easy water access for drinking and cooking. They had two more nights here before they hiked out. Later that afternoon, Lacey was leading the way back from their hike when both of her knees buckled suddenly. Weakness like she’d never felt before crashed through her body. She stumbled sideways and gripped a tree to steady herself. She was startled at the feeling, but steeled herself to will it away. After several deep breaths, she felt almost normal, so she pushed off the tree and began walking again. She glanced behind her to see Quinn had stopped with their group and was pointing at something in the distance. He was a veritable font of information about the geology of Alaska, so he was an extra plus as far as customers were concerned. She breathed a sigh of relief because it didn’t appear any of them had noticed her stumble. That night after the four photographers had retired to their tents, she glanced over at hers and sighed. Sometime during the hike away from camp, some type of animal, likely a marmot, had shredded a corner of the tent door, just enough to tear the fastener to the tent pole. Now, the tent leaned drunkenly to one side. That meant she would be sharing Quinn’s tent tonight. Not such a great plan if her body’s reaction to the idea told her anything. The moment she’d heard Quinn chuckle and comment she’d be sleeping with him tonight, heat had rolled through her body in a flash. She needed to get over this weird attraction to him as soon as possible. She didn’t really do the whole relationship thing—too messy, too inconvenient. She’d also found that men tended to shy away from her anyway. She was too much of a tomboy. She’d temporarily considered just sleeping outside under the stars, but that wasn’t smart. Autumn nights were cold out in the wilderness and while a tent didn’t offer too much protection, it was better than nothing. She looked across the dying fire to Quinn. His features were shadowed in the dim light, his amber hair gilded with gold in the flickering firelight. He glanced up and caught her eyes. For a flash, she thought she saw something in his gaze, but he shuttered it and his usual teasing smile hooked the corners of his mouth. “I’m about to crash. You want me to help drag your sleeping bag in the tent?” She stood swiftly. “Nah. I got it. Mind putting the fire to bed while I do that?” She heard him stand as she strode toward her torn tent. She gathered her sleeping bag and carefully tidied up her backpack before carrying everything over to Quinn’s tent. He was using a stick to sift through the coals and push them down into the pile of ash. Moments later, she was kneeling over trying to straighten out her sleeping bag when she heard the tent zipper. She scrambled to turn around. In her rush, she found herself a mere inch or so from his face. For a beat, she wanted to close the space and see if his lips felt as good as they looked—full and sensual against his strong and masculine features. Instead she scrambled back with her heart beating staccato in her chest and that inconvenient desire flooding her. Quinn merely grinned and crawled into the tent beside her. Without a word, he yanked his t-shirt off and slipped into his sleeping bag. “G’night,” he said, his voice gruff. She could hear the smile in his voice because that’s how he always was. Everything held a hint of fun for him. Meanwhile, he’d left her dry-mouthed and nearly panting at the glimpse of his chest—all sculpted muscle and a true six-pack of abs. She’d seen him shirtless before, but she’d never thought much of it. What the hell was wrong with her? She shook her head and slipped into her own sleeping bag, grateful she’d be cocooned away from his body through the night. She woke hours later, her hand—oh my god!—her hand was sliding over the hard planes of his chest. While somehow, her tank top had slid up and she was draped over him, one of her bare breasts pressing against his side and his hand cupping her bottom. She had absolutely no idea how they ended up tangled together like this, but both of their sleeping bags were unzipped and one of her legs was thrown over his. It felt sooo good to be close to him like this, her body was nearly aflame with need. This was not good, definitely not good. * * * Quinn came to slowly and realized he was rock hard with need and Lacey was draped all over him. He felt her lush bottom under his palm and almost groaned at how good it felt. Lacey Adams had been f*******n fruit for as long as he’d known her. She was always all business when she was around him, so he’d done his best to snuff out his body’s reaction to her. Lacey was a good friend, and he respected her completely. She was a strong woman through and through, and he valued their friendship. He’d tucked his desire away, even though it occasionally made itself known anyway. But he couldn’t help himself from appreciating how damn tempting she was with her auburn hair, her bright green eyes, and her body, which was nothing short of a work of art. She was completely fit. Her life demanded it with her years of leading hikes, dog sledding trips, cross-country skiing and then some in the wilderness. Somehow though, she retained her femininity with an hourglass figure, lush breasts and generous hips to soften her athletic build. To wake with her like this sent his body and mind into all kinds of wild imaginings. Suddenly she stiffened against him. Ah hell, she was awake and now he had to find a way to be a gentleman about this. Because unless she made it crystal clear she wanted something more, he’d try to respect their friendship. Her hand stilled on his chest and she slowly lifted her head. “Um, I’m not sure how this happened,” she said, her words rough with sleep. Seeing as he knew damn well she could feel his hard c**k against the leg she’d thrown across him, he couldn’t really deny his state. He chuckled. “Me neither.” Her eyes lifted and met his in the dark. He’d give anything for just enough light to be able to read her gaze. With his pulse thundering and l**t lashing at him, he held his breath and willed his body under control. She shifted her leg off of him. The feel of her silky skin sliding over his only served to tighten the need clawing at him. She slowly untangled herself from him, and he reluctantly let his hands ease off of her. She sat up and tugged her tank top down and looked over at him again. “Didn’t mean to climb all over you like that,” she said, her tone sheepish. He aimed for nonchalant. “No need to apologize. We were asleep.” He left unsaid the fact he would have happily allowed her to climb all over him again, but he sensed he needed to bide his time if he was ever to have a chance with Lacey. She was quiet for several beats before she spun around and slipped back inside her sleeping bag. “Right, we were sleeping,” she said softly. He listened to the sound of her breathing as she drifted back into sleep. He lay in the dark, wide-awake as his body settled down. The hot l**t surging through him gradually ebbed away. His mind tumbled with questions, wondering if the response he sensed from her was genuine, or his own wishful thinking. An owl called in the trees nearby with another owl returning the call from a distance. He finally managed to fall back into a light sleep. The following morning, Quinn woke before Lacey. He rolled his head to the side, a smile curling at the sight of her. Her auburn hair lay in a tousle around her face and shoulders. She was on her side facing him with her hands tucked under her chin. Her full lips were relaxed and tiny freckles were scattered across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. He resisted the urge to lean over and kiss her. As if she sensed him looking at her, her eyes opened, green with flecks of gold and bright in the gray light of dawn. “Morning,” he said. She shifted onto her back and stretched before rolling to face him again. “Good morning. How long have you been awake?” “Just a few minutes.” “How’s your hip?” She moved her legs and shrugged one shoulder. “A little sore, but that’s all.” She pushed up on one hand and crossed her legs under her. Her hair draped around her shoulders, long waves falling around the curves of her breasts, which were inconveniently on display in her fitted tank top. She leaned over and dug around in her backpack, tugging out a flannel button-down shirt, which she threw over her shoulders. He watched while she shimmied into a pair of fleece leggings. She glanced over her shoulder as she slid her feet into a pair of lightweight boots. “Don’t suppose you’ll be making coffee this morning?” He grinned. “No need to ask.” She returned his grin and unzipped the tent flap, disappearing through it. He dug through his own backpack and tugged out another set of clothes. Moments later, he was lacing up his boots when he heard a shuffling sound and then a thump. Lacey’s sharp cry was distinct. He scrambled out of the tent to find her on the ground by the blackened fire circle. Peter and Chad, two of the photographers on the trip with them, were nearby. Chad was leaning over beside Lacey. “You okay?” he asked. Quinn raced to Lacey’s side, kneeling down. “What happened?” He tried to keep the alarm out of his voice. Lacey had fallen in a tangle, her legs crossed at the ankles. She started to move, all but swatting Chad and Quinn away, but her hand flopped on the ground. Quinn eased an arm around her back, propping her weight against him. “Easy. Tell me what happened.” Lacey shook her head. “I can’t see well. Everything’s all blurry.” Chad caught his eyes. “She said a minute ago that her legs felt tired and then all of a sudden she collapsed.” Quinn’s doctor brain switched on and he started rifling through possibilities right away. Given her slip yesterday, it could be related solely to that, or it could be something else. Right now, he needed to get her comfortable. “Let’s get you over to one of the chairs.” He and Chad slowly eased her up. He could sense her irritation. The fact she didn’t shove them away and stand on her own concerned him. Once she was seated in a camp chair, he stood and glanced around. “Can you grab me that water bottle?” he asked, gesturing to Peter who’d been waiting nearby while he and Chad had helped Lacey to the chair. Peter snagged the water bottle in question and strode in his direction. Quinn met him on the way. “Notice anything before she fell?” he asked, his voice low. “Not much more than what Chad said. She mentioned her legs felt tired. Before that, she seemed, I don’t know, kind of out of it. Just for a minute or so and then she fell.” Quinn nodded as he took the proffered water bottle from Peter, his worry increasing. “Thanks. We’ll give her a few to see if she’s feeling better. Hope you guys don’t mind.” Peter’s eyes widened. “Of course not! You’ve already given us the best trip we’ve ever had. We’re happy to sit tight as long as we need. Don’t even worry about it.” “Good to know. Let me see how she’s doing.” Quinn headed back to Lacey’s side, hooking his hand around a camp chair on the way over and setting it down beside her. “Have some water,” he said, handing her the bottle. She curled her hand around the bottle and took a long swallow. After she lowered it, he noticed her grip was shaky, so he reached over and took it from her. “How you feeling now?” She canted her eyes to his and he saw fear in their depths, such an unusual feeling for Lacey, his worry notched higher. “Weird. I feel weird,” she finally said. “After I came out of the tent, I just started to feel funny. One of my legs felt numb and both of them felt weak. For a second, I couldn’t see right and then I just fell. That blurry thing is gone and my legs are starting to feel more normal, but it’s just weird. What the hell happened?” Quinn’s mind flipped through possibilities, but he didn’t want to go there right now with her. What she described could be minor, or not. The foreboding ‘or not’ wouldn’t be a helpful place for him to explore just now. “Maybe your fall yesterday was a little harder than you thought. Let’s see how you feel after a little bit. You still up for coffee?” She grinned and nodded emphatically. “That might be just what I need.” * * * Two days later, Lacey made her way along the gravel path leading to the airstrip that would fly them out of Katmai and back to Anchorage. After her odd episode the other morning, she’d had some of Quinn’s coffee and felt like herself after that. The rest of the trip had been uneventful. Well, they’d had a close encounter with a brown bear and breathed a sigh of relief after they avoided two mama moose and their calves, but that was part of hiking in the wilderness in Alaska. Quinn was taking up the rear as they made their way to the airstrip. She could hear the whirr of the plane’s prop in the distance. She glanced skyward and suddenly her vision blurred again. She stopped right where she was and shook her head. Just like the other day, her legs felt weak and one of them started tingling. “No, no, no, no,” she mumbled to herself. She must have looked up too quickly. That’s probably what happened the other morning. She ignored the weakness and tingling and started walking again. Her right leg wouldn’t cooperate. She felt as if she was dragging it behind her. On sheer will alone, she kept trudging along the path. Before she knew it, Quinn was at her side, catching her as she fell, his hold so strong and sure. She just let go because she couldn’t hold herself up anymore. The last thing she remembered were Quinn’s amber eyes locking onto hers. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”