* * *
Dani was freezing cold. The portable shower was handy, but the ice-cold water she'd pulled from a pond was not an easy thing to take this early in the morning. Her teeth were chattering as she dried herself vigorously, hoping her goose bumps would subside once she got dressed. She fled to her tent, struggling to get it unzipped as she stood freezing in her towel. Finally, it gave way, and she rushed in, diving back onto her bed and burrowing under the blankets until she stopped trembling with cold.
Finally, she felt warm enough to brave dressing, which she did clumsily from underneath her sleeping bag. She then scooted out of bed and unzipped the center divider in her make-shift tent, a thin wall that separated her "bedroom" from her "office." She went directly to the table she'd set up yesterday and the propane stove that lay atop it. She filled her camping coffee pot with her favorite brew, lit the stove, and put the pot on the burner to boil.
Dani opened the two windows within the tent to make sure there was proper ventilation. Before long the water was boiling, and she could see the coffee percolating through the glass dome on top.
Pouring her first cup of coffee she smiled, adding a sugar cube and a packet of creamer. If there was one area in which she accepted the label obsessive, it was in regards to her coffee. Dani sat down, put her feet up on the table, crossing one leg over the other, and took her first sip.
She gave a choked gasp and spit the coffee out in an arc that sprayed all over her legs. She hissed, being careful to set down the cup before she stood and wiped up the mess. It tasted like pond water, pond water and frog shit.
It took a minute for Dani to recover her confidence, but she wouldn't let a cup of terrible coffee destroy her excitement. She needed to scout out the area and determine the locations of amphibian colonies. Maybe she could even place some of her cameras if she got lucky and spotted some frogs.
Gathering her supplies, she placed them carefully into her backpack. Dani made sure to input the location of her campsite into her GPS so that she wouldn't get lost while exploring. Finally, she stepped out into the sunlight and sped down the slope, heading off to the ponds and adventure.
By lunchtime, Dani was sweaty and miserable. She'd found no evidence of her frogs and felt the first tendrils of doubt beginning to climb her insides. Having read about a colony not five miles from this park last year when she'd been crafting her grant proposal, she knew this area should be home to the species as well. But she couldn't find even one frog, despite her best efforts.
She swatted at the gnats that flew around her face as she splashed through yet another puddle. Having placed no cameras, she plodded back toward her camp, burdened by all of her gear and the weight of failure.
In the distance, she heard the sound of a motor. The idea that it might be Caleb's ATV made her quicken her pace, and she almost jogged back to camp. He was nowhere to be seen, but something seemed off about her campsite. She was sure that she'd zipped up the tent completely when she'd left, but it was now partially unzipped, as were her shower and bathroom.
Dani wondered if Caleb had come to call and been snooping while she was gone. She approached her tent, attempting to determine if anything had been disturbed, but she could see nothing out of the ordinary. Unzipping her tent, she slipped inside.
Although her "office" was necessarily small and low-maintenance, it was clear that a few things had been moved around. Papers that had been neatly stacked slid haphazardly across her desk. Her laptop, which she had closed down before departing this morning, was now propped open. Even her coffee cup had been moved and set down in a different position. Strange.
Stepping back outside, she listened for the motor sound that she had heard heading back. It was gone. Dani sighed, wondering what to do about this invasion of privacy. If Caleb wanted to know something about her research, why didn't he just ask her? What was with the snooping? She remembered that she was alone out in the woods, the closest human a couple mile's hike away. And that human was not necessarily someone she trusted. She barely even knew him.
Dani hated feeling afraid, and her anger at the invasion of her privacy quickly burnt the thin thread of apprehension to an unrecognizable crisp. There were still several hours left before the dusk, more than enough time to make the hike to his cabin. Dani took a moment to refill her water bottle and secure her campsite, then set off down the overgrown hunting trail.
It led up a series of hills and back down through pleasant green valleys. The short climbs had her heart pumping, but the adrenaline in her veins was fueled by her anger. It hadn't been easy, fighting her way through graduate school, sometimes not being taken seriously because of her gender, size, and appearance.
She'd worked hard to prove that big brains could come in small packages, and still jerks like Dean Fischer ignored her intellect in favor of her more physical charms. She couldn't stand being taken advantage of, which was exactly what Caleb was doing by invading her privacy. He thought she was just a weak and witless woman, one who'd let him walk all over her while digging through her personal stuff with impunity. Well, she'd show him, she'd...
Her anger petered out as she crested a hill and took in the view around her. It was stunning, the way the rays of sunlight pierced the clouds and shone down on the forest laid out around her. Trees in every shade of green carpeted the valley, a clear blue river making its way between them, its fast-moving water bubbling up white in spots. Dani could make out a couple of eagles circling the treetops, and she smiled without thinking. It was magnificent, and she felt some of her tension fade.
After a few moments of absorbing the view, she resumed her trek. Cresting the last hill, she looked down into the small valley holding Caleb's cabin. As she drew closer, Dani could hear a repetitive thwack coming from behind the building. She peeked around a corner to determine the source of the noise, and her breath lodged in her chest.
The ranger was shirtless in the waning sun, his strong arms moving rhythmically as he raised an ax and brought it down on a log. The log split like butter and he stooped to set up another one.
His muscles were slick with sweat, rippling as he swung the ax over and over. Dani wasn't sure how long she stood there staring, until she finally inhaled heavily and closed her eyes.
She wanted to rub herself against him like a cat in heat. She imagined her tongue tracing the line of muscles in his abdomen and up his chest, tasting his sweat and male essence. He was so hard as if his body were sculpted from marble, but she imagined if she touched him, his skin would be warm.
So he's hot. Big deal. He's also been snooping around your campsite. So get those bulging muscles out of your mind and get back on task. With one more deep breath, Dani rounded the corner to confront the handsome snoop.
His blue eyes met hers as she came forward and electricity seemed to shoot through her body directly to the apex of her thighs. One eyebrow rose in surprise, and Caleb stopped his chopping and set down his ax. He grabbed a towel and began wiping himself down, stalking over in her direction.
She inhaled sharply and forced herself to focus on his face and not the towel that was rubbing so intimately against his body.
"Professor Greenhorn," he drawled with a lazy half-smile that said he knew the effect he had on her. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
"Really?" Does he want to pretend he hasn't been poking around in my stuff? Or does he actually think he'd gotten away with it? Whichever it is, two can play this game. Dani raised her brow, mirroring his inquisitive look and decided to make him confess.
The lazy smile faltered, and Caleb looked confused. "Was there something you needed?"
"Not particularly," she replied. "How about you? Was there something you needed?"