Chapter 6
Summer awoke the next morning, her eyes opening to the sight of Easton lying on the bed across from her. Instantly her heart smiled. That was lovely. Then she recognized Devlin on another, as was Ryder.
The rest were empty, so either Corey was up already or hadn’t stayed here. She grabbed her clothes and slipped out, walking to the showers. She changed and brushed her teeth. When she got back, she found the men still sleeping. The entire camp appeared to be too, but she promised herself she would be out for the run this morning. Maybe Easton’s unit wasn’t supposed to go.
She picked up her gear and, with one last look at the men, slipped back out again. She’d found a couple locations to take her pictures. She would need a few minutes to get out there. So, of course, she had to be early.
Moving as fast as she could around the base, she headed to the first location and checked the light before moving on to the second. There she set down her bags and set up her camera on the tripod. She checked her watch—still only four forty-five. But already the early morning sunlight broke through the trees.
With the second camera, she took pictures of the light. She was fascinated by the way it pulled through the branches, over the treetops, landing on the grass. The early morning sun just lit up a large corner of the world. At five o’clock she forced herself to put away that camera and awaited the uniformed men on their run. She had the video camera set up and switched to a second where she would continue to take still pictures.
The run should have started by now. Yet it was empty and dark, silent outside. She moved away from her tripod slightly so she could change the angle, then waited for the runners to arrive. The longer she did, the more an ominous feeling crept over her.
This didn’t make any sense. She didn’t like this creepy feeling of being watched. She hunkered down out of sight. The silence was nerve-wracking. As it went on, the more terrified she became. Finally, she couldn’t stand it. She slowly peered above the grasses. No one was there. She laughed. “Idiot.”
She plopped to the ground just as she heard an odd spitting sound come from her left. She turned, but couldn’t see anyone. Now a headache was developing. That’s what she got for not bringing water or coffee with her. She did have juice though.
Finally, she heard the rhythmic pulsing of a large group marching forward. Summer grabbed her camera and raced in their direction.
Sure enough, she could see them up ahead—well over one hundred runners. She started clicking as they approached. She quickly moved toward the video camera, making sure it was set up properly, and had it running as the men moved past. It was an intense ten minutes.
But, as the last man went by, she felt like she’d done okay. Good thing since she was getting tired. Still she wasn’t done yet. When the runners were out of sight, she grabbed her gear and moved to where they would be coming back around again. They still had a good three miles to go. She had no more than ten minutes to get to where she wanted to be to set up again. Relief that she’d been here on time flowed through her. She slowly made her way to the far side with her back toward the base. There she set up all over again.
A few people stood around, watching, waiting. Summer checked the cameras a couple times, just aimlessly looking to see what the general atmosphere was like. Her head still throbbed. She hoped it went away before the heat of the day hit. She reached for a bottle of juice in her bag, twisted off the top and took a long drink. Putting the cap back on, she could see the men on the far side coming into view.
Immediately she went into action. By the time the last man crossed the line, she had hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures. Much happier with herself, she packed her gear. She had a bit of a walk to get back to her tent, but, by the time she entered, she was hot and tired, ready for coffee and food. More than ready, to be honest.
Sadly, the tent was empty. She’d tried to see if her four new friends had been in the sea of men. She thought she might have caught sight of Corey, but she hadn’t had time to single him out.
Knowing she dared only give herself a few minutes, she sagged to the bed and flopped sideways for just a moment.
Her mind was spinning with wanting food and wishing she could leave her gear here. The bags and equipment were heavy, but too much unprocessed and unsaved work was in them.
She couldn’t save it all right now either, and it wouldn’t make her happy to lose her equipment regardless. No, she’d have to take it all with her to the mess tent. In a minute. Just a quick nap. That’s all she needed.
And she closed her eyes.
She jerked awake moments later, bolting upright, spinning around in the small space. Her hand went to her head that was swimming at the sudden movement.
Unnerved, she sat back on the bed and checked her watch. Yes, she could still make breakfast.
She bolted to her feet again, quickly grabbed her huge backpack of equipment, and ran from the tent.
*
“Now where’s she going?” Easton asked.
He’d almost made it to her tent after his shower to check that she’d made it back. Waking up to find her walking out the first time while he’d been asleep was a fear-inducing experience. He could hardly order her to stay under his watch when she hadn’t asked for anybody to watch over her, nor had she been ordered to stay with a bodyguard, but he contemplated asking for that just for his own peace of mind. But neither did she know about the rattlesnake during the night.
Corey, who was farther ahead of Easton, chuckled and pointed out the small running figure with her cameras and bag banging on her back as she ran.
At his side, Devlin asked, “What do you want to bet she just realized she almost missed breakfast?”
“We’re in the same situation there.”
The men picked up the pace and followed in her footsteps.
Easton was perturbed. He’d woken up just after she had bolted from the tent this morning. He’d followed her to see her setting up camera equipment, then had raced back to grab his gear to make the start of the run on time.
He’d passed her several times in the morning, each time a sigh of relief escaping him, knowing she was still here, still on point and safe. After the run, he had been caught by a couple men who’d wanted to talk about some of the plans for the day, which had delayed him getting back. He wasn’t sure what happened to her in the meantime, but she was certainly scuttling toward food now.
The men caught up with her just as she walked to the food counter. Devlin stepped back and motioned Easton to go behind her. And, on cue, all the men lined up after him. It seemed to be a bloody habit at this point.
He grabbed a tray and large plate, scooping up sausages, bacon, and hash browns before grabbing pancakes, smothering them in butter. He looked at her plate to see yogurt and fresh fruit, and he sighed. “Remember that low blood sugar issue?”
Startled, she turned to look at him, recognized who he was, and a beaming smile broke across her face.
He almost groaned. Inside his heart melted—just a little bit. Damn, he’d do almost anything to see that expression of hers on a regular basis. He shook his head, his voice harder than intended when he pointed out the small amount of food on her plate. “Protein will help stabilize your blood sugar a whole lot better than the fresh fruits will.”
She frowned. “I’m not that hungry.”
He sighed, reached across and picked up a bowl of oatmeal. “You’ll eat more now.” And dropped it on her tray.
She stared down at it, then at his plate. “Oatmeal doesn’t qualify as protein.”
“It’s a grain, and it’s better than nothing. Add some nuts and cream, and you’ll at least have something solid.”
“I don’t want a hot bowl of oatmeal.”
The two of them argued back and forth until the cook on the other side of the counter banged a spoon and said, “Fight like an old married couple somewhere else. You’re holding up the line.”
Easton scowled at him and then turned his gaze back to Summer, who, by now, sported bright red flags of color on her cheeks as she hurried down the line with the bowl of oatmeal still on her tray. She stopped at one section, adding nuts and seeds. He grinned and followed behind her. When she came to the end of the counter, she turned her back on him. Because it was so late for breakfast, lots of empty tables were available. She headed to one in the rear of the room.
Devlin laughed. “She is really something.”
“Yeah, she is.” Easton walked over to the coffee area, picked up several juices and cups of coffee, and, with the rest of the men following him, tracked his way to her table, sat beside her, placing one of the juices and a cup of coffee in front of her.
She stared at him and sighed. “Why are you looking after me?”
“Because I don’t seem to be able not to,” he snapped, irritated because, of course, it had been a very valid question.
She was an adult. She was in the camp, and wouldn’t be here if she couldn’t take care of herself. The rest would just consider her an idiot for not looking after herself. He didn’t know why he felt so protective, and now he was well past the point of changing it. The rattlesnake had secured that line of thought last night.
As the other men lined up around them and sat down, she smiled and said, “Good morning, Devlin. Did you sleep well? I did see you in the tent when I got up this morning. It was very nice of you to watch over me.”
Devlin flashed her a wicked smile. “You’re very welcome.” He could barely hide his grin as Easton glared at him.
She turned to Easton. “I thanked your friends, but you don’t deserve it.”
His jaw dropped in astonishment, but the others laughed. He shook his head. “You’re making me crazy.”
“I thought you already were.”
He sighed. “Just eat your damn breakfast.”
There was an odd silence at his side. He ignored it for a long time. When he raised his head, he saw Ryder frowning at him. Easton glared back. Ryder nudged his head toward Summer. Easton rolled his eyes and turned to look at her, but her head was down, and she was eating very slowly. There was a suspicious sniffle occasionally. He froze and slammed down a spoon. “Oh, for God’s sake.”
Her head flipped up, and she glared at him. If her eyes were overly bright, he chose to ignore it. She continued to glare at him and snapped, “Now what the hell is your problem? If you weren’t following me all over the place and sneaking into my tent to sleep with me at night, it would be a lot easier to get rid of you.”
The men around the table froze. Several heads turned in their direction.
Easton pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “It’s not like that, and you know it.”
She gasped. “Does that mean you don’t want to sleep with me?”
Across the table Corey could barely stop the food from exploding out of his mouth, and Devlin had a grin wide enough to drive a truck through. Easton glowered from one to the other in anticipation of more, then shook his head.
Summer said with a pitiful force, “Oh. Well, thank you for letting me know.”
Easton turned to look at her and said, “Let you know what?”
“That you don’t want to sleep with me.”
He stared at the pixie at his side in complete shock. “I didn’t say that. This is the most bizarre conversation I’ve ever had over breakfast.”
She propped her chin on her palm, her elbow on the table and stared at him. “Do you talk about this stuff over lunch or dinner then?” she asked in interest.
He shoved his face in her direction. “No, I don’t.”
She nodded. “Figures. That’s what I thought.”
For whatever reason, she appeared to be much happier. She turned and started eating her oatmeal. With his shoulders up and his hands out in a questioning manner as to what just happened, he looked at his friends. But they were all keeping the humor off their faces, and failing miserably.
He groaned, leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I would have absolutely no problem sleeping with you.”
Her head jerked up. She looked at him, their faces inches apart, and narrowed her gaze. “Too late. So don’t get any ideas now, okay?” And damn if she didn’t shove her face a little farther into his and say, “I am not crazy.”
In a placating voice, he nodded as he said, “Good. Now can you please eat your breakfast without causing any more emotional displays? Everybody’s been staring at us for the last ten minutes, since you yelled out the first time.”
She glanced around at the tables beside them, sending several strong-enough frowns at various men that they turned back to their food instead of watching the entertainment. Then she spun around to hers, hunched over her bowl and ate quickly.
He gently patted her knee. “It’ll be fine.”
She gripped his fingers, smacked his hand onto the bench beside them and shot him a hard look. “Remember, you don’t want to sleep with me.”
Then she lifted her hand and went back to eating her oatmeal.
“Oh, dear God.” He didn’t know what the hell happened, but he felt like laughing and crying. She wasn’t just crazy; she was making him crazy. Yet inside was a lightness he’d never experienced before. He couldn’t explain it.
Still no way would he leave her with the wrong impression. He leaned forward and whispered, “I would love to, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be here.”
She smirked. “You should be so lucky.”
“I need to tell you about last night,” Easton said.
Before he realized, she had bolted to her feet and, with a small finger wave, dashed from the mess tent, leaving her empty dishes behind. He stared at the trail she’d trod and wondered why the tent suddenly seemed a whole lot dimmer. Shaking his head at his fanciful thoughts of the absolutely bizarre conversation he just had, he turned back to his breakfast and decided, if he was sane, he’d much rather spend time with his friends than take one crazy step in the direction of that chaos. But, even having made that determination, he couldn’t stop his gaze from looking at the exit just in case she reappeared.
When Devlin kicked him under the table and glared at him, Easton realized just how bad he had it because all he’d been doing was staring like an idiot where she had stood. Determined to not let her get to him anymore, he turned his attention back to his own breakfast. He had a long day ahead of him, and he needed the sustenance, even if she didn’t.
His gaze landed on the seat she’d vacated, catching flecks of blood on the back. All humor disappeared. He reached out a finger to touch one. Then slowly turned to look at the others.