“Here,” she began, rustling around in her pack and pulling a packet of field rations free. “I was just making some soup. I’ll add another to my pot for you.”
Not waiting for an answer, she got to work making him dinner.
twenty
BÉBHINN
Bébhinn triedto hide the slight shake of her hands, hoping to appear nonchalant as she dumped another chicken noodle soup packet into the boiling water.
Dagr. Dagr Griffiths.Jesus.How had she ever thought the man at her side was remotely related to herbrother, for the love of God? He was tall, maybe as tall as her dad, but it was hard to tell since she hadn’t seen him fully upright.
It was the hair that had caught her off guard. That plus his height had thrown her for a moment. But besides that, they were nothing alike, and thank goodness for that, because no one wanted to look at a sexy stranger and think, “Hey, he looks just like my brother.”
Besides his mannerisms and Welsh accent, another thing that was completely different about him were his eyes. Her brothers’ eyes ranged from honey amber to dark brown—variations of their father’s.
Dagr’s eyes were… They were impossible to describe. She needed Mags’ flair for description to come close, but if forced,she would call them clear.You’re an idiot, Bébhinn.Clear? She could do better than that.
They were so light blue, they appeared colorless.
Mesmerizing.
Attempting to drum up a coherent bit of conversation, she blurted, “The weather hit fast.” That was all she had?
She watched as he maneuvered his big frame into a more comfortable position. He fed the fire a few pieces of kindling before turning his unnervingly gorgeous eyes back to her.
“It caught me off guard, and that rarely happens.”
She believed that the man watching her wasn’t caught off guard often. Every movement he made seemed capable. She really needed to stop staring. The man would think he was holed up with a nutter.
Glancing to her left, she noticed that her father’s letter was lying on a rock shelf next to her pack, and she discreetly pushed the envelope under her discarded face mask.
Tonight was supposed to be the night she read her dad’s final words.Damn. Damn. Damn.
“I can’t believe we found the same cave.”
“Oh, I knew the cave was here. I hike all over the world, but Wales is my home. Dad and I have explored every mile. I am surprised that you found it, though. Unless this isn’t your first time exploring these peaks.”
“It’s my first, but I did study the topography maps of each stage, and thank God I did or else I’d have had to push through.” She shivered thinking about it. “I was getting pretty cold before I decided to find shelter.”
She stirred the soup, which was ready. It only took a minute to hydrate the noodles and chicken. Dagr rummaged through his pack until he pulled out a small metal pan similar to hers. She held her hand out and he handed it to her so she could split the soup.
As she divvied dinner, he tugged off his shoes, placed them near the fire by hers, and shed his jacket.
“Hopefully, this thing will dry fast. I’ve been using it for my pillow at night.” He explained while he laid the jacket between himself and the fire.
“In the meantime, I’ve been staying at lovely B&Bs with feather mattresses and hot showers.” She smirked before adding, “I like my travel agent better than yours.”
He laughed before picking up his pot to sip the hot soup. “Ahh, so you’re a princess hiker. I must have missed seeing your matching luggage because it was covered in snow.”
“Hey! I travel light, Mr. Judgy. And to think, I was about to offer to share my pillow.”
“Oh Christ, I knew it! The princess needs a pillow.”
“No, the princess was smart enough to pack a blow-up pillow that takes up no room in her pack but provides much more comfort than a zipper jacket.”
“Fine, fine. I concede. I’m sure as hell not going to argue with the woman who built this fire and made me dinner.”
“Ha ha. Mom and my aunts have always said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Well,” she smirked, enjoying their banter, “Aunt River says a lot more than that, but I won’t repeat her words of wisdom in polite company.”
