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The medical tent was within sight and their steps had slowed.
“What do you want to know?”
“What made you decide you wanted to do that?”
“Probably Agnes and Bud’s influence over the years. I wanted to make a difference. A buddy of mine had joined and convinced me that doing the same would give me a sense of accomplishment that I wasn’t finding in Atlanta.”
“Was he right?”
CHAPTER FIVE
GOOD QUESTION. BUT not one Trace could easily answer.
In some ways, joining had filled a need within him that had been gaping since Kerry died. In others, he now had holes where they hadn’t previously existed.
Maybe life was one big trade-off after another.
“I’d do it again, so I guess that’s a yes,” he finally said, realizing they’d completely stopped moving. “I thought of you.”
Surprise lightened the green of her eyes. “What did you think about me?”
“You know what I thought.”
Her eyes rolled a little. “That we share a strong sexual chemistry?”
“Among other things.”
Why he was telling her so much, he wasn’t sure; it was just that he felt it imperative to be upfront with her, that anything else seemed inadequate.
“I’d never met anyone like you, Chrissie.”
Her chest lifted a little, as if his admission had caused her to have to take a deep breath. “And now?”
Her question caught him off guard.
“What about now?”
She looked up at him with a fierceness that defied her petite size. “I’m trying to figure out exactly what you’re doing, Trace. You’ve admitted your goal is to sleep with me again. Is that the ultimate goal or do you want more from me than this weekend?”
More questions that made him uncomfortable, but at least he had answers for these. Not answers written in stone, but answers nonetheless.
“I’ll be back overseas soon, Chrissie. To pretend otherwise would be wrong. Anything between us would only be for the weekend.”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded, as if she’d been expecting that to be his answer.
“Is that nod an agreement?”
“No, Trace, I’m not agreeing to those terms. I didn’t come here looking for you, or for an affair, or for anything other than to volunteer. Despite what four years ago might have led you to believe, I don’t have affairs just because one is on offer and would feel good.”
“Maybe you should.”
* * *
Trace’s words haunted Chrissie as she tossed back and forth in her sleeping bag. She’d not gone to her tent until almost midnight, but that hour had struck long ago and her mind still raced too much for sleep to take hold.
This was ridiculous.
She needed sleep. Needed to get rest before tomorrow when they’d likely be busy all day with dehydration, heatstroke and minor injuries.
