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Kendra tugged her damp top from her skin before it melted from the heat that expanded through her chest. Being observed increased the intensity of the pulse between her legs, and her heart was racing by the time she got to where Malee was trying to lift a log.
Malee glanced towards the track as Sarah came into view. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine.” She avoided eye contact and lifted the other end of the trunk with her back to Malee. “Where’s this going?” Kendra asked, wondering how she was going to control her desire to kiss Sarah and give her undivided attention to the group tubing activity.
27.
“OKAY. EVERYONE GOT Abottle of water?” Kendra asked.
Sarah held up hers, feeling like the Girl Scout she’d been in her early teens. An odd sensation invited the memory of her striving to be the best, to attain all the badges faster and more proficiently than all the other kids. Being driven hadn’t been stressful back then. It had been thrilling, and coming out on top, rewarding. The women around her lifted their bottles.
“Is this like white water rapids?” Erica asked.
Sarah couldn’t make out if the young woman was excited or terrified but leaned towards the latter. A beach on the south coast of Spain would have definitely been a better choice of holiday destination for Erica and Dani. That fault still lay with Dani, and Erica had talked about little else around the dinner table the past two nights. Sarah had a vision of pints of sangria, pissed before nine p.m. and still out at five a.m., remembering very little of the night and sleeping through the day. That was Erica in a nutshell, and she probably represented a good proportion of the voting population. But at not much older than the twins, why the hell not? Sarah thought about Abi and Reece doing something similar at some point too soon for her and acknowledged the unease that the thought stirred.
Kendra put a hand on Erica’s shoulder and smiled. “It’s very gentle and loads of fun.”
Sarah sensed the kindness in Kendra’s reassuring touch.
“We have about an hour’s hike in that direction to get to the river.” Kendra cast her gaze across the group as she pointed towards the path leading deeper into the jungle. She held Sarah’s gaze for longer than the rest.
Dani grabbed Erica’s arm, her bottom lip quivering.
“The route is perfectly safe, Dani.” Kendra smiled at her. “Tell me, what’s your favourite food?”
Dani stared into space for a moment and bit the inside of her lip. “Chocolate ice cream.”
Kendra drank from a bottle of water. “So, think about eating a huge scoop of ice-cold, rich chocolate ice cream.”
Dani grinned and let go of Erica’s arm.
“There you go. If you feel nervous, think of your favourite food, or a cuddly toy, or music.” She looked at Sarah. “Or a person.”
Heat filled Sarah and sweat beaded through every pore. Kendra would be her go-to place of safety if something scared her. Given the black runs she was used to, she doubted tubing would be all that challenging. She wouldn’t mind eating a large scoop of chocolate ice cream right now though. Kendra looked too damned sexy in her brown, knee-length shorts, green Converse, and olive-green top. A few camouflage markings across her face and shoulders, a sexy bandana around her head, a machete at her waist, and she’d look every bit like she should be hunting for treasures in the jungle while being chased by bandits. And Sarah would be the one doing the chasing. The image stirred her core. She cleared her throat. Kendra, and the rest of the group, were staring at her. “Sorry, what was that?”
“Are you ready?”
Sarah nodded.
Kendra strapped a small rucksack to her back and addressed the group. “We’ll take it nice and slowly. If you need to stop, just let me know. Take in lots of water and stay on the track. I’ve got more water if you need any.”
Sarah was disappointed not to be the one to follow directly behind Kendra, where she could get a better view of her backside and the muscular tone that seemed more developed than it had been before. Kendra had said she would have the group to look after, so she hoped it wasn’t anything more than that that had resulted in Sarah trailing at the back.
The track wasn’t as dense as Sarah had imagined. A well-trodden path led from the camp inland to the river. The women had started the trek in silence but soon, the younger ones found their voices and their stride. Nadia, who walked just ahead of Sarah, had been quiet as normal. She suddenly stopped in front of her and pointed towards a branch at the top of one of the trees.
Sarah squinted. “What is it?”
“You see the gold chest, there, with the violet blue wings and tail and black head?”
Sarah spotted the bird, dipping and lifting its beak.
“There’s another one, two branches up, to the left.” Nadia pointed. “That’s where the singing’s coming from. They’re blue-winged pittas. Aren’t they beautiful?”
Sarah smiled as she tuned into their happy song. “Yes.”
“They nest on the ground but like to sing from the tops of trees. Both the male and female look after their young.” She smiled and carried on walking.
Sarah thought about how she and Mark had looked after their young at her Belgravia home, and a fleeting prickle of guilt passed quickly. No more or less than when she’d gone away on her own. She guessed it would always be with her, that feeling of not having done enough for the people she loved the most. Reece and Mark would enjoy finding out about the eco-tourist industry here, the hard economics, and project management details, but not Abi. Abi would spend hours, days, even a lifetime in this place and love everything about it.
