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“We’re not in a rush,” he said. “Take as long as you need.” He gave her a quick grin, hoping to provide some levity. “Or I could carry you the rest of the way. We’re less than fifteen minutes from the car.”
She glared at him and shook her head emphatically.
Good. If she could scowl like that, then she was doing a little better.
“We’ll wait until you’re able to stand.” He pulled out his phone. “Maybe I’ll get a signal when we’re closer to the car.”
He sat next to her, keeping quiet while she got her breathing under control. Goat bells jingled in the distance. The breeze cooled his skin, bringing the smell of dried grass and sage. He would have appreciated his surroundings more if he hadn’t been so worried about her.
When her wheeze turned into a deep, rattling cough, he startled. “You okay?”
She thumped her chest and cleared her throat a few times. “Almost there. Thanks for finding my inhaler.”
“No problem. I’m glad one of the goats didn’t take it. They eat everything.”
“Speaking of eating…” A hint of a smile crossed her lips. She opened her pack and brought out a huge bunch of grapes. “Want some? An old guy gave them to me when I wandered through his vineyard.”
“Sure.” He grabbed a handful and tossed them in his mouth. A little squished and warm, but otherwise sweet and delicious.
After a few more minutes, she put the inhaler in her daypack. “We can go now.”
He helped her up, catching her when she stumbled. As their eyes met, he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, just out of sheer relief. But he turned away, not wanting to reveal the depth of his feelings. “Let’s get moving.”
They followed the path of the stream at a steady pace. When Olivia spoke, her voice was strained and hoarse. “Thanks for coming to get me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t look for you sooner. Were you in that ravine the whole time?” She must have been terrified, worrying no one would ever find her.
“No. I got lost, and then I panicked, and my asthma kicked in.”
“You got lost? Wasn’t your GPS working?”
“I…sort of freaked out when an old villager approached me. I fell backward and dropped it on a rock. I think I might have broken it. Sorry.” As she said it, she ducked her head like she was afraid to meet his eyes.
He groaned in frustration. Even if the mistake was an honest one, Grant would be livid that she’d ruined a piece of the school’s survey equipment. If they couldn’t fix it, they’d have to find another one for her to use during the rest of the survey.
“Rick?” Her voice wavered. “I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me. I’ll take the heat, I promise.”
Regardless of whether she took the blame, he was still the team leader. Now he looked terrible, returning to camp almost an hour late with nothing to show for it. But he got his exasperation in check at the sight of tears glistening in her eyes. Screw Grant and his fucking schedule. All that mattered was getting Olivia out of danger and bringing her back to camp. He placed his hand on her arm.
She met his gaze with a fearful expression. “Please don’t be mad.”
“I’m not. I was really worried about you. From now on, take a backup inhaler, okay? I don’t want anything like that happening to you again.”
Saying the words made him realize how deep he was getting, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to experience that fear again.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “You’re being way too nice about this. But thanks.”
He drew her close and hugged her tightly, feeling her tremble under his touch. Letting out his breath in a ragged exhale, he held her until he’d gotten his emotions under control. He kissed the top of her head and inhaled her familiar scent—a mixture of sweat, sunscreen, and lavender-scented shampoo. When he released her, the relief in her eyes made his heart soar.
By the time they reached the car, she’d fully recovered, other than the occasional cough.
TJ ran toward her. “Olivia! You’re all scraped up. What happened?”
“I headed in the wrong direction, fell into a ravine, and had an asthma attack,” she said. “Not my best day of surveying. Sorry I’m so late.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “We were more worried about you than the stupid schedule.”
“We walked all over the place trying to get a signal with our phones,” Alisha said. “We thought if we could reach someone at camp, we could let them know what happened, but we didn’t have any luck.”
More than ever, Rick was glad they’d off-loaded Brynn, who would have bitched about being late. Instead, Alisha and Marisol offered Olivia the rest of their water. He hustled all of them into the Kia and barreled along the sharp roads at a furious clip, but there was no way to make up for the time they’d lost.
When they walked into camp, lunch was over, but no one had started their lab work. Instead, the staff and students sat at the picnic tables, waiting for the inevitable showdown. Grant stood beside them, arms crossed, making no attempt to hide his rage.
They were in trouble.
