Page 16 of Keeping Amanda
“Creepy-crawlies,” she said matter-of-factly. “Bugs. Spiders. Snakes. Because lying on the ground under those rocks and leaves is gonna mean bugs crawling on us. That happened in the tent back at the camp where we were held. And I figure if it happened inside a tent, then it’ll definitely happen out here in nature.”
“I’m good with it. As long as nothing bites us, we’ll be fine.”
She nodded. “Yeah. That’s what I told the girls. Okay, what’s for breakfast? Or lunch, or whatever it is we’re having?”
This woman. The longer he was around her, the more impressive she seemed. She took things in stride. If he’d been with almost anyone else, he figured they’d be freaking out. About being dirty. About the bugs. About sleeping on the ground. But not Amanda Rush. She was one of a kind, and that wasn’t even taking into account the fact that she’d quit her job to help teach orphans in a country most people probably couldn’t even find on a map.
Buck vowed right then and there to do whatever it took to make sure she got back home without a single hair on her head being harmed. It was the least he could do after all she’d been through. He’d pull any strings needed to make it happen.
And it wasn’t lost on him that “home” was the same city wherehelived. It was a huge coincidence…but then again, he didn’t believe in coincidences.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure of what I grabbed. Have a seat and we’ll check it out,” he told her a little gruffly, not wanting to admit that he was having all sorts of feelings he’d never experienced before…and was confused as hell about every single one of them.
CHAPTER FIVE
Amanda wanted nothing more than to crawl inside that hole in the rocks and sleep for days. But she refused to be the stereotypical city girl…out of her element in the jungle and all whiny about it. Besides, everything she’d told Nash had been the truth. She needed him. Wasn’t getting out of this without him. He had to stay strong, because she certainly was not. She was a huge manacle around his ankle, and he had to drag her along every step of the way.
Without her there, he’d be halfway to Guyana by now, she had no doubt. So she’d do whatever it took, sacrifice what she had to, in order for him to stay strong.
It wasn’t that she was unselfish—she wanted to grab one of the cans he was taking out of the backpack he’d stolen and stuff all the food in her mouth as fast as she could—it was more that she was being practical.
She felt a little disconnected as she watched him pull out the cans he’d pilfered. Thank goodness they all had pull tabs and they didn’t need a can opener. Wouldn’t that have just sucked to have all this food and no way of getting into it?
But then again, he had that big-ass knife. He could probably get into a weak little can without any problem with that thing.
“What are you smiling about?” Nash asked as he glanced up.
“Nothing really.”
“No, come on. Tell me,” he urged.
Amanda wasn’t sure she’d ever met a man who actuallylikedto talk as much as Nash seemed to. Who encouraged a woman to tell him what she was thinking all the time. Granted, circumstances right now were very different than normal. He was probably completely different when he was at home with his friends.
Now that they were in full daylight, she took the time to study him more closely. His eyes were unusual—a blueish-green color. And judging by his gaze, he looked as if he had the ability to read her deepest, darkest secrets. His nose was a little crooked, as if it had been broken at some point. He had dark hair, short on the sides, longer on the top, with a bit of scruff on his face. And even though he was wearing one of those flight suit things, which zipped from his crotch to his neck, she could tell he was muscular.
Of course, right now that flight suit was covered in dirt and mud from crawling on the ground. He had streaks of dirt on his face and his hands were just as dirty. Amanda had a feeling she probably looked ten times grubbier than he did.
“Are you always like this?” she blurted.
“Like what?” he asked, with a cute tilt of his head.
No. No, no, no. She couldn’t start thinking of him as cute. He was her rescuer. That was it. Once they got back to Guyana, she’d have a few more months to go in her agreement with the school, then she’d head home and figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
“Chatty,” she said succinctly.
Nash chuckled. “Yup. Drives my friends crazy. It drives my copilot, Obi-Wan,especiallycrazy.”
“Obi-Wan?”
“Yeah. He’s a hugeStar Warsfan. Obviously.”
“I assume he wanted to fly a starfighter growing up.”
“Bingo,” Nash said with a smile.
“Why are you called Buck?”
To Amanda’s surprise, she thought she saw his cheeks flush. Was he embarrassed about his nickname?
