Page 51 of Fatal Mistake
“Here’s the reason you brought me along.” She nodded at the trail ahead.
“Sweet,” Rick said, but Cal was looking up through the trees and didn’t immediately respond.
“I’ll lead,” he finally said. “Tara next.”
Tara had no reason to argue, so she nodded but added, “The path forks ahead. Veer right and your coordinates are about a hundred yards after that.”
He set off. Tara followed, watching him instead of the path. How could such a large man move so fluidly and silently? She pictured him as a SEAL sneaking through a jungle, his mind set on rescuing a hostage. Focused on his mission.
If she found herself in such a situation, she wouldn’t want any other man coming to her rescue. Not even Rick, who seemed more than competent, too. She felt this way about Cal for the same reason she was leery of him. He took command of a situation and approached it with everything he was made of.
Did he run his life outside the job the same way? He’d mentioned that he wouldn’t be a dictator in his personal life if he even had one, but turning off this working attitude at the drop of a hat? She couldn’t imagine that.
At the fork, he headed right and came to a stop.
“We’ll start our search here.” He caught Tara’s attention. “Go ahead and take a rest at the base of the tree next to you.”
She didn’t want to appear to be the weak one in the group. “I’m good.”
“With the possible sniper angles in this area, if you sit where I tell you, you’ll be protected from rifle fire, and I can search more freely without worrying about you.” He cracked a smile. “You can even take the helmet off for now.” He dug out a bottle of water and handed it to her.
She lowered herself to the ground and gladly unclipped the helmet. She swiped the perspiration from her forehead and chugged the water. Sweat trickled down her neck. She must look quite a sight. Not that the guys cared about how she looked. They walked together, heads down, and stepped in an unspoken grid pattern. The heat didn’t seem to bother them. She’d played softball in high school and worked the farm, but she was such a girly girl compared with the Knights. She honestly had very little in common with Cal, and yet they were attracted to each other. Clearly, there was no accounting for what the heart wanted.
“We can move on to the next location,” Cal soon announced.
She clamped the helmet on her head, stowed her water bottle, and stared at Cal. “I assume you want to lead, so take the same trail back to the scrub by the road.”
He nodded and they set off. Back at the knee-deep grass, she stepped ahead, and he moved to her side.
“When did you have time to find all these trails?” he asked.
“The few rainy days that we’ve had this summer.”
“So you slogged through all of this in the rain?”
She nodded.
He shook his head. “You keep surprising me at how tough you are.”
She snorted. “I was just thinking about what a wuss I am compared to you all.”
“Well, that’s a given.” He grinned, revealing a small dimple on one side. Ah, that boyish charm she found irresistible had returned. “But still. You’re a strong person, Tara. Don’t ever think otherwise.”
Why had she been blessed with smiles and laughter from him today? Should she ask? No, not with Rick nearby.
She led them to the next path. It was wider, so they continued walking together until they approached their location. Cal grabbed her arm, stopping her forward progress. She tried to preempt his need to instruct her and looked for a place to sit.
“Have you been here recently?” he asked, instead of directing her to sit.
She shook her head.
He gestured ahead at the side of the path. “The trampled foliage says someone has.”
Excitement and fear commingled in her stomach. “Oren, yesterday?”
“Could be.”
“If I help with the search we can figure it out faster.”
