Page 22 of Stranded with the Surgeon
His arm had caught hers, which was just enough to stop her toppling from exhaustion. ‘You can stop for a bit,’ he said. ‘I think we’ve found a good place to camp for the night. Look at that!’
Jennifer’s gaze had been on Guy’s back or the track in front of her feet for so long she had to blink to focus. Then her jaw dropped.
‘It’s gorgeous!’ she exclaimed.
The mountain lake ahead was so still it reflected the surrounding peaks absolutely perfectly. Trees grew close to one side where a stream led into the bush line.
‘We’ll head for that stream,’ Guy announced. ‘We’ll build a shelter among the big boulders and I should be able to get a fire going with some fuel from the bush.’
It sounded like heaven to Jennifer, but having stopped, it was an effort to force her feet to move again, and when she did it was impossible not to limp.
Guy said nothing until they had gone another five hundred metres to where huge boulders were overhung by the branches of massive trees.
‘I’ll start collecting some wood, shall I?’ Jennifer offered. ‘For the fire?’
Guy shook his head. ‘Sit down,’ he ordered. ‘I want to look at your feet.’
‘I’m fine,’ Jennifer protested. Then she looked up and caught Guy’s expression and she was suddenly way too tired and sore to try arguing. Or even to care that she was so dependent on this man who thought she was a waste of space. She sat.
Guy pulled at the wet laces on her shoes. ‘These things are like boats on your feet,’ he said. ‘I don’t know how you’ve managed to walk as far as you have today.’
‘How far do you think we’ve come?’
Guy eased a shoe off. ‘Somewhere between ten and fifteen kilometres. A good distance over this kind of terrain anyway. Especially for someone who isn’t used to this kind of thing.’ He pulled a sock off before he glanced up. ‘Well done, Jenna. I’m impressed.’
The glow of pride created almost as much warmth as her feet were generating under the cool touch of Guy’s hands.
‘What a mess!’ he said in disgust.
Jennifer had to agree. Her feet were bright red, alarmingly swollen and had angry raw patches where blisters had long since popped and rubbed away.
‘Soak them in the stream for a minute or two,’ Guy suggested. ‘We’ve got extra dressings and bandages and hopefully we’ll have a fire going soon so we can warm you up if they get too cold.’
Jennifer sat on a rock, easing her burning feet by degrees into what felt like liquid ice as she watched Guy gather materials for a fire. He disappeared into the bush briefly and came back with an armload of twigs and bark. He gathered small pieces of driftwood from the stony edge of the lake and then glanced towards Jennifer.
‘I’ll just go and find some bigger pieces,’ he told her. ‘Won’t be long.’
The sound of him moving through the undergrowth ceased astonishingly quickly. Jennifer heard the loud snap of a branch from further away and then only silence. She twisted to look at the forest, but it was becoming rapidly dark and forbidding. Twisting further, she turned her gaze to the mirror created by the small lake, and she could see the sunset gilding the mountain peaks without raising her eyes any further.
For a moment the thought of Guy somewhere in the forest behind her vanished, and Jennifer realised she was more alone than she had ever been in her life. Strangely, it wasn’t frightening. The beauty around her was awe-inspiring and the sense of being so insignificant ceased to matter because she wasn’t trying to impose herself on this landscape in any way. She was simply a part of it for those few minutes. A part of something breathtakingly magnificent. And what should have been overwhelming enough to spark fear gave Jennifer a sense of utter peace instead.
The moment was lost as she heard Guy return and saw his arms laden with wood.
‘You look exhausted,’ he said.
‘I think I must be.’ Jennifer summoned a smile. ‘I was actually enjoying the view.’
Guy just grunted. He crouched low and started arranging his supplies. With the pocketknife he’d used last night to harvest grass, he shaved fine slivers from a piece of driftwood, covering a handful of dead leaves. He used a cigarette lighter to start the fire.
‘Someone must be on our side,’ he murmured. ‘This would be so much harder if it had been raining.’
Jennifer watched the smoke curling up from the leaves, then the tiny flicker of flames reaching for the kindling Guy added slowly. When he was satisfied the fire was well alight, he filled the billy with water from the stream and balanced it on top of the fire. Then he turned his attention to Jennifer’s feet.
His hands felt deliciously warm against her chilled skin now. Warm… and very gentle.
‘Wiggle your toes,’ he commanded. ‘Now your ankles. Does anything hurt?’
‘They feel better now they’ve had a rest.’
