Chapter 10

Where had the heat gone today? It was July, when did it ever get this cold in July? Clearly Northern Ontario had its own weather rules that were like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She rubbed her hands together and huddled deeper into the sleeping bag. Why hadn’t the blue haired boy sold her mitts along with the rest of the store? Fumbling with the flashlight until she found the on switch, she looked around the tent for those little candles. Should she even light one of those to warm up her hands? She looked up at the ceiling of the tent, with the screen covered by that flap thing—wouldn’t the smoke just go out that way? Sighing, she clicked off the flashlight, with her luck she’d set the tent on fire.

Rayne shimmied down as far as she could in the sleeping bag and pulled it up over her shoulders. With a lot of grunting and wiggling around she managed to move over by the door. Reaching one hand out, she unzipped the zipper just a few inches and peaked outside. She didn’t need to look out to see how hard it was raining, the drops echoing off the tent already told her. Of course she didn’t have an umbrella or anything sensible like that, so she couldn’t even make a run for the little cabin. Flicking the flashlight back on, she shone it outside, there was a mini river forming and streaming right by the tent. If the rain didn’t let up soon it would be in the tent as well. How waterproof was the tent? The driest, warmest place would be the car with the heater on, but did she want to sleep in that seat again? Not really. Turning off the light, Rayne sat there staring out into the dark. Was the rain ever going to stop? It had started before dark and didn’t seem to be easing off yet. Did it rain here every night? Next time she fled to a secluded place she was going to research weather patterns first.

Once again, she had no idea what time it was. Had she brought her watch and where would it be? No one wore watches any more, not in this day of cell phones and iPods. She didn’t want to make a run for the car to find out how many more hours until the warm sunlight returned. Did she really want to sit here all night shivering?

Another heavy downpour distracted her from pouting, the rain so hard it was deafening. After a few minutes, she could hear each single drop as they hit the tent in the otherwise quiet night. Aiming the light outside, she watched as the little rivers were forming friends as they moved past the tent. She was going to be soaked soon. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten. She’d tried to work the little stove just before the rain had started, wanting something hot after a few days of fruit and bars, but the rain changed her plans and here she was, hungry. Rayne groaned aloud when she realized she’d moved all her food into the cabin. She was going to have to go to the cabin, there was no other option. Cold and a little dampness she might be able to handle, but she wouldn’t be able be hungry as well. Sometimes being a vegetarian had its trials. Meat eaters could eat a big meal then spend the next eight hours digesting it.

Shrugging out of the sleeping bag, she flashed the light around inside the tent to find a bag to put the sleeping bag to keep it dry while running to the cabin. Her clothes and towels were in the cabin, everything was in the cabin except her bed. Okay, so leaving space in the tent wasn’t the most brilliant idea. How was she supposed to know there were mini monsoons here every night, or at least the two she’d been here for? Rayne looked at her shoes, no sense in even putting those on and getting them soaked.

It took her three tries to wrestle the sleeping bag back into its little carrying bag. Why did they make them so small? As she stuffed the little candles into the sleeping bag a loud crack of thunder almost made her faint. Turning off the flashlight, she jammed it into the bag and turned around to unzip the door. Stopping, she looked down at her jeans. It would be easier to dry off skin than to squirm out of soaking wet clothes. It wasn’t as if she would be seen running to the cabin without her clothes, the chances of Devin out wandering around in this were slim, not when he had a nice warm home to be in. Before she could chicken out, she pulled the sweat shirt over her head and tossed it into the corner. The t-shirt and jeans followed. Rayne hesitated when she grasped her bra, she wasn’t taking it or the thong off. Alone or not, streaking through a thunderstorm naked just wasn’t something she was comfortable with.

Taking a deep breath, she unzipped the door, just far enough to squeeze out. The rain was cold on her bare skin. “You’re crazy,” she whispered into the night slipping out and dragging the bag with her. Squatting as the rain pelted her back, she hugged the bag into her stomach to keep it as dry as possible while trying to zip up the tent. Her hands were already cold, and the cool rain wasn’t helping as it took a lot longer than she would have liked to seal the tent up again.

Rising, she hunched over the bag and turned towards the cabin. Her hair was plastered to her head and sticking to her soaked back. A flash of lightning made her jolt into action and lunge for the cabin door. She fumbled to get it open and then tripped through the doorway, slamming it closed behind her. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was exhilarated. “Okay, that wasn’t so bad.” Feeling around in the bag she grabbed the flashlight and turned it on, placing it on the floor before digging for the candles. Matches? Where were the matches? Groaning, she picked up the light and went over to the bags in the corner.

Rayne dug around through the bags to find the matches then back over to light one of the candles. Clothes were next, her goose bumps now had goose bumps. Stripping off the bra and wet underwear, she wrapped a towel around her while locating something dry and warm.

Dressed once again, she unrolled the sleeping bag and climbed in, holding her hands over the candle. Her hair being wet seemed to defeat the purpose of having warm hands, but the granola bars were a welcome thing.

As Rayne chewed each bite slowly, she stared the candle flame, Camping, was not rating high on her ‘fun things to do’ list. She took another bite. But, she was doing it all on her own. How many things can I say that about? Her parents had coddled and sheltered her all her life, when they had died it had been Aiden’s father that looked out for Rayne, then eventually Aiden. This was the first thing she had truly done all on her own. Considering she had no idea how to do any of it, she thought she was doing a good job.

Rayne knew she should blow out the candle and try to sleep, but complete darkness didn’t feel comforting. The storm seemed to be louder in the small wooden space, and she admitted that she wasn’t that brave to be in the dark. She got up to find one of the little pots she’d bought and set the candle right into it. Putting it down safely away from where she was going to sleep, she went back to her warm cocoon. Shimmying all the way to the bottom, she rested her head on the rolled-up blanket. It wasn’t as comfy as the air mattress, but there was no way she was making a return trip tonight. At least it was better than the car. No matter, she was exhausted enough that she wouldn’t notice in a few minutes’ time.

~

Shaking the water off his coat, Devin padded around the cabin once more. This had to be the tenth time he’d gone around the stupid thing. There hadn’t been any movement from inside the for quite some time now. He sat beneath the window and looked up. Had she fallen asleep? He’d been shocked when she’d come out of her tent in her underwear and darted in the cabin. Had she been afraid inside the tent? Is that why she ran out? And why, his mind wondered for the umpteenth time had she been in her underwear? Or lack of—now that he pictured it again. He could still see her bolting into the cabin and could definitely see her perfect ass in very tiny underwear. Think of something else...

He looked up at the window again. Knowing it was wrong, he did it anyways. Without serious thought or focus he shifted back into his two-legged form, gritting his teeth when the water repelling coat was now skin and the cold rain beat off it. Devin looked in the window and his heart surged for a few beats. Candlelight reflected her sleeping form. She was all curled up inside the sleeping bag, hands under her cheek. She was almost angelic in that pose with the flickering light shining over her.

He argued with himself for a moment, wanting nothing more than to go inside and to carry her back to the house where she would be warm and comfortable. Although, waking up to a naked, wet man carrying you through the dark bush, might not be something she would accept calmly. A shiver ran over his skin as the rain continued to fall in heavy waves from the sky. He’d check on her after the storm passed. Wiping the water from his face, he shifted back to four legs and turned to run through the night.

Several miles later he realized no amount of running was going to stop him from thinking about Rayne. He had to figure out what he was going to do soon, or go insane. Staying away from her wasn’t working. Lurking in the shadows and watching her was frustrating, the constant need to see her was a revolving thought that nagged without pause. It pissed him off that he kept giving in, but not enough it seemed, to stop.

Stopping, Devin sat and just stared into the night. He should go home and sleep, something he hadn’t really done since Rayne appeared, but he didn’t want to leave her unprotected. How long will I continue to be caught in this whirl of emotions? He knew the answer or at least the options that applied to the question. He would be like this until he claimed her—and his place of leadership would follow that. Or he could walk away and from the way he was feeling— it would have to be far away and nowhere near where he could smell her scent.

Shaking the rain from his coat, he started a slow pace back to the house. No decisions would be made right now. In the morning, he’d try to resist going right to her and see how that turned out.