Wind Shadow by Renee Roszel

could.” There was a brief moment when he just stood there smiling down at her. “Is that what you want to do?”
    She dropped her eyes to her slippered feet. “Actually, I really just want to go to bed.” Her long lashes fluttered back up to meet his gaze straight on. “But if I’m needed to do something, I’ll do it. I feel badly enough about not having the wherewithal to make the game.”
    Smiling, he shook his head. Somehow, it seemed like a reassuring gesture. “You’re doing great, Silky. By next week, you’ll be keeping up just fine.” Reaching out, he touched her jaw with a finger, sliding it down to her chin. “If you want to go to bed, go on. The camp will be fine.”
    She moved slightly, lifting her chin from hissoft touch. Her eyes slid away from his face, and the unbidden thought that he was strikingly handsome in blue skitted through her consciousness as she realized he was wearing the same light blue shirt and hip-caressing navy pants he had worn the first day of the trip—the day he had kissed her. She felt her cheeks go fiery hot with the memory.
    Pulling a hand through her hair, she murmured, “I—I think I’ll just turn in. Good night, Wade.” Without waiting for a reply, she picked her way through the maze of colorful tents back to hers, and ducked inside.
    Lying on her back, she listened to the bustle of departing bikers. Nearly a quarter of an hour later, she was still lying there, wide awake, hearing nothing but the occasional ghostly, nocturnal question of a short-eared owl as he called out in the dusky wilderness night, “Whoooo? Whoooo?”
    Who? No. That wasn’t the right question. The question, at least as far as Silky was concerned, was
what?
What was making her feel so guilty? It wasn’t the fact that she was a bike-a-thon failure. Both Annie and Wade had put her at ease there. Neither was it that she had gone to bed and left Wade alone to watch the camp. He’d said it was okay. Well… maybe she did feel a little guilty about that. After all, Wade was hurting too.
    She sat bolt upright. That was it! She could have helped him with his leg, and she hadn’t offered to do a single thing! Filled with resolve,she reached for her bag of toilet articles, grabbing a bottle of aspirin and a squeeze tube of lotion.
    Seconds later, she’d scrambled out of her tent. Wincing at the pain involved in straightening up, she looked around. Wade was sitting on his bedroll beside the flickering fire, a pan of steaming water on the ground beside him. With a slight intake of breath, she noticed that he had removed his shirt in the fire’s radiant heat. Wavering firelight reached out and caught in its bright aura the red gold highlights of the curling hair that lay close and protective over the corded muscles of his chest.
    Her eyes moved slowly up to note that even his black hair glowed an intriguing, unexplainable golden red where the firelight touched it in the dancing reflection of the low flames. It surprised her to see that a man so dark by day could yield such an enticing variance of color in the deceptive shimmer of a fire.
    As she watched his profile, he began to knead his scarred calf. He’d certainly had a rough day making it easier for everyone else in the pack, and he was paying for it now. A pang of sympathy pricked her as she watched him.
    She’d thought her approach had been practically soundless, but when she reached him, he glanced over his shoulder, raising sparkling black eyes to hers. “Hi. I thought you’d gone to bed.”
    “I did.” Holding out the bottle of aspirin, she began, “But it occurred to me you might needthis.” Her brief explanation came out a bit briskly, and she felt strangely timid all of a sudden. She forced a small smile, reminding herself that she was doing the right thing—finally.
    “Thanks.” He flashed her a lopsided grin and patted the bedroll. “Join me? A fire’s nicer with company.”

Chapter Five
    W ell…” She hesitated as she