River’s End

anything typical about having the top of his head sheared off. He still couldn’t pull all his thoughts back in, but he managed to walk over, turn her around.
    “Listen—”
    “Hands off.” She knocked them away. “Do you think I don’t know what this is about? If you can’t convince me with your so-called logic and charm, add some physical stimuli. Just like before.”
    “Oh no, you don’t.” With a wiry strength she’d underestimated, he held her still when she would have shoved away. His eyes flashed with a temper she realized was much more potent than his lazy good looks indicated. “You’re not turning that around, not this way. You know damn well I didn’t hike for four fucking hours just so I could cop a feel. If I’d wanted to move on you, I’d have done it in some nice, warm room before I had blisters.”
    “You did move on me,” she corrected icily and only made him bare his teeth.
    “I didn’t plan it, it just happened. And you weren’t fighting me off. You want to be pissed off about it, fine, but let’s have it for the real reason.”
    They glared at each other while Shirley whimpered and bumped her body between theirs. “All right.” Olivia opted to retreat behind dignity. “I’ll be pissed off because you took advantage of a momentary weakness.”
    “There’s not a weak bone in your body,” he muttered and let her go. “How long are you going to make me pay for a mistake I made six years ago? How many ways do you want me to apologize for it?”
    “I don’t want an apology. I want to forget it.”
    “But you haven’t. And neither have I. Do you want to know how many times I thought of you?”
    “No.” She said it quickly, the single word a rush. “No, I don’t. If we want to find a way to deal with each other on this, Noah, then we concentrate on where we are now, not where we were then.”
    “Is that the MacBride way? If it’s tough to deal with, bury it?” He regretted it instantly, not only because it was out of line, but because of the unguarded flare of shock and misery in her eyes. “Liv. I’m sorry.”
    He reached for her, swearing under his breath as she jerked away. “I’m sorry,” he said again, and very precisely. “That was uncalled for. But you weren’t the only one who was hurt. You sliced me in half that day. So maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s better to put it away and start now.”
    They packed up in silence, taking scrupulous care not to touch in any way. When they were back in the forest, she became the impersonal guide, pointing out any plants of interest, identifying wildlife and blocking any personal conversation. Noah decided she might as well have snugged that glass dome over herself. She was inside it now, and untouchable.
    That would make it simpler all around, he told himself. He didn’t want to touch her again. Couldn’t, for his own survival, risk it.
    He spent the last two hours of the hike dreaming about burning his boots and washing the lingering taste of her out of his mouth with a good, stiff drink.

Twenty
    As the lodge came in sight, Noah’s plan was simple. He was simple. He was going straight to the bar to buy a bottle, make that two bottles of beer. He was taking both up to his room where he would drink them during his hour-long hot shower. If that didn’t make him feel human again, well, he’d just order up some raw meat and gnaw at it.
    The light was fading to a pearly gray with a few wild streaks of color in the western sky. But he wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it.
    For God’s sake, he’d only kissed her. It wasn’t as if he’d ripped her clothes off and dragged her to the ground for maniac sex. The fact that the image of doing just that held entirely too much appeal only made him grind his teeth as he pulled open the door to the lodge.
    He turned to her, started to make some blisteringly polite comment on her ability as guide, when the desk clerk hurried over.
    “Mr. Brady, you had a call from your mother. She said it was urgent.”
    Everything inside him froze, then started to churn sickly. “My mother?”
    “Yes, she called about an hour after you left this morning, and again at three. She asked that you call her at home as soon as you came in.”
    He had a horrible and vivid image of cops coming to the door. Every family of those on the job knew what it meant when you opened the door and cops were standing there, their faces carefully blank.
    His father was retired. It couldn’t be. It