Seven Nights With Her Ex

But the sweet, agreeable Beau he’d once known seemed long gone, and in her place was a new version. And this one was flinty, cold and dismissive.

He wasn’t sure how to handle her like that, and he’d already been feeling enough guilt about what he’d done without her laying it on thick to make him feel worse.

I know I owe you an explanation.

So many times he’d thought about what he needed to say to her. How he intended to explain, to apologise. Always, in his own mind, the conversation went quite well. Beau would listen quietly and attentively. Most importantly, she would understand that the decision not to turn up at their wedding had hurt him just as much as it had hurt her.

But now he could see just how much he’d been wrong. Beau would not sit quietly and just listen. She would not be understanding and patient.

Had he changed her? By walking away from her, had he changed her personality?

So now he chose to give her space. Letting her walk with Barb and Conrad, staring at the back of her head so hard he kept expecting her to rub the back of it, as if the discomfort of his stare would become something physical.

And he worried. There was strain on her face, a pallor to her skin that reinforced the brightness of her freckles and the dark circles beneath her eyes.

Surely he wasn’t the cause of that? Surely she’d just been working too hard, or for too long, and wasn’t getting enough sleep? He knew she worked hard. He’d kept track of her career after medical school. She was one of the top neurologists in the country—maybe even in the whole of Europe. That had to take its toll, right?

But what if she’s ill?

A hundred possibilities ran through his mind, but he tossed them all aside, believing that she wouldn’t be so silly as to come out on a trek through the wilderness if she was ill.

It had to be stress. Doing too much and not eating properly.

He hadn’t seen a ring on her finger. As far as he was aware, she wasn’t married, and the hours she worked would leave hardly any time for dating. Unless she was seeing someone at work? There was always that possibility...

He shifted at the uncomfortable thought and tugged at the neckline of his tee shirt, feeling uneasy. Hating the fact that the idea of her being with someone else still made him feel odd.

Yet she was never mine to have. I should never have let it get so far in the first place. I was wrong for her.

‘Here you go...have a pull of this.’ Rick offered him a small flask. ‘It’ll keep you going. Always does the trick for me at the start of a long hike.’

Gray considered the offer, but then shook his head. ‘No, thanks. Best to stick to water. That stuff will dehydrate you.’

‘What do you think I’ve got in here?’ Rick grinned.

‘It’s a whisky flask, so I’m guessing...alcohol?’

‘Nah! It’s just an energy drink my wife makes. It’s got guarana in it. It’s good for you!’

Gray took the flask and sniffed at it. It smelled very sweet. ‘And how much caffeine?’

‘Dunno. But it tastes great!’

He passed it back without sampling it. ‘Do you know that some energy drinks can trigger cardiac arrest even in someone healthy?’

Rick stopped drinking and held the flask in front of him uncertainly. ‘Really?’

‘If you consume too many. The high levels of caffeine mixed with other substances can act like a drug, stimulating the central nervous system to high levels when consumed in high doses.’

‘You’re serious? I thought all that pineapple and grapefruit juice was good for me.’

‘It can be. Just don’t add all the other stuff. Do you know for sure what’s in there?’

Rick shook the flask, listening to the swish of the liquid inside. ‘No. But she spends ages in the kitchen making it for me and it always seems to help.’

Gray grinned. ‘I’d stick to water, if I were you.’

‘How do you know all this?’

‘I’m a cardiologist. I’ve operated on a fair few people who’ve ended up in the ER because of too many energy drinks.’

Rick began to pale. ‘Wow. You think something’s good for you...’

‘Sorry to be a party pooper.’

‘Nah, you’re all right.’ Rick tipped the flask upside down and emptied the juice out onto the ground. ‘Doesn’t make sense to carry the extra weight, does it?’

Gray looked up at Beau and considered all the extra emotional weight he was carrying. ‘It doesn’t. It doesn’t help you at all.’

* * *

They’d been walking for a steady hour, and by Beau’s reckoning—not that she knew much about these things—they’d walked about three miles into the park, all of it uphill. Her calf muscles burned and she was beginning to feel sore spots within her new hiking boots. She hoped she wasn’t getting blisters.

The hillside had produced a plateau, a wide expanse of grasslands, and eventually they’d passed through a grove of lodgepole pine trees—tall and slender, the bark looking almost white from a distance, but grey up close.

Mack stopped them as they got near. ‘You’ll see a lot of these throughout the park. They’re a fire-dependent species, and the seeds you can see, once fallen, provide a natural foraging source for grizzlies as we pass into fall. So you see this tree, then you look for the bear that goes with it. Luckily there isn’t one here today.’

He smiled as everyone looked at each other and laughed nervously.

‘But this is one example of always needing to be prepared. If you’re walking in a new area, know the ecology, the flora and fauna—it can help you stay safe. Today there’s no reason not to know. The Internet can tell you in an instant. There are books. Read. Research. It could save your life. Medically, indigenous tribes have used the lodgepole pine for many ailments—they steam the pine needles and bark to help with lung issues, and they also use it for bronchitis, fever and even stomach ache treatments. You can make a pitch from the pines and use it as a plaster for infections, burns and sores.’

Beau looked up at the canopy of the tall tree and was amazed. Working in a hospital, with the technology and advancement that came in the present day, it was easy to forget that all medicine originated from the use of plants, trees, shrubs and flowers. But it was important and not to be forgotten. She got out her compact camera from her pack and took a picture.

Mack walked them on and the plateau soon began to dip down towards a narrow rocky stream. The sound of running water was refreshing in the day’s heat and Mack encouraged them all to take in some liquid refreshment and eat a small snack.

Beau perched on a large stone and nibbled on a flapjack she’d brought, avoiding Gray’s glance and hoping he would stay away from her for a while longer.

Irritatingly, he sat down opposite her.

‘How are you enjoying this so far?’ he asked in his lilting Scottish burr.

‘It’s wonderful. Especially when I don’t have to look at you.’

He glanced down at the ground. ‘There’s no need to attack me all the time, Beau. I feel bad enough as it is.’

‘Good.’

He let out a heavy sigh, looking out across the stream bordered by rocks and grassy banks. ‘I suppose you want me to go away?’

She didn’t look at him. ‘Or just be quiet. Either would do.’

He pulled some trail mix from his pack and offered it to her. ‘Nuts?’

She glanced at him to see if he was making fun of her or being insulting. ‘No. Thank you.’

‘You know you’re stuck with me, hen?’

She put away her flapjack, annoyance written all over her face, and refastened the buckles on her backpack. ‘I’m not a hen.’

‘Sorry, lass.’

She stood up and heaved the pack onto her back. ‘Wow. An apology. You do know how to make them, then?’

Gray looked up at her, squinting in the sun. ‘Aye.’

‘And...?’

‘And what?’

‘Where’s my real apology? The one you should have made eleven years ago?’

He cocked his head to one side and pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes. ‘I’m saving it.’

‘Saving it? For what?’

He looked about them before getting to his feet and leaning in towards her, so that his face was up close to hers. It was unnerving, having him this close. Those moss-green eyes staring deeply into her soul and searching. His breath upon her cheek.

‘For when you’re actually ready to listen. There’s no point in me trying to explain whilst you’re like this.’

‘I’m not sure it’s important, anyhow. Too little and too late.’

‘And that proves my point.’

He walked away to sit down somewhere else.

Beau began to breathe again. Their brief conversation had unsettled her. Again. Plainly the way she was reacting to him was not working. Open hostility towards Gray was like water bouncing off an umbrella. It made no difference to him at all. He quite clearly was not going to apologise to her unless she got herself together.

Irritating man!

Most irritating because she was stuck with him for a week!

She had to be realistic. They were here. Together. And, worst of all, they were buddied up together. She knew from the itinerary for the trip that there would be paired activities where they would have to work with each other away from the main group. Orienteer themselves to another part of the park. Which meant time alone.

They had to start working together. Whether she liked it or not.

She turned to look for him and saw him standing with Mack, chatting. Beau headed over and plastered a charming smile onto her face. ‘Excuse me, Mack, could I have a quick word with my buddy here?’

‘Absolutely. Glad you’re here, Gray.’ He slapped Gray on the arm before walking away.

Gray looked at her curiously. ‘Yes?’

‘You’re right. We need to be working together for this next week and, as buddies, we need to be strengthening our working relationship. I’m not prepared to fail this course, and with that in mind I’m willing to put our past to one side in the spirit of cooperation and...peace. What do you say?’

She saw him consider her outstretched hand. Saw the question in his solitary raised eyebrow, saw the amiable smile upon his face before he reached out and took her hand.

A charge shot up her arm as her hand tingled in his. The strange yet all too familiar feel of his hand on hers was electrifying and thrilling. Her instinct was to let go. To gasp for oxygen. To rub her palm against her khaki trousers to make it feel normal again. But she did none of these things because her gaze had locked with his and she’d stopped breathing anyway.

Who needs oxygen?

Gray’s leaf-green eyes bored into hers with both an intensity and a challenge, and Beau felt as if she’d been pulled back through time to when they’d first met on a hospital rotation.

They’d been so young, it seemed. All the students had been fresh-faced and eager to learn, eager to start their journeys. The girls smartly dressed, professional. The boys in shirts and ties as yet unwrinkled and sweat-free.

She’d noticed him instantly. The gleam in his eyes had spoken of an ambition she’d clearly been able to see. And had held a twinkle that had spoken of something else: his desire to stand out, to be noticed, to be cheeky with their lecturers. The way he’d pushed deadlines for work, the way he’d risked failing his assessments—that side of him that had been an adrenaline junkie, carefree and daredevilish.

His mischievous, confident grin had pulled her in like a fish to a lure and she’d been hooked. His attitude had been so different from anyone she already knew—so different from that of any of the men in her own family. He’d been that breath of fresh air, that beam of light in the dark, that sparkling, tempting palace in a land of dark and shadow.

He’d shaken her hand then and introduced himself, and instantly she’d heard his soft, lilting Scottish burr and been charmed by it. The very way he’d said her name had been as if he was caressing her. He’d made her feel special.

She’d not wanted to be dazzled by a charming man. Not at the start of her career. But family, love and marriage were high on her agenda and she’d desired what her parents had. A good, steady partner, with a love so deep it was immeasurable. Beau had had no doubt that she would find it one day.

She just hadn’t expected to find it so soon.

Gray had stuck to her side and they’d worked together, played together, studied together and then, after one particularly wild party, slept together. It had seemed such a natural step for them to take. He’d filled her heart with joy. He’d made her feel as if she was ten feet tall. Every moment with him had been as precious as a lifetime. She’d wanted to be with him. She’d wanted to give him everything—because that was what love was. The gift of oneself.

And he hadn’t disappointed her.

Afterwards, as she’d lain in his arms, she’d dreamed about their future. Wondering about whether they would get married, where they might live—not too far from her parents, not too far from his, so their children would have a close relationship with each set of grandparents—and what it would be like to wake up next to him every day for the rest of their lives together.

She’d liked the way he acted differently with her—calmer, more satisfied, considerate. Relaxed. He’d been a hyperactive buzzing student when they’d met, full of beans and so much energy. He’d exhausted her just watching him. But when he was with her, he wasn’t like that. As if he didn’t need to be. And she had found the side of him that she could fall in love with...

Gray smiled now. ‘I hear you. Cooperation and peace. Seems like a good start to me.’

Beau chose not to disagree with him. It was already looking as if it was going to be one very long week ahead, and this adventure was going to be uncomfortable enough as it was.

I’m letting go of the stress.

So she smiled back and nodded.

Mack suggested that they all get going again, if they were to get to the first scenario and have enough extra time to pitch their tents for the evening.

They walked through scrub brush, conifers and thick deep grass. The overhead sun powered down upon them and Beau stopped often to drink and stay hydrated. At one of her stops Gray came alongside and waited with her.

‘How are your parents?’

Beau fastened the lid on her water bottle. It was getting low. Hopefully there’d be a place to refill soon. ‘Not that they’re any of your business any more, but they’re good, thanks.’ She answered in a clipped manner. ‘Yours?’

No need for her to go into detail. What could she say? That they hadn’t changed in over a decade? That they still went to church every Sunday? That they still asked after him?

‘They’re fine.’

‘Great.’ These personal topics were awkward. Perhaps it would be best if they steered away from them? Gray’s parents had always been an awkward subject anyway. She could recall meeting them only a couple of times, and one of those occasions had been at the wedding! They’d been a bit hard to talk to. Gruff. Abrupt. Not that keen on smiling. She’d babbled on their behalf! Chattering away like a radio DJ, musing on life, asking and answering her own questions. She’d been relieved to leave them and go and talk to others, and had just hoped that they’d liked her.

They’d turned up to the wedding anyway. Mr McGregor in his wheelchair, his face all red and broken-veined.

They trekked a bit further. Beau snapped pictures of columbines and hellebores and a herd of moose they saw in the distance. Then Mack brought them into a large clearing that had a stone circle in the centre.

‘Base Camp Number One, people! I’ll teach you later how to safely contain your campfire, but first we’re going to get working on our first medical scenario—soft tissue injuries. As I said before, these are some of the most common injuries we get here in the park, and they can be minor or major. A soft tissue injury is damage to the ligaments, muscles or tendons throughout the body, so we’re looking at sprains, strains and contusions. This sort of damage to the body can result in pain, bruising or localised swelling—even, if severe, loss of function or blood volume.’ He looked at each of them with determination. ‘You do not want to lose either. So what can we do out here with our limited kit? Gray? Care to enlighten us?’

‘Normally you’d follow the PRICE protocol—protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation.’

‘Perfect—did you all hear that?’

The group all murmured agreement.

‘Now, unless you’re in the North or South Pole, you aren’t going to have any ice, so you might have to skip that step, but can anyone think of an alternative?’

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