Joel stood to stretch a short while later. Muscles bunched in his shoulders and his T-shirt rose just enough to give her a glimpse of his trim stomach. That was not boring.
Without thinking, she raised the camera and zoomed in on just him, with the mountains in the background. His hands paused above his head when he caught her snapping the picture. Lowering his arms, he stripped off the gloves and strode over.
“Sorry you have to wait here through all this. We’re almost done.”
“I’m fine. I like watching you work.”
A corner of his mouth quirked up. “Yeah?”
“It’s an interesting process,” she said, attempting to cover her slip of the tongue after having already exposed her interest with the camera.
“Ah. The process is what you were watching.”
“Of course, what else?” She gave him an innocent smile that meant nothing next to the heat that’d crept into her face.
His chuckle faded to a grin when Randy called him over to look at something. He cast her one last glance before squatting beside the ranger to confer.
Things seemed to have changed between them overnight. She didn’t understand it, but she discovered she liked this side of Joel more than ever. If she’d have met him before last night, she’d have begged him to kiss her and share his bed instead of sleeping on the couch.
Which brought back the nagging question of her day. To avoid another round of unanswerable speculation and force her mind to drop it, she took some more pictures around and of the crime scene until Joel said it was time to go.
Once the equipment was stored in the chopper, they climbed aboard and Dennis flew them to the trailhead. It was her first ride in a helicopter, and away from the grisly scene they’d discovered, she was
able to enjoy the scenery from above. Gave her camera a workout, too.
After they landed, she said goodbye to the pilot and Randy, then ducked with Joel to jog from under the chopper blades. He walked her the rest of the way to his truck and handed her the keys so she could swap his vehicle for hers back at his place. Randy was going to give him a ride home once they finished at the ranger station.
“Just leave the keys under the driver’s side mat and lock the doors when you leave. I have a spare truck key in the duplex.”
He had to speak loud to be heard over the noise of the waiting helicopter. Even at a distance, the whirling blades kicked up enough wind to make her squint as stands of her hair blew across her face.
“Thank you again for all your help today,” he added.
She shrugged with a small smile. “I didn’t do much.”
“It was enough.” He looked like he was about to say something more. Instead, his gaze dropped to her mouth, then his jaw tightened, and he pivoted back toward the chopper where the other two rangers waited.
Before she chickened out, Britt called his name and reached for his arm. Joel swung around to face her almost as if he’d been hoping she’d call him back.
Just ask the damn question.
She raised her chin and lifted a hand to hold the hair out of her eyes. “Why didn’t you kiss me last night? I mean, if you knew I wouldn’t want you to stop, why not just kiss me and go from there?”
He stared at her for a long moment, then lifted his arms out from his sides and tilted his head back. “You ask me this now?”
“What’s wrong with now?”
His arms fell back to his sides and his eyes met hers. “Because I’m probably going to have to work all night.”
The implication triggered a rush of awareness and disappointment. “Oh. Sorry.”
He laughed. “No you’re not.”
“Yes, I am,” she insisted.
He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders, still smiling. “You are, but you’re not, and that’s why I didn’t kiss you.”
“I don’t understand.”