Flaming Hearts (Beyond Reality Book 2) (3 page)

Becky sighed. This so-called date was going to suck. She’d chosen the hike option, not only because she wanted to see Devil’s Canyon, but because she was annoyed at Marissa and wanted to piss her off. She should’ve known somehow it would end up backfiring on her. She couldn’t catch a break. For the thousandth time she regretted agreeing to be on the show. It was the worst reality show in the history of reality shows, and that was saying something since there were so many bad ones on nowadays. Thank God her mom hadn’t lived long enough to watch it. That was Becky’s only consolation right about now, even if it made her feel like crap to actually think it.

The five of them arrived at the trailhead around ten in the morning. Marissa, Becky, the cameraman, Jose, and Alex all piled out of the van in the parking area. Jose was nice enough, at least he talked to her like she was a real person, but Alex was like all the popular kids she knew back in high school…ignoring those around him who he thought were beneath him. Becky knew he thought she was beneath him.

They’d started off on the hike and everyone was happy and acting like they couldn’t imagine being anywhere else, but soon Marissa started complaining. It was too hot. It was too rocky. Her backpack was itching…anything and everything had her complaining. Becky tried to ignore her and enjoy the beautiful day. It was a perfect day for hiking and she was determined to have a good time. Right when the trail started ascending, Marissa suddenly collapsed on the ground and grabbed her ankle.

“Owwwwwww, I think I twisted it…bad!”

Jose and Alex were right there, patting her shoulder and asking what they could do to help. Becky looked at the cameraman. He had his camera pointed at the trio and the drama. She rolled her eyes, knowing they wouldn’t catch it on film. She didn’t really know the camera operators that well. When she met them for the first time she thought she’d be able to be friends with them, but she soon found out they weren’t allowed to talk to the contestants. It bummed her out at first, but now that the show was continuing she was glad she hadn’t gotten to know them. It was just too embarrassing. She’d seen some of them looking at her with pity. Becky hated that. She knew she was being made out to look pathetic on national television, but there was nothing she could do about it. She didn’t know the cameraman who was with them today very well. Eddie kept moving them around so she and Marissa couldn’t get to know them. Even if she wanted to talk to them, she couldn’t. It was against the “rules.” Eddie was a stickler for the “rules.”

Becky watched Marissa bitch and moan a bit more and finally couldn’t help herself, she said sternly, “Come on, Marissa, it can’t hurt that badly, let’s keep going.”

Marissa glared up at Becky. “What do you know? It’s not
your
ankle that’s hurt! I can’t possibly go on!”

Becky sighed. “Fine, you want to sit here and wait while we continue on?” She gestured toward Jose and Alex. “We’ll pick you up on the way back.” Becky couldn’t believe she’d actually said it, but she was sick of sitting around letting everyone else make all the decisions for her.

“I can’t possibly wait here by myself!” Marissa moaned, not surprisingly, and grabbed both Alex and Jose by an arm. “You guys’ll stay here with me, right? I mean, it’s not like you really
wanted
to walk around in the heat, right?”

What could the men say to that…of course they agreed.

“Fine!” Becky said, pissed off. “You guys stay here. I really want to see Devil’s Canyon. It sounds fascinating and I’ve wanted to see it since I got here. It’s not that much farther. I’ll just go on up the trail, and then I’ll come back and meet you here. Then we can go back to the house.”

She watched as Marissa’s eyes lit up with satisfaction and Alex and Jose both nodded. She looked up at the camera operator, knowing he’d be torn between following her and staying with the trio.

She said in a gentler voice to him, “You stay with them. It’s not good TV to just film me walking.” She winked at him, not surprised when he nodded, and she set off up the trail without looking back. It was great to get some time to herself. The only time she’d been by herself was when she’d been sleeping, and she hadn’t been sleeping all that great lately anyway. The air was nice and fresh and there wasn’t anyone else on the trail. It was a good day to forget all about the stupid show and what an idiot she was for agreeing to be on it in the first place. She could enjoy seeing a part of the country she’d never seen before.

Almost as soon as Becky was out of sight, Marissa started manipulating Alex and Jose into leaving. She wanted to teach Becky a lesson and having her come back and not finding them there would be a great way! She moaned that her ankle was probably really hurt and she couldn’t wait for Becky to come back before seeing a doctor. She finally convinced them they needed to take her to the emergency room and they could come back for Becky. After all, it wouldn’t take too long to see a doctor and Becky would be gone for such a loooong time. So the foursome, including the camera operator, walked/hobbled back to the parking area and headed for the hospital. Leaving no note for Becky and no sign they’d even been there.

* * *

Becky reached the top of the trail and sat down harshly on the bench. Holy crap, that was a tough hike. She knew there was no way Marissa would’ve made it. She would’ve been too concerned about her makeup and not huffing and puffing in front of the guys. It was probably good she’d been hurt before attempting the steep part of the trail. Becky didn’t realize how tough it was going to be, but it was beautiful.

She gazed out at the canyon. It wasn’t as big as the Grand Canyon, obviously, but it was a good size. There was a small waterfall off to the left and the color of the rocks was amazing. Becky scooted her butt forward, put her head on the back of the bench and closed her eyes, letting the warmth of the sun soak into her skin. She knew she couldn’t stay there too long, Marissa would get restless and she’d have to get back, but ah, the peacefulness was a blessing.

Becky sat up when she heard a noise in the brush off to her right. She turned toward the noise, expecting to see a deer or a fox or another small animal. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she noticed a huge coyote. The animal was lying in the brush, not moving, but staring at her. Becky stood up slowly and climbed up on the bench. It wasn’t any protection at all, but it made her feel a bit better. The coyote was beautiful. It was black with white paws and white on its chest and the tip of its tail. It just lay there on the ground, staring at her. Becky was a bit nervous as she’d always heard coyotes were aggressive animals and the fact it was just sitting there was downright eerie. She hoped it didn’t have rabies or anything. Becky stared right back at the animal. She couldn’t believe she was this close to it, but it made no sudden moves and didn’t even seem to be threatened by her.

She whispered, “Hello, coyote,” expecting it to leap up and race away. All that happened was its tail started wagging. The coyote’s eyes never left her face.

“You really aren’t so big and bad, are you?” she asked nervously, not expecting an answer. “You know you probably shouldn’t be here. There are way too many people that come around here, you could be in danger,” Becky continued on, a little unnerved by the way the coyote kept staring at her.
Was
it rabid? Animals did odd things when they were sick. “You should go home to your mate and pups.” She didn’t know what gender the coyote was, but she imagined it was a male. It was large, therefore, she reasoned, it must be male. She had no basis for thinking that, but there it was anyway.

“She must be wondering where you are…go on…you go and I’ll just be on my way.” Still the coyote just lay there in an unnatural way…finally Becky knew she had to get going down the trail. She couldn’t stand there any longer and have a one way conversation with the animal.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I have to get going…so I’m going to step down…if you promise not to eat me, I promise not to tell anyone you were here…deal?” She waited, not expecting any response, but waiting as if she’d get one anyway. She was totally shocked when the coyote backed up a bit…really it was more of a shuffle as it never really stood up, but it scooted back as if to agree with her.

Becky slowly put one foot on the ground, wishing she had her camera with her. Darn Eddie and his rules. They weren’t allowed to have their cell phones or cameras while filming, which she thought was ridiculous. No one was without their camera phone nowadays. No one would ever believe this encounter with the coyote and this animal was so beautiful Becky wished she could immortalize him on film. Besides, if it attacked her, she thought morbidly, she could’ve always taken pictures of her mangled body to show her coworkers back home.

She put her second foot on the ground and slowly backed away from the bench, never taking her eyes off of the coyote, noticing it never took its eyes off her either. Finally Becky knew she had to turn around and watch where she was going. It was a steep trail and she couldn’t walk down it backward. She took a deep breath and turned her back on the coyote…waiting. When nothing happened she looked over her shoulder as she started down the trail and saw that the coyote was gone. She knew she hadn’t dreamed it, but it was uncanny how quickly and quietly the animal disappeared.

* * *

Dean called Jonathan to let him know he’d arrived at the parking lot for Devil’s Canyon. “Yo, bro’, I’m here at the parking area but there’s no one around. Are you sure they were coming here today?”

“Yes, I know that’s where they were hiking today because Eddie kept talking about how the name of the canyon was great for drama on the show,” Jonathan told him emphatically. “Maybe you missed them?” he said skeptically.

Before Dean had a chance to answer they both heard a commotion on the set. “Hold on,” Jonathan told him unnecessarily. “I think they’re back…”

Dean waited while Jonathan listened to the pandemonium nearby. He couldn’t hear what was going on, but knew his brother would let him know. Jonathan quickly came back on the phone and asked urgently and in a low voice, “Are you still at the parking lot at Devil’s Canyon?” Dean didn’t understand the urgency in his brother’s voice but unconsciously and automatically kicked into protector mode.

“Yeah, I’m sitting here, looking at the trail head. What’s up?”

Jonathan told him quietly, “I’m going to put my cell on speaker, so you can hear, but don’t say anything. Becky might need your help…”

Dean’s whole body clenched. Hearing that a woman needed help did that to him every time. He hadn’t even met Becky, but he’d heard Jonathan talk about her so much he
felt
as if he knew her anyway. Dean suddenly heard a woman’s voice in the middle of a conversation with at least one other man.

“…and I hurt my ankle really badly…so Jose and Alex volunteered to take me to the hospital…”

“Are you all right?” asked a male voice with fake sincerity.

“I am now. Luckily Alex and Jose were there! I can’t imagine what I would’ve done out there all alone with no one to help me.” Dean could just imagine the look the woman was giving the two men. She sounded whiny and manipulative to him. There weren’t many things a woman could do that would turn him off, but being manipulative was one of them.

“Where’s Becky?” Dean heard Jonathan ask the woman, most likely Marissa, gruffly.

“Oh, she left us. She wanted to continue on the hike. She didn’t
care
that I was hurt,” the woman said in a nasally voice that grated on Dean’s nerves even more than it had before.

Dean heard Jonathan ask a man standing near him, presumably a camera operator, “You left her out there? By herself? At Devil’s Canyon?”

“Hey, she seemed perfectly willing to go…she didn’t seem to mind….” His voice trailed off and Dean could hear that he finally felt guilty for leaving Becky. The sad thing was that it had taken this long for him to feel that guilt.

“We had to get Marissa to the hospital.” Alex defended their actions. “She was hurt. We knew that we’d get back here and someone could go and get Becky. I’m sure she’s fine. She can take care of herself.” Alex’s tone was nonchalant and almost disgusted, as if a woman taking care of herself was a bad thing.

Dean had heard enough. He disconnected the call. He knew what Jonathan wanted him to do, and he didn’t even have to ask. Jonathan would know he was on it. If Becky was alone out on the trail he’d be sure she made it back to the production house all right. Chances were that the woman
was
fine and there was no need to worry. He knew Jonathan had a soft spot for Becky from hearing him talk about her. He figured he’d head out on the trail, find Becky and accompany her back to the production house. He’d get to meet the woman who had Jonathan so tied up in knots as well as make sure she got back to the set with no issues.

Dean got out of his truck, grabbed his backpack, and headed over to the trail head. He’d start out on the trail and hopefully he’d run into her as she made her way back down from the canyon.

Becky lay on the ground and tried to orient herself. She remembered walking down the steep trail, thinking about the strange behavior of the coyote at the top…then nothing. She was at the bottom of a small ravine, obviously having slipped down the slope. She looked up and winced. Her head hurt. She saw the slide mark her body had made as it came down the side of the hill. She looked at her hands. They were pretty scraped up too. She didn’t remember the fall, but obviously she’d tried to slow herself down as she tumbled.

She reached up to feel the back of her head where it hurt the most and her hand came away with blood on it. Crap and double crap. She figured she’d probably hit her head on a rock or something as she tumbled down the steep hill.

She forced herself to a sitting position and took stock. It didn’t feel like anything was broken, thank God. She could move her legs and her arms with no blinding pain. She was able to move her head back and forth, although it felt like someone was pounding on her skull from the inside. She slowly turned over and got on her hands and knees. There was no use sitting there. It wasn’t as if she could wait until Marissa and the guys would come looking for her.

She thought back to the coyote she’d seen earlier. If there was one, there’d probably be others and she didn’t want the smell of her blood to attract other wild animals. She was lucky with the coyote at the top of the trail. She didn’t want to push it. Becky knew some time had passed and Marissa would be furious for having to wait for her. She dreaded having to deal with her and her attitude with her head hurting as it was, but it would be kind of nice to at least be back with other people. They’d help her, no matter if they weren’t attracted to her. She’d procrastinated enough, it was time to make her way back up the hill.

Slowly but surely, Becky crawled up the steep slippery slope. Many times she slid back down, negating her progress, but she held on to whatever she could and finally made it back to the trail. She was sweating profusely and was covered in dirt. Her hands were filthy and her clothes were also covered in smears of dirt. As far as she could tell, her head wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it still hurt like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She’d tied her hair back in a messy bun at the back of her head before starting her hike. That would prevent her from feeling the stickiness of her hair where the blood had seeped through, and maybe at the same time put a bit of pressure on the wound, stopping any more bleeding. Becky glanced at her watch. Crap. Three hours had gone by from the time she’d left the group. Marissa was going to be beyond pissed, and Becky couldn’t really blame her. She’d be ticked too.

Once she’d reached the trail at the top of the hill, Becky stood up slowly and felt the world tilt. She quickly knelt on the ground right there in the middle of the trail. She had to get it together. She had to get down the trail, and staying here wasn’t an option. She crawled over to a nearby rock, wincing as her scraped and bruised hands landed on the rocks on the trail. She pulled herself up and sat upright. See? She could do this. She
had
to do this. She couldn’t very well crawl all the way back down the trail.

Becky straightened her backpack that had miraculously stayed put throughout her mishap, and slowly brought herself upright once more. There! She was vertical. She took baby steps as she walked down the trail, keeping her head down, watching where her feet were landing, counting her steps to keep the pain of her head out of her mind. The last thing she needed was to fall over a root or rock in the path and hurt herself even more.

Becky finally got to the place where Marissa and the others had said they’d wait for her. Becky sat on the rock with a sigh. There was no sign of them. It was eerily quiet in fact. Other than the birds chipping merrily in the trees she couldn’t hear signs of anyone else. What did she expect? That spoiled Marissa would calmly just sit in the wilderness bored out of her mind waiting for her? Hell no. She should’ve known better.

Becky eased her backpack off and leaned it against a rock, then eased herself down onto the same rock. She closed her eyes for a moment before taking her water bottle out of a side pocket of her backpack. She took a drink and tried to figure out what to do next. She couldn’t quite concentrate; figuring she probably had a concussion.

Where would Marissa go? She knew she’d been gone a long time, but would they really leave her out here? No way…okay, maybe…yeah, probably. Becky sighed. She had to get to the start of the trail to the parking area. It was a long shot, but maybe they’d be there waiting for her to get back. The cameraman wouldn’t leave her. There was no way. But if for some reason they weren’t there maybe she could find someone to give her a ride. If no one was there
somebody
back at the show had to realize she was gone and come and get her. She was on a reality show, for God’s sake. She was one of the damn
stars
of the reality show, they’d come back to get her. She just had to make it to the parking lot. She put her head in her hands and sighed. She’d get up in just a minute.

Dean walked quickly up the trail toward Devil’s Canyon. He wasn’t sure where along the path the woman might be, but he’d find her. It wasn’t as if she could walk back to the set. She had to be out here somewhere. He had his first aid supplies in his backpack, just in case. He’d learned a long time ago to be prepared for anything.

He rounded a corner in the path about half a mile from the start of the steep incline and saw a woman sitting on a rock with her head in her hands. Dean stopped dead in his tracks. Was that Becky? She looked hurt, and his heart almost stopped. There was nothing worse than a woman who was hurt. He could handle pissed, he could handle sad, he could even handle tears, but a woman who’d been hurt made his heart ache and made his protective instincts hard to control.

He had to calm down before he scared the woman to death. He slowly made his way toward her, trying to make enough noise so she’d hear him coming and not be startled by her presence.

Becky heard someone on the trail and forced herself to look up. She was tired and not feeling well, but knew this person might be her chance to get out of there. She hadn’t seen anyone else on the trail the entire time she’d been there, so if this person had a car, then she’d ask, or beg, for a ride. It wasn’t the safest thing to do, but what choice did she have really? She’d have to take the chance that this person wasn’t a homicidal killer.

She looked up…and up…and up at the man coming toward her. He wasn’t handsome in the classical sense, but he carried himself with a sense of purpose and strength as if he wasn’t scared of anything. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a plain gray T-shirt with a backpack. He was dressed for hiking. Her gaze continued upward until she met his eyes. They were dark, probably brown, but they were looking at her with an intensity she’d not been looked at before. She couldn’t tear her gaze away as he came nearer. Crap, if he was a serial killer she was in big trouble, but damn, he was easy on the eyes.

Dean looked at the woman sitting on the rock on the side of the trail. She looked tired, a little scared, and a bit pissed, all at the same time. Other than her emotional state, she looked okay, until he got closer and could see blood on her hands and the collar of her shirt. Her clothes were streaked with dirt. It was obvious she’d taken a fall at some point. The blood worried him, he hoped it was nothing serious.

When she finally looked up at him he stumbled a bit as he continued toward her. Her eyes were a pale blue, almost gray in color. She was dressed plainly in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Her face was pale, but had swaths of red in both cheeks, probably from exertion as well as some sunburn. Since she was sitting down he couldn’t see how tall she was, but she looked tiny to him. Hell, most people looked tiny to him.

But the one thing Dean thought most of all, was that she was beautiful. Sitting on the rock, looking up at him, trying not to look like she needed help. Damn. It hit him. Holy crap. She was his. His
One
.

He took a deep breath. Holy shit. It was true. All it took was one look and he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything. He hadn’t completely believed the stories he’d heard his entire life, but it was true. A part of him still thought it was ridiculous. He didn’t know anything about her. She could be a raving bitch. She could be married. She could be so many things, including
not
Becky, but it didn’t seem to matter to his heart. She was his.
His
.

Dean stopped in front of the woman and watched as she tilted her head back and winced as she looked up at him. He squatted down in the middle of the trail to talk to her, not getting too close to her so she’d feel more comfortable.

“Hi,” he said quietly. “Are you okay?” He wanted nothing more than to reach for her, fold her in his arms and keep her safe. She’d probably deck him if he tried it, though. He was a stranger to her after all. He might know she was his, but she had no idea. Throughout his family’s history the men always had a hard time convincing their
One
that she
was
their
One
. It seemed it would be the same in his case as well.

Becky tried to smile at the gorgeous man in front of her. She furiously blushed, knowing she looked like crap. Why couldn’t she meet someone like him when she was all dressed up and looking her best? Figured. “Hi, of course, just resting for a bit. It’s a long hike.” She mentally smacked herself in the head. She was such a dork. Just resting for a bit? Jesus, she sounded stupid even to her own ears.

She wasn’t quite sure how to go about asking for help, as she didn’t have to do it very often but she didn’t have a choice.

“Have you seen a woman and two—no…three men back that way?” she asked, gesturing toward the direction the parking lot was in.

Dean shook his head. “No, I haven’t seen anyone and my truck is the only vehicle in the lot.”

Becky sighed. She figured they would’ve left, but it still hurt to hear her suspicions were correct. She really was nobody important on the stupid show. She tried not to let it depress her any more than she already was. After all, she knew it by the way everyone acted around her, but she couldn’t help it when her shoulders sagged. Shit. Could this day get any worse?

“Can I help?” Dean asked quietly. Every bone in his body was screaming at him to pick her up, hold her close and never let her go. To tell her nothing would ever hurt her again, that he wouldn’t allow it. But he knew he couldn’t do it. He was a stranger. She didn’t recognize him as her
One
. He had to be careful not to alienate her. He just wanted to help her.

“Can you call someone for me? I don’t have a cell phone on me,” Becky asked quietly, and when Dean took out his cell phone, she shook her head. “Crap…uh…never mind…sorry…I don’t know the number at my friend’s house,” she said awkwardly. She must sound like the biggest flake.

Dean simply put the phone back in his pocket, relieved he had a reason to prolong his contact with her, and held out his hand.

“My name is Dean,” he said simply. “Dean Baker.”

Becky looked at the hand the man reached toward her. It was calloused and big and she wanted to grab a hold of it and never let go. She could even imagine him laying it on her cheek and brushing his thumb over her cheek. Jesus. She shook her head and figured she was feeling needy because of the last couple of weeks of not having anyone look at her like she was someone.

She reached toward his hand. “Becky Reynolds,” she told him. She followed his eyes to her hand she was holding out and at the last minute took it back and hugged it to her chest. It was scraped and bleeding…there was no way she could shake his hand without it hurting. She met his eyes and shrugged apologetically.

Dean saw her hand and held his breath. It was killing him that she was hurt. It was physically hurting him as much as she probably hurt herself. He was in a pickle. This was his
One
and she was on a reality show to find a husband. How the hell was he going to get around
that
?

Dean moved slowly toward the rock that Becky was sitting on and gestured toward it as if asking permission to sit next to her. Becky scooted over and gave him some room.

Dean asked again, “Are you okay? What happened? You look a little worse for the wear,” he said with a smile, hoping she’d trust him just a little. He
needed
her to trust him. He held his hand out toward her again, palm up. “Can I see your hand? I promise to be gentle.”

Becky grimaced at herself. Not answering his question about letting him see her hand, she kept it close to her chest and said, “Yeah, I slipped on the trail on my way down…but I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”

Dean slipped his backpack off and told her calmly, trying to sound nonchalant, “I have some basic first aid things in my bag, let me help.” He kept his voice low and calm, trying once again to help her.

“I really just need to get a ride back to my friend’s house,” Becky said again, trying desperately not to break down. Why was he being so nice? “I’m not hurt that badly, I can get cleaned up there,” she said with a quaver in her voice.

Dean continued to hold his hand out toward her. He didn’t understand why she was downplaying her injuries. By the way she was squinting he knew she had to have a headache, and there was the blood he could see on her palms and on the collar of her shirt.