He awaited assent from the group.
‘Now, we’ve tried to divvy everyone up equally and pair people with similar interests, so here goes.’ Mack picked up his list. ‘Okay, let’s see who we have here. Conrad and Barb—you guys are married, so it makes sense to buddy you guys up... Leo and Jack—you guys are both from Texas... Justin and Claire—you guys mentioned you’ve met before, walking the Great Wall of China... Toby and Allan, both ex-Forces personnel...’
Beau shifted in her seat. There were only four of them left to name: her and three guys, one of whom was Gray.
Please don’t pair me with Gray!
But what did she have in common with the other two? They were brothers, and surely Mack was going to pair brothers. Which meant... Her heart sank and she began to feel very sick.
‘Dean and Rick—brothers from Seattle, which leaves our UK doctors, Beau and Gray. Welcome to America, guys!’
Beau couldn’t look at Gray. If she looked at him, she’d see that he was just as horrified as she was about this.
Was it too late to change her mind and go home? Go back to the hotel in Bozeman and stay there for a week?
No! You’ve never backed away from anything!
Looking around the small room, she saw that everyone was pairing with their buddy, shaking hands and grinning at each other. Reluctantly she let her gaze trickle around the room until she locked eyes with Gray. He looked just as disturbed as she was—uncomfortable and agonised—but he seemed to be hiding it slightly better. She watched as he hitched his backpack onto his back and came across the room to her, looking every inch the condemned man.
Staring at him, she waited for him to speak, but instead he held out his hand. ‘Let’s just agree to disagree for the next week. It should make this easier.’
Easier, huh? He had no idea.
She ignored his outstretched hand. ‘Like I said, let’s just agree not to talk to each other at all. Not unless we have to.’ Her voice sounded shaky, even to her own ears.
‘That might make things difficult.’
‘You have no idea what difficult means.’ She hoisted her own backpack onto her shoulders and tightened the straps, turning away from the muscle tightening in Gray’s jaw.
‘I think I do, my lass.’
Her head whipped round and she glared at him. ‘Don’t call me that. I am not your lass. You know nothing about me now.’
‘You want me to talk to you like you’re a stranger?’
‘I don’t want you to talk to me at all.’
‘I’m not going to be silent for a week. I’m not a monk.’
‘Shame.’
‘Beau—’
She glared at him. Don’t say another word! ‘Let’s get going...buddy.’
He took a step back, sweeping his hand out before him. ‘Ladies first.’
Beau hoped her stare would turn him into stone. Then she followed Mack and the others out of the ranger station.
BEAU MARCHED ALONG at the front of the pack, as far away from Gray as possible. She knew he would be lurking at the back. She walked beside Barb, her nostrils flaring and her nails biting into her palms.
She was beginning to get a headache. Typical! And it was all his fault. And she had no painkillers in her first aid kit. No one did. She had to hope that it would pass soon. The whole point of this course was to make her think differently. To use what was around her to survive.
Beau thought that she already knew quite a bit about survival. About not giving up when everything was against her. About not allowing herself to succumb to the void.
Since the day Gray had left her standing at the altar, she’d become a different person. Stronger than before. Driven. Her eyes had been opened to the way men could hurt her.
And to think that I solemnly believed that he wouldn’t do that to me.
She’d allowed herself to feel safe with Gray. Secure in the knowledge—or she’d thought so at the time—that he loved her as much as she loved him.
Beau ground her teeth. Perhaps she’d been naïve. Perhaps she’d been cocky. She’d told everyone back then how Gray was her soulmate, her one true love. That he was the most perfect man and she was so lucky because he wanted her. There had been one time she remembered sitting in the kitchen with her mum, waxing lyrical about how wonderful he was, how happy she was and how she couldn’t believe she’d found a man who wanted all the same things she did.
Her mum had listened and smiled and rubbed her arm and told her daughter how happy she was for her. How this was what life was all about. Finding love, settling down, creating a family of your own. That it was all anyone needed.
Beau had almost not been able to believe how lucky she was herself. But she’d believed in him. Almost devoutly. Her faith in their love had been undeniable, and when Gray had asked her to marry him, she’d been the happiest girl in the world.
She’d thought no one could be happier than her. She’d thought she was going to marry the man she was head over heels in love with and that they would have children and a brilliant life together, just as her parents had done. They’d be strong together, united, and when the time came for them to be grandparents, their love would continue to grow. It had all been mapped out in her mind’s eye.
But then he’d destroyed everything she’d believed in and she hadn’t even got an apology! Not that it would mean much now. Too much time had passed. The time for an apology had been eleven years ago. Not now.
But there was nowhere for her to escape him here. They were stuck together. Buddied up, for crying out loud! She must have tutted, because Barb turned to look at her as they slowly marched up a steep, rocky incline.
‘Mack mentioned you’re a doctor?’
Brought back to reality, she tried to push her anger to one side so that she could speak politely to Barb. ‘Yes, I am.’
‘Do you have a specialty?’
She nodded and smiled. ‘Neurology.’
‘Ooh! That sounds complicated. They say there’s so much about the brain that we don’t know.’
‘Actually, we know a good deal. Technology has advanced so far nowadays.’
‘You know, I think I saw a documentary once where there was a brain operation and they did it with the patient wide awake! I couldn’t believe it! This poor man was having to identify pictures on flash cards whilst the surgeons were sticking God only knows what into his brain!’
Beau smiled. ‘It’s called intraoperative brain mapping.’
Barb shuddered. ‘Have you seen it done?’
‘I’ve done it. I’m a surgeon.’
‘Ooh! Con—you hear that? Beau here’s a brain surgeon!’ Barb grabbed her husband’s arm to get his attention and Conrad nodded at Beau.
‘Well, let’s hope we don’t need your services during this next week, Doctor.’
She laughed, a lot of her anger gone. The married couple seemed nice. They were both middle-aged, though Conrad’s hair was already silvery, whereas his wife’s perfectly coiffed hair was dark. They reminded her slightly