Denali Dreams by Ronie Kendig, Kimberley Woodhouse Page B

Hopefully her body had been doing its job and acclimating. The bitter cold seeped into her boots. Maybe tomorrow would be a good day to try her overboots. She didn’t want to seem like a wimp, but her toes were freezing.
    By the time eight p.m. arrived, they’d eaten a hearty meal, and were all in bed. Karon looked at the ceiling of the tent. “Clint,” she whispered. “You awake?”
    “Barely.” The wind that day had roughed up his voice. “But I won’t last much longer. Whatcha need?”
    “Nothing. I was just thinking.” She tucked her chin farther into her bag.
    “Might as well tell me.” He rolled to face her. “You have a captive audience.”
    Karon got a brief glimpse of his eyes. Most of the time, they were all covered from head to toe in gear. Her brother looked tired. “What do you think of Zack?”
    “As in, Ranger Taylor, Zack?”
    “Yep.”
    He paused. “I think he’s a hard worker, serious …”
    “If I had an extra pillow, I’d throw it at you. You know I like him, don’t you?”
    “It’s a tad bit obvious, yes. At least to me.”
    Karon laughed. “I know you told him about my love of books.”
    He stared at her.
    “And you thought he needed a little shove.”
    More silence.
    “So … I’m assuming that means you’re okay with it?”
    Clint raised himself up on an elbow. “Okay with Zack? Yes. Okay with you moving on with your life? Yes. Okay with you finding someone to cherish you? Even better.” He lay back down and shut his eyes. “I just hope he knows how really special you are, Kare Bear.”
    The use of her nickname brought back a rush of old memories. “Thanks. But I feel like an idiot. I turned him down.”
    “You what?”
    “He asked me out and I turned him down.”
    “Why?”
    “He doesn’t know about the cancer. What if he can’t deal with it and pushes me away? I don’t think I want to deal with that rejection.”
    Silence reigned again for several seconds. Clint cleared his throat. “I have a feeling Zack already knows. Didn’t you say the rangers had to know?”
    “Well, then, why didn’t he say anything?”
    “Maybe he was respecting your privacy.”
    “Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”
    Her brother reached a hand out and patted her hat-covered head. “I thought you were gonna stop worrying about what people thought? You’re incredible, Karon, and if Zack is smart, he’ll snatch you up.”
    “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    “And, Clint?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Thanks for doing this with me.”
    “Sure. Just don’t tell me you want to do Everest next because my answer is no.” He rolled over and within a few minutes the snoring began.
    If only she could turn off her brain that easily. Karon tucked herself back inside the depths of her warm sleeping cocoon. For the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to dream of a future with a man by her side.
    A blond, scruffy-faced, mountaineering ranger.

    The call came in around 2:00 a.m.
    Zack and David headed up to just below 11,000 feet to rescue a victim of acute mountain sickness. By the time they arrived, the climber was worse. Zack feared high altitude cerebral edema, and they began their descent immediately. The wind and bitter cold fought them the whole way, and exhaustion began to take its toll.
    When Zack returned to Base Camp and the victim was flown out, he realized his rotation was done and he could get off the mountain and sleep in a real bed. His only other thought was of Karon.
    Before climbing onto the helicopter that would take him back to the ranger station, Zack looked up to the mountain one more time. He prayed for her safety, and asked God to grant Karon’s wish of reaching Denali’s summit.
    Zack awoke after twelve hours of dead sleep. He slid his feet to the floor and stretched. Thirty-eight straight hours of being awake just didn’t cut it anymore at his age. Add in the climbing, rescue, and high altitude, and no wonder his body wanted to return to the bed. But he