44
Steve didn’t manage to entice Carly into the shower. Which was actually a nozzle on a water truck backed up against the woods. The water hadn’t warmed up in the least since they’d pumped it from the sub-glacial stream, so he was done the instant that he stopped flowing red.
“You missed a spot.”
He spun to see Carly leaning against a nearby tree.
“What are you doing there?”
“These.” She waved a handful of clean clothes at him. “And admiring the view. You missed a spot here.” She slapped her right backside.
“Come on over and clean it for me.”
She smiled at the tease, but not much. So Steve turned the freezing hose back on, palmed the soap, and scrubbed the last of the retardant off.
He took a towel from the top of the stack on the truck’s bumper, not big enough to cover anything,
