Raiders of the Lost Heart(34)

But Ford was a tall drink of water and Corrie was getting very thirsty.

“If the two of you are done . . .” Ford said, using his I’m the boss voice, though a hint of the playfulness still rang through. Corrie and Ethan stood at full attention, pulling their mouths into tight lines. “Anyway . . . What about this? There’s a road that goes all the way here,” he said, dragging his finger across the map. “We have a raft. What if we drop into the river here and float our way down? Shouldn’t take more than a day or two tops this way, rather than the three or four it would take to hike there and back. We check out each of these locations, and if one of them looks like the spot, great. If not, then we come back and reassess.”

Corrie had to admit—it wasn’t a bad idea, though it could potentially waste a lot of time. And there was always the chance that the river had rapids or other precarious obstacles. Then again, she was always up for an adventure.

Ford, on the other hand, was famously not. Ethan must have been thinking the same thing, because he hadn’t responded, either.

“What?” he asked, noticing Corrie’s and Ethan’s blank stares. “You think it’s a ridiculous idea, don’t you?”

“No,” Ethan said. “It’s just . . . I’m a little surprised that you’d suggest something so . . . daring.”

“Yeah, well, it must be the booze. I’m more open to risk-taking when I’ve been drinking,” he said, tossing Corrie a quick glance with a half smile that sent her insides swirling again.

He really needed to stop looking at her like that or she would have to pull out that vibrator later. Though, who was she kidding? She’d be pulling it out regardless.

“Corrie, what do you think?” Ford asked.

“I mean, it would definitely save time if the closer spots aren’t it. But we won’t know that until we get out there.”

Ethan sat on the edge of the desk. “How is this going to work logistically? We’ve still got at least two days left of cleanup at the old site. Even assuming one of these sites is the right one, we won’t be able to get a solid crew together to scout until next week at the earliest.”

Practical Ethan.

“Well, we only have one raft, anyway. It holds four to six people, max,” Ford said. “I’ll take a small team. Me, Corrie, and two of the other guys.”

Ethan stood straight. Uh-oh. Corrie’s eyes shifted between the two of them. Ethan didn’t like this plan.

“I thought we were doing this together,” Ethan said.

Is it warm in here?

“We are . . . we will. But I need you at the old site,” Ford said.

“I can stay and close up the old site,” Corrie said, taking a page from Ethan’s referee book.

“No, I need you,” Ford said. And there went those warm fuzzies again. “You’re the only one who knows what we should be looking for. The only one who truly knows.” He then turned to Ethan. “Look, man, you know I want you to be there with me, but if we wait, we’re looking at next week, like you said. We can’t afford to wait that long.”

Ethan’s face twisted, but he sat back down. “All right, fine. But if I hear you guys were battling cheetahs, I’m going to be pissed.”

“Ethan, if we’re battling cheetahs in Mexico, then we’ve got much bigger problems,” Corrie said.

“Watch what you’re saying.” The corner of Ford’s mouth ticked up. “If anyone’s going to battle cheetahs in a Mexican jungle, it’s Dr. Socorro Mejía, the living legend.”

Corrie laughed and kicked her leg at Ford’s hip as he shuffled to get away with that damn sexy grin on his face.

“Okay, do we have a plan?” Ford asked. The three of them looked around the desk at each other and then nodded. “Great. Then we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“You mean, you two have a lot of work to do,” Ethan said, “seeing as you had a nice leisurely afternoon. I’m going to go take a shower.”

“Actually, think we can take a break? I’d like to check on my tent,” Corrie said.

“All right, how about this? Ethan, let me know who would be the best two guys to join us. Not the students. We need professionals. Two people who aren’t going to ask a bunch of questions or want to learn so we can get this done as quickly and efficiently as possible. A couple of guys who can deal with the physical demands of rafting and primitive camping for two days. Corrie, you check on your tent, and then maybe check in with Agnes about food. We should be able to do this in two days, but let’s pack for three just in case. And while you’re doing that, I’ll figure out the rest. Okay?”

“Yessir!” Ethan said, standing at full attention.

Ford smiled and shook his head. “Jackass. We can go over notes during dinner.”

“Sounds good, boss,” Corrie said with a wink as she and Ethan got up to leave.

Ethan wasted no time jetting out to try to catch a shower before the line got too long. But as Corrie was about to exit the tent, Ford grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

The air seemingly whooshed out between them as they stood face-to-face. Close, but not close enough. One step forward and their bodies would connect as they had the night before in the mess tent.

“Thank you,” he said, with her hand still in his.