Minutes later he felt a tug on his own pole and lifted it in the air to reveal another catch. „The way these fish are biting, it looks like we won’t have to worry about starving any time soon.“
Within the hour they’d carried the bucket with their catch to the picnic table, where Josh showed Grace the proper way to bone and fillet the fish for cooking.
She watched with interest. „Is this what you do for a living?“
He chuckled. „I do this just for the pure pleasure of it.“ He arranged the fillets in a blackened skillet before heading toward the cabin. „Come on. Let’s stoke the fire and see if we can’t get this feast started. By the time you’re finished, you’re going to think you were dining in one of New York City ’s finest gourmet restaurants.“
„Promise?“
He was still laughing as he held the door and followed her inside. „You aren’t going to believe your taste buds.“
Four
Grace set out plates and flatware on the rustic wooden coffee table positioned in front of the sofa.
She studied Josh, cooking the fish in a blackened skillet over the flames of the fireplace. He’d rolled the sleeves of his denim shirt to his elbows. Despite the plane crash, he was the picture of robust health, his body trim, his back and arms corded with muscles. Every once in a while he paused to sip his coffee before flipping the fish. He looked at ease, natural, as though he did this every day of his life.
„What do you do? That is, when you’re not crashing a plane into the wilderness?“
He shot her a grin. „Extreme sports.“
„Extreme?“
„Instead of just taking a hot air balloon up, I take it around the world and beat the old world record in the process. If I decide to surf, I choose to do it where I’ll be the most physically and emotionally challenged.“
Her hands paused in midair. „Why?“
He grinned. „It beats working for a living. And it gets the adrenaline pumping.“
Grace gave a quick shake of her head. „I once told my father the same thing when he asked me why I had to go gallivanting around the world taking pictures. He couldn’t understand why I wasn’t content to just work at a local newspaper.“
„Hmmm.“ He shot her a grin. „Does that mean we’re kindred souls?“
„I don’t know about that. I doubt I’d volunteer to circle the world in a hot air balloon.“
„I only did it once.“
That had her laughing. „How do you hope to top that?“
His smile grew and he made a formal bow. „For my next trick, ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to explore the wilderness.“
Grace couldn’t help grinning at his imitation of a carnival barker. „Were you planning on staying in one of the cottages here?“
„Not really. I’d planned on camping in the open. Along the trail.“ He wrapped a towel around the handle of the skillet and removed it from the fire. „I was about to film my journey for a television special.“
„You’re a TV producer, too?“
He gave a quick shake of his head. „Just a guy who loves nature.“
„How many people are going with you?“
„Just me. The rest of the crew planned on filming me here at the beginning, and then waiting for me at the end of the journey to wrap things up.“
She flushed. „I’m afraid I don’t watch much television. I’m out of the country more often than I’m home. I’m not familiar with your show.“
„It isn’t a TV show yet. The producer was hoping this special might create enough interest to make it into a regular feature on the Sports News Network.“
„Now that’s something I’m familiar with. SNN is seen everywhere.“
The fish were still sizzling as Josh turned them onto a plate. He removed a packet of leaves from the fire and opened them to reveal a mixture of steaming roots that he’d collected from the wild vegetation growing in the woods around the cabin.
When he carried the platter to the table, Grace eyed it with naked hunger.
Josh shot her a wicked grin. „Wouldn’t you like to know what you’re about to eat?“
„I don’t need the scientific names, if that’s what you mean. As long as you assure me that they’re edible.“
„A girl after my own heart.“ He settled down beside her and began to fill both their plates. „But just so you know the food is safe to eat, I’ll tell you the name of everything here.“
She chuckled. „A lot of good that’ll do. How will I know whether you’ve given me their real name, or something you just made up?“
„You won’t.“ He popped a steaming green leaf into his mouth and gave a sigh of pleasure before swallowing. „Now this is what I call fresh.“
Following his lead, Grace tasted the fish and couldn’t stop the little sigh that escaped her lips. „You’re right. It’s wonderful.“ She speared a green leaf. „All right. Just to play along, what’s this called?“
„Lamb’s-quarter. It’ll taste a lot like spinach.“
She bit into it and gave a quick nod. „It does.“ She lifted a steaming tuber. „And this?“
„Wild yam. The Native Americans who lived here probably considered it a delicacy. It’ll stay fresh all winter if left in the ground.“
„It’s delicious.“ Grace tasted yet another green. „And this?“
„Wild asparagus.“
„Tasty.“ She found herself wondering if he actually knew all these plants, or was having fun with her. Testing him, she pointed with her fork. „This?“
„That’s wild mint. And that one is thyme.“
She started to laugh. „Honestly?“
„Would I lie to the woman who saved my life?“ He speared a tuber. „This is orris root. And this is verbena. I’ll use some later to make you tea.“
„You’re trying to impress me with all this knowledge, aren’t you?“
„Guilty.“ He grinned. „Is it working?“
„Yeah.“ She shot him a sideways glance. „How do you learn all this?“
He shrugged. „The same way a city girl quickly learns which restaurant has the best carryout. I’ve spent so much time in the wild, eating from the land has become second nature to me.“
„Is this when you tell me your amazing tale of having been raised in the wilderness by wolves, and that you’re actually an untamed mountain man?“
That had them both laughing.
It occurred to Josh that he was having a grand time, feeling more relaxed and carefree than he had in years. „I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. She used to tell me stories about my dad, and I wanted to be just like him. I was keen for any adventure. I was on skis as soon as I could walk. Climbing mountains when other kids were riding their bikes.“ His tone lowered. Softened. „Gram told me that there wasn’t anything my father wouldn’t attempt. When I was a kid, I thought he could walk on water.“
Grace heard the affection in his tone and felt a sudden ache around her heart at the thought of all she’d missed with her own father. „No wonder you need to get the generator up and running. He’ll be worried sick until he hears that you’re safe.“
„My father died when I was ten. Until then, I was a military brat, moving all around the world. Though my mother hated it, I was having the time of my life.“ He crossed to the fire, retrieving the coffeepot. „I think, if my father had lived, my parents would have gone their separate ways.“ When he’d topped off both their cups, he set the coffeepot aside before returning to the sofa and stretching out his legs toward the heat. „Within a year of my dad’s death my mother remarried, and I was allowed to move in with my grandmother. It was a good move for all of us. My grandmother was an amazing woman.“
Intrigued, Grace turned to him. „In what way?“
He shrugged. „She’d buried a husband, a son. Since I was the only family member she had left, it would have been natural for her to lock the doors and cling to me as tightly as possible.“