lot closer to her than he had been a few seconds ago. “Not at all, unfortunately.”
Victor squinted at her like he didn’t believe her but left it alone. “What do you need me to do? Should we get started on breakfast?”
“Um, sure.” Lacey stepped back, her movement stopped by a log behind her. “Do you know where the meal plan is? There’s a certain order we need to eat the food in.” Lacey peered into the bag holding the cooking equipment, looking for the folder that Kelvin had referred to the night before. Reaching in, she extracted it and held it out to Victor. “It should be in here.”
Victor’s fingers grazed hers as he took it, and an unwanted and inconvenient spark traveled up her arm.
He looked at her a couple of seconds longer than necessary, and Lacey’s breath stalled in her lungs. He couldn’t recognize her now. What if he did? She could brush it off, saying she hadn’t said anything because she knew it would be awkward, but there was no doubt the rest of the trip would then be exactly that.
“Right.” She forced the breezy words out. “You sort the food, and I’ll sort the coffee.”
She broke their gaze. Where had she been in the process before Victor had thrown her equilibrium?
She picked up the coffee pot just to have something to do with her hands. As she did, movement in the undergrowth caught her eye, and her spine stiffened. Most of the predators in the wilderness were nocturnal and would be tucked up in bed by now. A bear would be making more noise.
As she watched, a raccoon weaved then stumbled out of a bush. “Uh, oh.”
“What’s that?” Victor turned around, his gaze lighting on the rodent.
Lacey didn’t say anything.
“Aww. Hey, little fella. Good morning to you.”
Good morning to you? What had he been smoking in his tent?
“Should we give him something to eat?”
Lacey only half-listened to Victor’s prattling. Her gaze focused on where the raccoon righted himself, only to make it a few more steps before taking another stumble.
“We probably have some leftovers from last night. What if we put them in a bowl for him? Or do raccoons prefer dry food? Cereal? Biscuits?”
She tuned back into Victor just as he reached for the rope that strung up the bag containing their food. “Victor,” she kept her voice steady. “Do not touch that rope.”
“Why not?”
The stupid man was in shorts. If he went near the raccoon and it bit him on the leg, he’d have to be medevaced.
“I need you to come and step behind me. The coon probably has rabies.”
“What makes you think that?”
Victor, because he was an idiot, didn’t take so much as a step toward her.
“Raccoons are nocturnal. If you see one during the day, there’s a good chance it has rabies. If you see one out in the day and it is weaving and stumbling like a drunkard, then it almost definitely has rabies.”
Reaching down, Lacey picked up a rock the size of her fist and hefted it in the direction of the coon. “Shoo! Go away!” The animal blinked but made no attempt to retreat. Instead, it took another couple of steps in her direction.
Victor threw another rock. It landed near the raccoon. “Scat! Off you go!” Again, it blinked but stayed its ground.
Shoot. She was going to have to use her gun. She was going to have to use her gun, and the Brit would freak. But the coon was only a few feet away from Louisa and Cassie’s tent. If one of them came out and gave it a fright, it might go for them.
Victor was off to her right. There was no chance she would accidentally shoot him. She was an excellent shot. But she couldn’t take any chances that he would do something that could put himself in danger either.
“Victor.” She kept her voice low and clear. “In three seconds I’m going to shoot the raccoon. I need you behind me when I do.” Crouching down, she lifted up her pant leg and pulled her Glock out of its holster, clasping both hands around the grip. She stood, keeping the gun facing toward the ground.
Victor dropped an astounded expletive just as Jen’s head popped out of their tent. Excellent. “What’s all the—”
“Get back in the tent, Jen. I need to shoot this coon.”
Jen’s head went back in the tent, and the zipper went down without another question.
“Is that real?” Victor asked the question in the kind