Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
W hy was he so keyed up?
Theo stalked across the length of his cabin, grabbing a beer from his fridge. He’d been trying to work for the past two hours but had gotten very little done.
He knew exactly why he was distracted. Savannah Lee was inside the cabin nestled amongst the trees about thirty yards from his cabin.
He didn't have any windows on the side that faced her cabin, but if he stepped out onto his front or back porch, he would be able to see light from the windows in her cabin. Faintly. They weren't right next door to one another, and there were plenty of trees and bushes and other tall plants between them. Not to mention marshy ground that he wouldn’t walk across without hip waders.
Still, he knew she was there. That's all it really took.
This was such a bad idea.
Especially because he'd left her behind with the look on her face that looked like she meant the words, This is actually really charming .
Dammit. She was supposed to hate the cabin. She was supposed to be freaked out about being this deep in the bayou. She was supposed to think all of this was far too rustic, too beneath her.
He popped the top off his bottle of beer and shoved a hand through his hair.
He knew he wasn't being fair. In all of the time Savannah had spent in Autre, she had never acted like she was looking down her nose. She always seemed like she was having a good time. She'd always treated everyone with friendliness and respect.
Just because she wore those God damn high heels, had professionally done streaks in her hair, had nearly flawless makeup on, and smelled like a million bucks, didn't mean that she was stuck up.
It was the exact fact that she wasn't that had drawn him to her.
Okay, her long blonde hair and tight ass too. He wasn’t going to lie to himself.
The buttoned-up gorgeous City Girl had drawn his eye the very first time he'd ever seen her.
But the fact that she'd always acted comfortable in Autre, had laughed at the bawdy jokes, had given back as much shit as she’d gotten from the Landry boys, had climbed onto the airboats, eaten crawfish, shot down moonshine, and worn cut off denim shorts as easily as she wore Gucci skirts, had definitely done something to him.
No, he didn't want to date a bayou girl, someone who'd grown up here and knew everything inside and out, but he definitely liked seeing Savannah barefoot with dirt on her perfectly painted toes and a little sunburn kissing her very cute nose.
“Fuck!”
This was not going the way he planned.
He didn't know if he wanted her to like it here or not like it here. Her not liking it here would mean that she'd get her gorgeous ass out of here sooner versus later.
He knew that's how the story ended. She wasn't going to stick around. Not only was she a City Girl, but she loved to travel. He'd overheard enough of her conversations to know that she loved her job because she loved visiting new places. Hotel and resort management had been on her list of dream jobs, along with airline attendant.
She wanted to see the country.
He wanted to stay right the fuck here.
Even if he didn't know personally how it went when you tried to take a pretty City Girl and make her into a small-town girl, he knew he and Savannah were a bad match long-term. She was mouthy and sarcastic and always thought she was right and loved pushing buttons.
At least Kelsey had been sweet. She’d wanted roots. Family. She’d been wrong about where she wanted those roots to dig in, but she’d wanted to settle down.
Savannah didn’t.
The sun was going down, so he stepped out onto his front porch to watch the pinkish-orange glow fade into deep blue. Yes, he glanced in the direction of Savannah 's cabin. So what? It was his cabin, and it was good to make sure she hadn’t set the damn thing on fire or something.
Everything seemed intact.
He wondered if she was exfoliating or walking around naked yet.
Of course, those images and words wouldn’t leave him alone either. That was certainly part of the reason he couldn't stop thinking about her.
And he suspected she knew that.
It was one thing to be attracted to her, to realize he hadn’t put her in a shack overnight after all, but it was another for her to know that he wanted her in a way he hadn’t wanted a woman in very long time. There was chemistry between them, there was no denying it. In fact, because of her sassiness, her self-confidence, her button-pushing, he had a feeling that taking her to bed would be a hell of a good time. He wouldn’t have to be sweet and romantic with her. He could be dirty. He could push her buttons right back. Hard.
Yeah, sooner or later, he and Miss Lee were going to need to scratch this itch, or it was just gonna keep getting worse.
He took a seat in one of the chairs he had on his porch and kicked his feet up onto the wooden railing, tipping his beer back.
As dusk settled, and the shadows lengthened, the frogs and crickets started singing louder. Fireflies started winking off in the distance, and he took a long deep breath.
It was still hot, and the air humid, but the nighttime brought a welcome coolness. He loved this time of evening when it felt like the whole area was quieting and settling in for the night. He could let his thoughts settle.
His job could be chaotic. He never knew what was going to happen when he got up and went to work each day. He could be rescuing tourists who got too far out on a boat they didn’t really know how to handle. He could be rescuing a hurt animal. He could be arresting someone who was illegally hunting or trapping. He could be ticketing someone for boat safety violations, fishing without a license, camping or hunting on private property, or building illegal campfires. He could be investigating a report of…well, all kinds of crazy shit.
He dealt with visitors and locals alike. He and his co-workers were outdoorsmen and women. They loved to hunt, fish, boat, and camp too. But they knew that they needed to protect the animals and the environment as well as all of the other people living, working, and playing in the area to keep the outdoor activities safe for everyone and keep the balance between humans and nature.
He had just swallowed another long drink of beer and was feeling some tension leave his limbs when he heard the slap of a wooden door hitting a wooden frame and sat up straight.
He never heard noises like that. He lived out here alone, and the cabin that Savannah was staying in, while sometimes used for guests, and friends, sat empty most of the time.
All the other cabins in this area were too far away for him to hear a simple door open and shut.
Which could only mean that Savannah had left the cabin.
At dusk. When it was harder to see anything. When she’d get eaten alive by mosquitoes.
He sighed. He really should go check on her.
Maybe she was just sitting on the porch. That wasn't going to be a problem. She’d learn soon enough that there were things that wanted to bite that sweet body. Other than him.
He smiled. Here alone in the dark, where no one could read his face or body language, particularly the hardening of his cock behind his fly, he could be honest and say that he would very much like to bite that sweet body. And lick it, and kiss it, and suck on many parts of it.
A moment later, he heard a scuffing noise and then a crunching. That could only be footsteps. On the dirt path that ran along behind the cabins.
“Motherfucker. Son of a bitch.” There was a pause. Then she said, “Thank God.”
He heard all of her muttered words. He also noticed a small light bobbing along. Probably the flashlight on her phone.
Well, at least she’d thought to bring that. But what the fuck did she think she was doing? Going for a walk this time of night? In an area that she didn't know at all?
The dot of light grew bigger and brighter, the sounds of her footsteps on the stretch of dirt that was really only wide enough for one truck at a time, getting louder.
“Ow! Fuck!”
Theo set up even straighter. She'd probably simply brushed by a prickly weed, but if something had bit her or she twisted her ankle, he was going to have to go down there.
Her footsteps continued though.
There was still enough light that he could see her emerge from between the trees once she passed the little bend in the path. He scanned her quickly. She wasn’t limping. She also, thank God, was no longer wearing those fucking heels. She had flat tennis shoes on now. But she was still wearing those shorts.
Something out here definitely wanted to take a bite of her.
But it was very human.
She drew closer to his cabin, and her footsteps slowed. She appeared to be studying his pickup.
“Oh my God,” he heard her mutter.
He knew she couldn't see him from where he was sitting. He knew he should probably call out to her. Just sitting here in the dark was a little creepy. Then again, she was creeping up on his pickup. She wouldn’t know it was his. It wasn't his work truck, and he didn't think that she'd ever seen or paid any attention to his personal vehicle.
She crept along the driver's side and peered in the window.
He narrowed his eyes. If she thought this was somebody else's truck, and the keys were hanging in the ignition, would she take it? Would she go back to town and try to pretend that she'd stayed out here all night?
The corner of his mouth kicked up. This woman was something. He honestly wouldn't put anything past her.
He'd also love to punish her for misbehaving.
He should mean that he would love to use that to convince the city council not to build her stupid cabins. Or at least make her stay out here another couple extra days. But that's not how he meant it. His palm actually itched slightly with the urge to smack it against her perfect backside. He rubbed it over his thigh.
She tried the door on his truck, and it opened. Of course, it did. Why the fuck would he lock it out here?
So, he cleared his throat.
She screamed.
She also slammed the door quickly. Her hand was on her chest now, and she was peering into the darkness. “Oh my God, you scared me!”
He dropped his voice just a bit, wondering when she would realize who he was. “Can I help you?”
“Oh, yes. I didn't realize there was anyone else out here. I was looking for some help.”
He narrowed his eyes. She had not come along the path as if she was fleeing or running for help. “What seems to be the problem?”
She came around the front of the pickup. Hopefully, her adrenaline was still pumping hard enough that she wouldn’t realize who he was just yet. He was going to play with her a little.
“I was wondering if I could borrow some eggs,” she stammered.
His eyebrows went up. Eggs? That was her excuse?
“You’re walking in the dark along the bayou at this time of night because you need eggs?”
“Yeah, I'm really hungry, and I don’t have any.”
“You're staying over at that cabin and you didn't bring any food?”
“Yeah. I'm not from here. I wasn't prepared when I packed.”
He snorted. He couldn’t help it. “Ellie's gumbo’s in the fridge. What the hell do you need eggs for?”
He could hear her suck in a breath of air from the few feet that separated them. She probably got some bugs in that lungful too.
“Oh my God! Theo ?”
“Well, who the hell did you think it was?”
“I don't know! I didn’t know anyone else would be out here! Why would I think it was you ? You’re the one who was all excited to strand me out here!”
He let his feet drop to the porch floor with a thunk , then leaned forward. “Strand you out here? That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Well…” She hesitated.
Yeah, because he never said anything about stranding her out here.
He leaned his elbows on his thighs. “What are you doing out here? Really?”
She pulled a quick breath. “Why didn’t you tell me you were staying in the cabin right next to mine?”
He thought about that. He supposed he hadn't mentioned that because it would've set her up for potentially saying something like, should we have dinner together ? Want to come over for a beer? How about I come over to your place for a beer? And all of those were bad ideas. Having Savannah at his house, alone, deep down in the bayou where no one would find them, alone , was a very bad idea.
Kind of like they were right now.
“Didn’t think it mattered. You’re supposed to be over there.” He pointed at her cabin. “Alone.” He got to his feet. “What are you really doing over here?”
“I was just going on a walk. Then I realized there was a cabin here, with a truck .”
“The truck you were trying to get into.”
She moved closer, shaking her head back and forth quickly. “I just wanted to make sure it had keys in it.”
“So you could take it.”
She stared at him from the bottom of the steps. “Take it? Where would I take it?”
“That’s a good question. If you stole my truck, where would you go?”
“I wasn’t going to steal it. I just wanted to make sure it actually ran.”
“If you didn't want to steal it. Why do you care that it runs?”
“Because that means if I needed it, I would know that it was here. All I want is to know it’s here and in working order.”
He shook his head and lifted a hand to scrub the back of his neck. “I don't understand.”
She dropped her hands on her hips. “I have no idea where I am. If I did steal it, where would I go with it?”
“Toward town, I suppose.”
She glanced behind her in the general direction of Autre. “Yeah. Probably. I guess.”
There was something weird about her demeanor. She wasn’t being sassy. He wasn’t sure he’d ever spoken to her when she wasn’t sassing him somehow.
“What is going on?” He descended the steps. “Are you all right?”
She seemed flustered. He wasn’t sure he'd ever seen Savannah flustered. Except for the night outside of the city council meeting when he was standing just a little too close.
“I just…” She looked up at him and swallowed. “I'm a little claustrophobic.”
“The cabin’s too small for you?” He tried to make the words teasing, but he was afraid his voice sounded gentle. And concerned. Savannah being nervous was messing with him.
“No. I mean, I do get claustrophobic that way too. But my anxiety mostly comes on when I feel stuck. Or stranded. When I feel like I can’t leave a place of my own volition. So when you brought me out here and then left, I was trying really hard to ignore the fact that I could not leave until you came back.” She pressed both of her hands against her stomach. “And then it finally just got the best of me. I decided to try going for a walk. I had no idea if it was going to work or not. I don't know the terrain out here. But I thought I should try. At least be outside and scope out the area so I knew what I was dealing with.” She swept one arm out. “I know it’s all bayou on the other side, and even if I can walk in some of it, I don’t want to. There are critters in that water.” She gave a little shudder. “But I was thinking that maybe out this direction, I should find out what was around.” She looked in the direction she’d come from. “Then I saw the path, and I felt so much relief. And then I saw the cabin. Then the truck.” She looked back at Theo. “Obviously, I'm not going to try to drive the truck. I don't even know where I am. But knowing that there's a truck that runs and that could drive out of here will help me sleep so much better tonight.”
All of that came out in a rambling rush. Theo stared down at her. She was definitely rattled. And it was for a real reason. She was anxious.
He'd made her anxious.
And not in a good, wound-up, hot way.
She'd been scared.
He reached up and cupped her face without thinking. Her startled eyes found his. But she didn't pull away.
“I'm sorry, Savannah. I didn't know you would feel that way. Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I have to do this. For the project.”
“If you’d told me any of this, I would've told you that I'm in the cabin right next door, that there is a path between the cabins, and that there are other ways to get out of here.”
She took a deep shaky breath. “I guess I didn't want you to think I was weak.”
He couldn't help it, he took an step closer to her. “That's not weak . We all have things that get us worked up.”
She wet her lips. “You just kind of seemed like my…opponent, I guess.”
He understood that. He supposed they were opponents. At least when it came to the building project. But fuck, he couldn't believe how tightly knotted his gut was, thinking about this woman being scared and worried in that cabin just a few yards away. He could've made her feel better. So easily.
“I didn't take the boat either.”
She nodded. “I see that. Not that I could drive the boat out of here.”
His thumb was stroking over her cheek, almost instinctively. He couldn’t deny the desire to comfort her. “Do you need to go back to town?”
Her eyes narrowed with that, and she took a step back. His hand fell to his side.
“No, Theo, I don't need to go back to town. I'm going to stay in that cabin.”
Fuck, he’d messed that up. “You don't have to do that. I didn’t know that it would actually freak you out. I wanted you to see that it’s not cushy and glamorous and spa-like down here. Not even with nice towels and fancy coffee. But I don’t want you to be actually scared.”
Her chin lifted. “I’m not scared. It would've been a long, uncomfortable night. I maybe wouldn't have slept very well. But I would've done it. And now that I know you're here—even though it's you—I’m fine.”
Even though it's you . That jabbed at him a little harder than it should have. Maybe even more than it would have an hour ago. Before he knew about her very real anxiety.
Now he wanted to be the one that made her feel better. He loved to think that him being just next door actually made her feel comforted and would help her sleep better tonight.
He sighed, studying her face. She truly was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever met.
And fuck, this vulnerability in her made her even more beautiful to him. She wasn't just the put-together, classy, wrinkle-free, white-silk-blouse-wearing woman he'd been fantasizing about.
This made her real.
“Come here.” He turned on his heel and walked over to his truck. He opened the door and glanced back to find that Savannah followed him only to the front of the truck but was still standing several feet away. “Get in,” he said simply.
“What?”
“We’re going for a ride.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“To show you that the truck starts, runs great, and how to get out of here.”
She folded her arms and lifted her chin. “I'm not leaving.”
“Fine. But this way you’ll know you can .”
She looked at the truck, then back to him. “This won’t count against me?”
He hated that she felt this was such a strict competition, but that was his fault. He shook his head. “Of course not. I’m just going to give you a little tour of the area. You should have that anyway as part of your plan.”
Savannah stood, clearly considering that. Finally, without a word, she went to the passenger side and got in.
With a relieved sigh—though he wasn’t sure why he was feeling relieved exactly—Theo climbed up behind the wheel.