Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Devin
“I think my phone fell out when I was sitting at the picnic table,” I say, hopping out of the truck as soon as Flynn parks in the same graveled spot just past the one-lane wooden bridge as he did earlier.
The sun sank below the horizon minutes ago, casting a beautiful, pinkish, dusky glow over the landscape.
It’s so breathtaking that I nearly forget why I’m here.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Flynn asks, following me to the center of the one-lane bridge.
He’s been extra quiet during the drive, probably because he’s been cautious of inserting his foot into his mouth again. I wonder how he’d react if I confessed that it’s my favorite side of him so far.
“It’s stunning,” I agree. “I could see living here.”
“Could you?” His question is curious with a hint of serious.
For a moment, I entertain the idea of moving to Cinnamon Creek just to see where this could go.
It’s a small town, but I imagine they have a family clinic.
It would be a very nice change of pace. It’s tempting, considering I’m currently unemployed.
But it’s also reckless to make such a big move for a man I only just met when my dating track record has been absolute shit lately.
No, a hot vacation fling is the best option.
It’d be a memory worthy of a romance novel scene.
One that’d help me get through the really shitty days while I figure out what comes next in the life of Devin Rollins.
The Director of Nursing already had it out for me before the dating a patient incident, so I’m certain she’ll make it nearly impossible for me to get another job in Omaha.
“You’d have to invest in a pair of boots,” Flynn says, making me realize I never answered his question.
“The idea of moving here sounds great,” I admit, resting my elbows on the bridge railing and peering out at the landscape. It looks like a movie set. “But I don’t know how I’d feel about winter.”
“You from Florida or something?”
“Nebraska.”
Flynn makes a face. “I’ll take a Montana winter over a Midwest winter any day.”
“You have first-hand knowledge of this?” I challenge.
“I was stationed in Chicago for a while.”
“Stationed?”
“Navy.”
Oh damn. Flynn Conners just got hotter.
I didn’t think that was possible.
I yearn to tell Erin all about my encounter with an ex-military, mountain man, single dad.
As my book bestie, she’d eat this up. He’s a combination of all my favorite tropes, wrapped in tattoos.
All that’s missing is the morally gray thing, but for a flesh and blood man, I’m kind of relieved about that part.
My excitement to share this story with the ex-bride-to-be quickly extinguishes, though.
Despite her insistence that her bridal party get out and have fun while we left her alone with her Kindle this weekend, I still feel guilty being here without her.
I hope she’s not crying her eyes out over that piece of shit Chad. He doesn’t deserve any of her tears.
“Everything okay?” Flynn asks, the warmth of his breath gently caressing my cheek. When did he move so…close?
“Yeah, I was just thinking about Erin. This was supposed to be her bachelorette weekend.”
“In Cancun?” he guesses, making a point to look down at my flip-flops again.
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
“Her fiancé tripped, and his dick fell right into her stepsister’s vagina.”
“That’s…graphic.”
“I’m a nurse.” I lift my shoulders once, secretly inhaling his manly scent at the same time. It’s a delicious combination of clean linen, spice, and mountain air. “Bluntness, especially when it comes to anatomy, is kind of my specialty.”
“Noted,” he says with a chuckle. “Did you really think about becoming a park ranger?”
My nipples tingle in response not to the question itself, but to the fact that he remembered such a detail. “Yeah, when I was seventeen.”
“What changed your mind?”
“My grandma—” I catch a glimpse of something shiny, and the reason we’re out here dawns on me just in time to avoid the too-personal question. I push off the railing. “I see my phone!”
“Devin—”
I jog toward the narrow dirt trail to the picnic table, desperately in need of space. Flynn Conners is fucking quicksand. I’ll have to make sure I keep that mouth nice and busy later so he doesn’t seduce me with all his good qualities and thoughtful questions.
“It’s right—”
A few feet from the picnic table, I freeze.
A moose the size of a full-grown horse stands so close I can see its puffy breath in the cooling air.
I wasn’t able to see this guy from where I stood on the bridge.
Despite its massive size, it doesn’t look fully grown.
He’s incredibly cute, but also a little bit scary considering he could trample me if I startle him.
“Hey buddy,” I say, well aware that its hooves are just inches from my phone. Please don’t step on it. Please don’t step on it. “Where’s your mama—"
“Devin, back away slowly,” Flynn says, his voice calm but firm enough to give me full body shivers. And not the good kind.
“What—”
A gigantic moose steps out from beneath the cover of the wooden bridge, moving with purpose.
She makes the other moose look like the toddler he is.
Her ears are down, and the whites of her eyes are eerily visible as she sets her sights on me.
I vaguely remember something Tabby said about that, but I can’t recall exactly what. Just that it’s definitely not good.
“Is this Bella?” I ask as I slowly back up the trail, both in awe of the creature I’ve always wanted to see and also a little afraid for the future state of my rib cage.
“Now’s not really the time for introductions,” Flynn says, his tone calmer than the warning he’s implying.
I lift my hands in surrender, as though Bella has a gun pointed at me. “I’m leaving,” I say to her, silently cursing my beachy footwear that’s making my trek backward harder.
Bella lets out a loud snort.
My foot gets tangled in my flip-flop, and I stumble forward.
Before I can scream, Flynn catches me by both arms, yanking me against his chest and back onto level ground half a second before Bella charges up the hill after us.
This is it.
This is how I die.
I squint my eyes closed, focusing on how damn good it feels to be in Flynn’s arms as I wait for my inevitable painful ending.
Only, it doesn’t come.
“Devin,” Flynn whispers, his breath warm against the chilled shell of my ear.
“Hmm?”
“You can open your eyes now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Bella went back down by—”
“What?” I ask, my eyes popping open. I watch in horror as Bella trots toward the picnic table—near my phone. I hold my breath, praying that she doesn’t trample my phone. It might have survived the little guy stepping on it, but no phone is built to withstand a thousand pounds of pressure.
She stops, front hoof an inch from the device.
“What’s she doing?” I whisper to Flynn.
“I don’t know.”
She lifts her head, as though looking at me, then lowers it again. She starts to trot off, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Until her back foot kicks my phone right into the rushing, rocky stream. I let out some sort of strangled sob as I watch it sink into the water.
Bella and her son trot away into the tall grass, in a hurry to disappear. Their speed is impressively scary.
I wait a few more seconds after I can no longer see the tall grass swaying before I dare move, but then I double time it down the trail, hoping it’s not too late to save my phone.
In my haste, I trip on a flip-flop. Again.
Flynn is not there to catch me this time, and I unceremoniously tumble down the hill, right into the stream. My ankle catches on a rock, and I let out a cry half a second before my face smashes into the soft mud.
So much for getting laid tonight.