3. Celeste
3
CELESTE
I’m still raw with embarrassment as I follow Dane through the woods. I can’t get the memory of his naked body out of my mind, and it sure doesn’t help that he looks just as sexy in flannel and jeans, his muscles bulging beneath the fabric in a way that makes my heart flutter. He doesn’t seem fazed that I saw him naked—the embarrassment is all mine—but there’s still something gruff and guarded about him. He’s a man of few words, and every time I look at him, he angles his face so that his scars are turned away from me. I’m not sure he even realizes he’s doing it, and I can’t help wondering what this man’s story is.
“It’s beautiful out here,” I say as we pass a creek, the water sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight. “Brody said it was remote, but I still wasn’t expecting it to be this… wild .”
Dane’s lips twitch into the shadow of a smile. “Wild is how we like it on Cherry Mountain. How long has your brother lived here?”
“Only about a month. He used to live with me in Denver.”
Dane makes a noise in his throat. “Big change, moving here from a city.”
“He never liked it there,” I say. “This place suits him much better.”
“What about you?” I feel Dane’s eyes boring into me. “You a city girl?”
“Not exactly. I grew up in Vermont, right in the middle of the Green Mountain National Forest. I moved to Denver for college and then stayed for work.”
Dane nods. “You like it there?”
I hesitate. “It’s…complicated.”
Denver will always have a soft spot in my heart. It was my escape: my refuge from all the crap I had to deal with back in Vermont. But I’ve never fully embraced being a city girl, and I’m not sure I ever will. Part of me will always belong to the forest, despite the painful memories I have of my childhood home. But I’m not going to bore this handsome stranger with my life story, so I don’t elaborate.
“What about you?” I ask instead. “Have you always lived around here?”
He nods. “Grew up on Cherry Mountain.”
His answer doesn’t surprise me. I can’t imagine a man like Dane living anywhere else. He almost seems like part of the wilderness, as though he were carved from the mountain itself.
“Do your family live out here too?” I ask.
It suddenly occurs to me that this guy could easily be married with kids. There’s no ring on his finger, but that doesn’t prove anything, and I feel another rush of embarrassment for ogling him before.
“My brother has his own cabin back that way,” Dane says, gesturing behind us. “Our parents moved to Florida a little while ago.”
“Do you live by yourself?” I ask, trying not to betray how much the question matters to me. It’s stupid. Why should I care if this stranger is married?
“Yeah.” The simple response sends a wave of relief through me, and Dane’s gaze flickers to mine once more, his eyes like fire. “How about you?”
“Same. It’s just me since Brody left.”
Something in his face seems to relax, and he reaches out his hand, helping me over a giant fallen log. His palm is rough and calloused against my bare arm, but his grip is surprisingly gentle as he helps me climb over, my skin tingling from his touch long after he pulls away.
Eventually, we reach another cabin hidden in the trees. It’s similar to Dane’s—a little smaller, but just as quaint, and surrounded by colorful wildflowers. The sound of running water tinkles from somewhere nearby, and a large brown truck is parked outside. I smile when I notice a bumper sticker for the Green Mountain Grizzlies, my brother’s favorite hockey team. But as we approach, I feel a sense of reluctance. As soon as I knock on the door, Dane will leave. He’ll go back to his cabin, and I’ll have no reason to see him again. It shouldn’t bother me as much as it does.
You’re here to see Brody, remember?
Not lose your mind over a total stranger.
“This is definitely the place,” I tell Dane, gesturing to the bumper sticker before I knock on the door. It opens almost immediately and my brother stands on the threshold, his face tense with worry.
“Jesus, Cee.” He looks pissed, but that doesn’t stop him from pulling me into a tight hug. “I was about to send out a damn search party. Where the hell have you been?”
“I’m sorry.” We pull apart, and I look at him apologetically. “The road was blocked, so I walked.”
“Walked?” Brody shakes his head in disbelief, crossing his arms. “You don’t know these woods. You have any idea how easily you could have gotten lost?”
“Well…actually, that’s what happened.” I cast a sheepish look toward Dane, who is standing by the truck, like he’s trying not to intrude on our reunion. Brody follows my gaze, eyes narrowing slightly.
“This is Dane,” I say, beckoning him to join us. “I accidentally ended up at his cabin instead of yours.” I don’t mention that he was naked at the time; something tells me Brody won’t appreciate that detail. “He walked me the rest of the way here. He even carried my luggage for me.”
My brother nods, reaching out a hand to Dane and shaking firmly. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for helping my sister.”
“Don’t mention it.” Dane sets down my suitcase, meeting my gaze. “I’d better go.”
My heart sinks. I’d love to ask him to stay for a drink, but I can see Brody watching us impatiently, so I force a smile and say, “Thanks again, Dane. You’re a total lifesaver.”
“No problem.” He clears his throat. “See you around.”
Then, all too soon, he’s retreating through the forest, vanishing among the trees.
“You’re lucky you found someone to help,” my brother says, looking irritated. “You could have spent days wandering around these woods.”
“It’s good to see you too, Brody.”
He sighs. “You know damn well I’m happy to see you. But you gotta take care of yourself, especially now I’m not around to look out for you.”
“I know.”
There are lots of things I could say, but I’m not interested in arguing with Brody. We’ve had this kind of conversation a million times over, and it never achieves anything. My brother is an overprotective grump. It’s his nature, his way of showing he cares, and I’ve accepted that. With our age difference—his forty years compared to my twenty-four—he sometimes feels more like a father than a brother.
“Come in and let me show you around,” Brody says, grabbing my suitcase and hauling it into the cabin. But before I follow him inside, I turn back toward the woods, squinting through the trees. In the distance, I swear I can see movement—the flash of a red flannel shirt—and my heart aches as it fades away to nothing.
With a sigh, I turn and follow Brody into his cabin. It’s cozy, though sparsely decorated, with rustic furniture and a large rug covering most of the floor.
“What do you think?” he asks. “Haven’t gotten around to buying a couch yet. It’s next on the list.”
“It’s gorgeous. I love it.”
I smile at my brother. It’s only been a month since he left Denver, but he already looks at home in the mountain wilderness. His beard is longer and thicker, his tattooed skin tanner, and there’s a glint in his eyes I’ve never seen before—like he’s finally home.
“Good,” he says. “It will look better when I’m finished decorating.”
There’s a quiet pride about him as he surveys his cabin, and my heart fills with affection as I say, “Promise not to get too lonely out here by yourself.”
“Promise.” Brody shoots me a small smile. “It’s not me I’m worried about, kid. You sure you’re okay on your own in Denver?”
“I’m sure.” He’s asked me this so many times that my answer is automatic, even if it’s not entirely honest. I do get pretty lonely in the city without him…but I’d never dream of telling him that. He’d sell this cabin and come back to Denver tomorrow if I gave him even the tiniest hint of unhappiness, so I force a bright smile and listen as my brother tells me everything he’s been up to since he left.
But as he talks, my mind strays back to Dane.
I can’t help it. It’s like meeting him has altered my brain chemistry, and now all my thoughts lead straight to him, like rivers flowing back to the ocean.
I want to see him again.
I know Brody wouldn’t approve. Dane is big, rugged, and much older than me. Heck, he’s probably even a couple of years older than my brother. But I can’t get him off my mind. His gruff voice, his burly muscles, his eyes like smoky whiskey…
“Cee?”
I snap back to life, meeting Brody’s eye. “Yes?”
“You okay? Something on your mind?”
“No,” I lie, smiling up at him. “Nothing at all.”