Chapter Six #2
Charlie tilted her head back and they paused. “I guess you didn’t have to for this place.”
Her eyes were such an alluring shade of green.
Long, thick lashes fluttered. Gray wanted to lean closer.
He cleared his throat. “No. But this is our third year and I have had to interview new staff to help us out. I don’t know about other employers, but I feel a little nervous having to be the one in charge of asking questions. ”
She grinned. “That surprises me. You seem to like asking questions.”
He laughed and they carried on down the hill, with Charlie putting as little weight as she could on her injured side.
Birds and small critters rustled in the trees. If they listened, they could hear the rush of a waterfall that he often took guests to.
More questions bubbled up inside of him, but he didn’t want to prove her right. He was thrilled when she broke the silence.
“It’s very pretty up here. You own the whole island?”
“We do. We cleared a lot of these trails. In fact, your uncle loves to tell us about when he roamed these hills before they even had paths, back when most people brought tents and slept under the stars. Originally, there was only one small cabin.”
Charlie’s soft laughter unfurled affection inside of Gray’s chest. “I don’t know Bernie well, but he has very fond memories of this place and really loves it here. He said he owns his cabin?”
“Bernie bought it when I first took over. I was in over my head with repairs and learning the business. He had a sentimental attachment and offered to purchase just his cabin, which gave us an influx of cash. Did you know his family used to come here?”
She shook her head. He felt it more than saw it as he was intent on making sure there were no stumbling hazards in her way.
“He and his brother came here a lot with their family. His brother would have been your grandfather?”
Gray felt her body tense against his, and he worried she was hurt. He stopped and looked down at her. “You okay?”
Charlie nodded, but there was something unsettled in her gaze and the now-rigid stance of her body.
“Yeah. Fine.” She dropped her arm from around his waist. “I think I can manage.”
Grayson wasn’t sure what he’d said to upset her, but the need for space was emanating off her like smoke from a fire.
“Charlie.”
She looked away and took an unsteady step, all but yelping in pain when she put pressure on her bad ankle. Grayson leaned forward and scooped her up against himself without thinking.
“Don’t make it worse,” he said, surprised by how gruff he sounded.
Charlie’s hand was flattened on his chest and he had both of his arms wrapped around her, holding her close. For her safety.
“I think I’m okay. You can let me go.”
“I don’t think I should.” He did loosen his hold and put her down, though, because he didn’t want to seem like a creep. Interestingly enough, she didn’t move away. She stayed molded against him like they were invisibly stitched together. Not that he minded.
Her gaze was so curious, so intense, and in that moment, no part of him wanted to put space between them. The air pulsed around them. The sound of a motor rumbled in the background. Gray recognized it and stepped back, keeping a hand on Charlie’s arm as Beckett pulled up on the lodge’s ATV.
Cutting the engine, he pulled off his helmet and grinned at both Grayson and Charlie. “I told everyone you were both fine and that maybe you didn’t want to be rescued, but they made me come up.”
Gray stomped down on the urge to shove his brother. He didn’t need Charlie feeling like the others were talking about them.
“Actually, Charlie is hurt,” Gray said sharply, feeling a little pang of guilt when Beckett immediately sobered and hopped off the ATV.
“Oh, no. What’s hurt?” Beckett came around the front of the vehicle and looked Charlie over. “Ankle?”
“Yes. But I’m fine. Your brother is making too big a deal of it. How did you even know we were up here?”
Beckett put his hands on his hips, still staring at her ankle as if he could draw some sort of conclusion about it just from looking.
“Bernie said you left a note. Ollie said you didn’t come to breakfast.” He hooked a thumb at Gray.
“And this guy likes his routine. It includes running the same trails daily.”
Shit. Speaking of routine, his was taking a hit. Worse, he didn’t mind.
“Well, she twisted her ankle. Why don’t you take her back and I’ll check in on her later? Is that okay, Charlie?”
“I’m really okay. It’s just stiff. I tripped and caught it between two rocks. But it’s feeling better already.”
Yet she didn’t step on it and if he looked closer, he could see hints of bruising along with the scratches.
Still, he’d already figured out that she didn’t want to be pampered.
“It would make both of our jobs easier if you’d let Beckett take you down on the ATV just to be on the safe side.
You can ice it at the lodge or at the cabin. Whichever you prefer.”
“Plus, Levi makes wicked waffles and there’s still some left,” Beckett added.
Charlie looked at Grayson. “What about you?”
Beckett made a dismissive noise. “He’s fine. He’ll run back. He needs the exercise.”
Gray glared at Beckett. “Just because I don’t like to flash my abs all over social media doesn’t mean I’m out of shape.”
“I’m not sure out of shape is how I’d describe you,” Charlie said softly.
Beckett grinned wider. Gray’s insides warmed when he looked at Charlie. Whether it was smart or not, he replied honestly, “I’d love to know how you’d describe me but my brother would find a way to ruin it, so how about we get you back to the lodge?”
Once she had on a helmet and they got her situated behind Beckett, Grayson watched them drive away, not at all jealous that his brother, who already had an amazing woman, got to have Charlie’s arms wrapped around him.
He didn’t want or need a woman in his life.
And Charlie wasn’t someone he could have a quick fling with.
For one thing, he was decidedly lousy at that sort of thing.
He had a stupid habit of developing feelings.
And the last time he’d let himself do that, he’d ended up married and divorced.
Single was safer. Especially when she was family to a very dear friend.
Which practically made her family. Yup. All sorts of reasons not to feel how he felt.
Not to think about how she might feel if …
shit. Gray started to jog. He needed to find something to take his mind off Charlie but it was almost impossible.
Just because he knew he shouldn’t have Charlie wrapped around him in any way didn’t mean it felt any better to see her holding on to his brother.