Chapter 4
RYAN
I ’d never been prouder than I was walking into the town deli with Gennie next to me.
Okay, so I didn’t recognize a single face, even though this place was a popular lunch spot for the people who worked in the shopping center across the street.
The same center where I’d opened my business.
But it wasn’t like I hung out there day and night.
When I did have to be at the shop for more than a few hours, I’d pack a lunch.
“I love a good sandwich,” Gennie said as she bit into her BLT.
“I’ve heard good things about their BLTs.”
“Want a taste?” She nudged the sandwich toward me. I shook my head but then had second thoughts about turning her down.
She was offering to share her food with me. There was something sort of intimate about it. If I bit into her sandwich, we’d be sharing germs. It would almost be like kissing.
Did that mean she’d be open to kissing me?
No, I couldn’t think like that. I had to stay focused on helping her. It was best for both of us.
“How’s yours?” she asked, lowering her gaze to my meat lover’s sub.
I’d been so caught up in Gennie, I hadn’t noticed. I may as well have been eating packing peanuts for all the attention I was giving the food in my mouth.
“Great,” I said.
I picked up my sub and took another bite. I waited for the flavors to hit my tastebuds, but still, the effect was far duller than it normally would be. Weird. All I could think was that Gennie had taken over my senses.
“So, what made you so interested in moonshine?” she asked. “Did you grow up around here?”
I nearly laughed at that. I got why she would think that. Moonshine started as something illegal made in the mountains, but that had nothing to do with my upbringing.
“I grew up just outside of D.C.,” I said, once again scanning the café for signs of someone I knew. Damn it. I wanted everyone to see me with this gorgeous woman. “We moved to Cleveland when I was a teenager.”
There was a good reason for that. I didn’t really want to go into it. My dad had cheated on my mom with one of his interns. She got upset when he didn’t leave my mom for her and went to the press.
After the news broke, Dad lost his job and pretty much became a laughingstock, making it tough for him to get work. I’d barely grabbed my diploma before I was off at boot camp, trying to distance my family drama.
“The whole moonshine thing is just for tourists,” I said.
“That’s all. I spent time in the Smokies when I was a kid.
Had to go for a friend’s wedding a few years ago, and I noticed all these moonshine-tasting places.
I started looking into it. I had a little extra money and was looking for an investment opportunity, and this town was up and coming, with not a single moonshine tasting in sight. So here we are.”
I’d summed up the past few years in just a few sentences, like they were no big deal. They were definitely a big deal. The extra money had come from my dad, who had a ridiculously pricey life insurance plan.
A couple of years ago, he died in a car accident.
In my grief, I’d had no idea what to do with the money he left me and Mom.
I set her up in a nice condo in Cleveland and looked for places to escape.
It all seemed to come together. The money, the need for a fresh start, my exit from the military, and the opportunity in this rapidly growing town.
“How long have you been open?” she asked.
I’d briefly gone to a dark place, but it seemed I’d been able to hide it. She was still eating her BLT like nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Four months,” I said.
I’d moved up here and worked on the logging crew with my buddies while I got it started.
I didn’t need the money. I just wanted to get to know the people and the town before I launched my business.
Besides, it took time to get the place going, even after I’d secured the lease, bought the equipment, and started construction on the interior.
“It’s a good time of year to start a new business in this town,” I said. “I’ll have all the kinks worked out by the time ski season arrives.”
“And there’s something in the fall too,” Gennie said. “That’s what I read online.”
“I’ll definitely need more help,” I said. “You could come work for me.”
I tossed her a teasing smile. There was no way she’d take me up on that. She was here to find her friend, and then she’d be leaving town. But the thought of having her here permanently lit me up in ways I couldn’t have expected.
“Sounds fun,” she said. “But I have a job. Not exactly glamorous. I work in corporate law as a paralegal.”
That meant she probably went to an office every day. Or maybe not. If she worked from home, there might be hope of getting her up here.
What was I thinking? Why would I want her up here? It wasn’t like I sought a commitment or anything. The opposite, in fact.
“I did my fair share of retail work in high school and college,” she said. “Clothing store in the outdoor mall. A T-shirt store. And in college, I made chocolates in this little candy shop.”
“We have one of those in the shopping center across the street,” I said.
She smiled. “I might have to get my chocolate fix.” Her smile suddenly faded. “I’m a horrible friend.”
Now I was frowning. “Why would you say that?”
“Here I am, enjoying my lunch and talking about chocolate while Vanessa could be handcuffed and blindfolded and being tortured in a basement somewhere.”
“These cabins don’t have basements.”
That was my answer? Really? I wasn’t going to try to make her feel better about things?
But the whole thing just seemed laughable. I wanted to take her seriously, but at the same time, I could easily reassure her that no man in this town—not one I knew, anyway—would harm a woman. The opposite. We’d defend her against anyone coming to town to cause harm. That was just who we were.
“I’m guessing if your friend is handcuffed and blindfolded, it’s probably by choice,” I said. “And she’s having a damn good time.”
Shit. Had I really just said that? I sucked at this.
But instead of responding with shock, Gennie now wore a confused expression. “Why would she choose that?”
Oh great. Now I had to explain.
“You know.” I shrugged. “BDSM?”
Wasn’t that what it was called? Or just S and M? M&Ms?
“You mean like…kinky stuff?” she asked. “Sexual?”
Of course, that was what I meant. She was twenty-three. She’d know about this stuff by now. I told myself that, but there was something unsettling about it all.
Was it possible she was more innocent than I’d expect from a twenty-three-year-old? And why did that idea cause my dick to stir just a little? The thought of this woman being untouched was embarrassingly arousing to me.
I took another bite of my sandwich and tried to focus on the taste, but suddenly all I could think about was Gennie, handcuffed and blindfolded. Gennie spread out naked in front of me. Gennie moaning and sighing as I kissed every inch of her beautiful, naked body…
I had to change the subject, and I had to change it fast. “They’re probably hiking. That would be my guess.”
Her eyes widened. “That means they could be anywhere. There’s a lot of hiking trails in the mountains, right?”
I thought about that for a second. “Not as many as you’d think. Some are more popular than others. Anyway, we could go check to see if Dayton’s truck is there.”
“Dayton,” she said. “I guess that’s my friend’s boyfriend’s name. I just realized something, though. I don’t know your name.”
Oh, yeah, I hadn’t introduced myself. I knew her name from looking at her driver’s license back at the shop. Maybe I should just remain a man of mystery for a while. But no, I had an even better opportunity here.
I thrust out my hand. “Ryan.”
She lowered her gaze to my hand and looked at it like it might burn her. I didn’t want her to be scared to touch me. The opposite, actually.
Finally, she slid her hand into mine. I had to remind myself that this was a handshake, and I went through the motions—lifting gently up and down—but all I could think about was how good her small, soft hand felt in my large, rougher one. It made me long to run my hands over the rest of her.
Finally, I noticed she hadn’t separated from me, and her eyes remained fixed on mine.
Yeah, she definitely felt this too. And I was about to take her farther into the mountains.
I needed to stay focused on helping her out.
If things got physical between us—maybe just a kiss, maybe more—it couldn’t hurt anything.
Getting physical with Gennie wouldn’t mean I was committing. If I told myself that enough, maybe I’d believe it.