Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Stormi
After the helicopter disappears beyond the cloudy sky, a silence falls over the mountains that I’ve never heard before.
It’s refreshing with a touch of eerie. But that probably has something to do with the overcast sky, promising rain.
I take a deep breath, squeezing the amethyst in my pocket to amplify the calm I feel.
This is exactly what I wanted.
Exactly what I needed.
“You two about done?” Dash asks of me and Blaze.
The pup has made a home in my lap, and I’m not eager to get up from this slightly uncomfortable spot on the ground even though I feel sprinkles of rain on my nose.
I’ve always wanted a dog, but I’ve spent my entire adult life too busy trying to climb the career ladder to justify having my own furry companion.
Maybe that’ll change now.
Since my entire family is likely to disown me after they find out I’ve set that ladder on fire, getting my own dog might be the only way I have a friend.
“Are we in a hurry?” I ask, gently encouraging Blaze off my lap with one of the treats Darin offered me.
“I need to get you back to the tower so I can grab those supplies,” Dash says, nodding toward the landing pad where a few boxes are stacked. “Before the rain starts, or a bear comes along and decides to raid my stash.”
“A bear?” I squeak, pushing to my feet. My heel catches on the rock that was pushing into my ass a moment ago—I didn’t dare move because Blaze was so comfy—and I stumble, struggling for balance.
Dash grabs me by both arms, steadying me in an instant. His deliciously muscular arms are covered in tattoos, and my mouth goes a little dry.
I flicker my gaze to his, mesmerized once again by those intensely hazel eyes. A woman could get lost in eyes like those. A woman could make some bad decisions because of those eyes. Very bad decisions.
So be bad for once, Stormi.
“Careful,” he says, his words an annoyed warning if I ever heard one.
I push away both the man and the intrusive thought that has no grounding in reality.
I literally just met Dash five minutes ago.
Though I trust Winnie’s assessment of him and sense by his energy that he’s a good man, I know exactly nothing about him.
He might have some dark past or a secret family somewhere.
But he does have a dog, and that dog appears to be very happy to have Dash as his dad.
“Let me help you,” I say about the supplies.
“No,” he fires back.
I’m not put off by his grumpy tone. “I’m stronger than I look, you know.”
His gaze scans up and down my body, and I feel a shiver of delight race through me. It doesn’t matter that the man is obviously sizing me up, assessing whether my statement has any real merit. Or that most of my body is hidden beneath my pale yellow jacket.
I feel…turned on.
Has it really been that long since a man paid attention to me? God, I am pathetic.
I turn away from him, pulling my phone from my pocket to film the scenery I never want to forget.
It’s safer if I keep my focus on the wonders of nature, so I do my damnedest to concentrate on the mountains, the trees, the wispy clouds, the heavy fog streaking through the brilliant autumn colors.
Yet, no matter how much I try to block him out, I’m fully aware of the man behind me.
The man who’s definitely ten years older than me. Maybe a few more judging by the salt and pepper in his beard.
I’ve never been with an older man before.
I’ve only ever dated guys my own age, all of them in college or shortly after when I was. All in the legal field. None of them with a single tattoo, much less sleeves of them. I can’t help but wonder if there is more ink beneath his clothes.
“You going to have that thing out the whole time?” he asks of my phone.
“You going to be grumpy the whole time?”
“I’m not—” He shakes his head. “Follow me to the tower.”
“But the supplies—”
“You won’t be a lot of help if you get distracted along the way and decide to take a selfie with Brutus.”
“Brutus?”
“The grizzly.”
A shiver races up my spine. “You’re trying to scare me,” I accuse.
“No, I’m trying not to have to save you from a bear attack.”
I give the area a quick scan. From this vantage point, I can see a lot of the land. There are fewer trees up this high, and it’s easy to rule out a grizzly hiding in the immediate vicinity. But one could be lurking nearby, just out of sight. “Are you always this chivalrous with all your tours?”
“What?”
“Now I get why I’m the only one here.”
At the aghast expression on his otherwise serious face, a fit of giggles escapes me. I can’t seem to help it, or stop it. Before I know it, I’m keeled over, holding my aching abs, wiping tears from my eyes.
And to my utter surprise, Dash is laughing too.
“Whoa, put that thing away,” I say, struck by how incredibly hot the rugged mountain man is when he’s smiling. His resting grumpy face is potent enough, but that smile could incinerate panties on the spot.
“What thing?”
“That smile. It’s dangerous.” The moment the words slip out, I wonder if my bluntness was too much. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Are you apologizing for giving me a compliment?” he asks, genuinely confused.
“It was a little…bold.”
“I like bold.”
I realize he’s standing closer to me now than he was before.
Our toes aren’t quite touching, but another couple of inches, and we’d be breathing the same air.
I flicker my gaze up to his, wondering if I’m imagining the heat swirling in his eyes.
Is it possible that this rugged, muscular, grumpy man who’s been nothing but irritated with me since I arrived might actually be attracted to me?
“Dash—”
A twig snaps, and Blaze lets out a low growl. Dash tugs at me, putting me between his back and the fire watch tower.
“Brutus.”
Oh fuck.
Maybe I didn’t need to go on hike to be a bear snack after all.