Chapter 21
Beckett
He was beginning to find Juniper Connelly entirely too fascinating.
After they walked together to his house, he held the back door open for her. She brushed past him and he caught the teasing
scent of her, like tropical flowers with a vanilla undertone.
She was lovely, tall and lean, only a few inches shorter than his own six feet, with blue eyes that flashed with excitement
when she was interested in something and a tiny dimple in one cheek that made the occasional intoxicating appearance.
Throw in the air of fragility that brought out all his protective impulses and he was basically a goner.
She had to stay off-limits, he reminded himself. He wasn’t looking for a short-term fling, especially not with a vulnerable
woman dealing with a life-changing medical condition.
“Nice place.” She looked around his open-plan living area, with its soaring two-story windows and the river-rock fireplace
that dominated one wall.
“Thanks. I like it.”
Beck had done most of the renovation work on the dilapidated cabin that had been here, creating an addition and rebuilding
the original structure nearly plank by plank through the first endless year after Soledad died.
It had given him something to do with his grief besides drink and brood and spiral into guilt and pain and self-flagellation.
Somehow, he had created a space he found both soothing and comfortable.
“I’ll admit I’m not a great cook, though I’ve been working on it lately. I did throw together a really good vegetable soup a few days ago that turned out well. I need to eat it or freeze it within the next few days.”
“Sure. Soup sounds good, especially since today is cooler.”
He expected they would have rain by the afternoon. Why did soup taste so much better on a rainy day?
“I also have some homemade wheat bread from Jo, the housekeeper at the ranch. She is kind enough to make an extra loaf for
me every week, since bread making is still outside my skill set.”
“I feel guilty having you serve me. You’ve been working all morning while I’ve been sitting on my butt. I can certainly heat
up a bowl of soup.”
“I’ve got this,” he assured her. “You’re my guest.”
“A self-invited one,” she pointed out. “At least I invited myself over to watch you work.”
“And I invited you to have lunch. Relax.”
She looked reluctant, but took a seat at the table, watching as he pulled out a couple of large bowls from his cupboard and
ladled soup into them.
“When I was in school, I used to make a big pot of vegetable soup every few weeks and freeze it in portion sizes,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have survived without a microwave. It saved me from having to eat in the cafeteria every day for lunch when I
was usually busy with homework.”
“Did you say you went to Cal Poly?”
“Yes. Track scholarship.”
“What event did you run?”
“A few different things. Mostly the four-hundred-meter and the eight-hundred-meter relay.”
“Impressive. You must be fast.”
She shrugged. “I used to be. Now I mostly run for my own enjoyment.”
“Sorry, but I can’t quite put the words running and enjoyment together. Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?”
She smiled, though he thought it sagged at the edges. “I’ve always loved running, but I’m not sure how much I’ll be doing in the future.”
“Have your doctors said as much?”
“I haven’t talked to them about it yet.”
“Who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if running is still okay, eventually.”
She sighed. “That possibility seems a long way off right now. I mean, at this point, I’m afraid to even go hiking on my own.
I’m living in a gorgeous place with mountain trails constantly beckoning me and I’m too scared to venture farther than five
minutes from the house.”
He looked up from ladling soup into a bowl for her. “Afraid of what?”
“Dying on the trail somewhere by myself, I suppose. And then being eaten by bears.”
He couldn’t imagine feeling that constant apprehension at the edge of his subconscious.
“First of all, the likelihood of you being eaten by bears is pretty remote up here. Coyotes, maybe. And the occasional turkey
vulture.”
“Oh, well, that makes me feel better.”
He smiled as he set the soup bowl in the microwave to heat. “Second of all, why do you have to go by yourself? Ali would probably
love to take you.”
“We did go for a drive in Carson’s Jeep yesterday. She showed me a series of waterfalls.”
“I know right where that is. Deer Creek. It’s a lovely place.”
“I was glad she showed it to me. But I can’t expect her to entertain me all the time. She’s supposed to be studying for the
bar and she’s also working for her grandmother at the bookstore. I can’t rely on her for everything.”
He pulled out her soup bowl and set it down in front of her, along with a piece of bread he had cut from the loaf Jo had brought
him.
“If you get the itch to go hiking and Ali isn’t available, you can call me. I would be happy to go with you.”
Why had he said that? He should be doing his best to put distance between them. Instead, he was seizing every excuse to spend
more time with her.
“That is a very kind offer, but I am already imposing enough by taking up your time and intruding in your personal workspace.
I’m not about to ask you to babysit me on a hike.”
He pulled his own soup out of the microwave and went to sit across from her. “Don’t look at it as babysitting. I don’t. We
would only be two friends taking a hike together.”
“Are we friends?” she asked, eyebrows raised.
He actually quite liked the woman, he realized. He would like to be friends with her, as long as he could manage to keep his
unwanted attraction to himself.
“We’re certainly not enemies, as far as I’m concerned. And I would say someone who signs up to watch me work for hours is
more than a passing acquaintance.”
At that, she laughed, her eyes bright and her tantalizing dimple flashing before it disappeared again. She was lovely. Not
simply lovely. Breathtakingly beautiful.
He sipped at his water. He could not let himself be interested in her. Juniper Connelly was only a transitory presence in his life, like the cottonwood puffs
that only blew off the river-bottom trees when conditions were right.
In a few short weeks, once she regained her strength and adjusted to her sudden life changes, she would be returning to Seattle.
“There are some really pretty trails not far from here that aren’t very strenuous. The Mary’s Lake trail, for instance, is
only about a mile hike, mostly level. It’s a pretty walk, especially this time of year, with the wildflowers coming out. We
could even go this evening.”
“This evening?”
“Why not? Do you have other plans?”
She made a face. “No. Only with Carson’s journals. What about the rain?”
“It’s only supposed to be a quick drizzle. The trail might be muddy, but the sunset should be spectacular.”
“You’re serious? You want to go this evening?”
Suddenly, he found that he did, quite strongly. Even if she didn’t want to go with him, he might take Hank up on his own.
“It’s a beautiful place and not far from here. It would be a crime if you left the area without seeing Mary’s Lake at sunset.”
June took another spoonful of soup and he was gratified to see she was halfway through the bowl.
“I didn’t realize I would be breaking the law. We can’t have that, especially not when there’s a hotshot prosecutor around
who is telling me I have to do it.”
“An ex hotshot prosecutor,” he corrected.
She smiled. “I would actually enjoy taking a hike. I loved seeing the waterfall, but we cheated and drove the Jeep right to
it.”
“Great,” he said. “How about I pick you up around six? The trailhead is about a fifteen-minute drive from here. That way we
should be able to make it to the lake before sunset.”
She shook her head at his determination, which, quite frankly, Beckett didn’t understand himself.
“Fine. I’ll be ready. Why don’t I pack some sandwiches for us, since you provided lunch?”
“Sure.” It’s a date. He caught himself before he could say the words.
It wasn’t. They were simply two friends taking a hike into the mountains so that one of them could see their beautiful surroundings.
“That would be nice,” he said instead.
They talked through the rest of lunch about other hikes in the area, about a trip she had once taken to hike to Machu Pichu, about the gap year he spent backpacking around Europe and Australia with friends before he started law school.
It was comfortable and easy, confirming how much he enjoyed her company. Finally, they both finished lunch and she rose to
take her bowl to the dishwasher.
“I should head back before I take up your entire day.”
He wouldn’t mind. It was a surprising realization for a man who had become used to his own company, especially since Carson’s
death.
“I can walk you back to the cabin, if you want.”
“Not necessary,” she assured him.
“I could always send Hank with you, if that would help you feel more comfortable.”
She reached down to pet the dog, who had wandered over as soon as June stood up. “If something were to happen to me, would
he come running back to you like Lassie to alert you that I need help?”
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised.”
“I’ll be fine. I don’t need an escort, but thanks. You also do not have to babysit me on a hike this evening. I am quite sure
you have better things to do with your time.”
“I can’t think of a single thing I would enjoy more. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll see you at six.”
She nodded and he held the door open for her. As she moved past him, her shoulder brushed his chest. She must have felt the
contact as well because she froze and looked at him.
He wanted her.
Desire seemed to surge out of nowhere, like electricity crackling through the air before a lightning strike.
She caught her breath, her gaze locked on his, and he could swear he saw an answering flicker of desire in her eyes.
They gazed at each other for one sparkling moment. He leaned forward, unable to help himself. An instant before he would have kissed her, he came to his senses and turned his face away when he heard the distant rumble of thunder in the distance.
“You’d better hurry if you want to make it home before that storm moves any closer.”
She blinked several times before she spoke. “Yes. You’re right,” she said, sounding breathless, then she hurried down the
steps and headed toward the cabin.