Unchained (Amber Ridge #5)

Chapter 1

Addie March clicked her pale pink fingernails against the oak desk, her eyes on the Wilderness Adventure Park homepage. Or more accurately, on Noah Hayes. On his bronze back as he bouldered up the cliff edge like a freaking Olympian. Was bouldering an Olympic sport? It should be, the way he did it.

She opened the photo of the zip line. Her second choice. There was no Noah, but that shouldn’t influence her decision, should it?

Argh.

Of course it shouldn’t. Noah wasn’t her boyfriend. He wasn’t even her friend. He was her boss. Not only her boss but also thirteen years older than she was. And sure, he was nice to look at. And kind and attentive. Or at least, he had been attentive before the incident last week.

A shudder rolled down her spine at the memory of Noah’s flashback. One second, they’d been standing by the desk talking. Laughing even. The next, she’d nudged his shoulder and suddenly he’d been on top of her on the floor, looking at her like she was an enemy.

She shook her head. It had scared her, but also, it wasn’t his fault. He’d just gotten out of the Marines. And he hadn’t hurt her. He wouldn’t have hurt her. Because he was a good guy. She didn’t need to have known him long to know that.

So he didn’t have to avoid her.

She lifted her gaze to the window behind her desk. To the thick line of trees that surrounded the adventure park. There were mountain bike trails, a zip line, bouldering and rock-climbing walls…even camping cabins.

None of which was her idea of fun. Not that Noah or his partner, Colt, knew that.

What had she said in her interview? The outdoors was her second home? Hell, she might even have thrown in a comment about mountain biking being a weekly Sunday event with her dad.

Ha. She’d never been on a mountain bike in her life. Her father had tried to get her to go with him once when she was twelve. She’d told him she’d watch from a log with a mug of hot chocolate. He’d never asked again.

But she’d wanted this job. She’d wanted to move from Bozeman to Amber Ridge because it gave her just that little bit of distance from her parents and her hometown. She loved her mom and dad but relied on them far too much.

And everyone said things that weren’t entirely true to get a job…right?

She did have some hobbies. Starting books she never finished. Collecting cute coffee mugs she never used because she always used the same one with the weird-looking sloth on it. And chocolate. Chocolate was definitely a hobby.

She reached over and grabbed a mini Hershey’s Kiss from her chocolate jar.

Yes, an entire jar of chocolate, because running out was not an option.

She had everything from mini Reese’s Cups to Snickers Minis.

She’d even picked up some huckleberry truffles because you couldn’t live in Montana without loving their famous huckleberry chocolate.

She popped the Kiss into her mouth. But that was it—she was stopping after one because she was trying to curb this chocolate addiction. Or at least minimize it in the first half of the day. Chocolate after twelve felt more respectable.

She rose and stepped into the front desk area. The cabin had recently been renovated to include an airy reception area, a smaller office space with a million drawers and files, and a second office which had been converted into a kitchen. The place was perfect.

But right now, what she needed was fresh air. Tomorrow, this place would be open to the public and crawling with people, which meant today was the last day of peace. The team was doing their final day of training, and Jules was making sure the food van was stocked and ready to go.

Food van…hmm, that didn’t sound like a terrible place to be.

The cool mountain air slipped over her skin as she headed outside to gaze over the mountains.

God, it was beautiful here. She’d been in Amber Ridge less than a month and she already didn’t want to leave.

They’d situated the food van in a section that was flat and open and right in the center of the park.

The guys had lain down some new grass and brought in picnic tables.

It was great. The entire place was great.

The fact that they’d been able to fix it up in just a couple of months was actually pretty amazing.

She was almost at the van when a crunching noise sounded in the trees behind her.

She stopped and turned her head.

A month ago, the small sound wouldn’t have bothered her. But this last week…she’d been getting the creepy feeling that she was being watched.

It was hard to explain. A prickle at the back of her neck. The hairs on her arms standing on end. And right now, she was experiencing both those things.

Her heart beat faster as she scanned the trees. There was no one there. Because there was never anyone there.

She shook her head. She was being silly. After living in the same town, in her parents’ home, for her entire twenty-two years, she was just nervous to be somewhere different. Which was exactly why she’d needed to move out for a bit.

When she reached the food van, the smell of freshly ground coffee hit the air.

Oddly enough—well, odd to other people—she’d never been a coffee person.

She liked the smell of coffee, but the taste?

Absolutely not. She was a hot chocolate girl through and through, and she’d die on the chocolate-over-coffee hill.

Jules, the owner of the van, turned and smiled. “Addie, darling, good morning.”

Jules was a short lady in her fifties with shoulder-length honey-blond hair. The second Addie had met her, she’d felt an instant connection. The older woman was warm and nurturing and exactly who you wanted to greet you in the morning with a hot drink.

Addie smiled back at her. “Hi, Jules. All ready for tomorrow?”

“Absolutely. I have all the coffee beans, hot dogs, and tacos waiting and ready.”

“I hear those tacos have been pretty popular with the staff.”

Jules chuckled. “I’ve had to emergency order more supplies. Coffee has also been a big hit. I was told I’m almost on par with The Tea House.”

“That’s quite the compliment.” It was still shocking to Addie that the only place in Amber Ridge that sold decent coffee was a tea house. Although they could now add Jules’s van to the list.

“Hot chocolate?” Jules asked.

“I am dying for one.”

“Well, it just so happens I’ve ordered in some new salted caramel hot chocolate. Would you like to try it?”

Addie’s belly growled. It was unbelievable really—she’d just had chocolate in her office, and she could still down a quart of chocolate in liquid form. “You are like the sun to my morning.”

The older woman grinned as she heated the milk. “I’m still shocked you don’t drink coffee. I thought that was a precursor to being an adult.”

“Trust me, I know. My mother tells me that caffeine holds civilization together, and I must be an alien.”

“Your mother sounds like a smart woman. Does she live close?”

“Bozeman, so not far.”

“And your dad?”

“Same. Although, he’s very supportive of the absence of coffee in my life. According to him, I value functioning adrenals. He says this right in front of my mother while she drinks her third cup of the morning.”

The older woman threw back her head and laughed. “He sounds very pragmatic.”

“It’s the former Marine in him.”

“Just like the boys who run this place.”

Noah and Colt were not boys. They were men. The kind who could chop wood, start a fire, and break your heart before lunch. “Yes, just like Noah and Colt.”

When Jules turned with the hot chocolate in hand, steam rolled into the air. “Would you like some whipped cream and caramel drizzle on top?”

Yes. Yes, she would. But she wouldn’t. Dammit. “No, thank you. I’m trying to be at least semi-low sugar before midday.”

She took her beverage, the cup warming her hands the second she held it. She had a tab with Jules and paid at the end of the week. Which was a bit dangerous, because it made stopping by for a drink or lunch far too easy.

“You’re better than I am.” Jules laughed. “I’m three coffees and a chocolate croissant down.”

“Oh, don’t temp me, Jules.” They both laughed. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Alison.” Jules sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, Addie. You look like an Alison I know. Have a lovely day.”

“Don’t worry, my parents mix me up all the time and they have no other children, so I don’t know what’s going on there.” She grinned. “You have a good day too.”

As she headed down the path, she sipped her drink and immediately flinched.

God almighty, it was hot. But, man oh man, was it good. Sweet but also salty and kind of buttery.

It was official. She could never leave this town. Not when she and Jules worked at the same freaking site.

She took another sip. Good God, it just got better. She wanted to bathe in the stuff.

When she reached the cabin that doubled as the entrance to the park, she passed the reception desk and went into the office beyond. She’d just sat down and taken another sip of her hot chocolate when a knock sounded at the door.

She looked up and choked on the hot liquid.

Noah. All six foot three of him. Jesus, he basically took up the entire doorframe.

He stood there wearing a tight white shirt with Wilderness Adventure Park embroidered across the front. But it was the way his thick muscles stretched the material that really had her staring. Well, that and the bronze of his skin that made the shirt look glaringly white.

She forced her gaze up, and her breath immediately hitched. Because his eyes…they were gray like steel, and so intense she couldn’t bring herself to look at anything else.

“Noah. Hi. Good morning.” She swallowed hard. Tongue-tied. She was totally tongue-tied. It happened every dang time she saw him.

“Hi, Addison.”

She used to correct him because no one called her Addison, not even her parents. But over time, her full name had started to grow on her. Maybe because it had started to feel personal. Like it was his name for her, and his alone.

There was no smile on his face today.

She frowned at the way he stood by the door, not coming any further inside the room. Usually, he came straight over to her. Leaned over her desk, sometimes stealing a chocolate from her jar.

But that hadn’t happened since the incident.

She cleared her throat. “Is everything okay?”

“I want to talk to you about what happened last week.”

Okay, she’d been expecting this…so why did her belly do a big roll? “Okay.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you sooner.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine.” He shot his gaze over his shoulder. “Would you feel safer having this conversation outside? Or with a third person in the room? I could get Colt, or—”

“No.” Jesus Christ. “I’m okay with you, Noah. I told you, what happened was not a big deal.”

He cursed under his breath. “I threw you onto the floor and put my hands around your neck.”

Her fingers twitched to touch the skin of her throat.

Because yes, it had scared her. But only for the smallest fraction of a second.

Then he’d blinked and come back to her. “You weren’t in control.

You were having a flashback of something.

” She stood and stepped forward, but he immediately moved back.

“Noah, my dad has them too sometimes. And he’s been out for a decade.

I’m not scared of him, and I’m not scared of you. ”

Pain creased his brows. And she hated it. He was a soldier. He was used to protecting people. And last week, something had triggered him to get stuck in his head and it brought up bad memories, which made him do something that he was struggling to forgive himself for.

“You wouldn’t have hurt me,” she whispered.

“You don’t know that. And if you don’t feel safe with me, if you don’t want to work here anymore—”

“Please stop. I love my job here. I feel perfectly safe around you. I think we should just let it go.”

His jaw clenched. He wasn’t going to let it go. She knew that just by the look in his eyes. The guilt. Maybe even some self-hate.

And that was how she knew she was safe with him. Because he hated himself for what he’d done. Because he was a good guy.