Chapter 2
Noah Hayes watched the deep blue of Addie’s eyes darken.
He’d avoided her for a week. An entire damn week and he still couldn’t wrap his head around what he’d done.
They’d been at the reception desk, talking, laughing, when suddenly he was having a flashback to the worst day of his life and he was ready to hurt her.
He flinched at the memory. He flinched every fucking time. Because he wasn’t that guy. He didn’t do things like that.
As though she heard the conflict inside him, Addie’s eyes softened. “This doesn’t have to be a big deal.”
It did. It was. It was a huge damn deal. He could have hurt her. One more second stuck in his head, and he would have.
He retreated, as if her sheer closeness could push him to hurt her.
“You were always going to realize it was me,” she said softly.
That was the thing—he wasn’t sure that was true. “If you decide that you don’t want to work with me—”
“I won’t.”
His hands tightened into fists. She didn’t seem even a little bit fazed by what had happened, whereas for him, it had changed everything. Made him feel unsafe in his own skin.
She took another step toward him. This time he didn’t move. But he did smell chocolate. This woman always smelled of chocolate. “Did you visit Jules?”
Her lips cracked into a smile. It was wide, and damn if it wasn’t radiant. “How did you know?”
“I can smell it on you.”
She chuckled. “I consider smelling like hot chocolate a compliment, so thank you. She has a new salted caramel flavor.” She lifted the to-go cup and sipped before groaning. “It’s un-freaking-believable. I’d offer you some but that would mean one less sip for me.”
This woman… One second, they were talking about how he’d basically assaulted her, and the next, she was joking about not sharing her drink. “I thought you were cutting back on the chocolate.”
“I told you that?”
“No, I heard you telling Jules on Tuesday.”
“Oh. Well, I am. So far, I’ve only had one Hershey’s Kiss. And this is liquid chocolate, so it doesn’t count. Plus, I said no to the whipped cream and caramel drizzle. That’s progress.”
He was tempted to tell her that the lack of cream and caramel had nothing to do with cutting down on chocolate, and yes, liquid chocolate did count, but he kept his mouth shut.
“I should get back to the guys.” He and Colt had been walking the team from the zip line to the bouldering wall when he’d seen her walk into the office. He’d forced himself to follow her in here because he’d needed to talk about the incident. It had taken him too damn long as it was.
“Do yourself a favor—get one of these.” She held up the cup.
“I’m not really a hot chocolate kind of guy.”
“Everyone is a salted caramel hot chocolate kind of guy unless they’re a salted caramel hot chocolate girl.”
His lips twitched. And this was why he was drawn to the woman. She was the only person who could make him smile in what felt like a fucking hurricane.
He cleared his throat. “Have a good day, Addison.”
“You too, Noah.” She smiled before turning back to the computer.
And fuck, even the way she said his name held him hostage.
He forced himself to turn and move. But the second he passed the front desk, the memory popped back into his mind. He could still feel her skin beneath his fingers. And the nightmare…the way it jolted him back to the hell in which he’d almost died.
He shoved outside, ignoring the anger that pulsed through his veins. Anger at himself. That he would allow himself to get pulled so deep into a memory that it caused him to cross a line.
He scrubbed a hand over his face as he hurried down the path. He’d thought he was okay. That leaving the Marines, coming here, would push all the shit that had happened on that last mission to the back of his mind.
It wasn’t the case.
A hand touched his shoulder, and he flinched and spun to find Rhett, one of the new hires, behind him.
He lifted his hands. “Whoa, sorry, boss.”
“Why aren’t you with the group?”
“Had to take a leak. Is that allowed?” There was a grin on Rhett’s face. At only twenty-three, he was one of the younger new employees, but he was fit and had experience in all the activities offered at the park.
Noah nodded toward the path. “Come on.”
“Everything okay?” Rhett asked as he walked beside him.
“It’s fine.” If fine involved being on the brink of losing his damn mind.
Rhett shot a look over his shoulder. “I saw you coming out of reception. Did Addie say something? She’s got some fire in her, doesn’t she?”
Noah’s muscles stiffened. Was Rhett interested in her?
If he was, it was none of Noah’s business. Rhett was a lot closer in age to Addie than he was. She was twenty-two and Noah was thirty-five, so even if that damn incident hadn’t happened last week, he shouldn’t be interested. He was too old for her, and he was her boss.
“How are you feeling about the park opening tomorrow?” Noah asked, because yeah, he was avoiding any talk about Addie.
“It’ll be a piece of cake. This place is tiny compared to Geronimo.”
Was Rhett cocky or confident? Maybe a bit of both.
But probably for good reason. Rhett had spent the last couple years working at Geronimo Adventure Park near Houston, which boasted a twenty-four-foot outdoor rock-climbing wall, four climbing trails, and a huge zip line canopy tour—exactly why Rhett was the most experienced of the new staff.
“Glad you’re confident,” Noah said.
When they reached the group at the base of the granite cliff, Cass, Flint, and Buck were setting up the crash pads while Colt rifled through the equipment box. It was a great spot for both bouldering and rock climbing, since it was fifteen feet of rugged rock formations.
Noah crossed over to Colt, who looked up and immediately paused. “You okay?”
No, he wasn’t. But he hadn’t told Colt what had happened in the office a week ago, because then he’d have to tell him everything else.
“I’m fine.” He grabbed the bag of chalk and turned to the group now standing around, waiting. “We ready?”
When everyone looked up, he tossed the bag to Buck, who fumbled it. While Rhett was the most experienced, Buck was the least.
“This is the last session before you have people depending on you,” Noah said loudly, so the whole group could hear.
“Bouldering can be fun, as long as safety measures are adhered to. You are there to instill those safety measures. We open in less than twenty-four hours and people will be climbing this rock with only a foam pad to save them. What’s the most important thing to remember on the bouldering wall? ”
“Give clear commands and if someone panics, stay calm,” Cass answered. She was usually the one to respond.
Noah nodded. “Correct. Pair up.”
Rhett went with Cass, while Flint and Buck partnered.
He watched them prepare. Cass and Flint were the first climbers.
Colt joined Cass and Rhett, while Noah went with Flint and Buck. This was where Buck’s inexperience really became evident. Luckily, he was better at mountain biking, where he’d mostly be scheduled to work.
Buck was halfway up when he hesitated. He had one hand gripping a sloping hold while his foot searched for the next step. It was a hard move, a blind heel hook over a slight overhand.
Noah shifted his gaze to Flint, who was barely paying attention. Hell, he looked like he was half asleep. “Flint, you watching?”
Flint shot his gaze back up. “Buck, reset your left foot.”
“I can’t see where it goes,” he called.
“You don’t need to see it,” Flint said.
“Remember your training,” Noah called.
When Buck still wasn’t getting it, Noah stepped forward and calmed his voice. “Feel for the ledge with your left heel. It’s there.”
Slowly, Buck started feeling for it with his foot until he finally located it. Then he pulled himself over the lip.
“There you go,” Noah called. He turned to Flint. “That’s the kind of feedback you need to give.”
Flint nodded. “Yeah, sorry, I know that. I just hesitated.”
“Next time, don’t.”
When they were finished with the bouldering wall, they started toward the mountain bikes.
Colt came to stand beside Noah. “You’re not okay.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I can tell, and so can they.”
“If you’re talking about Flint, he looked half asleep and people will be depending on him tomorrow.”
“He took your feedback on board though.”
So he should.
When Noah remained silent, Colt frowned. “Noah—”
“How I’m doing isn’t as important as you and Indie after everything you’ve both been through. How is she?” Colt was married to Noah’s sister, Indie, and just two weeks ago, she’d been kidnapped. Hurt. Almost killed.
Noah still saw red just thinking about it.
“She’s good,” Colt said slowly. “She’s been resting a lot.”
Another thing…after years of infertility, she and Colt were finally expecting a baby.
Noah dipped his head. “I’m glad she has you to look out for her.” He really was. Colt was a good guy. One of the best. His sister was safe with him.
The rest of the day went quickly. The staff was good and Noah was confident that the opening weekend would go smoothly.
When they were finally done, Colt told everyone to get an early night.
Noah could have laughed. He barely slept anymore. And when he did, the nightmares riddled his dreams.
Once the team was gone, he stepped into the office to see a small group of teenagers inside, Addie in front of them.
“It said the park was open today,” the tallest kid said, looking frustrated.
Addie shook her head. “No. As I already told you, the park opens tomorrow. You’re welcome to come back then.”
“We traveled an hour to get here.”
Addie lifted a shoulder. “Well, check out the town, the food—”
“We don’t want food. We came for the park.”
“Is there a problem here?” Noah asked, moving to Addie’s side.
“Yeah.” The tall kid looked up at him. “Last I checked, your website said you were opening today.”
Frustration thinned Addie’s lips. “The website says we’re opening tomorrow.”
The shorter guy shoved his friend. “Good job.”
The tall kid turned. “I didn’t see you doing any research.” He pushed him back.
“Hey,” Noah started, but the kids didn’t listen, just shoved each other harder.
Noah grabbed one of them as the other lunged forward. Addie tried to step in between them and got pushed to the floor.
Fuck.
“Enough!” Noah growled.
The shorter kid, who’d pushed Addie, looked down at her and his eyes widened. “Shit! Sorry.”
“Get out. Now,” Noah barked.
The kids scrambled out, and Noah knelt beside Addie. “Hey. You okay?”
She laughed. She actually laughed. While he was ready to follow the kids and fucking rage at them for what they’d done.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She lifted a shoulder. “They’re just kids with too much testosterone.”
“They shoved you.”
“If I’d been in any real danger, I would have put that kid on the floor.”
Damn. Why did he find that so attractive? “Have you done that before?”
“Only when my father was teaching me how to defend myself. In his words, self-defense isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.”
“I like him already.” He held out a hand and helped her up. The second she slipped her fingers around his, something shot up his arm, hitting him right in the chest. It was so strong it almost stole his fucking breath.
Her eyes flared, as if she’d felt it too. “Thanks.”
Even her quiet voice soaked into his skin. What the hell was going on? No woman had ever affected him like this.
He cleared his throat. “Next time, call me if there’s trouble.”
“I had it handled—”
“Call me.”
She did a half eye roll. “Fine, I’ll call you.”
“Good. Are you heading home now?”
“Yeah.”
“You deserve an early night. You’ve been working too hard. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He moved toward the door, only to stop at Addie’s voice.
“Noah.”
He turned.
“We’re good now, aren’t we? We’re leaving what happened last week behind us?”
His fingers tightened around the handle. “We’re good.”
He stepped out, knowing he hadn’t answered the second half of her question. What had happened wasn’t behind them. Because he had no idea how to do that, and if he didn’t work out his triggers, and fast, it could happen again.