Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
WADE
Striding through the staff kitchen at the lodge, I paused beside the coffee pot.
After rinsing my travel mug in the sink, I filled it with coffee and a dash of cream.
As I turned, Dani came through the doorway from the back hall where her office was.
Her arms were piled high with a massive stack of the white dish towels they went through like crazy in the kitchen.
I was mid-sip when I looked over, my gaze colliding with hers across the room. Even from a good twenty feet away, my body reacted. It felt as if a live wire was suspended in the air between us.
I’d spent the last two nights tossing and turning. I was sleepy and irritable. I was also most definitely wondering why I had to go and be the bigger person in my mind and tell her that we had to talk before I let things go further.
My body had no fucking clue what that dumb idea was all about. “Mornin’, Dani,” I called as I lowered my travel mug.
She stopped her brisk stride, a pink flush staining her cheeks. I wanted to walk across the room and tug that elastic free from her ponytail, so I could watch her curls fall around her shoulders before I claimed her mouth again.
For a moment, I thought she wasn’t even going to reply to me. Finally, she said, “Mornin’, Wade.”
At that second, Dawson came through the same door behind her, running into her. Seeing as Dani was standing immediately in front of the doorway, the collision wasn’t a surprise.
“Whoa there,” he said, catching her by the shoulders when she stumbled slightly.
Her eyes swung to him. “Slow down,” she said sharply.
Without another word, she practically ran into the restaurant kitchen up front. Dawson watched her retreat before striding across the room to stop by the coffee pot where I still stood.
He snagged a mug hanging on the shelf above the coffee pot and filled it. “What the hell did you do to piss her off?” he asked casually.
My gaze slid to his. “What the hell makes you think I did anything?”
A grin teased at the corners of Dawson’s mouth as he turned and leaned his hips against the counter. “Because you’re about the only person who manages to regularly piss Dani off.”
I narrowed my eyes and took a welcome sip of the rich, dark brew. I was about to argue the point, but I realized it was futile. With a shrug, I shook my head. “Hell if I know.”
Just then, our emergency cell phones simultaneously beeped. Like Jackson and me, Dawson was on the Stolen Hearts Valley Emergency Response Team. I slipped my phone out of my pocket. “Hey, what’s up?” I said quickly.
Nick Hudson, the administrative supervisor for our team, replied, “We’ve got a call out for support to a climbing accident on the north end of the valley. You and Dawson are the first in line for calls today.”
“He happens to be standing right beside me. We’ll head out now. I’ll call you on the way to get more information,” I said before quickly hanging up.
Dawson was already striding across the kitchen. In the back hall, we had a room for equipment. With Jackson one of the team leaders, he made sure we had plenty of equipment on hand here.
“Where we headed?” Dawson asked, all business as we snagged our go-bags.
“Climbing accident toward the north end of the valley. I told Nick we’d call when we’re on our way.”
We quickly changed before we left and made sure we had enough gear for both of us.
I presumed one or both of us would be doing some climbing.
With Dawson at the wheel, we sped through the winding roads in the mountains toward our destination.
There were several popular hiking and climbing areas in the valley.
Nick had already texted us the trail in question, which led to a rock face frequented by climbers since it was easy to access.
The puzzling part was why the hell there was an accident at this hour.
“Mind if I put Nick on speaker?” I asked.
“I’d appreciate it if you did.”
Sipping my coffee, I pulled my phone out and tapped Nick’s number with my thumb. In another moment, he answered. “Just so you know,” I explained, “I’ve got you on speaker. Can you give us the lowdown?”
“Yeah, long story short, two buddies went out for a climb yesterday. The plan was for them to spend the night and climb today and then head out. They were supposed to call and check in, but they never did. I have no idea why the girlfriend waited until this morning to call, but she did. Right after she called because she was concerned, they called. One of the guys fell last night, likely because it’s slick this time of year.
He thought he was fine, and woke up this morning to his ankle so swollen he can hardly move it.
Needless to say, his buddy can’t carry him out either.
Let me get you the GPS coordinates. Y’all are going to need to hike in about three miles.
Also, I just called over to see if Boone and Walker can meet you there. ”
“Okay, how about you text us those coordinates and let me know if anyone else will meet us there?”
“Will do,” Nick replied before ending the call.
Dawson took a long swallow from his travel mug before setting it back in the holder mounted on the dash. “Well, I guess I could use the exercise,” he said with a wry grin.
“I’m relieved to find out it’s not a major emergency,” I said. “I’m sorry for the guy and his ankle, but it sounds like he’ll be fine.”
Dawson caught my eyes and nodded. Not much later, we arrived at the trailhead with the update from Nick that Boone and Walker would be behind us by a few minutes.
The early morning winter air was bracing.
With a light dusting of snow on the ground, we threw our backpacks on, made sure we had our emergency medical kits, and began our hike.
It was a beautiful morning with the sky stained lavender and pink as the sun rose slowly over a mountain ridge in the distance.
Birds chattered at us and squirrels announced our arrival as we walked swiftly up the trail toward the climbing area. Dawson glanced over his shoulder at one point, throwing a sly grin my way.
“What?” I asked.
“You never did tell me what you did to piss Dani off this morning.”
“Dude, not now,” I muttered with a roll of my eyes.
Just then, we heard voices approaching. Looking back, I saw Boone and Walker calling from behind us on the trail. “Damn, they drove fast,” I commented.
“Good thing,” Dawson added. “We’ll need the help, what with carrying a full-grown man for three miles.”
They jogged to catch up to us as we continued moving along the trail after a quick wave. Glancing back, I flashed a grin. “Hey, guys. Good to see y’all. Sounds like we’ll need some help with transport.”
Boone nodded. “That’s what I hear from Nick. He had a quick update from them in between his call with you and us. We’ll see how it looks when we get there.”
Like me, Boone grew up in Stolen Hearts Valley and then moved out West for a few years.
Although our paths didn’t cross, he led a similar life to mine.
He bounced between jobs at various outdoor programs and cut his teeth on the mountain rescue teams out West. With his shaggy dark-blond hair and blue eyes, he had an easygoing, outdoorsy vibe to him.
Dawson greeted Walker, who none of us knew very well yet. “You spent much time on these trails?” Dawson asked.
Walker nodded. “Sure have,” he drawled. He fell silent after that.
Considering we were hiking at a swift pace, too much conversation would only slow us down.
Walker reminded me a bit of Lucas—tall, dark, and quiet.
Although he shared the same black hair, his eyes were a silvery-gray.
The moment that thought passed through my mind, I recalled Dani commenting his eyes were like moonlight.
The moment Dani sashayed into my thoughts, she filled every corner of my mind. I was relieved when we arrived at the climbing area within a few minutes. I needed to stay busy. Because I needed Dani not to take over every corner of my mind.
Hours later, after we had safely delivered both men to the hospital to be cleared and done a debriefing with Nick, Dawson and I returned to the lodge. I didn’t want to say aloud just how much I was hoping to see Dani tonight. I still didn’t know why the hell I was trying to be honorable with her.
Without thinking, I found myself striding down the back hallway at the lodge after I had taken a shower in the staff bathroom.
I realized if I didn’t seek Dani out, she just might box me back into that purgatory we’d been living in together for the last few years. That woman could be so damn stubborn.
When I reached her office door to find it closed, I was just about to knock when I heard her talking. My hand fell slowly, and I listened. Hell, I eavesdropped. I didn’t even care if I shouldn’t.
“It’s complicated,” I heard Dani say.
“Everything is complicated,” Evie said in reply.
Dani’s sigh was audible, even through the door. I smiled to myself because I could practically see her nose wrinkling in frustration. “Evie, just because Wade and I have history doesn’t mean we’re meant for some kind of happily ever after.”
Evie’s annoyed sigh also filtered through the door.
Convenient for me, these were lightweight hollow doors.
“I’m not suggesting you and Wade are destined for happily ever after.
I certainly wouldn’t suggest that because you guys dated in high school.
I’m just saying it’s obvious there’s chemistry between you two, and has been for as long as I’ve known you both.
You fight it so hard that it’s clear the only way you’re going to get to the other side of it is to do something about it. ”
There was a moment of silence, and I could feel the tension emanating through the door.
“Fine, be pissed off at me,” Evie said in response to what I could imagine was a frustrated look from Dani. “I’m just telling it like I see it. I mean, you’re cranky as hell, so you might as well get some and maybe that will get you to relax a little bit.”
Just when I was realizing I shouldn’t be lingering in front of the door, it flew open and Evie started to stride out, almost colliding with me.
“Oh,” she said, coming to an abrupt stop in front of me. “Perfect. We were just talking about you, Wade.”
With that pointed comment, Evie flounced past me.
I looked across the room at Dani where she stood beside her desk.
Her cheeks were bright red. I tried to think of a way to smooth this over, but quickly decided against it.
Dani didn’t need to know how much I heard.
I certainly didn’t mind teasing her with Evie’s comment.
“Sounds like Evie thinks you need to get some,” I said as I stepped into Dani’s office and closed the door behind me.
Dani crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her eyes narrowing to slits as she glared at me and pursed her lips. “You’re taking that totally out of context,” she said, lifting her chin and looking away from me.
“Pretty sure I’m not,” I drawled as I walked closer to her.
Dani’s jaw was set in a hard line, tension emanating from her with her shoulders held up stiffly, and her hands balled into fists. Emotion stormed through me. My frustration stemmed from Dani being so fucking stubborn. Just as strong was the frustration I felt with myself.
I knew we somehow needed to get to a point where we could talk about whatever Dani was holding inside. Yet, I also knew this tension between us—a heady mixture of raw lust and desire tinged with the emotion tangled up in our shared past—wasn’t going to dissipate from talking.
I took two strides, closing the distance between us. When I came to a stop in front of her, her scent spun around me, once again pushing through the misty curtains of memory and eliciting nothing but pure reaction.