Chapter Six
Chloe
After showering, Chloe comes down to the main sitting area in the lodge.
She grabs a book and tucks herself into the couch.
Danielle had gone off on a hike while she was gone, and Chloe wanted some alone time to think.
This trip had started off miserably. Finding out they were going to Montana instead of a tropical location, falling in a puddle, ruining her shoe in mud, and losing her luggage.
But Axel has made it better. Axel cared for her, carried her, and made her feel good.
It has been years since a man has done any sort of taking care of her, and then it wasn’t anything on this level.
He looks at her like she hung the moon, and she knows that can’t be right.
No man has ever looked at her like that, and no man will.
She isn’t worth it. She isn’t beautiful or strong.
She’s meek and plain. It’s how she’s always been.
She would get hit on sometimes when Danielle dragged her out to a bar, but she knew it was just for sex.
Those guys were trying to get laid, but she isn’t going to find her soulmate in a bar. It just isn’t her.
It has been lonely for her all these years.
Her fling lasted a couple of months, and they never did anything besides have sex.
There were no dates, no sleeping over. They would fuck, and he would kiss her forehead and leave.
He was kind about it, but it was just sex, not a relationship.
Her previous relationship had been in college, which was over ten years ago.
Rick and Chloe had met Sophomore year and dated till they graduated.
He was funny, smart, and outgoing. She thought for sure they would get married, but he told her he was going to Baltimore for graduate school and left her with a kiss on the cheek and a broken heart.
Looking back now, it was more lust than love.
He was attractive, hot even with his perfect skin and hair.
She thought they’d make beautiful babies, and she always wondered what he’d seen in her.
But it had ended, and she hadn’t had another boyfriend since.
Thirty-two and two boyfriends and a fling under her belt.
Danielle had been married for five years and still had tens of boyfriends and guys she'd dated. But she couldn’t compare herself, jealousy was the thief of joy or something like that, and Danielle was her friend. Not another woman to be jealous of.
The lodge is empty for the most part. She had seen a woman cleaning up the dining room and another man stomp through the lobby, but that was it.
She wasn’t used to the quiet. New York City was loud.
Even in her house, there was noise from the street and the neighbors.
Now, as she sat reading her book, she could only hear the crackle of the fire and the occasional bird song from outside.
It was unnerving and relaxing at the same time.
She felt like she should be doing something.
Work or cleaning or work. She’d checked her phone as soon as she came back from her trip to town with Axel, but had no new messages.
She knew the board wasn’t meeting till next week, so there wouldn’t really be any news for her, but she was always glued to her phone, so it was hard to break the habit.
Axel approaches her from the side, and she jumps. She’d been holding the book and watching the fire, immersed in her thoughts of being made partner when he’d come over. He carries a plate of cookies and a warm smile. She feels herself smile back up at him with a blush on her cheeks.
“Got you some cookies, straight from the oven.”
She hesitates. She knows if she eats one cookie, then she’ll eat a bunch, and they will go straight to her hips, as her mother always told her. But fuck it, she’s on vacation.
“Thank you,” she says, taking one off the plate and biting into it. She can’t help the moan that bursts forth, and sees Axel’s eyes widen a little. The blush blooms bigger on her cheeks as she tells him it’s a really good cookie.
“Jack made them. I thought you might like some.” He sets the plate of cookies on the coffee table in front of her and sits catty-corner to her on the couch.
He bends forward, elbows on his thighs, and watches her with rapt attention.
She blushes even harder under his gaze and is sure she must be red as a tomato at that point.
He looks at her with warmth, and she doesn’t know how to handle it.
Like she is the best thing he’s seen in a while.
He must look at all the female guests that way, she thinks.
He’s handsome, beautiful really. Strong and wide with a tapered waist leading to thick thighs.
His pants are tight, and his boots well-worn and caked with a little mud.
His eyes, though. She’s never seen eyes like his.
Golden brown, more gold than anything. She wonders if that is their real color or if he wears some sort of colored contacts.
She doubts it, though, he doesn’t seem like the type of person to wear contacts to change the color of his eyes.
He’s still staring at her when she finally clears her throat.
“Your brother made these?” she asks, unsure of what to talk to him about.
“Yes, ma’am. Jack, he’s the chef here. He went to a fancy French cooking school, then came back home to be the chef. Before him, my mother would do all the cooking. He’s very good, makes up a new menu every day.”
“And your other brothers work here too?” she remembers him mentioning that there are four of them total.
“Yes. There’s Raif, who handles the grounds and maintenance. He’s not the best with guests, and he stomps around a lot. And then Gunner, who is in charge of all the activities and the horses.”
“You have horses?” The awe is evident in her voice, but she doesn’t care, she’s never seen a real horse before.
Growing up in New York City, her family rarely ventured outside the city.
Her parents were well off but not rich in terms of New York money.
They would vacation sometimes outside of the city.
She would swim and lie out in the sun, but her mother wasn’t a fan of animals, and she never had a pet.
“Would you like to see them? I’d be happy to show you.”
“Yes, please.” She stands, unwrapping herself from the blanket and folding it back on the couch.
Axel holds up the plate of cookies for her again, and she grabs one.
He seems happy that she took one, and she tries not to read into it too much.
He leads her outside to the stables. Staying close to her but never touching her.
She appreciates the boundary he’s creating, but she longs to feel his warm hands on her again.
She guesses that’s over now that she has proper shoes.
The stables smell of hay, but are very clean, she notices. A man is in there brushing one of the horses, and she immediately recognizes him as one of the brothers, he has the same golden eyes.
“Chloe, this here is Gunner. Gunner, Chloe.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
She smiles at him as they shake hands. His big hand envelops hers.
It’s strong and firm, like Axel’s, but he holds her hand gently, which she appreciates.
Too many men have squeezed her hands, crushing her fingers during a handshake, and she appreciates the gentle touch both brothers have.
Gunner is attractive, too. He’s both taller and broader than Axel, if that’s possible, big and clearly built.
He turns back to the horse and rubs his nose along its face.
Clearly, he loves the horses, and the way the horse snuffles back at him, it loves him too.
Axel leads Chloe over to a beautiful chocolate colored horse. It immediately comes up to the gate for him to pet it.
“This here is Delilah. She’s the gentlest horse, great for new riders. Have you ridden before?”
“I’ve never seen a horse before. Can I?” She reaches her hand timidly out towards the horse, and Axel takes her hand in his, allowing the horse to sniff both their hands and then bringing her hand to stroke the side of its face.
“She’s gorgeous,” Chloe says softly.
“Yes, she is,” Axel responds, but he’s looking straight at Chloe when he says it, and it makes her face heat up once again with a blush.
She pets the horse gently. Moving all over its head and down its side, where she can reach. It’s a lovely animal, still a little intimidating, but lovely.
“I can take you riding later this week if you like,” Axel says, scratching Delilah’s ear.
“Oh yeah? I’ll book an activity, definitely.”
She sees his face fall for a second, and she wonders if she said the wrong thing.
Like maybe he meant to take her riding as a friend and not a lodge guest, but that can’t be right.
It’s just Montana hospitality that he’s being so nice.
She just isn’t used to it being from New York. She isn’t used to any of this.