Chapter 4 #2
Gagging on embarrassment, I turn around. “Yeah?”
Why? Because he’s too sexy in that sexless uniform. And who smiles like that? It should be a felony to flex that hot and be off-limits.
“Where are some good trails around here to walk Mutt?” he asks. “He’s been inside all day.”
I could tell him, but with the blooming canopy, he may miss it, and I’m a glutton for punishment. “Hang on. Just give me a second to change, and I’ll show you.”
In three minutes, I’m out of my work clothes and in my Alena uniform. Ponytail. Sports bra. Flannel half buttoned. Hiking shorts. Thick socks and boots on my feet.
I check the bathroom mirror, groaning at the smudge I’ve apparently had on my nose all day. I swear dirt jumps on me.
When I meet Loch outside, he admires my bare legs, not hiding his heated gaze. It turns my thighs into warm jelly.
He swallows. “Ready?”
Mutt jumps on me, licking my face. I laugh. “He sure is.”
Warmly, Loch grins. “He likes you.”
He’s changed too. Camo pants. Tight white T-shirt. No ball cap. I can finally see his aqua eyes.
I’d say they’re sparkling for me, but that’s too many Drew Barrymore romcoms on my part. Still, my heart is pounding hard, making me confess, “Think I like him too.”
You and your dog.
“Yeah, he’s a good boy.” His voice drops. “Until he sees a collie. Then, he’s very bad. He has a real kink for them.”
Kink.
He tugs the black leather handle of Mutt’s leash, and a sweet jolt shoots between my thighs.
If he only knew.
Nervously, I laugh, leading the way to the trail. Halfway there, I realize Loch’s walking behind me, with his gaze not missing my ass, and I want to die, but instead, I focus on work again. “So, why’d you pick swift water as your specialty?”
Depending on the park, rangers perform a variety of jobs. Many work with visitors. Others monitor the environment or watch for fires. All enforce laws, while a few of us help with rescues too.
He lets Mutt off his leash, and the shepherd tears past me through the trees, excited.
“I grew up on the river,” he answers. “Water doesn’t scare me.”
“Where?”
“Uh…” He coughs. “Edisto.”
“What?” I whip around. “You’re from South Carolina?”
“Yeah.” He looks surprised. “You too?”
“Charleston. Folly Beach, really. It’s where my dad lives.”
“Huh.” He grins. “Small world.”
Small world?
Suddenly, it’s too small. With memories of the beach at home dotting my mind—most great, one traumatic—Loch looks familiar. Deeply familiar. “Have we met before?”
He cocks his head. “Don’t think so.”
I wouldn’t forget a face or a body like his. Goldfish couldn’t forget him. Still… “You look familiar.”
“Yeah”—he scrubs his hair—“we brainless meatheads all look alike.”
“Okay, you’re muscular, not brainless.”
He lowers his chin. “I jazz danced, squealing at a snake.”
I fight my laugh. “Lots of people are afraid of them.”
“Not grown-ass men,” he huffs out, amused. “But my brothers ruined snakes for me. They put a garter snake in my bed when I was six, and I’ve never been the same. I check the sheets every night.”
“Aw, those sweet assholes. How many brothers?”
His eyes shift. “Uh, five.”
My jaw drops. “You have five brothers?”
“Yeah, and I’m the baby. What about you?”
“It’s just me and my dad.”
“Yeah, um…” He surprises me, his voice falling soft. “I’m really sorry about your mom. Meant to stay that at the convenience store.”
“Thanks. I mean…” I glance down, kicking a magnolia pod. “I never really know what to say when I mention her. She was killed in action when I was ten, and it feels like forever ago, and like last night’s nightmare all at once.”
“She served?”
“Yeah, in Iraq.” I meet his tender stare. “In the Army.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, truly, but damn, Alena…” He shakes his head. “I bet you’re making her proud as hell.”
My teeth grab my bottom lip, tears suddenly biting at my eyes.
Is it the way Loch just said my name? Or his praise? Or that I want to believe he’s right?
My mom made dirt pies with me. She taught me how to make a grass whistle. We’d dance in the rain together. She always said I had a beautiful smile, so I force one now. “Thanks. I sure hope so. I miss her.”
He opens his mouth to say something, but Mutt bounds our way, a corn chip bag in his mouth.
“Gimme that.” Loch tries to grab it, but Mutt darts away, and we spend minutes trying to catch him. It’s fun. It’s futile. I’m sweating and laughing because the dog’s too fast, so Loch softly tugs my hand. “Try this.”
He falls into a soft bed of green Lenten roses, and I follow, flopping down beside him, a sweet, earthy smell engulfing us.
He turns his head.
I do too.
He smiles.
So do I because…
He’s still holding my hand.
Without a word, we search each other’s eyes, and it feels like Loch’s trying to tell me something.
My hand tingling. My heart racing. My thighs shaking.
Emotions swirl into a new alignment of the stars above.
We can’t see them yet, but it’s as if Fate is in control and Loch won’t tempt her, so I open my mouth to do it for us as Mutt jumps on top of Loch.
He drops my hand, grabbing the trash from the dog’s mouth. “Gotcha!” he proclaims, and…
He does.
This man just captured something inside me I didn’t know a man could have. I didn’t know falling happened this fast. I didn’t know rules vanish with this warm rush of feelings. I didn’t know it’d feel this terrifying and tender.
By the time we’re back at our cabins, covered in leaves and laughing, I don’t want to say good night.
But we do.