Only for Tonight (Trickle Creek: The Lyons #4)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Preston

“Don’t move!” I shouted, already dropping over the edge of the trail before the kid could look up. His sneaker slid over the loose shale, and he slipped again. For one terrifying second, I was sure I was about to watch him fall.

But that wasn’t going to happen. Not on my watch.

Again, he slipped; his arms pinwheeled as he worked to stay balanced on the ledge that was barely wide enough for a mountain goat, let alone a lanky teenager and his dog.

“I said don’t move,” I repeated, working hard to keep my voice calm and controlled the way I’d been trained. “I’m going to get you out of there, but you have to stay still.”

“I’m trying!” he called back, his voice cracking. He gripped onto a thin root jutting from the hill.

I lowered myself as fast as I could against the cold rock. The sky had started to spit snow that wasn’t in the forecast. Not that I was surprised. The only thing predictable about spring weather in the mountains was…nothing.

“You’re doing great,” I called down as I fed the rope through the belay device as I reached him. “What’s your name?”

“Pete.” His shoulders sagged in relief at my presence. The dog, a fluffy mutt, pressed so close to the kid’s legs that it looked as if he were trying to crawl into them.

“Rough day, Pete?” I anchored myself as I spoke, subtly checking the ledge to determine how stable it was. It would hold. For now. But the wind was starting to pick up, and we were way too exposed to linger for long. We needed to move.

“I was just going for a walk to clear my head after Susie…it doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “I just…I slipped and now…”

The kid couldn’t have been much older than sixteen, but scared as he was, he looked a lot younger in that moment. On top of that, he clearly had girl problems. I couldn’t help but feel for him.

“Shit happens,” I said as casually as I could.

“That’s why I’m here.” I clipped an improvised sling around his waist, noting that not only was he completely inappropriately dressed for a trek in the mountains, but he didn’t even have a pack with him.

At least he’d had his phone to call for help.

Lucky for him, there was enough service out here to get a signal.

I bit my tongue. A lecture could wait. “What’s your dog’s name? ”

Pete shook his head. “He’s not mine. I got him for Susie, but…”

“Let me guess.” I bent to pat the pup’s head. “She didn’t accept your apology?”

Pete nodded glumly. “I’m sorry. I never should have—”

“Don’t worry about it.” I nodded toward the rope. “You’re going up first. Keep your weight against the rope and do what I say, okay?”

He gripped the rope as if his life depended on it—which, in this case, it did—and with my encouragement, started to climb.

I heaved on the rope, helping him up as I kept up a continuous encouraging stream of chatter until Pete reached the top, and then it was my turn.

I grabbed the puppy, tucking him as best I could into my jacket and zipping it up tight so only his little head poked out. He didn’t fight me, which honestly worried me more than anything else. Poor thing was petrified.

It was harder to climb with the weight of the pup, but we managed. By the time we reached the top, the wind had picked up, whipping the building snow into my face. The kid was shaking, and not just from the cold.

“I can’t believe that happened…what would have…I mean, if you weren’t—”

“But I was.” I tossed him an extra sweater and an emergency blanket from my pack. “Put these on and let’s get out of here, kid.”

“My mom’s gonna kill me.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Probably. But at least you’ll be alive for the lecture.”

I kept the pup in my jacket. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get out, and I figured it would be easier to get off the mountain quickly if I didn’t have to worry about him, too.

I took a moment to radio our location and status to the Search and Rescue office, letting them know we were on our way out before we headed down the trail.

“If you want to learn how to be better prepared, and do these things safely,” I said to Pete as we walked, “come to my Saturday adventure skills sessions. You can bring your dog, too.”

As if on cue, the little fur ball burrowed deeper into my jacket.

“I told you,” Pete said quickly. “He’s not mine. A guy was giving away puppies in Glacier Falls. I thought maybe Susie would forgive me for going out with Taylor if I…well, it doesn’t matter. She didn’t. And I can’t keep him. My mom’s allergic.”

I glanced down at the dog who was watching me with deep-brown eyes. He was pretty cute. I scratched his head. “We’ll figure out what to do with him. I’m sure we can find him a good home.” The pup whined and licked my hand.

We hiked down the trailhead where my oldest brother, Brody, was already leaning against his truck, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

“You need to stop playing hero alone, Pres,” he said when we got closer.

“Nice to see you too, brother.” I slipped my pack off. “This is Pete. He got himself into a little trouble on the trail, but we sorted it, didn’t we, Pete?”

The kid nodded as he looked uncertainly between us.

“You should have waited for—”

“And this here is…Summit.” The name occurred to me as I pulled the puppy out of my coat and set the mostly white fur ball down on the ground, where he immediately started to attack the laces of my boots. Apparently, his near-death experience hadn’t affected him too much.

I bent to scratch his ears before I looked up at my brother, ready to deflect the lecture he’d been waiting to give me.

“You know better, Preston. There are protocols for a reason.”

“I was already out here,” I said. “It took me half the time it would have if I’d waited for the team. Besides, it was an easy one. In and out.”

Brody groaned and shook his head. As the oldest of five brothers, he was used to trying, and failing, to keep us in line. Especially me.

I had plenty of experience dealing with Brody’s bluster. He’d let it go. He always did.

“Besides,” I said, pushing my luck. “If I hadn’t been there, Pete here might have frozen to death. Looks like a storm is coming in.”

He muttered a few more things about teamwork and procedures, but I ignored most of it as I dug through my pack in search of a snack for the pup.

“Can you at least promise to try to wait for the team next time?”

I produced a piece of beef jerky from my pack, but took a moment to look at my big brother. “I promise,” I told him seriously. “Despite what you might believe, I understand why we have procedures and protocols, Brody. I don’t go out of my way to break the rules.”

He snorted, and even I had to admit it didn’t sound super convincing.

“How old’s your puppy?” He directed the question to Pete, who’d been standing by, watching the exchange, as I knelt and gave Summit the treat.

“He’s not mine.” Pete held up his hands and backed away.

Brody shot me a look as the fur ball gobbled up his snack.

“It’s a long story,” I told him. “Involves a girl.”

“Ah.” Brody nodded and glanced at the kid who, now that he was safe, looked as if he might burst into tears. I had no idea whether it was because of his near-death experience or the girl he’d screwed things up with.

Given his age, it was probably the girl.

“Come on, Pete.” I put an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get you home.” I guided him to my truck and settled him into the passenger seat before I climbed into the driver’s seat.

Summit hopped straight up into my lap, like he’d already made himself at home.

“Oh no,” I said. “This is temporary.”

He licked my cheek.

“Very temporary,” I tried again, but the puppy only settled into my lap.

In the seat next to me, Pete chuckled, but I shot him a look.

On the drive down the mountain, a splash of color caught my eye. A brand-new development sign was hammered into a pine tree.

Future Site of Timberstone Homes

I pulled over, and Brody pulled up next to me.

“Oh, come on,” I groaned as I unrolled my window. “I thought this wasn’t approved yet?”

“It’s not,” Brody confirmed. “At least not yet.”

And not ever, if I had anything to say about it. I shook my head, and the puppy in my lap whined. The problem was that I had no idea how to stop the development from coming in and destroying a big part of the trail system we enjoyed in Trickle Creek.

I’d only recently learned that not all the trails sat on donated land that belonged to the Trickle Creek Trail Society, and that included the first few kilometers that had been lent to the society by a private owner. An owner who had recently sold to a development company from the city.

I didn’t like it. Not even a little bit.

“Before you get all worked up, take the kid home,” Brody said, reminding me of my passenger. “And then meet me at Peaks & Brews.”

It sounded like a good idea to me. A damn good one.

I jerked my head in a nod and started to roll up my window again before Brody’s voice stopped me.

“Try not to jump off any more cliffs or pick up any more strays on your way over.”

Jess

It was big. And bright. And purple. Never mind the gold accents splashed all over it.

Nothing about the garish sign announcing Timberstone Homes looked like it belonged in a cute mountain town like Trickle Creek. Yet, here it was, hanging over the vacant storefront in the plaza that had been temporarily leased as office space for the new development.

I took a step back and tilted my head to the left as if a new angle might make it look different.

It didn’t.

“Isn’t it perfect?” Trevor Burton stepped up beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. “The colors really pop, don’t they?”