Chapter 2
ANSEL
Oh. My. God.
I've never felt my skin tingle from head to toe just from looking into a woman's eyes. It was like the shell I've been holding around myself suddenly cracked open, with real feelings spilling out.
Lynn.
I can't even make sense of everything I felt. Of course I was struck by her willowy, sensual figure as she struggled to pull on that rough brown t-shirt. She's sexy as hell, and has absolutely no idea.
Yet it's her sweet, precious face, flowing auburn hair and luminous gray eyes that make everything deep within me buzz. Her beautiful image is seared into my brain.
She is meant to be mine.
I've never believed in those things before, thinking it's the stuff of fairytales and predictable movies. But I've already fallen for her as hard as if I'd fallen off one of our seventy-foot trees while trimming its branches.
Lynn is my gorgeous dream girl. So many of my life goals have come true that I never knew if I should dream of adding the perfect girl to the mix. Yet here she is.
By the time I bring four large coffees out to the wood shop, I've finally gotten control of my racing heart enough to put on my usual calm demeanor while working with my brothers for the day.
By four-thirty, my brothers and I have hit a natural stopping point for the day. Braden and Dash take off immediately, probably to hang out with their new girlfriends.
I duck into the bathroom to wash my hands and face, making sure I look somewhat presentable. When I come back out into the main area of our massive workshop, Corbin slowly looks me up and down. Then he rakes a hand through his hair, giving his head a shake.
"Another one bites the dust," he grumbles. He has a tendency to look grumpy, but I can tell his eyes are smiling.
"What do you mean?"
"Another oak falls. You have a date tonight, don't you?"
There's no sense hiding it. "I hope so. I'm going to pick her up, and either drive her home, or take her out."
Corbin's head tilts. "Is she debating whether or not to go out with you?"
"I think so. She seems pretty shy."
My second-youngest brother nods. He's the tallest and biggest of us, with a giant frame that some people describe as lumbering. He moves slowly so that he doesn't frighten anyone, but he's incredibly nimble when he needs to be.
"The thing with quiet people," he says, reaching for his two lunch bags before heading to his truck, "is you'll have to give her opportunities to be with you in situations where she doesn't have to talk. "
I clap him on the shoulder on the way by. "Good idea. Thank you."
As soon as he's gone, I throw on deodorant and change my shirt, then drive to Acorns. I arrive two minutes early, parking in front of the café as I peer inside.
Lynn is gesticulating strangely, and hiding her face while looking down.
Finally I realize that she's entertaining a baby in a stroller with an animated game of peekaboo.
After a few minutes, the mother returns from the bathroom, and Lynn rushes to hold the front door open as they leave.
Then she grabs her purse and I barely make it to the door before she does.
Opening the door for her, I give her my warmest smile. "Hi again. Did you decide whether I'm driving you home, or we're going out somewhere?"
She nods, her lovely auburn hair catching the fading sunlight. "Let's go out." Her tongue dashes across her bottom lip for a split second. "But maybe nowhere fancy. Or loud. Is somewhere quiet okay?"
I nod, leading her to the truck and helping her in. Once I get in and start it, I flash a grin. "I understand. You don't need to be nervous around me, Lynn. Anything you want, just tell me. For now, what if we stick to a very quiet, mellow version of the classic date structure?"
She smiles, making her eyes sparkle. "That sounds promising. What does that mean, exactly?"
"Well, usually there is an activity of some sort, followed by a meal, or the other way around. Like dinner and a movie. Or bungee jumping then cocktails. I'm thinking of an incredibly chill version of that."
Leaning over, I check her shoes, which are very sturdy sneakers. "Are you exhausted from being on your feet all day, or can you handle a short walk?"
She takes a slow breath in what I assume is relief. "A walk would be great."
"Perfect. And then I know a very nice diner where we can go for dinner. It's a bit of a drive, but I'll still have you home at a decent hour. Sounds good?"
"Sounds perfect."
As I start to drive back to the forest, I notice Lynn's fingers are trembling. Reaching out, I place my hand over them for just a moment. "Just so you know, I don't mind a bit of silence. It's fine if we're quiet sometimes."
Retracting my hand, her smile lights up her eyes. "Thank you for understanding. Um, I've never actually been on a date before."
Something in my heart jumps. Turning onto our private road, I feel an instant responsibility to make sure she has a wonderful time tonight. "Well, to start, I'm taking you to a very special place."
Peering out the window, Lynn seems to be analyzing the trees. "Everyone in town talks about your forest. It really is beautiful."
I want to tell her that she is the beautiful one, and that the forest is just nature showing off, but I don't want to make her cringe. Pointing to a driveway off to the right, I say, "That's our workshop, where we process some of the wood."
Another mile along, I pull over by the side of the road. Leaping out of the truck, I run around to help her down. She doesn't seem to mind my hands on her waist, in fact she seems to like it whenever I touch her.
Reaching back into the truck, I pull out my huge green zip up hoodie, and drape it around her shoulders.
"It cools off quickly at sunset with all these trees in the way," I say. "I don't want you to get a chill."
Lynn looks up at me through her lashes. "Thank you."
We walk side by side along a relatively flat trail through the trees, taking our time, admiring all of the plant life and the wildflowers. "Is this a hiking trail?" she asks.
"Not an official one. More just a good place for me to pace.
" She looks at me curiously. I chuckle before elaborating.
"I run a software company. It's super technical, and extremely stressful, and at the same time parts of it are incredibly boring.
If it weren't for my daily hikes in the woods, I would end up face down in the corner, drooling into my coffee. "
Lynn laughs out loud, tightening my sweater around her shoulders. It does something to my insides to see her wearing an item of my clothing. It's such a silly connection, yet it feels deeply satisfying.
"What kind of software is it?"
"Software to test other software." I love that she laughs so easily. "I guess I'm an expert at poking holes in something to find out where it's weak or broken."
We reach a slightly marshy bit of land. "May I save the beautiful princess from the evil mud?"
"Sure."
Picking her up in my arms, I cross the boggy section using two flat planks.
She smells so sweet, with a trace of vanilla as her hair catches the breeze.
Our faces are so close together it's torture not to kiss her.
Setting her down, I keep walking, ignoring the way my heart is racing from the unexpected tender moment.
Lynn takes a second to catch up, commenting, "No offense, but you don't really look like a computer programmer."
"You'd be surprised. One of our best coders could be a fashion model." A look of uncertainty crosses her face before I add, "He might be doing some catalog work on the side, actually."
"And you gave it all up to come back here and…cut down trees?"
The knuckles of my hand brush hers as we walk between a couple of pines. "We always knew that we were coming back to Oakton. We had intended to do that before Dad died, but…"
She reaches up, her hand trailing down my arm. "I'm so sorry."
"Thank you. Mom asked us to all come back, so we did. Luckily, I have wonderful managers and department heads who keep everything running. Basically, I can run Oak Tech Analysts with a couple of emails a day, and a weekly video chat."
Lynn nods, then stops suddenly. "Oh! I haven't seen Queen Anne's Lace in ages." She points to a plant made up of tiny clusters of little white blooms.
"Is that a flower? I thought it was a weed."
Lynn tips her hand back and forth like a seesaw. "Kind of both. It's also known as wild carrot. It's from the parsley family."
"Huh." I stare at it carefully. "It kind of looks like the fussy doilies that Mom's friend Gretchen has under her teapot collection."
Lynn laughs out loud again, the beautiful sound triggering my own chuckle.
"Also, who is this Queen Anne person, and why does she think she can just leave her lace all over our forest? Talk about pushy."
Lynn laughs again. Reaching down, I wind my fingers through hers. "When I woke up this morning, I never thought I would end up on a date with a gorgeous girl who is a wildflower expert."
She blushes sweetly, not letting go of my hand. With the other, I reach out, running a thumb along her porcelain cheek. "It's not embarrassing to be a wildflower expert," I whisper. "You don't have to blush on my account."
She laughs again, squeezing my fingers. "I never realized that you're a bit weird. Everyone says that you're the steady one. Level-headed."
I roll my eyes so much my entire head moves. "Just because I was born first doesn't mean I have all the answers. Like just because Dash is the baby doesn't mean he's a flake." I wink. "Okay, once in a while he has his moments."
We amble slowly, with Lynn pausing to admire buttercups, and something called a coneflower that I always thought was just a purple daisy.
"You mentioned that you have a sister. Are you close?" I ask.
Lynn looks up at me and crinkles her nose. "Close as in, she lives in the apartment across the hall from me? Yes. Close as in, friends?" A loud sigh. "Not really."
"That's too bad. But I guess we can't pick our families."
By the time we get back to the truck, I've learned that her parents bought a large old house as an investment property, and rented out the two top apartments to their daughters. It sounds like Lynn is the frugal one, since she saved up for a car, which Kayla is always borrowing.
It also sounds like Lynn enjoys quiet things like reading, watching documentaries, and doing a little freelance design work. As we reach the truck, I ask, "What kind of design?"
"Just simple web design for local businesses. Like Rose's Diner."
"Best Chinese food in town. Corbin orders from them all the time."
She smiled. "I also made a furniture website for the Clendenings."
She seems surprised when my eyebrows raise. "I've seen it, actually. Nice and clean. Well done."
She smiles. "I had to make it so that the sons could update it easily. You know… Without any specific technical ability."
I laugh, my hands wrapping around her waist so naturally that she doesn't seem to notice for a moment. "I get it. We don't say 'idiot proof'. We say something like 'preventing the client from accidentally going beyond their knowledge base'."
She laughs, and I feel the soft pressure of her hands wrapping around my waist as we step together. "How do you think phase one of the date is going so far?" I ask.
Lynn lifts her chin, nodding very seriously. "I believe we've made excellent progress."
"For the dinner portion of the evening, how do you feel about a classic fifties diner type of place?"
Her eyes light up. "Do they play fifties music?"
"Sometimes. Last time I was there several months ago it was classic rock. But they do have a black and white square tile floor, and a sassy waitress who gave me hell because I didn't order a salad with my meal."
She smiles as we both lean closer. I can't take my eyes off her lips. She's definitely more comfortable with me, yet I still feel like I'm walking on eggshells. I mustn't scare her away.
"Lynn, should I be a good boy and wait until after dinner to kiss you?"
Her eyes lock with mine as she freezes.
Giving her a light squeeze, I murmur, "Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking."
Her breath is shaky as she whispers, "Squirrels on fire." I don't know what that means, but she stretches up to meet me halfway in a gentle, soft kiss.
Her silky lips against mine inject pure adrenaline into my bloodstream. Trying desperately to hold back, our kiss deepens, our mouths teasingly soft as she snuggles into my arms. We practically melt into each other, as my hand tangles into the back of her hair.
By the time I pull away, we're both breathless, twitching restlessly.
I brush her hair away from her face, trailing my fingers along her cheekbone. "Wow. That was one for the record book."
She makes a sound that's a cross between a giggle, laugh, and a snort. "What do you mean?"
"Our first kiss. My first kiss here in the forest. And my first kiss with a woman who…" My hand gently cups her cheek. "A woman who I already know is extremely important to me."
Lynn's eyes drop for a moment. "That's a lot to take in," she whispers.
"You're right." I step back, holding her hands between us and giving them a shake. "We need food. We must do what is proper on this don't-call-it-a-date."
I help her into the truck, making sure she's buckled in, then wait until I'm driving down the road to ask, "I gotta know. What's with the flaming squirrels?"