Chapter 9
Leah
He wants to see me again.
Warmth flooded my chest.
Ever since we woke up this morning, Jameson had been acting like a scared kitten, if scared kittens were gruff and remote.
So I hadn’t known what was rolling through his mind. Although when he put his hand on my back as we hiked, I’d had a moment of hope.
This is just a fling. Don’t get attached, I warned myself, knowing it was already too late. I’d fallen hard for my mountain beast.
I fumbled for my phone, my hands trembling slightly as I filled out a new contact. Jameson McCall. I typed the letters carefully, then handed him my phone so he could add his number.
His fingers brushed mine as he took it, and even that small touch sent warmth flooding through me.
He typed quickly, then called his own phone so he’d have my number too. The efficiency of it made me smile. Of course he’d think of that.
“There,” he said, handing my phone back. “Now you can’t disappear on me.”
“I wasn’t planning on disappearing.”
“Good,” his blue eyes held mine, steady and warm. “Because I wasn’t planning to let you.”
Then he pulled me in for another kiss, not caring that an SUV full of hikers pulled in at that moment. It was just him and me in the world right now.
My pulse shot to the moon, my heart speeding along in my chest.
After we pulled away, my mouth tingled where his lips had been.
On wobbly legs, I climbed into my rental car and rolled down the window.
Jameson leaned against his truck, arms crossed over his broad chest, watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Something between hope and uncertainty, maybe. Something that looked a lot like what I was feeling.
“I’ll call you soon,” he rumbled. “Drive safe.”
“I will,” then without caring that it might make me look overly eager I added, “And I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”
After backing out of the parking spot, I gave him a little wave as I turned toward the road.
In my rearview mirror, I watched him standing there, getting smaller and smaller as I drove away.
But I wasn’t sad.
For the first time in months, maybe years, I wasn’t sad at all.
I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt as I navigated the winding mountain road back toward town.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, dappling the pavement with gold and green, and everything felt new in a way it hadn’t in so long.
I thought about calling my best friend, Carmen, to tell her what had happened, but I wasn’t ready to share it yet.
This feeling was too personal. I wanted to hold it close for a little while longer.
I’d only driven a half mile down the road when my phone rang.
My heart stuttered when I saw the name on the screen.
Jameson McCall.
I pulled over to the side of the road, not trusting myself to drive and talk at the same time, and answered with fingers that were suddenly clumsy.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” his voice was a low rumble through the speaker, and I could hear the smile in it. “Miss me yet?”
I laughed, the sound bubbling up from somewhere deep in my chest. “It’s been two minutes.”
“Longest two minutes of my life.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe,” there was a pause, and when he spoke again, his voice was softer. “So I was thinking about tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah. There’s this place in town called the Bear Den. It’s a bar, nothing fancy, but the food’s good and the people are better. My friends hang out there most evenings.”
He cleared his throat, and I realized with a jolt of surprise that he sounded nervous.
This big, capable mountain man was nervous about asking me out.
“I was wondering if maybe you’d want to come with me.
Meet some of the locals. See what Red Oak Mountain is really like when you’re not trapped in a cabin. ”
“Are you asking me on a date, Jameson McCall?”
“I guess I am,” another pause. “Is that okay?”
“Yes.” The word came out breathless and eager, and I didn’t even care. “Yes, you know I want to see you again.”
“Good,” the relief in his voice was palpable. “That makes two of us.”
I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling my heart flutter beneath my palm like a wild thing trying to escape. This was really happening. This gorgeous, kind, impossibly competent man wanted to introduce me to his friends.
“I’d love that,” I said. And then, before I could lose my nerve, I asked, “What are you doing between now and then? Maybe we could make a day of it.”
His laugh was warm and rich over the phone. “Even better. Let’s make a week of it.”
A week. A whole week with Jameson.
I didn’t even hesitate. I pulled a U-turn right there on the empty mountain road and started driving back the way I’d come.
“What are you doing?” he asked, and I could hear the curiosity in his voice.
“Turning around.”
“Turning around?”
“If we’re making a week of it, I don’t want to waste another minute driving in the wrong direction.”
His laugh was louder this time. “Damn, woman. You don’t mess around.”
“Life’s too short to mess around.” I pressed the gas a little harder, watching the trees blur past my window. “I’ve spent too many years being careful and waiting for things to happen. I’m done waiting.”
“I like the sound of that,” he growled.
“Good. Because you’re stuck with me now.”
“Promise?”
The word hung in the air between us, weighted with meaning neither of us was quite ready to name. But I felt it anyway. The possibility of it settling into my bones.
“Promise,” I said softly.
When I pulled back into the parking lot, Jameson was still standing by his truck, phone pressed to his ear, grinning like a fool. He hung up as I parked beside him, and before I could even turn off the engine, he was opening my door and pulling me out into his arms.
He kissed me for the second time today, with the birds singing in the trees and the mountains rising green and verdant all around us.
It was a hello kiss.
A kiss of beginnings.
A kiss that said we had all the time in the world.
When we finally broke apart, I struggled to find my voice again, so overwhelmed with emotion. “So,” I asked, “what’s first on the agenda for our week together?”
“Breakfast,” he said firmly. “There’s a diner in town that makes the best pancakes in the county.
And then maybe I’ll take you up to Lover’s Ridge to see the view.
And after that…” He shrugged, his arms tightening around me.
“Maybe we can go see your fancy rental at the Whispering Ridge Cabins.” Then he growled, “If we’re lucky, maybe we can break another bed today. ”
I smiled against his wool sweater, breathing in the manly scent that clung to him.
Standing there in Jameson’s arms, with the whole day stretching out before us and a whole week after that and maybe something even longer on the horizon, I realized that sometimes the best things in life are the ones you never see coming.
I’d come to the mountains to find myself.
Instead, I found a whole new life… with him.