“Hills on our side are too rocky. Perfect for climbing, not biking.”
“So you’re pretty serious then? About buying?”
His eyes flicked to hers, just for a moment, and he nodded. “You looking to expand the spa?”
“Yes,” she said and left it at that. Her headache was getting worse, andugh, she really felt lousy. She was going to be so pissed if she had to go home from work early today.
She and Mark walked in silence for a few minutes, crunching over the bed of leaves and pine needles that carpeted this part of the woods. Birds twittered overhead, darting through the colorful foliage. Here in Haven, North Carolina, fall had officially arrived, bringing with it a chill on the breeze and a kaleidoscope of color in the trees.
October had always been her favorite month, what with the foliage, cool air, fresh apple cider, and Halloween—which was arguably her favorite holiday—closing things out. Yeah, fall rocked, especially out here in the Smoky Mountains, where Mother Nature really got a chance to put on a show. It was almost enough to take her mind off the stabbing pain behind her eyes and the vicious ache in her bones that intensified with every step she took.
Mark started toward a steep incline to the left, and she saw her chance to strike out on her own. “I’m headed this way.” She gestured to the right, toward the flatter area she’d been scoping out for her spa cabins. “I’ll see you back by the road.”
He paused, and those dark eyes met hers again, burning right through her. He nodded and turned away, hiking toward the hillside. She turned away too, before she caught herself doing something stupid like watching his very fine ass as he walked away.
***
Mark Dalton grabbed the rock and pulled himself up. It didn’t compare with the rock face they used over at Off-the-Grid, but he’d never say no to a new rock to climb. His right knee ached as he moved, stiff and tight in a way he’d never fully get used to.
He pulled himself over the top of the rock and stood, finally allowing himself to look in the direction Jess had gone. She was nowhere to be seen.
Just as well.
Since he’d returned to Haven, she’d made it clear she didn’t want anything to do with him. Not that he blamed her. It was just his dumb luck that he still wanted her something fierce. In the eleven years since he left Haven—and Jess—behind, no woman had ever come close to what he’d had with Jess. They’d shared something intense, somethingreal, that he’d never felt with anyone else.
But that was in the past. These days, he’d gotten so used to the occasional random hook-up that he’d come to prefer it. He enjoyed being on his own. Always been a loner. Probably always would be. No doubt his fantasies about Jess were better off kept as just that…fantasies.
Pausing, he surveyed the hilly area where he and his partners had talked about building a mountain bike course. The terrain out here was ideal, lots of gentle slopes and steep drops. He, Ethan Hunter, and Ryan Blake had opened Off-the-Grid Adventures together last year, offering zip-line tours, rock climbing, survival skills classes, and the like. The whole thing had been Ethan’s brainchild, but the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for Mark.
After he’d been injured in Iraq two years ago, his Army career had been sidelined. He’d spent a year working on the administrative side of things, but it didn’t fucking compare to being out in the field, busting drug deals or securing hostile territory with his Special Forces team.
Now, for the first time in his adult life, he was a civilian. Finally starting to come to terms with it too. There was something reassuring about the peace and quiet of the woods after spending so much time in a war zone. The creatures here weren’t capable of evil. They just did their thing and lived their lives. Not so different from him these days.
Movement snagged his attention out of the corner of his right eye. Instinct had him reaching for the weapon he no longer carried. Exhaling slowly, he glanced over his shoulder. He moved more quietly than most hikers and often surprised wildlife out here in the woods. Sure enough, about two hundred feet away, a black bear and two cubs ambled through the trees. One of the cubs paused, looked back at him, and then kept walking.
No cause for alarm. Bears were pretty common out here and rarely bothered people unless people bothered them first. Mark watched as they made their way through the woods, headed roughly in the same direction Jess had gone. Andthathe didn’t like.
Unable to help himself, he doubled back. No doubt Jess knew how to handle herself around bears as well as he did, but the duty to protect was too deeply ingrained in him to ignore.
The bear and her cubs had ventured far enough ahead to be out of sight now, but he could still hear their feet crunching through the bed of fallen leaves and twigs that covered the ground and the mama bear’s occasional snorts as she called to her cubs. They weren’t exactly stealthy, nor did they need to be. They ruled these woods, and they knew it.
He veered to the right in the direction he’d last seen Jess. It wasn’t hard to follow her tracks. The leaf bed here was still damp from yesterday’s rain, and the imprint of her shoes showed easily. He found her sitting on a tree stump, staring into the trees as if completely lost in thought.
Yep, that was Jess. He stopped and shoved his hands in his pockets to watch her. So damn pretty. Her brown hair hung just past her shoulders. A shaft of sunlight brought out its gold undertones. Probably daydreaming about her plans for expanding the spa. Not wanting to interrupt, he stood back and waited for her to notice him.
After a few moments, she stood and headed in his direction. About two steps before she walked right into him, she let out a little shriek and clutched her chest. “Oh my God, Mark. You almost gave me a friggin’ heart attack.”
He bit back a smile. “Sorry.”
“If you have to do your whole Army stealth thing out here, at least give a girl a heads-up, huh?” She frowned at him, her brown eyes flashing as she brushed past him and kept on walking.
“Didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
“Why are you over here anyway? I thought you were checking out the hills for your mountain biking course.”
“Saw a family of black bears headed your way,” he said, falling into step behind her.
“And you thought I was just some helpless female who needed your protection?” She glared over her shoulder at him.
