That’s when everything clicked into place. I furrowed my brow, thinking hard.
Could it be possible thatIwas the only thing holding myself back from living a different life? I didn’t know if it was the gorgeous man I’d passed on the trail, so full of life, or the magic of this place.
But out of nowhere, I finally had the courage to do something I should have done a long time ago.
Pulling my cell phone out of my fanny pack, I dialed my work number.
But wouldn’t you know it? All I got was the sound of static fuzz.
There was no cell reception down here.
I laughed. The irony was that by the time I got back to civilization where cell phones worked again, I’d probably chicken out.
This had been a now or never kind of moment.
And maybe it was a sign from the universe that I was being too impulsive.
I stood up and wiped the dust from my leggings. That’s when I realized how late it was.
The sun had dipped behind the mountains while I wasn’t paying attention, and the shadows had grown long and deep. I checked my phone, my stomach dropping when I saw the time.
Dusk was settling in fast. Plus, there was a light mist coming down now.
I headed back up the trail, my legs already aching, my breath coming harder than it should.
Let me tell you, going back up is alotharder than going down. Now I understood Forest’s warning about how tough the hike was.
I should have listened to that man.
The chainsaw had gone silent at some point, and I felt like I was completely alone for maybe the first time in my life. Was I the only person left out here?
The trail seemed longer going up, and the light was fading faster than I could climb. But I wasn’t the type to give up, so I hiked through the burn in my thighs.
Surely I could make it back to the parking lot before night fell.
My chest tightened with something that felt a lot like fear.
Chapter 2
Jameson
She’d caught me staring, that sweet city vixen.
I hadn’t even tried to pretend I wasn’t. I’d just let out a low laugh and shook my head as she turned back around and kept walking.
Her hips swayed with each step down the rocky trail, and I watched until she disappeared around the next bend, that wild giggle of hers still echoing in my ears.
Don’t fuck the tourists.
The rule had served me well for fifteen years. It was the foundation of everything Boone and I had built together, and I wasn’t about to throw it away just because some curvy city girl with soft pale skin had wandered into my path looking like every fantasy I’d never let myself have before.
She was on vacation andstillnot a hair out of place.
I bet she spent an hour getting ready this morning. Maybe two.
A woman like that, as gorgeous as she was, would behighmaintenance.
Lucky for me, I was single for life.
