He gives me one of his sexy little grins. “I gunned it from the start on purpose. Partly because I wanted you to experience the thrill of a ride, but mostly because I just wanted to feel your arms tighten around me.” There’s no apology in his eyes as they dance with humor and honesty.
“Oh, well, that was sneaky.”
He snorts and turns his attention to the water. “It was smart, not sneaky.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “And this? This is my favorite spot.”
I take it all in with fresh eyes, spotting a few dead trees in the water and what appears to be a small log jam at the bend. “I can see why you love it.”
“I come back here alone, usually when I need to think through an issue or process a long day. Wyatt knows when I’m here, just leave me be.”
“Why did you bring me?” I find myself asking, especially in light of the fact he just said he always comes alone.
He exhales before placing his warm hand on the top of my thigh. “Because I like you, and I enjoy spending time with you. You’re new here, and I can understand what that feels like. Even when you’re surrounded by people, it can feel isolating and lonely. When I was in the military, I was always with someone, usually a group, but I could still feel as if I was the only person there. I missed my family a lot. We’ve always been close, so being away from them was a big adjustment for me. I missed the hell out of my brother, Collin. We went from being together twenty-four seven to enlisting in two different branches of the military and moving to different parts of the country.”
He stares at the water in deep thought, and even though I’m sitting behind him, I get a good look at his profile. “This won’t necessarily be your favorite spot, but until you find one of your own, I thought I’d share mine with you.”
My heart just…soars. It beats with the intensity of a thousand drums. His thoughtfulness and kindness mixed with the sincerity of his statement is something I’ll never forget. There’s a thickness in my throat as I whisper, “Thank you for sharing it with me.”
He nods, and for the next twenty or so minutes, we just sit here. I rest my chin on the back of his shoulder, making sure not to apply too much pressure so it doesn’t hurt him, but needing to feel anchored to him somehow anyway.
Finally, he asks, “You ready for the last of our ride?”
“Sure.”
Cade fires up the machine and backs away from the creek. We mosey around the timber, making our way to the other end of it. When we get close, I spot a handful of tents all erected between the trees. And just outside, in a large space of pasture, is a mountain of logs and limbs ready to be lit on fire.
He stops his quad near a tent off to the far left. “This one’s mine.”
“You’re camping here?” I find myself asking, taking in the medium-sized dome tent that could easily sleep four or six people.
“Yeah, a group of us usually do when we have a fire and drink. It’s just safer that way,” he informs me, and I can see his point. No one is driving after drinking, and someone is here to make sure things don’t get out of control.
“Smart,” I reply, taking in the campground area. There are five tents of all different sizes and shapes, but nothing elaborate.
“It took us a few nights of sleeping on the ground around the fire before we realized we were idiots. We started pitching tents, which most of us had anyway from our regular four-wheeling trips we take to Indiana. Plus, it keeps us from getting too out of hand, like throwing Alex’s prescription glasses into the fire.”
I crane my neck to look at him. “You threw his glasses in the fire?”
“Well, not intentionally, but they were wrapped in a sweatshirt, and everyone was teasing him about needing the extra layer of warmer clothes to sleep in, especially since no one else brought more clothes, so the sweatshirt got chucked into the fire. We didn’t realize they were in there until about five minutes later, when it finally hit Alex.”
“Oops.”
“Yeah, so now the rule is anything in the tents is off-limits.”
“Throwing things in the fire is a normal occurrence?”
He shrugs. “I’d love to say no, but unfortunately, we’re an immature, rowdy bunch, and so I plead the Fifth.” He points to the big pile of logs and limbs, as well as a small, more strategically wood pile. “Right there is where we’ll have the fire. It gets pretty big and hot, so we make sure it’s a ways out from the trees.”
I nod, my eyes returning to his tent. Something niggles at the back of my mind, and I do everything I can to push it away. The last thing I want to know is if he has women who share his tent with him, but now that I’ve seen the place he’ll be sleeping later, I can’t stop the thoughts from peppering my brain. I mean, since the moment I got here, everyone has confirmed he’s a known bachelor and is never short on the company of ladies. I’m sure there’s been plenty who have slept in that tent, and the fact I feel jealous of them is pretty astonishing to me.
“You okay?”
“Oh. Yeah.” My chuckle is awkward at best. “I was just lost in thought for a minute. All good now.”
He sits up straight and places his hands on both of my legs. The heat pours through the denim as he splays his big paws out across the material. “No one.”
His words confuse me, because I didn’t ask him a question. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve never had anyone in my tent besides my sister, Charli. This place, it’s magical, and as much as I like women, with them comes a whole slew of drama. No offense.”
