I pulled my brand-new sleeping bag tighter around me. Even sugar couldn’t improve this situation. I missed my nest with the piles of pillows, blankets, and cloudlike mattress.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Why had I thought I could do this?
You have to think things through, Lucy. Use that little omega brain of yours.
My heart ached with heaviness. I was used to being underestimated and told I was too impulsive. But a lot of times, my impulsiveness worked out. Years ago, I’d been walking down Main Street and saw that the old record store was officially vacant and available for purchase. I’d gone straight to Stanley, submitted an offer that same hour, and signed a contract the next day. Everyone had doubted me, and their worried comments that I hadn’t thought my plan through felt like tiny paper cuts, but I’d forged ahead with all the confidence I could muster. My store had opened a couple of months later, and I’d had a steady stream of tailoring clients ever since.
But maybe my exes were right. I’d been lucky so far, but I couldn’t go through life like aflighty airhead, expecting everything to work out in my favor.
A wet splat landed on the tent above me and I furrowed my brow. Surely that wasn’t…
The skies opened and rain pounded loudly on the tent, which quickly started sagging under the weight of the water.
Of course.
I groaned and threw my arm across my face. Screw this. As soon as I woke up, I was going back home.
7
Wilder
I gripped my steering wheeluntil my knuckles turned white. I was fucking exhausted, coming off a forty-eight-hour shift—forty-ninehours after paperwork had trapped me after shift change. Living up the mountain suited me just fine, but mornings like this, with the pouring rain making the gravel road slick with mud, made me wonder if a house in town would be so fucking bad.
But I had my reasons to stay away.
A clap of thunder made me jolt as another gush of rain flooded the windshield. I squinted, as if that would make a difference. I was only five minutes from my driveway and didn’t want to stop on an incline. With my fucking luck, I’d be washed straight off the mountain.
I continued inching forward until a flash of lightning illuminated something bright in the tree line. My heart started beating faster. I wasn’t sure why, but after over a decade in firefighting and mountain rescue, I knew to trust my instincts.
I scanned the woods, every muscle in my body tense.
There it was again.
I let out a vicious string of curses when I realized what I was seeing—a young woman with blond hair and an oversized backpack was making her way down the mountain. She was drenched and her leggings were coated with mud. Whatthe fuckwas she doing out here?
I threw on the emergency brake just in time to see the woman slip. My heart seized as I watched her slide down the mountain almost in slow motion. Rain pelted me as I leapt out of my truck, leaving me instantly soaked, but my focus was fully on her. She’d managed to grab a tree branch, stopping her descent.
“Hang on!” I shouted as I grabbed a length of rope from the backof the truck. I tied it around my middle before securing the end to my hitch. I probably wouldn’t need it, but mudslides could wash even the most experienced hiker off the mountain.
The ground shifted beneath me as I made my way to her. She was trying to get her legs under her, but her flimsy sneakers meant she couldn’t gain traction. She fell back on her ass, rousing all my protective instincts.
My boots squelched, sinking into the mud as I quickly wove through the trees. When I finally reached her, I crouched down.
“Are you hurt?”
She jumped at another crash of thunder before tilting her head back. My entire world shifted and reorganized around me as her bright blue eyes met my gaze. She was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen, even with blue-tinged lips and chattering teeth.
“Hi,” she squeaked. “Nice day for a hike.”
Fuck, she was cute.
“Are you hurt?” I repeated.
“I twisted my ankle when I fell, but I think I’ll be okay.”
Her sweet voice was almost snatched by the wind, and I leaned forward to hear her.
“Can you help pull me up?” she asked.
