by Hart, Taylor
Tan jeep, roll bars, no doors. The same one that had sprayed her with dirty slush. Music still blared until he, at last, turned off the engine.
She sighed and let out the air she’d been holding inside, relaxing the tightness in her chest.
He waved over at her, and she looked away. They were not going to be friendly, chatting neighbors. If he insisted on bothering her, she’d give up this view for a quieter spot. Nowhere on this mountain was ugly, after all. She hoped he’d quiet down and move on quickly; she loved her spot because of its closeness to the rim trail. She hiked parts of it every day. Fifty miles around the rim of Lake Tahoe. Stunning.
Her new, noisy neighbor’s eyes were on her. She pretended to type on her laptop.
“Mind if I join you?” His voice—as unwelcome an intrusion as it was—tickled her insides. Deep bass. Friendly. Mmm.
“Actually…”
“I’ll just click on right here, and I won’t say another word.”
Her mouth dropped. He attached his own hammock to the tree next to hers, stretched it across to another, and then plopped himself down not three feet from her. He opened up his laptop and started typing.
His chestnut hair intrigued her. It was messy, all over the place, with a slight curl to it. He had a great jawline. She had a thing for jawlines. He looked up, probably noticing her interest, and smiled one large, twinkly, white-toothed smile before going back to his work. Curse her curiosity. As intriguing as she found him, she also wanted to be annoyed at the interruption. But a break from solitude did feel nice, as long as he didn’t try talking to her again.
She started typing and was soon lost in her work. Every now and then, she would register a shift in his movement, adjusting his seat in the hammock, but mostly she forgot he was there. Until he cleared his throat. Twice.
Her eyes broke reluctantly from the screen, and she finished her sentence while she looked over at the stranger beside her.
“Wow, you’re still going even when you stop looking? You’re totally prolific. Whatever you’re writing there, it’s coming out fast and strong.”
She blinked.
He turned his body so that he was sitting cross-legged, facing her. Then he leaned back so that the hammock swung within inches of her and then away. “So, Neighbor.”
“Hey. Yeah. Neighbor.” He must be in his twenties. He looked it.
“Right. I’m Chad. Me and the guys are gonna be up here thrashing the snow and hiking the rim.” He lifted his eyebrows, waiting. When she didn’t respond, he added, “I think we’ll hit Heavenly for a few days.” The ski resort. Her favorite.
His eyes sparkled with kindness. His mouth lifted in a half smile, still waiting for her to respond.
She decided she found him charming. Part of the reason she was out here was to meet new people, to associate with the non-billionaire crowd. A super handsome guy would make everything that much more interesting, right? Absolutely.
“You’ll love it. Have you been here before?”
His mouth lifted in a grin. “Favorite place on earth.”
“Mmm. Me too.” She adjusted her angle so she was facing him. “I’m out on the rim trail every day. It’s clear and, so far, no bears.” She didn’t want to run into any bears, but had spray if she did. They were a nuisance all over Lake Tahoe, too many people leaving food out.
“Me and the guys want to complete at least half of it before we go.” He waved down the mountainside. “And we brought ropes to go climbing.”
She’d love to go climbing. “I want to work up to the full rim trail distance by the end of summer.”
He sat forward. “You’re gonna be here all summer?”
She nodded and shrugged. “For now, I am. We’ll see.”
His head tilted to the side. “”You’ll see? Like, you can just do that. Stay here, or leave, or do whatever you want?”
“It’s a simple life. I don’t need much.”
Bear shifted beneath her.
“Oh wow, that’s a beautiful dog.”
“Thanks. He’s awesome. Nice to have him up here with me.”
“Wait. Are you all by yourself?”
Alarm bells dinged in her head.
And some portion of her feelings must have shown on her face because he held up his hands. “Sorry. None of my business. As far as I’m concerned, your huge linebacker boyfriend is on his way back and will pound me to a pulp if I try anything.”
Bear growled.
Chad laughed. “If Kujo doesn’t eat me first.”
“It’s Bear.”
“Bear?”
“Yup, his name is Bear.” His ears perked at the mention of his name.
“Okay then, Bear and the linebacker. You’re safe.”
She laughed, somewhat relaxed. “I’m trying to get a book finished.”
“Oh, nice. Let me guess, a documentary on the camping habits of single males?”
Her grin widened. Somehow, knowing he was single made her happy. “Something like that.”
“Ah, so perhaps I could be of assistance. A research guinea pig?”
“Maybe.” She tilted her head. If only she were writing a book on gorgeous, single males. Her face heated thinking about it.
“Woah, is that a blush I see? What kind of documentary are we talking about here?”
She couldn’t believe that he called her out on a blush. Already she liked this guy.
“Ho ho! Or it’s not a documentary at all. You’re up here writing a romance.” He rubbed his hands together.
“Actually, I’m writing about some important life experiences. I’ve given myself the summer to figure it all out and finish the book. At least the rough draft.”
He watched her, possibly waiting for more, but that’s all she was willing to share at the moment.
His eyes sparked with admiration. “Fair enough. I find that impressive.”
She smiled. “Thank you.” She was surprised at how much his praise meant to her. Maybe having a neighbor wouldn’t be such a bad turn of events.
Chad watched her hair try to free itself from her messy bun, and for the first time in his life, he wished his friends weren’t coming to join him. It had been a long time since he’d seen a girl be completely natural and relaxed. No makeup as far as he could tell, an old, rugged flannel, hair all over the place. And more beautiful than he could remember any woman being. Her face shone with excitement while she typed. He’d give a lot to get a glimpse of what she was writing.
Her adorable resistance and pretend irritation at his presence charmed him. At first, he had been incredibly annoyed that someone had snagged his favorite campsite with a tacky eggshell camper, but now he couldn’t be more thrilled.
His phone sounded an alarm. Possible avalanche. The local forest ranger service sent these messages to anyone in the area. “Are we expecting snow?”
She looked back up from her work, eyes wide. “I don’t know.” Her nose wrinkled. “Are we?”
He scrolled through the alarm and did a few searches on the web. “Hmm. I don’t know how serious to take this. They have the whole area on alert. Avalanche.” He sat up, and his hammock swaying at his sudden movement almost dumped him on the ground.
She snorted and put a hand to her mouth.
“Hey now, It’s funny until it happens to you.”
“Sorry.” She made a real effort to look penitent and then gave up and laughed.
He thought about teasing her some more, but wanted to talk about the warning. “So, looks like we are in for a huge storm tonight. Many feet of snow expected.” He looked up at her with concern. “Will you be alright in there?” He looked at her vehicle, and his face must have shown his lack of respect for her favorite place to live right now.
“Hey, don’t knock The Bullet. This thing is amazing. It might not look like much, but it’s totally state of the art.”
“Oh really?” He doubted it was anything of the kind.
She raised her eyebrows, eyeing his tent. “When your l
iving situation collapses from the weight of the snow, Bear here might let you in.” Her eyes twinkled. “Really, this thing has all the bells and whistles, want a tour?”
His eyebrow raised before he could stop it. “You’re inviting me in?”
She opened her mouth, flustered. “No, never mind.”
He started walking toward her camper. “I’d love a tour, actually. I wasn’t thinking anything, well, except how nice that sounded.” He felt his own face heat.
“And now you’re blushing, what kind of tour were you imagining?” She laughed and the tension eased.
“Honestly, I was wondering about your setup—if you have a comfortable place to catch a movie or anything.” He cleared his throat.
“Are you asking me on a date, to my camper?” Her eyes teased, and he didn’t know what to make of her. He couldn’t tell how she felt about him.
“I was.” He approached the front door. “I think. But also, and this won’t sound very fun, but I was hoping you would be warm enough.”
She stood up and moved past him. “Oh, come on in.”
The camper felt larger inside than it looked on the outside. The living space boasted an oversized couch, a foldable table, and a refrigerator.
“See, check this out.” She pulled down a display panel with a digital control of the entire layout. “I can control all the lights, raise or lower the temperature. Turn on the outside burners for a barbecue…”
“This is amazing; what do you use for fuel?”
“Kerosene, solar energy, battery packs. Silent generators, for air conditioning or just a fan, depending. The plumbing is remarkable as well, and it has a huge water tank.”
She pointed to the back of the camper. “I’ll be as cozy as can be in my bed, behind that door. The mattress is equipped with heaters if I need them, but this place heats up so quickly I don’t think I’ll even turn them on. The floors have heaters under the floorboards as well.” She paused, her expression unsure. He didn’t blame her; he still didn’t even know her name. “How will you manage with just your tent?”
“The guys are bringing up our camper. We have a ‘bro mobile’ that goes everywhere with us.” Tonight he was planning to head down to the ranger station—he knew the guys down there—or to head over early to his chalet. But a daring and irresistible idea teased at him.
She laughed. “A bro mobile?”
His grin was crooked and teasing. “Yeah. That’s right.”
“Okay. Well, I don’t have much, but I was going to offer a spot on the floor or on the couch, though your legs would stretch off the end…”
There was no way he would fit on that couch. He was large; his head brushing the top of the camper. But bingo! “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Well, I can’t let you freeze. Besides, Bear will be in here with me.”
“Okay, deal. I’ll bring a deck of cards and a movie.”
“Wait, what?”
“Well, the guys won’t be up here for a couple days yet. I wasn’t expecting this storm. Don’t worry, I will leave first thing in the morning.”
“Okay.” A grin slowly spread across her face. “So, now we’re officially on a date in my camper and you’re staying the night?”
He put his hands in his pockets. “I appreciate the offer,” he said seriously. “And I’ll leave you to yourself. The minute you enter that door”—he pointed to her bedroom—“you can pretend I’m not even here.”
“Deal.” She held out her hand. “I’m Grace.”
“Happy to meet you, Grace. As I said, I’m Chad. I’ll just grab a couple things and be right back. I can hear the wind picking up.”
He rushed to grab everything he would need and then knocked on the door twice before stepping inside. His arms were full with a huge blanket, all manner of cords and chargers, and his laptop. “For the movie.”
“Excellent. I’ll let you get comfortable in here.”
“Wait.” He held up some microwave popcorn. “I noticed you have a microwave.”
“Yes.” Her smile grew. “We can warm up some soup too.”
They got comfortable, and her leggings and oversized sweatshirt were even more sexy than her flannel. Who was this woman who could pull off leisurewear the way others did the big designers?
The couch pulled out from underneath to make a wider bed. It also extended in length. It was piled high with his blankets and hers, and she handed him the remote. “What movie did you bring?”
“Ooh, so much trust. You’re just gonna let me pick?”
“Well, I could always boycott it, but I’m game for almost anything.”
He rested his arm on the back of the couch, inviting her to scooch closer, which, to his surprise and pleasure, she did! Then he clicked play. It was a DVD with a couple chick flicks on it. He and his bros kept it around for moments just like this one. She turned to him in amazement. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
His mouth dropped. “What?”
“You watch this stuff?”
He could feel his face heat. “Well, I mean, yeah.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“When I’m with a date.” His grin grew. “Otherwise, no, but this is cool.”
She searched his face for a minute and then leaned back against him, cradled under his arm. “Let’s watch the first one. It’s actually super funny.”
This night kept getting better the more he became acquainted with the lovely Grace. “Hey, what’s your last name?”
She shook her head. “Oh no, we’re not on a last name basis yet.”
“What?”
“Shh. It’s getting good.” She snuggled in closer to him, and he knew better than to complain. Who was this woman who held his attention like she did? He couldn’t remember a time he was so caught up in someone.
Every time she shifted, every time her fingers brushed against him, her touch tingled through him in delicious hyperawareness. Her fresh smell, peppermint maybe, calmed his mind while everything else about her woke his every sense. “Let’s go climbing tomorrow,” he said.
“In the snow?”
“The real storm might not hit until late morning. The inlets with the good climbing are sheltered. They won’t get hit tonight. If we get out early, we can put in an hour or two before it starts to really fall.” He was already trying to figure out how to get her up to the chalet with him and the guys. It would be safer there. If the storm was anywhere near as bad as the news was predicting, even her epic eggshell camper would be all but entombed at the top of the mountain.
“Okay, cool. I haven’t been climbing in years.”
“What? So you’ve been?”
“I have. There was a gym I used to go to all the time, and I have friends that took me into the mountains when I visited Utah last summer. It was more of a rappelling thing, but we climbed up the face of a rim first.”
“Excellent.” He reached for her hand. When her fingers laced naturally through his, and a small smile twitched at her lips, he knew he was in. He had a chance, maybe. He hoped.
The wind whipped through the trees around them, louder, and two things surprised him. He enjoyed the thought of being stranded in this tiny space with such a fascinating woman. And he hoped his friends changed their mind and delayed their trip.
The movie ended, and for a few minutes, neither of them spoke. She couldn’t bring herself to move away from her comfortable place at his side. He lifted his hand from her shoulder and nestled his fingers in her hair. He started at the back of her neck and massaged in gentle circles. Then ran gentle trails up through her hair. A shower of tingles raced through her, along her neck and down her back. She sat as still as possible.
“Mmm, you like this,” he murmured.
She felt her face heat. “I do. It’s like magic.” She shivered.
“Then I won’t stop.” His other hand joined the first, and they moved to her shoulders, gently pushing her forward as he worked out knots in her neck. “And that?”
“Yes.” Her v
oice sounded more breathless than she would have liked. But he was too much fun, and, as much as she liked her solitude, she was lonely.
He ran his hands down her arms and back up into her hair, and she thought she might faint. Only the desperate need to continue to enjoy his attention kept her conscious. She laughed inwardly. What had become of her? All those months of resisting advances during her internship with Senator Hall, but the moment a handsome man makes an appearance in the woods she melts at his feet?
Except he wasn’t simply a handsome man. He was tanned just right, had a sexy amount of scruff along his jawline, green eyes that sparkled with intelligence, kindness, and an enticing amount of interest in her and the confidence to show it. He was a full court press on her senses and desires. And what harm could it bring if she got to know someone new? He was not from her set—he’d avoided the corruption of the rich. With any luck, he was as deliciously middle class as he was handsome.
He wrapped a hand around her waist and turned her to face him. Just when she thought she would fall forward into his arms and kiss him until the morning, he placed his lips on her forehead. Their soft pressure lingered. Then he whispered against her skin. “I think I should turn in.”
She felt her breath leave her in disappointment. “Okay.” She leaned back. “Do you have everything you need?” When he nodded, she pointed him to the bathroom and stood, still in a daze.
“Early start tomorrow?” His eyes twinkled, as if he knew how desperately she wanted to stay right there at his side. Did he share her desire?
“Yes, I’ll set my alarm for seven. Will that do?”
“Perfect. Breakfast is on me.”
She wrinkled her forehead.
He winked. “Don’t worry. I know my way around a kitchen.”
Her sluggish feet finally responded, and she moved towards her room. Bear was already stretched across the end of her bed. “Good dog.”
