by Abby Knox
Ever’s longtime boyfriend has dumped her shortly before a non-refundable vacation adventure, all because he thinks she works too much and trains too little. Well, this curvy girl will show him how it’s done. She’s overcoming all the odds to conquer the great outdoors, by herself. Realizing quickly she’s in way over her head, Ever sets her sights on a hot park ranger to help guide her through the wide open spaces. She knows she’s not ready to take the plunge into love, but this khaki-clad do-gooder might have more to offer her than a backcountry pass.
Do you like knock-me-over-with-a-feather insta-love? Do you like fluffy heroines who go it alone on vacation and don't care what anybody thinks? Logan and Ever have all of that, plus a tent and some first-aid supplies, just to be prepared. Get ready for it in spring 2018!
This book is dedicated to my toes in the year 2000. Sorry about those hiking boots. I don’t know what I was thinking.
Copyright © 2018 by Abby Knox
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Cover Designer: Mayhem Cover Creations
An excerpt from Walk With Me
Logan
It was a perfect day to hike and think about where everything had gone wrong.
Logan had run so far from his problems, he'd circled the globe and run right smack dab back into himself.
The son of one of the country’s most powerful financial attorneys was not unaware of fact that he was living a life that was, by most of the world’s standards, unattainable. Logan was getting paid to spend his days monitoring the trails of one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Most of 6 billion people on this earth didn’t get to travel, didn’t get to hike around the globe trying to find themselves, didn’t fall into their dream job.
But here he was. Highly educated, ridiculously well traveled, and totally alone at the age of 36. Logan had been handed everything he'd ever wished for, including his wish to be alone.
As Logan made his way down the cliffside trail, he took a brief break to absorb the sights and sounds of the famous overlook. He did not actually need a break, but this was one of the best views in the whole canyon, and he never got tired of it.
Logan felt as if he was about to have a breakthrough.
But he only explored these thoughts for about 90 seconds, because suddenly another person’s presence cut through the majesty of this incredible vista.
The sound of the other visitor’s lone footsteps assaulted and clouded his mind immediately. Based on experience, he knew right away it was the sound of a female approaching. A woman struggling under the weight of an over-filled backpack and not enough sense to turn back.
He sighed to himself and stayed put, determined not to let some stranger interrupt his moment of clarity.
But... something made him pause anyway. He turned to look, just to check if she was injured or appeared dehydrated and in need of help. His job came first.
What he saw there was so far beyond the scope of his job description, he forgot where he was for a second.
The first thing he saw was her tanned legs, legs that were shaped more typical of a mid-Century pin-up model than a young female hiker in 2018. Oh, but there was so much going on with her that was not typical of his usual crowd of outdoorsy folks. Her designer camouflage short-shorts had a funny frilly, lacy thing happening at the hem, accenting her soft, voluptuous thighs. Then, there was the midriff top, revealing a navel hoop ring that made his testosterone stir up a bit, wondering where else she might have a sexy piercing. The whole outfit spoke of a confidence that made his manhood start to stir to life. Her sandy blonde waves were tied up in a top knot at the crown of her head. She wore huge tortoiseshell sunglasses that hid her eyes. So far, that was the only disappointment. All he could see of her face was its heart shape, pointy little chin and full, sassy lips.
But maybe the cutest thing about her was that when her gaze connected with his through those sunglasses of hers, she straightened her posture under the weight of her ill-fitted backpack and sucked in her tummy.
It pierced his heart a little bit to see that. The fact that any woman, especially this woman, felt shamed enough by her body to adjust her soft appearance around him was too much to handle.
Keep it in your pants buddy, and do your job.
She spoke first.
“Can you even handle it? Fucking amazing, am I right?”
Her voice could be compared to that of a cute cartoon animal. Like Minnie Mouse with the mouth of a sailor. Her entire demeanor was pure and feminine and joyful beyond reason.
“I work here.”
That's your opening line, Logan? Pathetic. Real charmer, you are.
“Wow, a Park Ranger! Cool! Then you must be totally overwhelmed by the views every single day. You’re so lucky. All I get to see is the inside of a cubicle and let me tell you, it doesn't smell particularly great, either. My crime reporter is a hoarder and I think there’s a flat-cat under his stacks of newspapers.”
Logan did not register anything she had said, but his ears and his libido sure enjoyed the sound of her voice.
“Hello? Flat-cat got your tongue?”
Logan did not get it. “Excuse me?”
“That was a joke. Nevermind, park ranger. Here.” She took his hand in hers and he thought for a moment she was making a move on him. His rejoicing was immeasurable for that split second, until he realized what was happening. She pushed her phone into his palm and then dumped her pack on the ground.
“I need to you take a photo of me on the overlook, without that ridiculous pack. Thanks, buddy, I appreciate it.”
Logan would do whatever this woman asked him to do. He suspected that was the case with any man in his right mind.
When he aimed the camera lens at her, she asked him to count down when he was ready.
He cheated. He snapped several of her before she could suck in her tummy, fix her hair, fix her smile. She was perfect the way she was and she didn’t even know it. He wanted her to see what he saw.
Even watching her through the camera lens, Logan was toast. Either it had been too long since he’d had relations with a woman, or this was fate. Maybe, it was both. He cleared his throat. “Ok, ready. On three…”
In the phone screen, he saw her turn on her bright smile, stand with one juicy, child-bearing hip jutting out sassily. “Oh, hang on,” she said. She removed her sunglasses and he could finally see the whole picture. Her baby blues. Eyelashes for days. A perky little nose. A very tempting curve at the base of her neck. And ...
Oh shit, he thought. Since when have I cared about a thing called child-bearing hips? I don’t want kids. Have I learned nothing from my childhood? Why would I want to bring children into this world after the mess I’ve made of my life?
But there was something primal speaking to him, through her. He didn’t even know her name but ... something was inside her, reaching out to him. Was this just basic chemistry or something else?
She rolled her shoulders back and stuck out her ample chest for her photo shoot. Game over. Time to go home, kid, ‘cause you’re out of quarters … and self control.
All Logan could do was think of lifting her down off the overlook boulder, sweeping her down to the ground and urgently mashing himself against every delicious curve of hers, under the wide open sky for every passing hiker and mule caravan to see.
This was it. She was it. She was his, and that might as well be the end of the story for him, if he didn’t have to figur
e out how to convince her he was not the extreme dork with a lack of vocabulary, let alone convince her to take him to pleasure town.
Yeah. None of this was in his job description. But it was human nature, calling him to obey. And who was he to resist?
Ever
Ever blushed as she mounted the boulder. Who was she to make a joke about hoarding? Maybe this park ranger has a sister with hoarding disorder. That was a real thing, and perhaps she had offended him.
And he was the last person she wanted to offend. This unbelievably hot, soft- spoken park ranger, with Vin Diesel shoulders and a sweet, Chris-Pratt kind of face, if she played her cards right, be able to help her get all the way down to Canyon Hollow Ranch without too many mishaps.
She had spotted him giving a talk to a crowd of hikers at the trailhead that morning. But her brain registered exactly zero percent of what he was saying, because he kept saying things with that damn gorgeous mouth of his. Sure, sure, something about carrying enough water and easily accessible food. Something about packing light because every ounce adds up, blah, blah, blah. Another speech about how destinations seem closer than they really are in the desert, and the dry air can play tricks on your eyes. Something about switchbacks driving people mad .... whatever. She had heard and read it all on the Internet in the days before she packed for this trip.
What Ever really wanted was a guided hike, but she had not paid for a guided hike through the canyon, and by the time her asshole ex-boyfriend had decided to cancel this vacation together, it had been too late to apply for a guided hike. When the trip was originally planned -- nearly a year ago -- she went along with everything, confident in her ex’s experience with many of the canyon trails over the years.
While sorting through her pack one last time that morning, Ever had heard a still small voice telling her it was not too late to back out.
You don't have to do this, Ever. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. You can not do this; save yourself from effort, and danger, and quite possibly death by sunlight. You are not made for the outdoors.
The thing was, she did have to do this. She did have something to prove. She had never taken a vacation by herself. She feared the great outdoors, and she was determined to overcome that fear. She needed to do this. She was going to prove to herself and to that asshole ex-boyfriend that she could do difficult things, despite his lack of confidence in her. She was a smart, modern woman, after all. It was time to tackle this fear of nature, even if she had to do it alone.
But, as she had discovered that morning on the trailhead, why do it alone when a girl can stalk an extremely hot park ranger? Right there was the extra motivation she had needed to take that literal first step on the trail.
Besides, she had figured, if she stayed within range of this person, maybe he could give her tips. Render aid. Suck venom out of a rattlesnake bite. The fantasy of those lips on her bare abdomen while she lay under a blue sky with the majestic canyon vista all around them just about made her nipples harden instantly. Although, why she would get a snake bite on her abdomen is anybody’s guess, but a good fantasy is a good fantasy, so she went with it.
Sex is a powerful motivator, so Ever had managed to stay within sight of this sexy stranger all morning without him noticing. It was sort of like a guided hike, but much cheaper.
Now, standing on the famous lookout boulder, this incredible man was actually holding her phone in his beautiful, experienced hands, looking at her and taking her picture. She felt self-conscious and sucked in her belly, stuck out her hip to one side, fidgeted, took off her sunglasses, stuck out her chest, adjusted her chin. Ever did everything she knew how to do to hide her fleshy bits and accent her nicer bits.
Up until now, this park ranger had only been a momentary sex object. But now that she was watching him stare at her image in her phone’s screen, something else was happening.
His face changed when she took off her sunglasses. Was he blushing or was that a sudden flush from the desert heat? His lips parted slightly and his eyebrows softened. There was a slight hint of a smile. Far different from the seriousness with which he warned the various hikers at the trail head that morning. Man, she wished she could see his eyes behind those aviator sunglasses he wore.
He snapped the photo and his entire demeanor changed back to officious and intimidating.
The ranger stepped over to where Ever stood on the rocks, reaching up to return her phone to her.
What happened next only took place in a few seconds, but she would remember them as the longest and most terrifying few seconds of her life. As Ever was admiring the ripple of his muscles under all that khaki, her mind wandered, and her foot slipped.
She stumbled a bit, correcting herself by trying to fall forward over the boulder. The sexy ranger let go of her phone to grab on to her forearms to steady her. She instinctively turned her head only for a slight moment to regretfully watch her smartphone tumble down the cliff, and a piece of the ancient boulder gave way under her boots and she fell straight down.
Ever opened her mouth to let out a scream but no sound came out.
Oh shit.
She’d read about this exact thing. Several people had died along this trail over the years, two of them right here at the overlook, from this very spot on this very boulder, probably. On one hand, she had made progress in conquering her fear of the great outdoors, having bravely clambered up the rock for her victorious photo shoot. But this super hot man she was essentially stalking through the canyon had made her forget what a sheer drop it was beyond that boulder. Several hundred feet.
Welp. If I'm going to die, I'm glad it’s at least in the most beautiful place on the face of the earth, and the last thing I’m seeing is the most beautiful man on earth.
But the beautiful man apparently did not see things that way. His hands stayed locked on her forearms even as gravity determined to pull her down. There is no way he can hold me, she thought.
Ever thought wrong.
She likewise gripped his forearms as her feet scrambled against the crumbling cliffside.
“Don't look down,” he said to her. “Look at me.”
Ever obeyed. Her feet stopped their frantic scrambling, her heart stopped palpitating, and instead she focused on the ranger’s face. His furrowed brow. He was going to save her. Then she saw herself reflecting back in his aviators. That’s me. I can do this.
This wasn’t exactly what she had had in mind that morning when she’d decided to stalk him through the canyon just so she wouldn’t be alone in the wilderness without a clue. She put all that out of her mind because she saw the kind of genuine concern that most people only pretend to have for other people.
He doesn’t care a thing about himself. It doesn’t matter how far I fall, this person would try to help me.
And the next thing she knew, she was safe. She was no longer falling to her death. She was instead falling for the sensation of this park ranger’s insanely muscular arms around her waist, somehow holding her as if she weighed as much as a feather. That's when she realized her feet were still not touching the ground.
The ranger had her so fully in his arms he was actually lifting her up and pressing her body flat against his.
"Whoa, there," he said, turning her away from the edge and setting her down on terra firma.
He failed to let go of his grip immediately, though, and she sensed something else as his gaze met hers. His stare was hard to read, but impossible to look away from.
His gaze seared deeply into her chest and kept going. All the way down. So far down, her sex fluttered open.
He was really hesitating letting her go.
Was this happening? Or was it just one of the desert’s tricky optical illusions?
Ever might dismiss all of that, if it weren’t for another thing. She was certain, as he held her against his sculpted body, that that wasn’t a flashlight in his pocket.
AVAILABLE SPRING 2018
About the Author
Abby Kno
x lives a dual life. Fantasy Abby would love to either live on a farm with Ryan Gosling, where she could raise goats and chickens; or be a professional baker and adopt wolves as pets. Reality Abby desires neither to muck out stalls nor to stand on her feet all day perfecting pie crusts for angry customers. So, the ever-pragmatic Reality Abby keeps Fantasy Abby happy by putting her into sweet little works of romantic fiction with her pretend hobbies. Both Abbies hope you enjoy this brand of sweet, sexy — and sometimes weird — storytelling.
For more information and to sign up for the newsletter:
www.authorabbyknox.com
[email protected]
Also by Abby Knox
From the Small-Town Bachelor Series
Take Me Home
Game Face
Written in the Stars, a special Christmas edition
Walk with Me (spring 2018)
From the Sisterhood Enchantment, a paranormal romance series
Some Basic Witch
Witch, Please
