He was busy studying her beautiful frame and when she stopped suddenly, he almost plowed her over.
“You okay?” he asked, resting his hands on her waist.
“M-m-mack,” she whispered, turning toward him and clinging to his arm.
Hearing the fear in her voice, Mack stepped in front of her and searched for the source. A large black bear was down in the stream below the trail. The animal was busy searching for fish and hadn’t noticed them.
Mack wasn’t sure how to proceed. Black bears weren’t as dangerous as grizzlies but he knew they’d killed humans, Mack and Sariah were on his territory, and he hadn’t seen any other hikers for a while.
Mack reached back for Sariah. “Let’s just head slowly back,” he whispered.
She didn’t respond but started walking back down the trail.
Mack kept looking over his shoulder, his eyes on the bear as they eased quietly down the trail. Voices drifted down to him from farther up the trail. Mack’s gaze darted back to the bear. The bear’s head swiveled to the voices and it stopped searching for fish and watched to see who was approaching through the trees. Mack’s stomach dropped when he saw two teenage girls jogging down the trail, talking rapidly, not a care in the world. They were both small and that worried Mack. A bear might be threatened by someone his size, but not a skinny near-child.
The bear must’ve had the same thought as it lumbered up the short incline straight toward the girls.
“Sariah,” Mack muttered, ripping his keys out and putting them in her hand. “Run down to the Jeep. If I don’t come with the girls soon, get help.”
“I can’t leave you,” she whispered back.
“Go!” He pushed at her and started back up the trail.
The bear reached the trail and planted itself in the girls’ path. They both stopped abruptly, twenty feet from the bear, and their mouths dropped open in horror. The bear lifted up onto his back paws and the girls screamed in unison. The bear roared in response. Mack’s stomach churned, but he had no choice. He yelled as loud as he could, a deep, guttural yell that didn’t sound human, even to him.
The bear pivoted to face him, obviously recognizing the real threat. Mack prayed for help as he stomped toward the bear, screaming, “Go!” He’d never felt small around another human, but this bear on his hind paws had him by almost a foot. His stomach filled with ice but he kept moving, and praying he looked bigger than he felt.
Cold sweat covered her body as Sariah watched Mack storm up the trail toward the bear. The bravery in that man astounded her, but the fear of the bear ripping him apart had her shoving the keys in her pocket and instead of running, like he’d told her to, she searched for sharp rocks and sticks. She’d been raised in the Colorado mountains by a forest ranger. She knew the textbook answers on how to fight black bears, but she’d always been afraid to run into one. Mack’s intention was obviously to protect the girls, but she was afraid he was going to enrage the bear with his aggressive yell and movements. Yet if he didn’t distract the bear, the animal would probably rip into one of those girls.
The girls were still screaming and the bear reared up and roared. He obviously felt threatened, and from the way he went after the girls initially he must think they were easy prey. If there was any hope of this bear leaving without a fight, they’d just lost it.
Mack was big and loud and he looked like a superhero as he kept fearlessly approaching the bear. The girls had scuttled back on the trail, away from the bear. They were hugging each other and still screaming.
“Go!” Mack hollered at the bear, shooing him with his hands like he was a pesky dog.
Sariah was amazed at his bravery, but the bear stood his ground. With black bears you were supposed to fight, not run or play dead. Mack definitely looked ready for a fight but a man’s flesh couldn’t withstand the claws or teeth of a bear. Sariah scooped up another large rock and then she spotted a good, solid stick.
The bear growled back, slammed onto his front paws, and advanced on Mack on all fours. He was a massive animal, making even Mack look small.
The girls screeched out their terror. They couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen. Sariah didn’t blame them for being scared, but she wished they’d stop screaming and adding to the commotion.
Mack raised his muscular arms and roared right back. The bear kept coming. Mack didn’t back down. He bravely took two more steps forward.
“Hey!” Sariah yelled. She dodged around Mack’s side, wound up and threw the larger of the rocks she’d been holding. It pinged off the bear’s side. The bear yelped and stopped advancing.
“Sariah,” Mack cried out, pushing her behind him. “Stay back.”
Sariah shoved the stick she’d found into his hand. “If he keeps coming, hit him with that.” She bent and picked up another rock, stepping to Mack’s side and hurling it as hard as she could at the bear. It hit him in the head and he roared in anger. “Let’s back up toward the mountain so it will know it can retreat to the river.” It had come from the river, so hopefully that was where it wanted to retreat, if it wanted to retreat.
Mack nodded and holding the stick high above his head, he waited until Sariah was behind him then he slowly retreated a few steps with her. The bear turned slightly with them, staying focused on Mack and not retreating like Sariah had hoped. At least the girls were just whimpering now, and had followed their example and moved farther away from the bear and its path to the river.
Sariah waited, holding her breath. She glanced askance at Mack. He looked like a fearless warrior, holding the stick in a threatening position, the muscles in his arms all flexed and ready for action. She loved him. This man could protect her from anything. If they survived this, she was going to kiss him and tell him her every secret.
The bear shuffled forward, snarling at them.
“Throw stuff at him,” Sariah said. She bent and scooped rocks, flinging them as fast and hard as she could at the bear. Mack followed her advice and her eyes widened as she saw he picked up huge rocks and launched them so hard at the bear, the bear was knocked backward. The bear didn’t advance on them but it didn’t scurry away either. Sariah was breathing hard as she kept scooping and launching but she was running out of decent-sized rocks and so was Mack. He’d dropped the stick she’d given him to throw rocks. He picked it up, aimed it like a javelin and threw it hard. It was too blunt to penetrate, but it knocked the bear backward.
The bear sort of whined then pivoted and lumbered back down to the stream. Within seconds it had crossed the stream and was hidden by the trees on the other side. Sariah’s breath rushed out of her and she deflated.
Mack’s arms came around her. He squeezed her close. “You were amazing,” he said.
Sariah stared up at him. “It was all you. Schnikies! You can throw hard for a lineman. Maybe we should push the Rocket out of his position.”
He smiled and kissed her firmly. “I love you. How did you know exactly what to do? I thought I was supposed to posture, but that didn’t scare it.”
“My dad taught me. With black bears who’ve gone after people, many people have been able to fight them off.”
He kissed her again. “You’re my hero.”
Sariah laughed. “Back at you.”
“Thank you,” the girls were next to them and they kept repeating thank you over and over again.
Sariah hadn’t even noticed them approach.
“Can we walk down with you?” the redheaded girl asked.
Mack nodded. “Sure. Let’s get you two out of here.”
“I can’t believe you just fought that bear.” The blonde girl stared up at Mack with wide eyes. “You’re so hot. Way hotter and tougher than …” She shook her head as if grasping for a heroic enough figure in her mind. “Than Thor!”
Her redhead friend nodded her agreement. “Thank you,” she said much more quietly than her friend.
Sariah bit at her lip to keep from laughing. Mack’s face darkened with embarrassment.
“We’d better go,” he muttered. He gestured in front of him and the girls scurried down the trail, obviously still shaken from the encounter with the bear. The blonde girl kept looking back at Mack with longing and worship in her eyes.
Mack and Sariah walked together behind them. He checked over his shoulder and she followed his gaze, but the bear was thankfully gone. Mack put his arm around her. “You okay?” he asked.
“Of course, always okay with the hero who’s hotter and stronger than Thor with me.” She batted her eyelashes at him.
He squeezed her arm and laughed. “Don’t share that one with anyone.”
She smiled. “Ammunition is always good to have.”
He bent and swiftly kissed her. “I still say you’re the hero today.”
Sariah pointed ahead of her. “They don’t seem to think so.”
The girls both glanced back at them and the blonde winked boldly at Mack. When they turned around, Mack rolled his eyes. Sariah laughed but she kept her arm around his waist and stayed close to him. He was the hero and luckily for her, he loved her.
Chapter Eighteen
After the craziness of fighting the bear, they hiked back to Mack’s rented Durango, said goodbye to his teenage girl fans, and drove to the hotel. They showered, ate a nice dinner in downtown Crested Butte at Marchitelli’s Gourmet Noodle, and then went back to the hotel. Sariah knew she had to show Mack tonight. She had an idea of how to do it. She hoped he would understand the level of trust she was putting in him.
They walked into their room hand in hand and she turned to him. “Do you want to go sit in the hot tub?”
Mack’s eyes filled with questions, but he nodded. “If you want to.”
“I do.” She squeezed his hand and hurried to her room. Slowly sliding into the swimming suit she’d bought in preparation for this trip, a thrill of fear darted through her. She’d never worn a swimming suit without a long-sleeved rash guard over it. This was braver than facing down a bear. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Her neck felt naked, exposed.
Taking a deep breath, she side-stepped very slowly to the vanity mirror. Her left side appeared first and she thought she looked fit and pretty good in the floral swimsuit. Gradually she eased over until her middle and then her right side appeared. She froze. The sight of her bumpy, disgusting skin made her stomach drop. The fire had disfigured her ear, neck, right shoulder, and part of her upper arm.
Seeing the scars revealed fully in her one-piece swimsuit robbed her of the bravery she’d felt as she put it on. She couldn’t go out there and face Mack. Would he recoil from her or would his eyes simply fill with pity? Mack was such a good man, but how could a man that was fabulous like him want someone disfigured like her? She couldn’t do this. Didn’t want to know the answers to those questions.
Pacing the small room, she realized she had to either put a shirt on and take her hair down to go to the hot tub or change her clothes and tell him she didn’t feel like hot tubbing now. She knew Mack would take either option in stride, but why couldn’t she trust him to take her scars in stride?
As she passed the mirror, she caught another glimpse of the disfigured skin. For some reason she pictured Scarlett Lily in her black dress at that Super Bowl party months ago. Scarlett’s skin was so smooth and beautiful and Mack had said she knew his brother. The Quinn family were all perfectly beautiful. How dare Sariah think she could fit in their world? Her stomach flipped again. What should she do? She simply couldn’t face him like this. Mack was so amazing and she didn’t want to lose him.
She dropped to the floor next to the bed. Kneeling, she bowed her head and begged for help. A calm reassurance flooded her and the remembrance, Jesus loves you.
She knew it was true. Jesus did love her and he would give her strength. Struggling to her feet, she knew at some point she had to focus on the fact that she was enough in God’s eyes. She trusted Jesus. She had to trust that if Mack was the man for her, he would love her regardless.
She picked up the coverup she’d brought to wear down to the hot tub, put a hand on her stomach to quell the nervousness, walked slowly to the door of her room, and yanked it open. This was it. Mack’s reaction would determine where they went from here. She’d never loved a man like she did him and she muttered a prayer that he wouldn’t recoil or run from her. He’d faced down a bear. Doubtful he was going to run from some scars. These encouraging thoughts had her walking out of her room and into the main area. She reached up to pull her hair in front of her neck before remembering it was secured in a ponytail. Forcing herself to drop her hand to her side she wrung the coverup in her hand and squeezed her eyes shut, terrified of his reaction.
She heard his soft melodious voice, “Sariah.”
Focusing on Mack’s face, she braced herself for his reaction. His eyes traveled slowly over her right side but didn’t linger there for long. His eyes continued down, taking in the floral suit and her legs then coming back up to rest on her face. He smiled at her. “You look … so beautiful.”
Sariah’s breath caught. He’d seen her scars but hadn’t really focused on them. She could see that he wasn’t blowing any smoke, but truly thought she was beautiful. Sariah dropped the coverup on the floor and ran at him. Mack opened his arms and she hugged him tight, fully appreciating the finely-honed muscles of his chest and abdomen pressed against her.
Staring up into his handsome face she finally mustered up the courage to ask, “You don’t care about … the scars?”
Mack shook his head. He tenderly bent and kissed the mottled skin on the right side of her neck. Sariah thought she would feel disgusted and embarrassed if anyone ever touched her scars, but Mack’s acceptance made warmth dart through her. He ran his fingers along her shoulder and neck and she quivered from his touch. She didn’t have much feeling there but knowing that he was touching her scars so calmly made her love him even more.
Pulling back, he smiled. “I’d better stop or I’ll have more trouble staying in control than I did last night.”
Sariah could hardly believe how amazing he was. “You’re actually … attracted to me right now?”
A loud breath popped out of him. “Oh, Sariah. If you could only see how incredible you look right now.” He smiled. “I promised you I wouldn’t kiss you too much again, but you in this swimsuit, looking so beautiful.” He shook his head. “We’d better get to a public place quick.”
He took her hand and started toward the door. Sariah tugged at him. “You aren’t grossed out by my scars, or embarrassed of them?”
He shook his head. “I think scars add character. Wait until you see my brother, Griff. His entire back was burned by a bomb. He saved my sister-in-law, Jasmine’s life that night.” He touched her neck again and Sariah trembled from the tenderness of it. “How were you burned?” His brow furrowed, as if he was concerned what her answer would be.
She stared at him, dumbfounded by his acceptance. Months she’d been afraid and waiting to show him her disfigurement, and he took it in stride as if she’d just told him about a childhood skiing accident where she hurt her knee or something. “Campfire,” she muttered. “I was five.”
Relief flashed across his face, which confused her. Where did he think she’d gotten the scars? “That must’ve been terrifying for your parents.”
“Yeah. My mom still won’t talk about it. I think she likes me covering it up.” She paused and then asked, “Do you like me covering it up?”
He shook his head. “Every part of you is beautiful to me. If you’re more comfortable with your hair over your neck that’s fine, but I don’t think you should cover it up. It’s part of you. You’re beautiful.”
Wow. Sariah was still trying to process his awesomeness. Blushing, she walked over and picked up the white coverup and slid it over her head. Mack walked slowly to her. His gaze was intense and the most beautiful smoldering look she’d ever seen.
He fingered the sleeve of her coverup. “You can wear this if you want,” he sai
d in a deep, throaty voice, “But don’t wear it for me.”
Sariah felt warm all over. Who needed a hot tub? “You don’t care if I strut down to the hot tub without anything over my suit?”
He shook his head. “I think you should share your beauty with everyone.”
Sariah searched his gaze and the sincerity, desire, and love there had her body pulsing with joy and acceptance. “I won’t wear it then,” she whispered.
Mack’s gaze heated her even more. He reached down and grasped the edges of the coverup. His fingers brushed against her thighs. He pulled it up her body in one of the most tender and tantalizing moves she’d ever experienced. Lifting it over her head, he dropped it to the floor and then his eyes slowly traveled over her again.
“So beautiful,” he whispered.
Sariah stared up into his blue eyes. “Have I told you how much I love you?” she asked.
Mack smiled. He bent low and kissed her. “I love you,” he murmured, then he kissed her again. The kisses quickly grew in intensity and Sariah didn’t even flinch when his palms framed her face and his fingers grazed her scars.
Mack drew back first. “Like I said, we’d better get to a public place quick.”
“Don’t want a repeat of last night?” she teased, feeling light and happy and so in love. Soon she’d tell him about the other nightmare associated with her scars, but she didn’t want to tarnish this moment, or how she felt with Mack looking at her with such devotion and desire.
“No, ma’am. Especially not with you in a swimming suit. Whoo.” He blew out a breath. “And those girls today claimed I was hot.”
She laughed and let him escort her out of the suite and toward the elevator. Mack thought she was hot, even with her scars. She had officially found the perfect man for her. She loved him so much.
Chapter Nineteen
Quinn Family Romance Collection Page 38
