by Kate Tilney
Leaning back in his seat, Ezra nods. “I’d say she’s adapted pretty quickly to life in Alaska. She’s a lot less clumsy anyway, and she seems to know her way around a trail and a fishing pole.”
I can’t help but grin at the memory of her tumbling out of that airplane and into my arms on her first day. Ezra is right. In under two weeks, she’s proven herself more than capable.
“That doesn’t mean she should stay. She has her career. She has plans.”
“Plans change.” Ezra pushes out of his chair. “Only a coward would let a woman like that go without a fight.”
He’s right. I’ve never balked at a bit of danger before. But when it comes to this woman, do I have the guts to love her the way she deserves? And does that mean making her stay or letting her go?
Chapter Six
Jules
“We both know this is temporary. She doesn’t belong here.”
Noah’s words echo in my head as I step back from his office door. I’d been about to see if I could distract him from spreadsheets and emails for a lunch break. A lunch break that would’ve involved spending a solid hour in bed driving each other wild.
Now . . . he doesn’t think I belong here. This is just a fling for him. Meanwhile, here I was thinking we had something special. Something lasting. It’s why I rushed an order with a manufacturer to create prototypes of some of my designs. I’m actually wearing a full outfit of my own design right now. A form-fitting jacket, leggings, panties, and a sports bra. All made to help a full-figured girl survive and thrive in the Alaskan wilderness. I was going to show them off to Noah. And then, I was going to let him peel them off of me.
The dull ache in my chest spreads as the pain of his words radiates through me.
He doesn’t think I belong here. Well, I’ll just have to show him how wrong he is. And the part about this being temporary? I have a news flash for him. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll prove that I not only have what it takes to be here, but that I belong here with him.
I quickly throw some hiking supplies in my new backpack and grab a map of the trails. We’ve spent the past week hiking over some of the most beautiful trails I’ve ever seen. But we’ve never gone on the advanced trail. The one Noah said had the best view, but the roughest terrain. Won’t he just be surprised when I get back tonight with a bunch of photos of myself on the trail, looking hot as hell in my new gear?
But, I also know enough about how all this works to know it can’t be a total surprise. I stop by the front desk and tell Silas where I’m headed. Just in case. Silas only arches an eyebrow, but suggests I take along a rain jacket just in case. I don’t bother telling him I am decked out in water resistant clothing from head to toe. I don’t have time to make small talk. Not even with a big old teddy bear like him.
I’m out the door and well on my way up the trail when I realize I’ve forgotten something pretty important. A radio. If the past week and a half have taught me anything, it’s that my cell phone has absolutely no range. That shouldn’t be an issue unless I run into trouble.
Instead of backtracking and losing an hour, I take extra care of where I’m stepping and of my surroundings. Which is a good idea, because Noah was right. This trail is a lot harder than any of the ones he’s taken me on. I’m huffing and puffing more than I’d like to admit. My thighs and ass burn from the sharp incline. But I can do it. I am doing it.
Noah was right about something else, too. As I reach a crest overlooking the valley with beams of sunlight shining down through clouds, it’s also the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I lower myself to a boulder, groaning a little at the ache in my hip. But as an eagle swoops down, gliding through green trees over bluish purple streams, my breath catches. I’m filled with a calm and peace, a oneness with the world around me. It’s worth every blister, every bruise, every ache and pain I’ll feel in the morning to experience this perfect moment.
The only thing that feels better is falling in love. And I’ve done that here too.
I just hope the feeling is mutual. I was too hot-headed and focused on proving Noah wrong when I left the lodge. I didn’t give much thought into his words beyond what they were on the surface.
He might have said our relationship is only temporary. But the way he looked at me last night as he cupped my cheek and called me beautiful and brilliant . . . It was the look, the words, of a man in love.
Maybe he just hasn’t realized it yet.
I’m mulling over a few ideas of ways to make him realize that I love him and he loves me when I feel it. The first drop of rain. It’s then I realize a shadow has fallen over the mountain and the valley. I’ve barely pushed myself to my feet when the drop of rain turns into a downpour. Thunder rumbles around me, echoing from the mountains.
I’m hours from the lodge. There’s no time to outrun the storm. And the rain will make the rocky terrain too slippery to navigate in a hurry.
It looks like I’ll be testing the limits of my new line of clothing. Let’s just hope I can remember Noah’s tips for building a fire in wet conditions.
Chapter Seven
Noah
Water is dripping from my hair, and there isn’t an inch of me that isn’t soaked through from the rain. I’ve been out here searching for Jules for hours. Ezra suggested we turn back and start again in the morning when it’s light.
I told him he was out of his mind if he thought I’d give up until Jules was back and safe in my arms. So we split paths to double our chances of finding her.
When Silas told me she had set out for a solo hike, fear gripped me in a way I’ve never felt before. Even now, hours later, I can feel it squeezing my chest so tight, I can barely breathe.
What was she thinking heading out on her own? Never mind venturing out before a storm. I’m not even going to think about the fact that she appears to have taken the trail I specifically told her was too advanced. My girl has a stubborn streak a mile wide. Of course she had to go out and try to conquer it.
I just wish she’d picked a better time to conquer.
As soon as I find her, I’m going to explain to her just how dangerous this was. Then, I’m going to tell her I love her. I still don’t know how we’ll manage a relationship with her in Seattle and me here, but I’ll figure out something. Because one thing is for damned sure: as soon as I get Jules back, I’m never letting her go.
Throat aching from calling out her name, I pull out my canteen. I’m taking a swig of water when I see it. Smoke. In the not too far distance. Hope surges inside of me, even as I know it could be someone else.
That fear and hope clash inside of me, pumping through my veins. I start my climb up the rocky train. Higher and higher I climb. The closer I get, the faster I move. I’m in such a hurry to get to Jules—or to get answers—I’m not paying as much attention to where I put my feet. I’m nearly to the smoke when I hit a slick spot of rock. My foot slips out from under me and I go sailing backward.
I bellow something that might be a swear or a prayer as I grab hold of the closest thing I can find. It’s the base of a small shrub. I grip onto it with both hands. It keeps me from sliding clear over the edge of the mountain. My feet slip and slide on the wet rock wall. I glance down and cringe. It’s at least a twenty-foot fall to the next landing. If I land just right, I might make it.
If I don’t . . . The root cracks, and I lower an inch. My blood turns to ice, my heartbeat pounding in my ears, as it cracks again, and I slip another inch lower.
I’m just too heavy for it. I glance around in the dark, looking for something else to grab hold of when a pale, worried face peeks over the edge about ten feet up. I’m instantly filled with relief. She’s okay. Even if I don’t make it, Jules is okay.
Her eyes go wide. “Noah! What are you doing?”
“I fell.” I almost tell her I can’t hold on much longer, but I don’t want to scare her. “Can you get me something to grab onto?”
She nods and disappears back over the edge. There’s another c
rack, another slip. I’m barely hanging on here. If only I’d taken a few more minutes to pack my climbing gear. But I was in too much of a hurry to find Jules before nightfall, I left with little more than my knife, and it isn’t sharp enough.
My arms scream in pain. I’m thinking about the best way to fall when Jules reappears at the ledge. She tosses something over the edge.
“I made a rope and tied it to a tree.”
I reach for the makeshift rope, which stretches under my weight, but it doesn’t tear. She shines her cell phone light on the rocks around me. I can now see where to put my foot as I climb up her stretchy rope.
As I reach the top, Jules grabs onto my shirt, helping to pull me up. I immediately collapse on my back, my chest rising up and down as I let out a shuddered laugh of relief. Jules throws herself on top of me, pressing kisses over every inch of my face as her hands move over my body.
“Are you hurt?”
I shake my head. “Are you?”
“I’m great. Just a little wet.”
It’s then I get a proper look at her and realize she’s wearing little more than a sports bra and panties.
“Where the hell are your clothes?”
“I used them to make the rope.” She flashes a grin at me. “They’re one of the prototypes I made based on the fabric you suggested. You were right. They can survive just about anything.”
I just shake my head and laugh, pulling her closer to me. Tucking her head under my chin, I share my body warmth with her.
“I should wring your neck.”
She jerks up, bumping my chin with her head. She winces. “Why? I just saved your life.”
“You went out on your own. Do you know what could have happened if you’d taken a fall?”
“I was fine.”
“You’re sitting in your underwear under a tree in the pouring rain.”
She pulls a face. “Yeah, I should have checked the weather before I went out. I just wanted to snap a photo of me up here to prove to you that I can make it here. That I do belong in Alaska.”
“When did I say you didn’t?”
“To Ezra. Earlier today.”
I frown while I wrack my brain. I finally remember the conversation.
“It’s not that I don’t think you belong here. I just know you’re so good at your job. That’s back in the forty-eight. And now with this new clothing line of yours—”
She presses a finger to my lips. “With this new clothing line, I could have the freedom to be my own boss and work anywhere.”
“And would you want to work here?”
“I could be persuaded. Besides, I wasn’t kidding when I said I had some ideas for hosting a Camp Mountain Man experience for city girls like me.”
I groan and pull her back against me.
“Plus, I have fallen in love with this wild country of yours. Not to mention, I’m crazy in love with you.”
“Not half as crazy in love as I am with you.”
Then I capture her lips in a searing kiss before she can fight me on that point. I have no doubt we’ll bicker about countless odds and ends in the years ahead of us. And I’m looking forward to every second of it.
Epilogue
Jules
Three years later
Resting a hand on my swollen belly, I lean back in my office chair. Sales are looking good for my new line of maternity outdoor wear. It’s getting rave reviews. While I could be modest, I’m going to own every single one of them. As the person who not only designed the line but tested it while I was pregnant with my son, I can guarantee these clothes are perfect for living an active life in the great outdoors.
A pair of muscular arms come around me. I grin as Noah presses a kiss to the curve of my neck. We’ve been married nearly three years, and he still has the ability to make me melt into a puddle. Even now that I’m about a million months pregnant with Baby Two.
“Wyatt is down.” His lips move up to capture my earlobe. A shiver of delight runs down my spine. “Any chance I can talk you into taking a break?”
“I still have a few more numbers I’d like to crunch.” But my eyelids are already closing as I angle my head to grant him more access.
He gives a low chuckle that rumbles in my chest and sends a fresh wave of flutters through me. The baby wiggles in response.
Numbers can wait. Noah helps me to my feet, his hands rove up and down my body before he cups my extra sensitive breasts.
“God, you look incredible.”
“I look fat.”
“You look beautiful.” He kisses my lips gently. “Have I thanked you lately for our son and the daughter you’ll give me soon and this life of ours?”
“You did today. At breakfast.”
He shakes his head. “Then I haven’t thanked you recently enough.”
He leads me to our bedroom where he shows me just how much he appreciates me. There’s a lot to be grateful about. We have a love that’s burned bright for three years. Soon we'll have two healthy children. And we have two thriving businesses that have grown with each other’s support. (For the record: I wasn’t wrong about my Camp Mountain Man idea.)
Our lives have changed so much since I stepped off of that airplane. In ways better than either of us could have dreamed.
And we’re only getting started.
***
Thanks for reading NOAH: Camp Mountain Man #1. If you love mountain men and the curvy city slickers who fall for them check out SILAS: Camp Mountain Man #2.
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Also by Kate Tilney
Extra Long Weekend
BROCK: Kings of the Mountain #1
FLINT: Kings of the Mountain #2
RHETT: Kings of the Mountain #3
MAX: Kings of the Mountain #4
ZEKE: Kings of the Mountain #5
Fall Before You Leap
SARAH: Ridiculously Royal #1
ALEX: Ridiculously Royal #2
JAMES: Ridiculously Royal #3
HENRY: Ridiculously Royal #4
DALLAS: Sunset Canyon Fire & Rescue #1
SHANE: Sunset Canyon Fire & Rescue #2
CONRAD: Sunset Canyon Fire & Rescue #3
BLAKE: Sunset Canyon Fire & Rescue #4
OWEN: Sunset Canyon Fire & Rescue #5
NOAH: Camp Mountain Man #1
SILAS: Camp Mountain Man #2
HANK: Camp Mountain Man #3
EZRA: Camp Mountain Man #4
