He looked like he had been gutted. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered. “It wasn’t because I’m not interested in you. It was because I’m too interested in you. You scare me.”
She looked away, trying to hide the emotions she was feeling. Her face was burning, and she bit her bottom lip to keep the tears inside. Geez, if this man could affect her this much after only one night, she was the one who should be scared.
She unlocked and opened the screen door. He hesitated for a second before stepping in.
“You can put them on the counter.” She said, looking at the bright yellow daffodils in his hand.
His smile was back as he passed her on the way to the kitchen.
“This is nice.” He said, taking in the cabin as he leaned against the counter.
“Yeah, I like it. It’s huge compared to my apartment back in Brooklyn.” She didn’t mention that it was half the price, too. The cabin was small by normal standards, but with a full kitchen, small living room, and separate bedroom, it felt like a mansion compared to her old studio apartment. She’d probably feel claustrophobic when she went back.
“You burned your sausage.” He said matter-of-factly.
“I’m aware.”
He looked down at the iPad she had laying on the counter. The recipe she’d found online was pulled up. “You were making biscuits and gravy?”
She answered his question with another question, just because she was feeling cheeky and still was a little annoyed with him. “So, you’re feeling particularly nosey today?”
“I deserve that.” He said with a chuckle.
She softened at the sound of his laugh. He was quick to smile around her, but she got the feeling he wasn’t like that around everyone, so she relished it. “Yeah, I was. My grandmother lived in River’s Bend when I was little, and when I used to come visit, she’d always cook us biscuits and gravy for breakfast. She passed before I got the recipe. I wanted to try to make it myself, except I got distracted and burned the sausage, so I guess I’ll have to figure out something else for breakfast.”
“I brought food for our adventure.” He said, suddenly. Oh, smart man. He brought flowers and food. Suddenly she was more curious than annoyed, and he flashed her a smile like he knew it.
“What exactly is this adventure?” she asked cautiously.
“Hiking and a picnic.”
“Interesting. But I’m going to have to politely decline.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m still mad at you.” Okay, that was a lie. She wasn’t mad at him anymore, but she still wasn’t sure that she should go hang out with him after the past week.
“What can I do so you forgive me?”
She sighed, trying to figure out how to organize all the thoughts she’d had over the last few days. He’d explained why he hadn’t texted her back—he was afraid of his feelings. She understood. He was interested in an emotionally unavailable woman and he was protecting himself. But there was something else she’d been wondering when she replayed their conversations over in her head.
He’d been weird and changed the subject when they talked about his friends. And then he had said something cryptic at the end of the night after she’d admitted she still needed to work through her feelings about Todd.
I’ve got some stuff I need to work through too, you know. We can work through it together.
Those were his words, but what was he talking about?
“I get the feeling there’s something else you’re not telling me. I’m not interested in hiking off into the mountains with a guy who is hiding something.”
He tensed up. So, her gut feeling was right.
“I guess that’s reasonable.” He said with a frown.
He paused for a second, pinching his nose with his thumb and forefinger and looking at the ground. Addie thought he may actually say no, I’m not telling you anything, or even worse, deny that he’s hiding something at all.
“Okay” he said quietly after a moment. “I promise to open up.”
“Really?” Addie was stunned, yet relieved. He looked up with a smile that said he felt the same.
Addie’s heart raced as she finally let herself get excited about hanging out with Jason again. But as she went to grab her purse and sunglasses, she paused. “There’s no dead bodies involved, right?”
Jason let out a loud laugh. “No, no bodies involved. I’m not going to hurt you, you have nothing to worry about.”
She smiled up at him. She could tell he meant it. He truly believed he wouldn’t hurt her. And maybe he wouldn’t physically hurt her, but he was certainly still capable of hurting her.
He didn’t know how deeply she’d already started falling for him.
Chapter 5
Thirty minutes later, they were speeding up a mountain road in Jason’s pickup truck, heading toward whatever adventure he had planned out for her. His hand rested on her knee, and Addie had put her hand over his, completely content in the moment. A country music station was playing over the radio, and he was smiling as he softly sung along to the song.
She smiled. Maybe she’d learn to appreciate country music over the summer.
They turned down an unmarked dirt road, one that would have easily been missed from the main road. Addie’s stomach growled, and she wondered what Jason had brought to eat. Hopefully it was something substantial.
He cast her a quick, worried glance. “We’re almost there.” He said, frowning. She cocked an eyebrow. She hadn’t thought her stomach grumbling was loud enough for him to hear. He must have great hearing if he heard it over the sound of the radio.
The dirt road ended abruptly and Jason pulled the truck off to the side of the road. “Stay right there!” he said as he cut the engine, then jumped out and ran in front of the truck to open Addie’s door. She giggled. He was going overboard trying to make up for the last week, but it was cute and kind of romantic. He held her hand to help her out of the truck and then made his way to the back to unload their supplies.
Addie grabbed the last bag before he could grab that too. She was sure he was going to struggle to carry the cooler and the chairs. Jason was the type of guy that wanted to be a gentleman and wanted to do things for her, but she wanted him to know she was independent.
“This way.” Jason said, as he walked toward the tree line. Addie giggled as she shook her head in disbelief. He carried the cooler and chairs easily, like they weighed nothing.
There was no trail in the direction he was walking, but he seemed confident enough in where he was going that she figured she’d follow him anyway.
Jason maneuvered through the woods like he’d been there a million times and knew every tree and rock by name. After about 20 minutes of hiking, Addie’s legs were getting tired and she was slowing down. As Jason gently moved branches out of the way for Addie to pass, his face softened. “We’re almost there, I promise.” She'd normally be embarrassed about struggling to keep up with him, but she had stopped giving a floof about her sweaty face and heavy panting about 15 minutes into the hike. And judging by the sweet way in which he had said those words, he didn’t care either.
Sunlight broke through the dense woods up ahead where Addie guessed there was a clearing. They got to the edge of the wood and for the first time on the hike, Addie paused to really take in her surroundings.
A shallow river ran through a particularly rocky part of the woods, creating a series of little water falls and filling up a small swimming hole. The branches of the trees above stretched over the watering hole, giving it much needed shade. The sun filtered through the leaves, casting green and yellow shadows on the blue water below. It was beautiful, and it in that moment, it struck Addie that this was one of the most romantic places she’d ever been.
She looked over at Jason, who was judging her reaction. He looked pretty proud of himself. “You like it?”
“Like it? It’s beautiful. I love it.”
Jason beamed, sat down the cooler and chairs, and took the bag fro
m Addie. He took out a blanket and placed it on the rocky edge of the river.
“How did you find this place?” she asked breathlessly as she slipped off her tennis shoes and socks to dip a toe in the water. This was one of those places that no one would know about unless they were familiar with the area. It was too far off the main road to be somewhere the locals would hang out. He smiled up at her from behind his sunglasses, and her heart fluttered.
“I’ve lived not too far from here my entire life. And I’ve done a lot of exploring.” He said, and before Addie could respond, he looked toward the cooler and added, “I hope I packed enough food.”
Addie opened the cooler and looked in. There were crackers, salami, cheese, grapes, olives, and strawberries.
“Really? It looks like plenty.” She said, confused.
“I have a big appetite.” He added sheepishly. He cleared his throat and looked down.
Addie giggled. She could put away some food, but this was enough for a family of four. Jason seemed to not notice, as he was busy digging through the bag for paper plates, utensils, and cups.
They sat on the blanket as they ate, falling into easy conversation. She told him about her family, about how they used to be close but fell out of contact after her grandmother passed. She told him about her life in the city and about all her plans for adventure over the summer.
He told her stories about growing up in River’s Bend, and about all the shenanigans him and his friends got into. She smiled at the relationship he had with his friends and wondered if she’d ever find that sense of belonging.
And throughout their conversations, Addie kept thinking back to Jason’s promise he made to her at her cabin. He’d promised to tell her what he was hiding, but he hadn’t revealed anything yet, and she was beginning to wonder if he had changed his mind. She was disappointed in the thought but tried to focus on enjoying the moment. She did enjoy his company. He was kind and thoughtful and funny, but also strange and mysterious in a way.
Oh, and he was really hot.
The conversation lulled a little as they finished up their brunch. Addie leaned back on her elbows and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. Jason did the same, and so she took the opportunity to look over at him. His eyes were closed, his head tilted toward the sky, accentuating his sharp jawline and the designer stubble that lived there. The corners of his lips were curved up in a smile. His navy tee shirt stretched across his arm and chest muscles and rode up his stomach a little, exposing a delicious little happy trail, leading down into his threadbare jeans.
And then he suddenly moved, pulling his shirt over his head, giving Addie a view of all the muscles she was just admiring. Her mouth dropped open as her eyes about popped out of her head.
“What are you doing?” she coughed out, practically choking on a grape. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from his stupid, gorgeous chest and the tattoo on his left shoulder. A big, gray wolf and a little baby wolf facing each other, faces upturned like they were howling.
He looked back at her and wiggled his eyebrows. “We’re going swimming.”
Addie forced her eyes up to his face. “But I don’t have my bathing suit.”
“Don’t need one.”
Addie was momentarily confused, but then she felt her face flush at the realization of what he was implying.
She’d never been skinny dipping before. But… the thought of it with Jason excited her.
“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want.” He said, quietly. Gently. He wasn’t pressuring her at all, and that only made Addie want to do it more.
“No, I want to. Just… give me a moment.”
Jason beamed and took his pants off, revealing his buck-naked form. He was completely unashamed. He turned and walked into the river as Addie turned toward the tree line.
She stood behind a tree and took a deep breath. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do. Her, the timid, awkward girl. The boring girl who couldn’t keep Todd interested. She was about to get into a swimming hole, out in the middle of the forest, completely naked.
She looked down at her body and frowned a little. She didn’t hate her body, really, but she wasn’t as thin or fit as she’d like. She had a few stretch marks from growing so fast in her teenage years and then some more from gaining the “Freshman 15” in college. She took another deep breath to steady her nerves. Then she carefully removed her clothes, folded them, and hung them from a nearby tree branch.
“Are you okay?” Jason called from the river.
“Um, yeah. Just don’t look!” Addie called back, shaking her head at being such a prude.
She walked out from behind her tree, covering her breasts with one hand and her private area with the other. Jason was facing away from her, wading in the water.
“Is it cold?” she asked when she was close behind him.
“A little.” He replied looking to the side toward her, but not at directly at her. Giving her privacy. Being a gentleman.
She slowly lowered herself into the cool water and came to a stop a couple feet beside him. He looked over and grinned.
“You don’t have anything to be ashamed of. You’re perfect.”
Addie laughed in relief and splashed him. It did make her feel better that he approved of her… goods.
She dove underwater before he could splash her back, and he followed her lead. When she surfaced, she saw Jason a few meters away.
Dang, he could swim fast.
“This way!” he called out, motioning with his hand for her to follow.
He swam toward the waterfall and dove under it. She waited for him to surface, but he didn’t, and she couldn’t see him on the other side. She grinned, realizing there must be a hidey-hole on the other side.
She swam under the waterfall and surfaced when she hoped she was on the other side. When she opened her eyes, she saw Jason sitting on a rock a few feet above the water, looking down at her with a smile.
She grinned back up at him, then climbed up beside him. As she sat down, she looked at the water below, and then bumped him with her shoulder.
“I like your tattoo. What does it mean?” she asked.
He tensed up like she hit him. Well, that wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. Apparently she had struck a nerve.
This was it. She’d ruined the mood, and now there was no way he was going to tell her whatever it was that he was hiding.
He exhaled deeply after a moment and then looked at her straight in the eyes. “It’s me and my mother.”
Addie melted a little at the sweetness.
“She died when I was 15. She practically raised me alone, and I was a difficult pup.”
“... Pup?”
He hesitated, then looked at her as if trying to decide if she thought he was crazy.
“Yeah, pup. That’s what my pack calls children.”
Pack.
How strange. She didn’t really know what to say, but she really wanted to understand.
“And your pack… I guess those are the people I saw at Harvey’s.”
He nodded.
There was silence for a minute as Addie debated pushing him for more information.
The Addie that had lived in Brooklyn and dated Todd wouldn’t have asked because it was clearly a sensitive topic. And if she pushed harder on the subject, there was a chance that it would make things even more tense between them.
But maybe River’s Bend Addie wasn’t the same as Brooklyn Addie. Here, she’d gone out to a bar and played darts for the first time, even though she wasn’t very good at it. She’d attempted biscuits and gravy, and sure, it had been a disaster, but she’d still tried. And now she was skinny dipping out here with Jason, something she’d never have done even a month ago.
Addie wasn’t the type of person to go out on a limb. But there was something about Jason that she really connected with, even though the situation with his friends was weird.
Deep down, she knew her relationship with hi
m—even if it was only ever strictly friendly—would never grow if he kept hiding whatever it was that he was hiding.
Relationships don’t grow on top of secrets.
Heart pounding, she looked ahead so she wouldn’t have to look Jason in the eyes.
“I begged Todd to come back for about a month after he broke up with me. We were on and off again for pretty much our entire relationship—a couple years. Except this time he found someone else. I’m ashamed. I wished I was strong enough to not care. To move on.”
Jason frowned, then stroked her cheek with his finger. The trail his finger left felt tingly. “You are strong enough.”
She smiled at herself, proud of admitting her shame and also pleased with Jason’s praise.
“I haven’t thought about him the past week.” She grabbed his hand and held it, but still didn’t look him in the eye. “I’ve thought about you though.”
“I’ve thought about you too. I couldn’t think about anything else.” He said, earnestly. She giggled. He smiled back at her, then sighed and leaned back on his elbows. Here it was. She’d admitted something to him, and now it was his turn. She angled her body toward him, giving him her full attention.
“The situation with my pack is weird. I want to tell you, but I also don’t want to scare you off.”
“Is it like… a gang?”
Jason looked at her, then threw his head back and let out a booming laugh.
“No, it’s not a gang.” He finally said. Addie flushed and then crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, you’re so secretive about it, like it’s something seriously illegal or something. What was I supposed to think?” she paused. “Is it a cult?”
He let out another laugh. “It’s nothing like that.” He said after he finally stopped laughing. “We’re just friends. But like a family. We all live near each other and protect each other and watch out for each other.”
“That doesn’t sound weird at all. It sounds nice.” And she meant it. She didn’t know why he’d made it out to be so weird before.
Greystone Alpha Page 4
