Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The smell of bacon hit my nose as I rolled over onto my back. The taste of tequila was still on my tongue. Grumbling, I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the shared bathroom to brush my teeth. After cleaning every surface to get rid of the taste of liquor, I made my way into the kitchen to find Leo hard at work making breakfast.

“Wow, did you get lucky last night, or are we just lucky to have you?” I asked as I made my way to the cabinet. Grabbing a plate, I dished up the eggs and bacon that Leo had spent the morning cooking.

“Nothing happened!” Jenny chirped from the kitchen table, already enjoying her breakfast.

“Then I guess we’re just lucky to have you.” I thanked Leo as he finished got himself a plate as well. The food was delicious, and I gobbled it down, hoping it would help my stomach.

“We have to soak up the tequila somehow,” Leo joked with a mouthful of food. “Professor Robinson is coming by the cabin later this morning to check in on us.”

I groaned at the reminder of our lead professor’s visit. Each of us had a professor that we were working under, but Professor Robinson was the closest to the cabin and had volunteered to supervise us and help us as needed with each of our projects. Based on the emails we had already exchanged, he sounded like a hard-ass that let nothing slide.

I needed to get my life together before the professor arrived. There were a couple of hours before he would be here, and I wanted to be a little more alert. Jenny offered to take care of cleanup this morning, so I made my way down the hall and found a sports bra and running shorts. After changing quickly, I tied up my long brown hair into a bun.

My shoes had taken up most of the space when I’d packed. It might’ve seemed silly to have so many shoes, especially when they all looked the similar, but they weren’t the same. There were shoes for walking, running, trail running, and speed work. With as much as I ran, the shoes were on constant rotation. The blue trail-running shoes were my choice today.

There were several miles of trails around the cabin that would be good for running. Worn down by the previous students, some trails were wide enough to fit an ATV. Walking back through the house and out the front door, I yelled to Leo and Jenny—who were busy at the sink washing dishes and bumping elbows—that I was going for a run. I got a distracted reply as the front door screen slammed and I walked onto the porch.

The dew that dusted the foliage was still present, making my shoes glisten as I walked down the drive. Birds called in the distance, having already been up long before me. I reached up and stretched my arms, jumping in place for a minute to warm up my body. I had researched the trail system around the cabin before arriving and easily found the trailhead about a hundred feet away and started jogging.

The woods were truly beautiful in this area. Wild and free to grow as they please, plants wove through the tall trees that provided shade over the trail. Tiny wildflowers littered the sides of the path, their perfume hitting my nose as I breathed deeper.

After about a mile, my muscles loosened and my breathing became more regular. I had entered my favorite state of running, where I could finally turn off my mind and flow through the movements. My even footfalls became a metronome in my mind— left, right; left, right— and I entered the meditative trance that made running so addictive to me.

Left, right.

Left, right.

Left, right.

A breeze flowed over my face, cooling my forehead that had beads of perspiration forming on it.

Crack!

Just like that, I was pulled out of my trance. I glanced around my shoulder, finding nothing of suspicion. An acorn had fallen behind me, maybe.

Continuing, I came to a fork in the trail and followed the right path, making a mental note to explore the left path another time. The trail was a little rockier, and I had to watch my footsteps a little more carefully. A flash of gray entered my peripheral vision, and I swung my head to the right, but there was nothing there. How much tequila had I drunk last night? Shaking my head, I slowed my jog to a walk and began scanning the surrounding area, my breaths heavy.

There were wolves in these woods—Jenny was here to study them. I hadn’t had a chance to ask her if she knew where any were located yet, and while I’d once read up on what to do if you encountered a wolf in the woods, of course right now I’d completely forgotten anything I’d learned. The rocks on the trail were getting larger and more difficult to walk on without accidentally rolling my ankle. My eyes went from scanning my surroundings to having to watch each step so I wouldn’t fall and injure myself. Could wolves smell blood? I didn’t want to fall and find out.

“Hey!”

At the sudden voice, I spun around quickly. My foot landed on the rounded rock in front of me and skidded off the side, causing me to lose my balance and fall. A small yelp left my lips as I landed on my butt.

“Hey, are you okay?” the voice, deep and male, asked.

I glanced up from my position on the ground, taking a mental account of all my body parts. Other than the bruise that was surely forming on my butt, I was fine. Luckily I hadn’t rolled my ankle or cut up my hands in the fall. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see six feet of a man was coming my way.

“That was some fall,” he said.

“I’m fine.” I brushed off the dirt on my hands and attempted to stand, trying to find my footing among all the rocks.

Suddenly a hand reached out in front of me, and I gasped at how close he’d gotten. Just a second ago he’d seemed to be a good fifteen feet away.

I placed my hand on the stranger’s, my hand was so small in his. Without effort, the man pulled me to my feet, and I found my footing, quickly letting go. Rubbing my own on my shorts loosened a thick scion with a couple sprouting green leaves onto the ground. It must have been ripped from its rootstock when I’d fallen on top of it.

“Damnit.” I didn’t like disturbing plants. I picked up the scion and looked at the stem. It seemed like a clean break. “Do you have a key or anything pointy?”

He dug into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out a single car key with a black head cover.

“I can’t just leave it like this,” I said, mostly to myself.

Taking the key, I searched for the rootstalk the green stem had broken off from. It was easy to find, the stalk sticking up from the ground right where I’d fallen. Crouching down near the rootstalk, I pushed the key’s sharp tip straight into the cylinder of the stalk. This was a delicate procedure, especially since I was using a key instead of my usual tools. I pushed the key about a quarter inch into the stalk, widening the diameter. The stem easily slid into the hole, its diameter smaller than the rootstalk I’d just widened. I held it in place with my fingertips, searching for some long grass to tie it off with. I settled for some blue oatgrass that I recognized and was within reach. The oatgrass was long, and I was able wrap it around the stalk several times and tied it, assured that it would stay in place.

“You seem to know what you’re doing,” the man said, watching me.

I jumped back from my rescued plant; I had forgotten that he was here.

“Yeah, I’ve done it a few times before. It’s usually successful.” I sat back and admired my handywork before handing him his key.

“I wouldn’t go much farther. The rocks get even bigger. I had to turn around myself,” he said.

The man wasn’t dressed for the woods. He wore light blue jeans that had maybe been nice at some point but were now ripped with several holes. His simple black T-shirt also had seen better days. There weren’t any holes, but it was faded from consistent wear.

Closing my eyes and shaking my head, I tried to regain my composure. As I opened my eyes, I looked at the man’s face. He was tan from all the time he must have spent outdoors. His dark hair was long enough that he had to use his hand to push it back over the top of his head to keep it from falling into his face.

His face lit up with a smirk on his mouth—he’d caught me looking at him. “I’m headed back the way you came. Can I join you?”

I squeaked a “No” as I turned around and started walking.

The man easily caught up to me and kept pace alongside me. This was my worst nightmare as a runner—a man approaching me in the woods and now following me.

Keeping my eyes to the ground, I took in his shoes. His old sneakers didn’t look like something I would choose to walk in the woods with, but nothing about the rest of his outfit did either. Right now, I was beating myself up for not telling Jenny and Leo exactly where I would be running. Maybe I should have brought something with me to defend myself or something to leave behind in the case this man wanted to murder me or eat me alive. In these woods, a girl like me could easily disappear.

Finding the nerve to lift my head, I looked over at him. He had already trained his bright blue eyes on my face. Unlike myself, he didn’t need to watch his footing. He seemed to glide over the rocks gracefully.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked.

“I’m out for a run myself. I had to turn around back there. The trail got a little too…wild for me.”

A run? Who ran in blue jeans? The man looked me over. Now regretting my scantily clad running attire, I put my hands protectively over my stomach. Like that would do anything in my defense.

“I could ask the same question of you. What’s a pretty girl like you doing out here in the woods, dressed like that, all alone? There are all sorts of animals out here. Wouldn’t want them to catch the scent of you.”

“I was running,” I blurted out, picking up my pace. “My friends back at the cabin are waiting for me. I need to get back.”

My fast footsteps betrayed me as I tripped and lurched forward. With my arms crossed around my stomach, I yelped as I began to fall face first into the rocky ground. Two firm hands grabbed my shoulders and steadied me back onto my feet. With him standing right behind me, I could smell earth and sweat. He didn’t smell like a typical man would, but much to my dismay, I sort of enjoyed the earthy scent.

Breathing deeply, I let out an exhale as the man leaned over my shoulder and whispered into my ear, “Careful.”

It took me a moment to shake myself out of his hands, putting a couple feet of distance between us. I turned around quickly, looking the stranger in his blue eyes.

“Thanks…” I struggled to maintain my composure. The man had saved me from a fall, but I still didn’t feel comfortable with the way he was approaching me. His scent was throwing me off. Sure, he was attractive, but he obviously didn’t know how to approach a single woman on a run in the woods.

“My name’s Wilder. I live around here, but I’ve never seen you before.”

Trying and failing to break eye contact, I tried to calculate a coherent answer. “I’m new, I guess. I’m here doing research for the university. There’s a cabin not far from here where I live…which I need to be getting back to.” I immediately regretted my answer—I’d just given this large man, Wilder, way too much information.

“Ah, I’ve heard about that cabin. I’ve never seen it, though.”

“Great!” I squeaked awkwardly before turning around and saying “I gotta go!” over my shoulder.

“I’m sure I’ll see you around, Fumbles. Don’t fall without me.”

I could hear his chuckling as I jogged out of there, careful not to fall again. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw that Wilder stood casually in the middle of the trail, watching me jog away. His hands were in the pockets of his blue jeans and a smirk was on his mouth. Apparently he enjoyed watching me run from him.

Once I hit the gravel trail that was more conducive to running, I broke out into a fast run, my legs turning over quickly, until I reached the clearing by our cabin. Hunched over, I brought my hands to my knees, trying to catch my breath. There were always stories about women getting approached on their runs by creepy men—you just never thought you’d be one of them.

Shaking off the adrenaline that flowed through my veins, I walked up to the cabin and opened the door. Leo and Jenny were nowhere to be found. I walked down the hall hoping I wouldn’t see anything scandalous in one of their rooms as I made my way to my own. Fortunately Jenny was alone, sitting on her bed with a book.

She set it down once she saw me walk by and followed me. “How was your run?” she asked.

“Not the best. The trail I ran on turned out to be rocky, and a creepy guy in the woods approached me.” I kept the feeling of my attraction to Wilder to myself. I wasn’t supposed to feel something like that for a random man who’d approached me in the woods. He’d saved me from a nasty fall that would have ended with me covered in cuts and bruises, but I couldn’t let my guard down just because a man had used his reflexes and caught me. I wasn’t a damsel in need of a prince to save me.

“What?” Jenny said. “I didn’t think anyone lived close enough to our cabin that you would run into someone. What did he say? He didn’t touch you, did he? Are you okay?”

“No, no,” I said, realizing that she was starting to spiral. “He didn’t do anything. He was just very flirty when he approached me. I don’t like talking while I’m on a run, much less with a guy who comes up to me out of nowhere in the woods.”

“Yeah, that’s so weird. He didn’t follow you back here, did he?” Jenny asked.

“No, I left him about a mile away and he didn’t follow me. He said he didn’t even know there was a cabin back here.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re all right. Maybe there’s mace or something in the cabin you can bring with you next time.”

“Yeah, I should look for something like that.” My clothing was chilling my skin as the sweat that soaked the fabric cooled. “I’m going to take a shower quick before Professor Robinson gets here.”

I needed to wash off the conflicting feelings from my body and my mind.