Chapter 2

Kara is clearly in some sort of trouble, probably being stalked. It"s none of my business, yet I"m beyond curious. However, answers are going to have to wait until I get her warm and safe.

We quickly pack up her things, as I try with little success not to stare at her too much. Even in the last few minutes of what passes for daylight deep in the forest on a cloudy day, I can tell that she"s beautiful, and she moves gracefully as she tosses everything into a massive backpack.

I have the tent disassembled and down in seconds, stuffing it in its bag and shouldering it with the rest of her things. Then I take her duffel bag. It"s heavier than I expected. "What"s in this, pretty rocks that you picked up along the way?"

"Oh. Um. A couple of books?"

I realize I"m almost chuckling. I"d never be this way with any other hiker that I found off the trail. There"s something about Kara that just makes me feel… I"m not even sure what to call it yet. But there"s a lot of it.

As we hurry along the path, she asks, "What about you? Why were you out here? Were you really on the lookout for poachers?"

I can"t stifle my snort. "There"s a lot of people out here on Maple Trail. Some of them know what they"re doing. Others don"t. So a bunch of us take turns checking the trail before dark, to make sure nobody"s gotten lost, or is lying there with a sprained ankle. I live the closest, so I"m here the most."

"Oh! So you"re a forest ranger?"

My head tilts to look down at her, smiling up at me so brightly. "Unofficially, yeah, more or less."

We get to the trailhead, and I stash her things in the back of my pickup, then open the passenger side door for her. There"s a street light in the parking lot, and as I stand in front of Kara, and finally get a better look at her, my breath stops.

It"s like a halo of light encircling an angel. She"s positively breathtaking.

Her long dark hair frames a beautiful, delicate face that seems to reflect the light. Her dreamy eyes are a lovely clear blue, lighter in the center, becoming darker around the edges. They"re hypnotic.

Usually my energy is focused on avoiding outsiders as politely as I can. It"s odd, but I want to wrap this girl in my arms, pull her against me, and discover precisely where and how her head would fit against my chest. Exhaling sharply to clear my mind, I help her up into the truck, getting a perfect view of…oh wow…her voluptuous ass.

Walking around to the driver"s side is hugely uncomfortable. I haven"t had a sudden erection like this just from glancing at a woman in years.

On the drive to my house, I realize just how protective of her I already feel. What the hell happened to her to make her hide in the woods, in the cold?

"So," she says softly, "your last name is Wolfe. I"ve seen that name on all sorts of signs around here. Like, for businesses. You have a big family?"

"Yeah." I"m not sure how much to tell her. I don"t want to sound like I"m bragging, but I also want her to feel safe. Glancing over, I notice her hands are twisting and turning over themselves.

"My family owns a huge chunk of this mountain," I explain. "Generations of passing down land, establishing various businesses. It"s the kind of family that everybody knows, and nobody would mess with, you know? Which means you are totally safe on my property."

She looks over at me anxiously. "Really?"

"Really." I reach out and make a point of untangling her hands and placing them flat on her knees. She lets out a soft laugh.

"Plus, if anyone"s chasing you, well, we don"t know each other, so why would you come to me for help? Right?"

Kara brightens, nodding. "That makes sense. Thank you."

We get to my house just as a cold drizzle starts. Kara doesn"t wait for me to help her down, leaping out of the truck and dashing to the front porch. I grab her bags, let us in, and turn on the lights before we both kick off our shoes.

Once she looks around, she visibly relaxes. My house is simple – lots of wood, sturdy, plain furniture that is still very comfortable, and huge windows overlooking the valley. "See? Just a normal house, nothing creepy," I snort.

She nods sheepishly. "Sorry."

"No sorry. I"m a total stranger. Hey – you can use my laptop if you want to Google me or something?"

Her eyes fly wide open. "You have Wi-Fi here?"

Right. She doesn"t like that. Striding to the corner of the dining room where I keep my laptop, I yank all of the cables out of the modem. "Not anymore, I don"t." I pull out my phone and put it in airplane mode, then hold it out to her. "See? Course, that means you can"t Google me now."

She smiles a weak smile and sinks into an easy chair. "Thank you. I"m sorry. I don"t mean to be difficult."

"You"re obviously going through a rough patch. Let me help you. Did you have a decent dinner?"

Her head shakes sadly. "I might have been living on granola bars for the past several days."

The thought of this sweet girl going hungry makes me want to… I don"t know. Growl. Punch something. She needs to be nurtured.

"Is there anything you don"t eat?"

"No. But you don"t have to feed me, I?—"

"Listen." She blinks in surprise at the authoritative note in my voice. I place my hands up high on my hips, and tower over her so dramatically that she laughs. "There are rules in this house, missy. You will eat as much as you want and drink as much as you want. You will be comfortable. You will help yourself to everything. I demand that you be relaxed and cozy."

Kara"s sudden little laugh fills me with pride. Caring for her already feels incredible – a bright spot of heat centered in my chest. I"ve never been a people person. I mostly keep to myself. People in town know me as a loner who takes care of his section of the forest, and is just polite enough to get by. Yet suddenly I feel myself needing to connect with Kara. More importantly, make her laugh like that with me again so that she feels safe.

"Okay. Thank you."

Snapping my fingers in her face rudely, I point to the hallway. "So here"s the deal. I"m going to make dinner. You"re going to take a hot bath after being out in the cold for so long." She laughs again, then pulls a face as if she"s mad at the idea.

I set her up with fresh towels, and an armful of t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts and sweatpants she can choose from.

As I lay everything on the bathroom counter, Kara gazes up at me with huge, tender eyes. "Thank you," she whispers softly. "This is the first in a long time where I feel like I can take a breath."

Damn, she"s beautiful. I know she doesn"t need my own powerful feelings on top of everything else she"s got going on, but this attraction is bigger than anything I"ve had to deal with before. Reaching out, my palm cups her cheek as my thumb strokes her petal-soft skin for just a split second before I snatch my hand away again. "You"re safe here. I promise." Her smile makes my heart practically explode out of my chest as I head for the kitchen to give her some space.

Cooking dinner for my mystery girl Kara underscores several facts I"ve been avoiding for quite some time.

I love being alone, yet I"ve started to become lonely. Hearing someone splashing in the bathtub actually fills me with joy. Plus, she"s truly beautiful, and it"s not just her physical appearance. There"s something about Kara"s energy…this unusual feeling that we just "click"…all of that mystical junk that I usually tune out whenever anyone brings it up.

I feel like she"s mine. Like the reason I was put on this Earth was to give her a safe haven…and make her spinach salad, plus beef rotini with tomato and pepper sauce.

Kara comes out of the bathroom just as I"m setting our dinner on the table. My mouth falls open as I stare at her, then I clamp it shut fast. Her damp hair is piled up on her head in a clip, and although she"s drowning in my clothing, she"s rolled up the sleeves in a jaunty way, and cinched the track pants somehow so that they stay in place.

It"s hot as fuck to see her in my clothes. That feeling of possession overtakes me again – a deep, primal need I"ve never experienced before. I"ll have to shove these feelings down for now. Possibly forever, depending on her situation.

"High fashion it ain"t," she says with a grin. "But it"s definitely warm and cozy. Thank you."

"You"re very welcome. Now, phase two of operation comfort zone treatment – dig in."

I definitely get the sense that Kara doesn"t want to talk about what she"s running from, so I start the conversation off with some thoughts about recent movies. Once we get chatting, I discover that she"s a voracious reader. Luckily, we"ve both read some of the latest bestselling mysteries, so we dissect who we thought the murderer was at various points, and why. She laughs uproariously at how neither one of us saw the twist coming. Then, suddenly, her eyes drop.

Whatever has upset her, I instantly want to tear it apart with my bare hands. "What is it?"

Her luscious bottom lip quivers. "It"s just… Sometimes life really throws you a twist of your own, doesn"t it?"

"That it does." My hand covers hers until she looks at me. "Whatever is going on, we"re going to figure it out."

"Oh, it"s not your problem to figure out," she sputters. "I don"t want to get you involved with?—"

My hand squeezes hers gently. "I am the ruler of this house and part of this mountain, and I decree that we are going to figure it out."

Damn, I love the way this beautiful woman laughs.

"Now, I"m afraid my guestroom is a disaster area that would take hours to sort out. So you"re taking my bed, and I"ll sleep on the?—"

She holds her hand up in front of my face like a traffic cop. "Listen, mister ruler of the house and part of the mountain. You"re being incredibly sweet, and I super appreciate it. Now, I"m no engineer, but considering your height, my height, and the size of your couch, I am much better off there. End of discussion."

My mouth opens to protest, and she snaps her fingers in my face just as rudely as I did to her before while giggling. I laugh so hard I surprise myself. Why does being snappy and rude to each other like this feel so terrific? It"s that click again. The connection. The way it feels like I"ve already known her for a very long time.

"Bossy little thing," I growl, standing up. "I"ll get her royal highness some blankets." By the time I bring back the softest sheets and a fluffy comforter, Kara has already cleared the dishes and loaded the dishwasher. "You didn"t have to do that."

She gives me a positively withering look with her hand on one hip as she gestures broadly at the entire house. "And you didn"t have to do this. So there."

I make up the couch for her, and watch curiously as she digs out one of her books and sets it on the coffee table before sliding in between the covers. "In case I can"t sleep," she explains.

"Good point. Help yourself to anything you need, and feel free to wake me up if you can"t find anything." I click on the small lamp on the end table and switch off the overhead lights. "Warm enough?"

"Toasty as fresh toast." Her wide smile releases a flood of raw emotion I didn"t know I was capable of. I would do anything to scoop her into my arms and take her to my own bed right now. Not just to get her naked, although I can"t stop thinking about that, but just to be near her. To hold her. To make sure that nothing would ever make her feel unsafe again. That"s definitely going to take more than a few hours and one dinner.

"Thank you for everything, Jace," she says softly, her eyes luminous in the dim light. "You"ve taken me on one of my worst days ever and brought me to a wonderfully cozy oasis. I appreciate it."

My heart swells with warmth again. "You"re very welcome. Good night."

Once I"m settled in bed, I can"t help thinking about how much better it would be if she was here forever. How much better my life would be if I could keep her here permanently.

Plenty of people have told me that I need a woman in my life, and I"ve always shrugged them off. I"ve never needed a woman.

But apparently I"ve always needed Kara.