Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

"I can't believe this actually worked!" Joanne smacked my arm.

"Violence is not the answer, sister." Joanne's brother Travis scolded. He worked for ODX and was generally chronically outside. Which was why I asked him to meet us for coffee at the cafe.

"I'm going to ignore that you manipulated me into this because I'm actually very happy right now and I refuse to let your betrayal rain on my parade."

She slumped in the chair. "You already punished me by telling me you had all the mac & cheese bites for yourself."

It was a surprisingly effective method of payback.

"I need your expertise. I like fishing but I haven't touched a rod in a decade." Hiking I had covered but I didn't want to make a fool of myself when it came to fishing.

"Scottie's not taking you out to assess your skills. If anything, it's to show off his." Travis cupped his glass with his giant paw of a hand. He was built for the outdoors. He hiked, kayaked, climbed, if it was something you could do outdoors, he was good at it.

Most of the girls we grew up with thought he was the hottest guy in town, but to me he was Joanne's brother, which made him my brother, which made him gross.

"So I should tell him how incredible he is?" I said it all breathy and high-pitched.

"Not with that fake-ass voice. Have you met Scottie? He has a crazy bullshit detector. You say crap like that and he's going to dump your ass before the date's over."

Another thing I liked about Scott: he was genuine. He was also kind to the book club. He called them murderous little book nerds, which sounded bad, but he said it with such affection that it made me fall a little harder.

"So enjoy the hike, let the fishing be what it is, and hope there's a spark?"

"There's a spark," Joanne snorted into her mug.

How was everyone so sure about this?

Travis threw an arm around his sister's shoulders. "What my annoying little sister is trying to say is that everyone in this town thought the two of you would be married by now. Maybe some little kids running around your ankles. There isn't one soul who missed the way you two pined after each other."

"I didn't pine. There was no pining."

"You pined. He pined. You remember who he took to senior prom?"

I tried but couldn't. "Maisy Smith?"

"Nope. No one. You know why? Because you were the only one he wanted to ask."

"It wasn't like he was an adult and I was a child. Two years is not that big of a deal."

"It was to him." Travis finished his iced coffee and set it aside. "Don't dwell on the past. It is what it is. You've got now."

"You're the one who keeps bringing up the past," I grumbled.

"Yeah, well, it's because I want you to know it's serious. Scottie is one of my best friends and you're my other little sister. I want you both to be happy."

Well, that was really sweet. "Huk's going to be in town next month." The way he said one of my best friends reminded me that his other bestie had just called to ask if he could bunk in the workshop apartment on one of my properties.

"Bastard hasn't come to see me in a year. We're going hiking and climbing and rafting?—"

"We get it." Joanne shrugged his arm away. "You're going to spend all your time with Huk and forget all about me."

Travis smacked a big wet kiss on her cheek, making her shriek. "I love it when you're jealous."

"You are so gross. Go to the woods and don't come back!"

"I thought you just said you didn't want me to go at all."

I rolled my eyes at their teasing. The best part of having surrogate siblings was that when they got to be too much, all you had to do was walk away.

Nantahala was like a giant hug. Nature surrounded you on every side. Trees strained towards the sky on mountains that rose up all around us. Sometimes when I got homesick I would close my eyes and picture exactly this. It felt like melting into its embrace. The real thing was even better.

Scott picked out a trail I used to hike all the time. Morning frost clung to rocks and undergrowth, but for the most part, it was sunny, cool, and perfect.

"It's still a little early to be up this way, but by the time we head back it will feel amazing." He picked his way over a fallen log and reached his hand out to help me over.

Sliding my palm against his never failed to make me need to catch my breath. The moment my feet hit the ground I heard a rustling to my right. We both went still and silent out of years of practice. Three deer wandered through the shade, stopping to nibble here and there.

Standing silently beside each other should feel awkward. And in a way it was. We didn't know each other well enough to know if this was too close or too far. Would he touch me? Did I smell? Was he watching the deer or me? I couldn't really look at him, but I felt him everywhere.

Three more deer joined them. One eyed us but didn't deem us a threat because she craned her neck down and kept eating.

"Nature is beautiful, isn't it?" Scott whispered.

I nodded.

"Do you want to wait for them or keep going?"

Wind whipped down the mountain and I turned my face up to the sky. It was bright blue and clear except for a white puff of a cloud here and there. The wind through the new leaves and bare branches created the rustling sound of my childhood. It was the most calming sound in the world.

Sharing it with someone who made me feel more alive than I'd ever felt before was even more special. "Let's enjoy this."

His voice dropped an octave. "Good answer." Then he slid his hand over my hip and pulled me into him. My left hip in front of his right hip. I relaxed against his shoulder, my backpack just out of the way. Even a little sweaty and in hiking gear, we fit together so naturally that it made me wonder if everything would be this perfect.

Scott leaned closer so his lips nearly brushed my ear. "There's a creek just past them that levels off into a nice sized pool. That's where I like to fish when I want to be alone."

"You're showing me your secret spot?"

"I am. And I'm hoping when it gets a little warmer we can come back and swim."

I suddenly wished it was June. "Planning ahead, huh?"

"Damn right."

I held my breath. None of the guys I dated wanted to plan much of anything. None of them had been very serious either. I had so many questions. So I asked the biggest one. "Why?"

That earned me a soft chuckle. Then he slowly turned me to face him. With him leaning against the log he was much closer to my height than usual. "Why? Why not ?"

Another excellent question. "We don't know if we even like each other." It was a cop-out answer. We might not have spent a lot of time around each other, but we weren't strangers.

And this chemistry couldn't be faked.

Scott stared at me, his eyes soft, curious, and a little confused. "You've been through a lot so I'm going to let this slide. You're scared, I get that. The heart is a delicate thing and yours got beat pretty hard this year. I'm sorry for that, but you don't need to worry about me. I won't hurt you."

It was beautiful and terrifying to have someone see me so clearly. "It's just fast."

"Maybe." He studied me some more. I forgot about the deer, the breeze, the sounds of the mountain, and let myself be swallowed whole by this man's commanding presence. "Tell me, what's most important to you, Mackenzie?"

I could give him a basic answer. Family. Friends. Being a good person. It would keep me safe. But the truth was that I was tired of being alone. Joanne, Aunt Sharon, and everyone else had been trying to break my walls down. Instead I hid deeper and deeper inside my work. They were right there but unreachable.

And here was a good man who was being open and honest with me. Someone I'd always secretly craved but never let myself dream that he might have wanted the exact same thing. A basic answer would throw away a chance to be happy.

So I took a deep breath and blew it out, summoning the courage to take a leap of faith.

Scott didn't say a word. He didn't move. He just let me work through it all, taking however long I needed.

"What's most important to me?" I repeated as I chewed my lower lip.

His gaze swept over my face. "Being at peace is most important to me. Not just the no regrets stuff, but every day. That's why I hike out here to be alone. Or I go sit next to the river and listen to it roar. I love being outdoors which is why I've never thought about moving away permanently. I can't imagine there's a better place to spend all day outside."

"And the bar?"

He shrugged. "We all have jobs. It's mine. I like it because it's not boring. I get to try different things. But I can only do it because I spend the rest of my time here." He glanced over my shoulder and smiled. "They're leaving. We can finish our hike."

He was giving me an out. I could take it. It would be so easy. "I need to stop running," I blurted out instead. "I never moved back because I...I just couldn't." I thought losing Mom was too much to bear. I came back for short visits and Dad always came to see me. Every time I looked into what it would take to relocate to Lost Creek this sense of dread would come over me. "Being here felt like being strangled. Everywhere I looked were memories of Mom. And now Dad. And I'm tired, Scott. All this running is just so lonely but I'm not sure I know how to just...be."

He cupped my face, running his thumb over my cheek. "You're doing it right now."

Barely. "Maybe you can give me some advice."

He hummed, nodding once. Then he gently tugged on my hips until our lips were so close it felt like they were touching but weren't. He paused, staring into my eyes while I held my breath.

Testing me.

No, teaching me. So I did exactly what he did. I studied the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, the bump on his nose, the way being near him made me feel alive.

"Good," he whispered, his breath mingling with mine. He teased my lower lip. My top lip, then closed his eyes and kissed me senseless. My toes curled so hard it almost hurt. But I didn't care. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him right back. His lips were soft and sure enough we fit just as perfectly as I imagined. My body molded to his and he banded his other arm around my hips, holding me to him while he showed me just how compatible we were.

My belly flipped and the world spun. I couldn’t get enough of his skin. Each touch sent an electric jolt through my whole body. Inside his arms was my new favorite place. They were so strong and safe, holding me like he’d never let me go.

Which was good because I wasn't sure which way was up anymore.

"This isn't too fast, Mackenzie,” he said between kisses. “This is about damn time. If it feels fast it's just because I know what I want."

This was insane. "And what do you want? And don't say me. That's too cheesy."

My teasing made him smile and kiss me again. "I want someone to spend all my time with. Like a best friend with benefits."

That sounded absolutely perfect to me. "Oh really? And you think we can be best friends?" Scott, Travis, Huk, Digger, they were all best friends. They did manly things like wrestle and grunt.

Scott stared at my lips. "You like this, right?"

"Kissing?"

"Yep."

I laughed. Being in his arms felt so right. "Yes, I like kissing."

"Good. I like kissing you." To prove it, he did it again. "You used to like hiking."

"I still do. It's one of the things I missed most."

"I love hiking." His lips danced over mine. "My friends and family matter to me. I care about them and their well-being. I think you do too."

I nodded and sniffed. Aunt Sharon and her book club might be meddlesome, but they did it because they loved me. And I loved them just as much, even if I hadn’t been able to show it yet.

He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. "I read books. You read books. Although that book club has got to go." He made a face.

"You love them and you know it. Okay so maybe we have some things in common."

He grew all still and serious again. "I love running that bar and figuring out new ways to keep it going, just like you and Lost Creek Cabins."

He was right. We were aligned on the things that mattered. “You make some strong points.”

“Does that mean we can skip over the awkward getting-to-know-you phase and go straight to the happily-dating phase instead?”

"Why don't you show me your secret fishing spot and see if we get through the day together."

He gave my hip a squeeze. "If things get weird I'll just kiss you again. We're good at that."

While Scott showed off his impressive fishing skills, I soaked my feet in the freezing water. His secret fishing hole was as quiet and peaceful as anyone could ask for. I didn't hear a single car or human sound except for us.

"We're going to stink at this dinner." I wrinkled my nose as he clipped his catches and took my hand.

"That's what showers are for, darlin'."

Darlin'. I liked that a lot. "You think I'm showering at the bar?"

"Nope. My house." He gave my hand a squeeze as he grinned down at me.

"You think I'm showering at your house?" Scott had spent years waiting. It was clear there would be no more of that.

"Yep. And I'm finally getting you into my Bigfoot Football t-shirt."

Well then. "Was this your plan all along? Get us smelly, get me into your shirt, and then...?"

"Feed you." He stopped to hop over that same log, but this time he kissed me when he helped me over. "It might be a boring life to some, but I like it nice and simple. Thoughts?"

"Sounds like heaven to me."