34 - Jack

34

Jack

She was lingering.

I wasn’t sure what I expected when I let her stay in one of my cabins. I knew it would take some time for her ankle to heal, and it had only been a week. But she didn’t show any interest in leaving, or even preparing to leave. She was hanging around all day, getting cozy with Noah. That was a man who fell for women hard , and she was toying with his emotions. She was going to break his heart, and the longer she remained, the worse it would hurt when she eventually left.

Not to mention I’d seen Ash looking at her. And lending her his bike? His favorite mountain bike, the one he took on RAGbrAI with him every year?

Then there were my own feelings. Whenever she was walking around the campsite, I found my gaze drawn to her like a moth to flame. I couldn’t focus when she was around. And the dreams I’d been having…

Yeah. She needed to go.

Even if she needed a little push.

“Get dressed,” I told her after she’d returned from Noah’s place. She’d spent the night. Again. “We’re going on a hike.”

She blinked those long eyelashes at me. “We are?”

“Three miles round trip. Easy. Make sure to wear your good hiking boots.”

She crossed her arms under her breasts. “Just because you’re letting me use this cabin doesn’t mean you get to bark orders at me.”

I clenched my jaw. She was still as stubborn as an old mule. “I’m going up to Snodgrass trail. It’ll take two hours, max. You don’t have to come with me, but you should , because it’ll be a good low-risk way to test your ankle.”

I half expected her to protest some more just to be difficult, but she surprised me by saying, “Okay, yeah. Give me a few minutes to change.”

She slammed the door in my face, but I still considered it a win.

The trailhead was up above town, beyond the ski resort. I had a full-length ax in a leather sling that strapped to my back, plus a smaller hatchet that slid into a loop on my belt.

“You look like you’re going to battle,” she teased.

“There’s debris from the storm the other night. Gonna clear it as best as I can. Ready?”

She tapped her GPS watch, which made a beeping noise. “Ready.”

I glanced over at her as we began hiking. “You’re tracking this hike?”

“Yep! If it’s not on Strava, it doesn’t count.”

“What’s Strava?”

She gave me a confused look. “You haven’t heard of Strava? Really?”

“Are you going to keep judging me, or explain what the hell that is?”

“It’s a social media platform, but for exercise,” she replied. “It started as a cycling app, but then runners began using it, then hikers, and now it’s good for tracking any workout. You should download it.”

“I have enough apps in my life,” I grumbled. “You should be able to go for a leisurely hike without having to post about it.”

“It enhances my experience,” she argued. “I like seeing my stats.”

“There’s only one statistic you need. Did you complete the hike? Yes? Good. End of statistics.”

She laughed. “I know you’re being serious, but you’re a really funny guy without realizing it.”

To punish her for making fun of me, I lengthened my stride. The trail was easy, but had enough slope to make you work for it. Soon I fell into a nice rhythm as we passed across the meadow and into the thicker forest that covered the mountain.

I could tell she was struggling to keep up with me. But that was fine. If she didn’t push herself a little bit, she would never get back on the Colorado Trail.

“At least you’re not playing music on the trail,” I called over my shoulder.

“I hate people who do that,” she agreed. “It’s like, thanks for making everyone listen to your shitty playlist, bro. We didn’t want to enjoy nature.” She paused, then let out a grunt. “Wouldn’t matter, though, because I left my phone back at the cabin.”

“Good. Now you can truly appreciate nature.”

“I’m appreciating it plenty, thank you very much.”

It didn’t take long before I came across some downed tree branches across the trail, each about as thick as my thigh. I unslung the big ax and got to work chopping them into manageable pieces.

“You get paid for this?” Melissa asked when she caught up.

I raised the ax above my head, then brought it down on the wood. “No.”

“Isn’t it someone else’s job, then?”

“If everyone waited around…” Chop. “…for other people to make things better…” Chop. “…then the world would be a shitty place.”

I expected a pithy comeback, but she seemed like she was thinking about that while she watched me work.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Do you mean it, or are you just asking to be polite?”

“Both?”

Chuckling, I unhooked the hatchet from my belt and held it out. “Use that to cut away the smaller branches from the main trunk. It’ll save the clearing crew time later when they come through.”

I watched her out of the corner of my eye while I kept working. She wasn’t helpless with the hatchet, but she wasn’t great with it. Still, she was able to save me a little bit of time by taking care of the smaller parts.

Once the branch was clear, we continued on the hike in silence. I slowed down a little, but still kept a steady, ground-eating pace.

“You’re going too fast,” she finally said.

“If you’re going to jump back on the Colorado Trail,” I said, “this is the kind of pace you’ll need to keep.”

At the next downed tree, we both got to work without a word. I swung the ax, biting into the wood inch by inch while Melissa took care of the smaller bits. But after a while, I had to intervene.

“You’re going to chop your leg off doing it like that,” I said, holding her hand over the ax and controlling her arm. “Swing it like this. Much safer.”

I had moved instinctively to show her what to do, but now I was keenly aware that I was in her personal space. Her scent filled my nose, flowery and fresh. Distinctively feminine. And the way her skin felt…

I let go of her arm and stepped back to let her continue. After a few swings, Melissa said, “Yeah, that does work better. Thanks.”

No argument or complaint? That was weird.

When we had cleared away this section, Melissa handed me the hatchet and said, “I’m going to set the pace this time. My ankle is doing well, but it’s still tender.”

I gestured up the trail with the hatchet. “Be my guest.”

Up until this point, I’d tried not to let my gaze linger on her body. I was a gentleman, goddamnit. But she was wearing tight black yoga pants and a crop top, and it was impossible for me not to stare at her as she led the way. Her body was right there in front of me, screaming to be looked at. To be admired. She had slender legs but a plump little ass that stood out in the skin-tight pants. My cock was fully awake now, like a German Shepherd that had spotted a squirrel it wanted to chase.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Jesus, she was hot.

“My ankle does feel good!” she said cheerfully, glancing back at me. “Still tender, but better than expected.”

I quickly pulled my gaze down to the ground. “Good.”

I couldn’t deny it any longer. I wanted Melissa. Badly .

I was fucked.

Unless I could get her to leave.