Chapter Two

 

Shit. I was hopelessly lost. I’d been traveling for over an hour and the thickness of the trees hadn’t become any less dense. I had tried retracing my steps twice and nothing. My heart was beating furiously in my chest and I was fighting hard to keep frustrated tears at bay. My watch no longer worked which meant I couldn’t even tell the bloody time.

At one point, I’d tried making my way back to Keith and the camp but, that had proven futile too. All around me were trees and rocks. Each step I took reminded me how much I hated nature which was quite dumb, but I was miserable and sweaty from my futile trek. Occasionally I’d spot an animal, a deer and furry creatures scurrying into the groves of bushes but, not one living soul.

I refused to get hysterical about the prospect of running into a more dangerous animal, like a bear. I hadn’t even thought to take a shotgun with me. I hated shotguns and didn’t even know how to use one. Since I should have been with Keith, and never anticipated being on my own, I hadn’t seen it as necessary.

I walked carefully, trying to make sense of the trees but everything seemed to look alike. I was walking for about another hour when I spotted a track, like someone traveled there often and had left their mark. Feeling more energized, although I was sweaty and needed a bath, I followed the dirt track. Something had to be up ahead for this path to be so used.

When I cleared the trees and found a sprawling log cabin nestled in the woods, with trees providing the perfect cover-up for whoever it was that wished to remain undisturbed. I was so overjoyed I could cry. My legs were tired, and my throat was parched. All I wanted was a drink of water and directions to the main road. Once on the main road, my phone would work again so I could call a cab company and arrange a ride.

I was almost at the steps of the porch that led to the log cabin, when I heard the unmistakable cock of a gun.

“What the hell are you doing on my property?”

I turned around slowly with my hands in the air, my heart pounding in my chest. I was praying that whoever it was, living in these woods alone, they would listen first and shoot after. Or none at all.

“Please don’t shoot,” I stated, turning around. I stared at the man who was standing in front of me. He looked menacing. A hulk of a man. He was tall, a couple inches over six feet and I was five eight. His skin was bronze where it had been kissed by the sun. He had long, lustrous, black hair that extended past his shoulders and a full growth of beard that covered the lower portion of his face.

Something about the man hit me straight in the gut which it shouldn’t. Looking at him in his jeans, boots and, T-shirt, from which his muscles bulged, I knew he was a man just like Keith and his friends. His biceps were circled with black hieroglyphic tattoos. He looked earthy and raw, fitting right in with his surroundings. I did not.

“Don’t shoot,” I croaked when I realized I had been admiring a man holding a gun against me, instead of pleading for my life. “I-I didn’t mean to trespass. I got lost and I’m trying to find my way back to the main road.”

He didn’t seem to hear me as his gun shifted to a better aim. My mouth went dry and my eyes closed when I heard the loud explosion. I heard the cry of a wounded animal and spun around to find a coyote had dropped to the ground behind me. The blood made me feel weak in the knees. It became even more pressing for me to leave the woods by nightfall, knowing what was lurking around.

“Jesus!” I cried and walked backward. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” the bearded man responded. “Just figured it would be less of a mess burying an animal than a human.”

His harsh words made me swallow. There was so much viciousness in him. This was exactly what I was avoiding. Best not to get entangled with a man like this at all.

“Look, I’m just trying to get to the main road,” I told him, wiping my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand. “Can you point me in the right direction?”

He looked me over before responding, which made me blush like the night I’d lost my virginity. I knew what he saw, and it didn’t usually bother me but now I felt myself becoming defensive as I prepared for a sexist comment. I was wearing a pair of Royal Robbins hiking shorts in burgundy and a black shirt tucked in.

His gaze covered me from my feet to my head of blond hair and I picked up a strange vibe from him. Was that interest in his eyes? Before I could decide, he schooled his features.

“It’s going to rain,” he remarked. “You’ll never beat it down the mountain.”

I glanced up at the clear sky then back at him dubiously. “I’ll take my chances. Just want to get out of this hellhole.”

“If that’s how you felt, what the hell are you doing here in the first place?” he snapped.

I flushed at his angry tone. “Look, I didn’t mean to insult your home. Can you just point me in the right direction and I’ll get out of your hair?”

God, his long black hair was gorgeous. I imagined plunging my fingers into the thick mass while he was kissing me. Shit, I really need to get my head examined. No way am I going to dump Keith for his idea of being macho and run into the arms of the most macho man I’d ever seen.

“Fine,” he stated, his baritone lower than mine and deep. He pointed me in the right direction and I almost missed half of what he said because I was busy looking at him, wondering how it felt to kiss a bearded man.

“I’d advise against it though,” he cautioned. “As I said, it’s going to rain soon and it gets pretty bad fast.”

“Thanks,” I told him and headed in the direction he had pointed out. I had to get away from him, from this mountain and back to my regular corporate lifestyle.