Holly
“Oh – damn!”
Holly stumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time that day as her foot caught on an unearthed root hiding amongst the undergrowth.
There was no denying that the forest was beautiful, but it was hardly user-friendly.
Luckily, she’d found a sturdy walking stick by the door of the cabin, and she wasn’t in any danger of falling flat on her face.
After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs on toast, Holly had decided that if she was going to truly appreciate her time out in nature, she’d better go hiking. She’d made herself a packed lunch, threw a book in her bag, and set out to explore one of the many trails that wove through the deepest parts of the forest.
She hadn’t been sure whether to expect a lot of other hikers to be around given the beautiful weather, but so far, she hadn’t seen anyone. The forest was completely still apart from the wind moving the branches of the trees, and the occasional rustle of what could be squirrels or beavers or martens or woodrats, for all she knew. Occasionally, she heard the soft cry of what she thought might be an owl, but she wasn’t familiar enough with the sounds of the forest to be sure.
Don’t owls only come out at night? she wondered as she walked. She’d spotted a large, illustrated book of wildlife back in the cabin, and she decided it might be worth her while studying it when she got back. Maybe grab a pair of binoculars from the shelf and do some dedicated bird watching. It seemed like a nice, calming way to spend her time.
Just then, Holly’s stomach let out a soft but determined growl. She’d been walking for a couple of hours now, always being careful to stay on the marked path – and it was definitely time for some lunch.
Glancing around and wondering where she should sit, it came to Holly that she could hear the sound of a babbling stream from somewhere nearby.
It would be lovely to sit and watch the water rush by her while she ate, she decided. She knew she shouldn’t stray far from the path, and she decided that if she couldn’t find the stream within a couple of minutes she’d make her way back.
As it turned out, the stream was only a short way off the path – beautiful, crystal-clear water tumbled over dark rocks, winding through the bright green of the undergrowth. Everything was still and stunning around her, and, sighing happily, Holly sunk down onto her backside, pulling off her pack and reaching for her bottle of water.
Despite the hole of loneliness she still felt in her heart, out here she seemed a million miles away from all her problems. It didn’t seem possible that just a few hours’ drive from here was the little home she’d shared with George; the dirty, busy city where she’d driven to work every day. It almost seemed impossible that two such different places could exist on the same planet, let alone in the same state.
Pulling out her sandwich, Holly munched contentedly. She’d fried up a minute steak and some onions, and slapped them between two hunks of bread with some ketchup and mustard. Not fancy food to be sure, but the kind of thing she liked – and which would make sure she had enough energy for the hike.
Feeling refreshed after her meal, Holly sat, simply watching the water as it flowed past her. Her job had either been utterly crazy or utterly boring, with nothing in between, and it felt nice just to sit, knowing she had nowhere to be, no one about to come crashing into her office with some emergency that needed fixing NOW.
Maybe this’ll be good for me, Holly thought, doing her best to believe it. Maybe I can stop and think, re-evaluate my priorities, think about what I –
Her train of thought was abruptly cut off by the sound of something large and heavy crashing through the undergrowth from the other side of the stream. Holly jerked her head up to see a huge black bear emerging from between some saplings, its heavy paws – with enormous claws – settling on the bed of the stream as it lowered its head to drink.
Holly sat frozen. She wasn’t silly enough to have come out here without reading about how to deal with bear encounters, but knowing and doing were two very different things.
The bear lapped at the water, long tongue darting in and out of its mouth. It didn’t give any indication that it was bothered by her presence, nor that it had even noticed her. Holly decided that, for the moment, it would be better if things stayed that way, and stayed where she was, hardly daring to breathe.
But things couldn’t last.
Finished with its drink, the bear raised its head once more, its small black eyes now focused firmly on her. Maybe it was just curious, but Holly wasn’t sure she wanted to take that chance.
“It’s okay, bear,” Holly said in her best soothing voice, slowly getting to her feet. “I didn’t realize this was your watering hole. I totally get it if you don’t want to share, so I’ll just be on my way.”
The bear sniffed the air loudly, nostrils flaring. Holly swallowed as it stood up slightly on its hind legs, grunting and licking its lips.
And its teeth. Its long, sharp, surprisingly white teeth.
“Okay, bear, I’m going,” she said. Her hand was on the bear spray in her pocket, but she didn’t want to use it if she didn’t have to. She was, after all, the intruder here. This was the bear’s home, and she was the one who’d come stumbling into it. “Let’s be friends, okay? But I know when I’ve worn out my welcome.”
The bear showed no signs of backing off. It dropped down onto its forepaws again, splashing water over its thick fur. Then it slowly began to advance.
Holly bit her lip, trying to slow her breathing. Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic, she repeated to herself as she slowly backed away. The bear can probably just smell your food. He’s just curious. He doesn’t want to hurt you.
Maybe it’d met other campers and hikers who’d fed it, or else had easily raidable backpacks or food stores. Maybe it thought Holly was an easy meal ticket.
Maybe I should rephrase that, she thought to herself.
Whatever it smelled in her backpack was an easy meal ticket. Not Holly herself.
The bear is not going to eat me, she told herself. That would be silly. And more trouble than it’s worth.
On the other hand, Holly thought wryly, there would certainly be some good eating on her – she’d hardly make for a light snack!
The bear grunted again – only now, it was more of a growl, revealing its teeth again as it lowered its head. Apparently it had decided that Holly needed a little more convincing to give up whatever delicious treats it smelled.
It was getting impatient. It wanted its food now.
Oh my God, Holly thought, finally feeling her panic break loose as the bear began to run, splashing across the stream toward her. She felt the can of bear spray in her hand and she whipped it out of her pocket, uncapping it clumsily.
“I didn’t want to have to do this, bear,” she said, raising her shaking hand.
But before she could press down on the button, her feet tangled in a tree root, and she came down heavily on her backside.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, Holly’s brain was screaming as she scrambled to recover herself, hearing the bear clear the water and come crashing through the undergrowth on the other side.
Holly closed her eyes as a dark shadow suddenly fell across her. She waited, wondering if this was it, and the next thing she’d feel was the bear’s nose against her skin – or its teeth.
When neither of those things happened, she slowly opened her eyes, frightened of what she might see when she looked up.
But there was no bear looming over her.
There was no bear at all, in fact.
Instead, standing a short distance away from her was a man.
Holy… holy hell.
Holly blinked, scarcely able to believe her eyes.
A man didn’t really even begin to cover it.
It was a broad-shouldered, deep-chested, tall, tall man, his fist clenched by his side, eyes blazing. From this angle, Holly could see him only in profile – but that was more than enough for her to see the squareness of his jaw, the perfect angle of his Roman nose, the tousle of dark hair that fell over his forehead, and the brilliant green of his eyes.
And then there was the fact that he was facing down a charging bear.
Swallowing heavily, Holly forced herself to look away from her mystery savior. The bear, which had been merrily charging its way toward her just a few moments ago, had now stopped dead in its tracks. One paw was raised in almost comic indecision, as if it had stopped mid-step. Its facial expression – if bears could have facial expressions – was uncertain.
The man, despite his size, was still smaller than the bear. And the bear was, well, a bear, Holly thought, her breath catching in her throat.
But there was something about this man – whoever he was – that exuded strength – strength, and power. Power that could stop even a bear in its tracks.
The bear grunted a little, sniffing, taking a step back.
Suddenly, its easy meal no longer seemed so easy. It was clearly weighing things up: but Holly could see it wasn’t interested in pursuing this anymore. Whoever this man was, he had made the bear think twice. And on second thoughts, it had decided this probably wasn’t worth it.
Giving one last grunt, the bear backed away, its teeth still showing, but its heart clearly not in it. Once it had crossed back over the river, Holly watched as it turned, its massive hairy backside disappearing into the thick ferns it had emerged from.
Her chest burning, Holly let go of the breath she’d been holding.
“Oh my goodness,” she said, shaking her head. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She looked up again at the man who had saved her, only to find him looking down at her with his beautiful, bright green eyes. Oh, my.
“Are you all right?” he asked, and Holly felt a shiver pass along the whole length of her spine. His voice was deep and rich, like dark treacle. She licked her lips.
“I’m fine,” she said, shaking her head. “He just gave me a scare, that’s all. I’m sure he didn’t want to hurt me.”
The man nodded. “Well, maybe not. But it’s best to play it safe with bears.”
Holly laughed a little shakily, feeling foolish. She must look like an idiot, she thought – wandering around here where she didn’t belong, tripping over and being frightened out of her wits by bears. She looked wistfully at the rippling cords of muscle in the man’s forearms. He didn’t look like he’d need to be frightened of anything.
“I should thank you,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them. “I don’t know – I mean, like I said, I’m sure the bear didn’t mean me any harm – but still, I – ”
“It’s okay.”
That voice again. It seemed to send warmth straight to the pit of Holly’s stomach. She didn’t recall ever having responded to any man like this before in her entire life.
Then again, the men she mostly mixed with in her day-to-day life were office-bound city-dwellers – not that there was anything wrong with that. After all, she was an office-bound city-dweller. Most of them were perfectly nice men.
But now, confronted with the rugged beauty of the man before her, they all seemed to pale by comparison. This man was the definition of an outdoorsman – six foot and change of muscle and scruff, his handsome face tanned by the sun, his body tempered by hard work. His hair was jet black and his eyes an unusual shade of green – bright, almost like a cat’s.
He was – there were no other words for it – smoking hot.
And here Holly was, sitting on her ass in the middle of the woods, her hair sweaty and unkempt, unflattering hiking shorts rucked up over her thighs, needing rescuing from a bear.
Of course, she thought, feeling her face burning with embarrassment. Of course I couldn’t appear to the most handsome man I’ve ever seen all made up in an evening gown, drifting down a set of stairs like a siren of the silver screen. That would actually be impressive.
“I’m okay,” she said again, trying to salvage what dignity was left to her. She went to stand up – only to feel pain shoot up her leg from her ankle. “Ouch,” she gasped, stumbling, all thoughts of dignity temporarily evaporating.
The arm that suddenly wound around her shoulders prevented her from ending up straight back on her ass in the bracken. Warm and strong, it kept her in place without any apparent effort at all.
Sucking in a sudden breath, Holly blinked, eyes going wide as she stared up into the man’s eyes. Her skin tingled where it touched his, little sparks of electricity racing over her body.
Oh. My. God.
The warmth that had begun in her stomach was now wending its way very firmly downward. Holly swallowed.
He looked down at her, green eyes seeming to bore into her soul. He smelled like a man – like wood shavings and unspoiled earth. Like… like smoke. Like fresh, clean sweat. His eyes were as wide as hers as he looked down at her, his lips slightly parted. And just for a moment, Holly imagined that – that –
And then, suddenly, the warmth of his body was gone, and the only contact between them was a polite hand on her wrist, helping her to stand on her painful ankle.
“Did you hurt yourself?” His voice was soft and husky, and Holly noticed he kept his eyes averted this time. She blinked, still collecting herself, her head feeling muddled after the sudden contact with his body – and the sudden absence of it.
“I – I guess I just hurt my ankle a little when I went down,” she finally managed to get out. She tried to laugh. “How stereotypical, right? The damsel in distress twists her ankle.”
She laughed weakly at her own self-deprecating joke, but the man didn’t join in. Instead, he glanced at her quickly, before looking away again. Holly felt a stab of disappointment in her chest.
But about what?
They had literally only just met when he’d thrown himself into the path of a bear for her. What exactly was she hoping would happen?
If this were a movie, it’d be the start of something special, she thought, before quickly squelching the thought. This wasn’t a movie, she reminded herself forcefully. This was real life. And handsome strangers in woods enacting daring rescues wasn’t the start of anything, except maybe a bit of help finding her way back to the cabin.
You know better than that, Holly told herself. And anyway, hadn’t she just gotten out of one relationship that had left her battered and bruised? The last thing she needed was to rush headlong into another.
“Is it badly hurt?”
His voice pulled her back out of her daydreams.
Gingerly, she put her foot to the ground, resting some weight on it. It was painful, but didn’t feel badly injured.
“No – I think it’s just been wrenched a little. If I go back and put an ice pack on it I think it should be fine.”
“Are you staying… here? In the woods?” he asked, blinking as if he was confused.
Holly nodded. “I’m renting a cabin for a couple of weeks. I thought… well, I needed a break. It seemed like the perfect place to get back to nature. Forget about… about the city for a while.”
She was surprised by how easily she spoke to him. She’d been on the brink of telling him she’d needed to forget about her real life for a while, and the terrible mess she was in.
Handsome strangers in the woods don’t need to know that stuff, she told herself. In fact, it’s better if they don’t.
“Is it far from here?” he asked, and this time he looked at her, green eyes piercing.
Holly found she could only shake her head. “Not very,” she finally stuttered. “Maybe an hour’s walk.”
“You can’t make it back on your own. Not with your ankle like that.” His voice was matter-of-fact, and Holly could tell already that it would be useless to argue with him. “I’ll help you. Come on – the sooner we get ice on that ankle, the better.”
The flutter in her chest grew faster. Was this really happening?
Don’t get too excited, she warned herself as the man put one hand on her shoulder. A display of normal human decency is nothing to pin your hopes on.
But as he helped her over the bracken and fallen logs that stood between them and the path, Holly found she couldn’t ignore the persistent thump thump thump of her heart.
What’s the matter with me? she thought. She’d never been one to lose her head over a man. Even with George, she’d taken things slowly at first – and then, afterwards, she had to admit there’d been a certain element of the sunk costs fallacy at play: she’d invested so much in the relationship that it felt stupid to break things off.
Before George, other men had never really turned her head. She’d been far too focused on study and then work to notice them
But have you ever seen a man like this before? her brain asked slyly as she glanced up at him from beneath her eyelashes.
No, she was forced to admit. No, I have not.