Julia repositioned the lawn chair in her back yard to face the sunlight. At fifty degrees outside and sunny, it may as well have been a mid-summer’s day in Park City. She could forego her vitamin D supplement today; half an hour of basking in the sun would provide her with the nourishment she needed.

After her bout with the flu last month, the atypical early February thaw was sunshine on a stick. Half the snowpack had already melted, leaving her yard to suffer the brunt of it. It mimicked the murky canvas of an Impressionist artist, with muted sections of swirling green grasses, tumbling weeds, and ashen ice patches.

Trees speckled her yard, with one very large and ominous tree mocking the others with its thorny branches. The sprawling shoots at the base of the tree shook as three jackrabbits scattered across her lawn as if fleeing a predator.

Julia lay back down, rotated onto her stomach, and enjoyed how the sun toasted her bare arms and shoulders. Her chest warmed at the thought of spending the evening with Dax. Who needed sun? All she had to do was think about her boyfriend for her temperature to spike.

She marveled at the complexity of their young relationship. She had never experienced anything quite so profound or scintillating before. Not even with Chase. She had planned on breaking off the weeklong romance with Chase, but, when she suddenly fell ill, resulting in a horrible stint in the hospital, he had nursed her back to health. She grew to appreciate and love him, but the attraction wasn’t strong. For eighteen long months, she willed those sparks to glow between them, but they never did. When she broke it off, he didn’t take it well, but she still mourned the loss of his friendship and worried she would never find someone to light her fire, until now. If Chase was a match, then Dax was a forest fire. Julia now understood the importance of friendship coupled with fire.

It had happened so effortlessly. She and Dax had fallen silently into an exclusive relationship. Never formally discussing their wishes or affection, they simply slipped into the comfortable routine of seeing each other every day, minus the long days and nights at the station—but even then, they communicated through texts and Facebook. Dax’s Facebook posts and messages were infrequent, but always more tender and intimate than their phone conversations or texts. He had even disclosed how he wished he could be more of a man for her; take on a supportive role by becoming more involved in his family’s jewelry business. His overall income was comparable to hers, and she could more than support herself on her own, but he seemed to be unsatisfied with their current situation.

She turned on her side and contemplated the majestic peaks sprinkled with sugary snow. Her skis would hit the back-country hard at the next sign of precipitation.

A sharp light penetrated her cornea, interrupting her happy thoughts with temporary blindness. She blinked and sat up, shifting her head to avoid the dart of light continuing to threaten her eyesight.

Her eyes followed the light’s trail to a clump of bushes a few feet beyond the Russian Olive tree. Her first instinct was to run inside the house, but curiosity and anger won over her initial impulse. Instead of running away from the light, she jumped up and ran toward it with a commanding shout. “Hey!”

Julia pushed through the prickly tree limbs and thick brush with concerted effort, leaving her legs with several burning scratches that wept hot blood. When she reached the light’s origin, she took in a sharp breath. The ice-patched, open grassy area behind the bushes was littered with candy bar wrappers, crumpled soda cans, and a broken mirror the size of her hand. The perp had recently been there and dropped the incriminating evidence. She whipped her head up and spun in a slow circle, straining to hear the perp’s movements, but her heart thumped hard against her chest, drowning her ears with its beat. He had fled, the coward.

She leaned down to retrieve the mirror, but, when she noticed a fingerprint on the glass, she grabbed a twisted stick next to the mirror instead. She contemplated contacting the police, but no crime had been committed, other than trespassing and littering, and this section of woods wasn’t her property. She decided to return with few plastic bags to recover the evidence. She would crack this case herself. Hopefully the perp would turn out to be little kids pretending to be spies. She had done her own spying as a kid. And the aluminum cans contained soda, not beer.

She took a few minutes to carefully make her way to her house through the itchy underbrush to get the evidence bags. She didn’t want any additional bloody scratches. The bushes rustled behind her. Infuriated that someone was still watching her, she turned abruptly, screamed a war cry, and waved her stick in the air as she ran back to the open lair beyond the bushes.

When she reached the clearing, fear took command of her chest for a second time, rendering her unable to breathe. The mirror, along with the candy wrappers and soda cans, had disappeared.

Heavy footsteps pounded the earth behind her. Julia spun around, swinging her stick in the air at her head’s height. Dax ducked, but his quick movement caused him to slip on the muddy snow. Julia wrapped her arms around his waist to steady him. Not one of her best ideas. They tumbled to the ground, their arms and legs tangled up like the twisted tree at their side.

“Jules!” Dax took her face in his hands. “You okay?”

“Sure.” She suddenly felt like a complete idiot. She jumped up and attempted to dust herself off, but the mud on her capris merely smeared at her touch. How would she explain this? “Why do you ask?”

Dax stood with a shake of his head. His hands slid down from her shoulders to her upper arms and held her firmly. “What are you doing out here yelling and swinging a stick around at ghosts?”

She sighed. “I saw a light.”

“A light? Like how you see light in people you think are good?” His face held an expression of concern. “You were chasing a ghost? I was just kidding about that.” He cradled her into a hug.

“No.” Her body relaxed at his embrace. “Someone was directing sunlight into my eyes with a mirror. I followed the light to this clearing and found a broken mirror.”

He pulled at his ear as he scanned the ground. His eyes hardened as they settled on her. “Someone was out here?”

“Yes. But it could have been kids.”

“Wait.” His tone changed to anger. “You’re telling me that someone was out here watching you and you ran toward the guy? I thought we agreed you’d run away from danger, not at it.”

“Whoever they are, they want to scare me. I won’t let him/her/them.” She shook her head. “Just like the red darts.”

Dax clenched his fists. “Red dots? The bullseye?” The birthmark on his neck flushed to the surface. “This guy has been out here in your backyard stalking you for over a month, and this is the first time we’re talking about this?” The vein in his neck bulged. “I’m not leaving you. I’m not going to Brazil tomorrow.”

She wiped the mud from her palms onto the back pockets of her pants. “That’s ridiculous.” She held his hand as they made their way back through the thorns to her house. “It’s just some kids playing around.” If she could convince Dax, then maybe she could convince herself it was nothing. “I’m fine. You can explore those business options, and you’ll be back in a week, on my birthday.”

“Then come with me,” Dax begged.

Her gaze remained focused on her house. If she looked into those golden eyes, she might cave, say yes, and blow off her career. “I can’t. You know I have court this week.”

“Call one of your lawyer friends to take your case,” he suggested.

She removed her muddy shoes and socks at the back door. “It doesn’t work like that.” Her body chilled instantly in the shade, causing a flurry of goosebumps to erupt down her arms and legs. “I can’t just call one of my sushi buddies to cover my shift.”

“Why are you blowing this off?” Anger returned to his voice.

“It’s nothing. I can take care of myself!”

“I know you can.” He threw his hands in the air and turned in a slow circle. “But why would you want to.” He patted his chest. “You have me now.”

“If you think I can take care of myself then let me.”

“But it’s my job to take care of you now.”

“No, it’s not.” She shook a finger in the air. He had no right to try and control her. “I never asked you to do that.”

He rubbed a palm across his forehead. Of course you didn’t, Jules. No one should ever have to ask someone they care about to protect them. I need you as much as you need me.”

His hands found hers and his demeanor softened. “When I’m with you, all of the trash I have to deal with at work washes away. You’re the soothing balm of home. You give me comfort that I haven’t had in so long. Please let me take care of you. Let me find out who’s been stalking you and beat the daylights out of him.”

She pushed his hands away. “So, violence is your answer?” She cocked an eyebrow. “We have no evidence that I have a stalker.” She straightened her back. “I won’t ever allow another man to control my life.” She pointed at him. “Not you or anyone else. I care about you, but I don’t need you.”

Dax clenched his fists at his side. “I don’t want to control you, Jules!” He turned and stomped to the front door before looking back at her. “You really don’t get me.” His eyes shadowed with pain.

She hadn’t meant to hurt him. If only she would allow herself to wrap her arms around his neck and apologize to him for being so stern, but she couldn’t. She had to stand her ground. What would she have to do to get him to understand that she wanted him, but she didn’t need him?

“Please don’t leave angry, Dax,” she pleaded.

“Protecting someone is not controlling them.” He kicked at an icy snowbank as he walked away.

Julia leaned against the wall, releasing her remorse in a shower of tears. She may have just made the biggest mistake of her life.