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  He lived in a tidy apartment above the office. The decor was simple, which only accentuated the breathtaking view over the river and the forest

  Sarah had always been self-conscious, but she’d lost herself immediately in Max’s arms. The heat of his body pressed to hers, the sweetness of the cider lingering in their mouths, the scent of the wood stove in the corner and the night birds’ cries through the open window all swirled together and she floated in a sea of bliss. It felt right to be in his embrace, right for him to possess her fully and for her to melt for him again and again.

  But in the morning she’d woken up early and felt all the embarrassment that had failed her the night before. Sarah aspired to be a woman of character. How could she sleep with a man she had just met?

  She’d snuck out while he slept, and fled, with the taste of him still on her mouth. Secretly, she hoped that it had meant something more to him too, that he would reach out to her.

  And then when he did, she suspected he was just being nice in order to keep her business, and decided it would be better to just ignore his calls and forget all about Max Reynolds.

  About six weeks later, she learned that although she could ignore his calls, she wasn’t going to be forgetting him any time soon.

  Sweet Orson had been conceived in that night of happiness and comfort.

  That was good enough for Sarah, and it would have to be enough for Orson too.

  At last she pulled up at the bed and breakfast where she had stayed last time. She parked behind the big Queen Anne Victorian and grabbed her bags out of the trunk.

  Now that the trip was looking less bright than she’d hoped, she almost wished she’d booked a room at a regular hotel, but it was too late now.

  As the owner had promised, the key was under the mat of the clapboard carriage house behind the big house. She opened up and just like last time, she had to smile at the coziness of the space.

  The sconce lights on either side of the fireplace were on to welcome her, revealing the whole first floor - a small but open space with a living room, dining table and an open kitchen.

  An inviting looking stack of paperbacks waited for her next to the big cozy chair by the fireplace. And someone had placed a bouquet of fresh wild flowers and a basket of muffins on the kitchen island.

  She dashed upstairs and began to unpack in the largest bedroom. When she was finished, she could call and coo to Orson over the phone. Then she’d have a warm bath in the clawfoot tub and wander down for a snack and a look at that collection of paperbacks.

  A night of relaxation would surely put her worries at bay and help her be ready to face the day tomorrow. She missed Orson terribly, but she also couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed an evening that wasn’t punctuated by feedings and diaper changes.

  7

  Sarah

  Sarah awoke the next morning feeling much more like herself.

  She dressed, ate a muffin sitting at the kitchen island, and headed out again.

  The town of Asheville was so inviting by day. She wished she could come back with Orson and Mandy one day to shop at the galleries and drink coffee at one of the quaint cafes. But that would probably be a stupid move if she didn’t want to bump into Max Reynolds again.

  The winding road carried her past the autumn vistas once again, at last depositing her back in the gravel lot overlooking the river.

  She took a deep breath and got out of the car, smoothing her dress over her hips and running her fingers through her hair just once.

  She jogged up the steps, trying to ignore the two rocking chairs that seemed to mock her.

  She opened the door to find Max standing by the front desk, an iPad in his hand.

  “Good morning,” he said, his voice back to the warm husky growl she remembered from last year.

  “Good morning,” she replied.

  She stared openly at him for a moment, taking in the tight jeans, t-shirt and flannel stretched across his wide shoulders.

  Damn.

  This was the man she remembered all right.

  His dark eyes slowly scanned her sweater and jeans down to her suede boots and she felt her cheeks burn.

  “Is Angela here?” she asked quickly.

  “Yeah, she’s waiting for you,” he replied, inclining his head toward his own office.

  “Great,” Sarah said crisply.

  “Come on in,” a sweet contralto voice said from inside the office.

  Sarah entered and the woman behind the desk rose.

  “I’m Angela,” she said. “Max said you wanted to speak with me.”

  Angela was tall and slender with long brown hair. She wore no make-up and her white cotton blouse was tucked into a pair of high-waisted jeans.

  She still managed to look glamorous as hell.

  Sarah tried not to feel completely deflated. She should be happy for Max that he had a beautiful and down-to-earth girlfriend. She should want Orson’s father to be happy.

  “Hi Angela, I’m Sarah,” she said. “I just wanted to meet you since you’ve got a big stake in the company I’ll be counting on to harvest my trees one day.”

  “Please sit down,” Angela said.

  They both took their seats.

  “I’m not sure if Max told you very much about me,” Angela said, eyebrows raised slightly.

  Sarah shook her head.

  “Well, we’ve known each other since we were kids,” Angela explained. “This opportunity to work together was too good to pass up, but I would be lying if I tried to tell you that I have expertise in the industry. Max is teaching me the ropes as I go.”

  “I see,” Sarah said.

  “But I hope that by the time your trees are mature I’ll be a bigger help to you, Sarah,” Angela said. “If you’d like, Max and I can take another walking tour of the property with you today.”

  Sarah tried to think on her feet.

  On the one hand the last thing she wanted to do was be a third wheel on a couples hike with these two.

  On the other, she’d been planning to visit her land on the way out anyway. And she’d been wishing she had Max’s expertise to navigate it like last time.

  “I’d like that very much,” she said, deciding to put common sense over petty jealousy.

  “Oh great,” Angela said, hopping out of her seat. “Max, let’s go for a ride.”

  They exited the office and Max led the way out the front door and onto the porch while Sarah tried not to stare at the perfect ass filling out his jeans.

  “Nice view, huh?” Angela asked.

  For one horrible moment Sarah thought she had been caught checking out the other woman’s guy.

  Then she realized that Angela was gazing out over the river.

  “Uh, yeah,” Sarah said quickly. “It’s amazing.”

  “We’re so lucky,” Angela said. “There’s so little unspoiled beauty left in the world.”

  Angela might as well be talking about herself. Sarah felt as dolled up as a Miss America contestant in comparison to Angela’s simple elegance.

  She was surprised when Max held open the front passenger side door of the black SUV for her, but she figured the client must get automatic “shotgun”.

  “Oh, shoot,” Angela said, looking at her phone.

  “What’s up?” Max asked.

  “Dad,” Angela said. “He needs me.”

  “Go,” Max said. “I’ve got Sarah.”

  “No, no,” Angela said. “This is a good chance for me to get a little experience.”

  “Nah,” Max said. “You’ll catch the next one, go see your Dad. Tell him I sent my love.”

  “Thanks, Max,” Angela said, smiling a relieved smile. “I hope we’ll meet again, Sarah.”

  “Me, too,” Sarah replied. “It was nice to meet you.”

  Angela jogged over to a hybrid sedan on the other side of the lot.

  “She seems really nice,” Sarah told Max sincerely.

  He got an odd look on his face.

 
; “Yeah,” he said brusquely. “You ready?”

  She nodded and got into the SUV.

  Max closed her door and went over to his side.

  The car was clean inside. A single paper coffee cup shared the console with a pair of sunglasses and a weathered looking metal flashlight.

  Max hopped in and started the car.

  It had all happened so fast, that she’d barely registered the fact that she was about to spend the day alone with him. Emotions warred inside her. She knew nothing would come of it, but she couldn’t help but remember the last time they’d hiked these woods together. Or what they’d done after.

  She felt the color rise in her cheeks.

  Sarah turned and looked out the window, trying to keep her cool. It wasn’t easy with his big body next to hers, muscles moving under that flannel as he threw an arm casually over her headrest to back up.

  It was going to be a long day.

  8

  Max

  Max eased out of the parking lot.

  He was glad he was driving. It would be easier to ignore Sarah’s intoxicating scent, and the sight of her, just inches away across the console.

  They hadn’t passed another car since they set out, and the sunlight dappled the lonely road through the autumn tree cover.

  Max found himself feeling hopeful and happy.

  “Did you have a good year?” he asked her playfully.

  Sarah made a sound that was something between a gasp and a laugh.

  Sheesh, he hadn’t thought he could put his foot in his mouth with such a simple question.

  “It was a great year,” she said before he could backtrack. “How about you?”

  I spent the whole year sitting on my hands to keep from flying out to Glacier City and making a fool of myself over you.

  “It was fine,” he said. “Work kept me busy, so that’s a good thing.”

  He glanced over.

  A smile teased at the corner of her mouth but her hands were fisted on the seat on either side of her hips.

  “So are you looking forward to seeing your land again?” he asked.

  That earned him a real smile.

  “Yes, I can’t wait,” she told him.

  “I’m glad you enjoy the investment,” he said. “It’s a long game - too long for some.”

  “Not for me,” she said. “I didn’t want that money to make me soft. This way it’s well invested and it will be waiting for me when I’m ready for it.”

  “That’s a good plan,” he said. “Kind of like a trust fund for yourself.”

  “Exactly,” she said.

  He was impressed at her strategy.

  She was young to have that kind of money. He hadn’t asked her anything about it last year, but he figured she must have lost her parents and they’d left her a fortune. The minimum investment for a piece of land like the one Sarah had selected was just over five million dollars. Her parents must have been big wigs.

  “You know people sometimes come down and camp on their property,” he suggested. “The land is yours. As long as you get permits you could even build a cabin, whatever you want.”

  Sarah bit her lip.

  “Did I say something wrong?” he asked. “You’re not the outdoorsy type?”

  Funny, she’d hiked like a champion last year, told him she’d been a Girl Scout.

  “No,” she said. “I always thought I’d like to do that, but… work keeps me busy.”

  “The downside to locking up your money in land, huh?” he teased.

  “Yes, I guess so.”

  She smiled and he felt warmth blossom in his chest.

  Ours.

  The bear was satisfied. He was an easy customer. Max knew better.

  “So you work in computers, right?”

  “Yes, I develop apps for corporations mostly,” she said.

  “Seems like you could do that from anywhere.”

  He couldn’t stop himself from dreaming about sweeping her off her feet, building her a cabin, bringing her a cup of coffee while she worked from home, then helping her relax with a warm bath in a tub big enough for two, his hands all over her sweet little body…

  “Kind of,” she said. “A lot of the clients want to meet and discuss function. Most of what they want is beyond the scope of what they are willing to pay for, and when that’s the case, those discussions work best in person.”

  “Makes sense,” he said. He knew a thing or two about unreasonable clientele.

  “But my firm does work-from-home Wednesdays, so I get to spend extra time with… myself. At home,” she told him.

  “That’s great,” he said, nodding.

  He didn’t want to believe it, but he suspected she’d been about to say she got to spend extra time with a boyfriend.

  It added up. She was beautiful and smart, there was no reason she wouldn’t be in a relationship.

  On the other hand, he didn’t see much jewelry on her - none at all, as a matter of fact. If she had a serious boyfriend, he would have given her jewelry. She’d wear it when she was traveling to remind her of him, wouldn’t she? And she wouldn’t shy away from mentioning it, like she just did.

  What then?

  The car started to feel too warm and he wasn’t able to come up with a single follow-up question.

  The air between them hummed with his unasked questions.

  What happened last year? Didn’t you feel that magic between us? Can’t you feel it now? Why did you leave without saying good-bye?

  But they were already taking the dirt road back into the trees that belonged to Sarah.

  Any conversation would have to wait until the SUV was finished bumping and jolting over the path.

  9

  Sarah

  Sarah hopped out of the car as soon as Max stopped the engine. Being so close to him in the small space was overwhelming. She’d felt the heat pouring off him, smelled the minty undertone of his shampoo.

  She gulped in the fresh air and tried to keep herself calm and focused.

  She was just another investor, visiting her property. No big deal.

  The air in the woods was cool, and smelled damp and rich, like the blueberry patch at her parents’ house.

  Max shut his door, grabbed a pack out of the back, and went to her without locking the car.

  She almost piped up to remind him, then she put two and two together.

  No one was coming miles out into the trees to break into an SUV.

  Asheville was so different from Glacier City.

  “Ready?” Max asked.

  “Yes,” she smiled.

  “It’s easy going for the first half a mile, do you remember?” he asked.

  Sarah was pretty sure it was easy going almost the whole way, but she didn’t want to sound like a show-off, so she just nodded again.

  They walked on, leaves crunching underfoot, into the undergrowth.

  Rustling in the bushes ahead indicated wildlife.

  “Rabbits,” Max said, as if he had read her mind.

  “Very cool,” she replied.

  They went on in companionable silence for a while.

  The land began to slope down a bit and the trees leaned forward as if they were craning their necks to look at something.

  Sarah figured they must be approaching a body of water.

  Sure enough, a moment later they were on the grassy bank of a shallow creek.

  Max looked down at it thoughtfully.

  “What is it?” Sarah asked.

  “Do you feel like an adventure?” he asked.

  “Sure,” she said.

  “If we cross the creek we can make our way up the hillside,” he said. “You can see most of your property from the ridge.”

  “Awesome,” she said, wondering why they hadn’t gone up to the ridge the last time.

  “When you were here last year we were coming out of a lot of wet weather,” Max said, anticipating her thoughts again as he scrambled down the bank and turned to offer her a hand. “The creek w
as overflowing, so we couldn’t cross here.”

  That made sense.

  She took his hand, though she didn’t really need it.

  A tingle of electricity flew up her arm as he wrapped his big hand around hers.

  She let go quickly when she reached the rocks.

  They leapfrogged from rock to rock and then clambered up the bank on the other side.

  A grove of scarlet trees was ahead, with bark so smooth and swirled it looked like elephant skin.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Max asked, his voice gentle.

  “I feel like I’m in a fairy tale,” Sarah replied.

  He smiled, a genuine smile, and she noticed the dimple above his right cheek.

  Sarah’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of Orson’s dimple on his father’s face.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked. “Do you want to take a break?”

  “No,” she said, walking on quickly. “Let’s keep going. I’m heading back today, but I really want to see the land.”

  “You’re going back today?” he echoed.

  “Yes,” she said. “I really only wanted to check on things here.”

  He nodded but didn’t reply, and they hiked on in silence for a while.

  They were scaling a hillside, but on such a looping route it didn’t feel like a steep climb. Max moved with confidence, always seeming to know where to find a break in the overgrowth.

  “We should rest here,” he said when they reached a low expanse of granite jutting out of the hill.

  “I’m fine,” she told him.

  “Humor me,” he said. “You’re not out here every day.”

  Sarah flopped herself down on the rock, feeling frustrated. She was an experienced hiker, not just some soft office worker.

  He sat down next to her and pulled a water bottle out of the pack, handed it to her.

  She took it and drank. The water was icy cold and delicious.

  “That’s spring water,” he told her.

  “It’s so good,” she said, handing it back to him. She noticed the bottle had the logo of a local Little League team on it.