The sun over the mountains hit me square in the eyes when I turned toward Cooper Road Trail, so I flipped my visor down before answering. Grace did the same.
I shrugged. "Honestly, my dad was always on this committee, so I don't know a whole lot more than you do other than what I've heard second hand. Certainly nothing about a kissing booth, which I don’t particularly want to take part in, for a number of reasons."
"Blind leading the blind," she muttered.
"Seems like it."
The boot braced on the dashboard started tapping, even though the music in my truck was hardly loud enough to hear.
As I pulled into the parking lot by the trailhead at Cooper Road, I glanced at her. Grace's eyes were focused and sharp, her expensive-looking camera in her hands. My foot eased off the gas, and she lifted it to her face to snap something she saw. The trees towered over the truck when I turned slowly into an empty spot and slid the gear into park.
She was still quietly thinking when I reached behind her seat to grab the hiking boots I always kept in my truck.
"You're seriously hiking with my brother?" she asked.
I kept my eyes trained on my black dress shoes as I untied them. "Seems like it. I'd hate to leave another member of the Buchanan family alone in the wilderness on their first week here."
Grace snorted. "Grady can handle himself. He's moving here because of hikes like this."
"That so?"
"Yeah, he wants to start some outdoorsy business." Unaware of how that sharpened my interest, Grace kept talking. "He was chained to his computer at his old job in LA, absolutely hated it. When we were here for Connor's wedding, he talked to my Uncle Robert about how there's no company down here to guide people like him, or me, who want to do hikes and camping trips, rafting or whatever. You just have to hope you don't get lost, or that you have the right equipment to explore. So … he wants to start a business like that, I guess. Get paid to do what he loves."
My hands slowed as I pulled off one shoe, then the other. I felt a sharp pang of jealousy, buried deep in my chest, for a man I'd never even met.
"That's a good idea," I told her. "He have someone local he's working with?"
"Nope. One of the many reasons I think he's crazy for doing this."
I finished tying my boots and turned in my seat to look at her, my arm stretched along the back of the bench that separated us. "And yet here you are, moving across the country with him. How come?"
To my surprise, she didn't look away. It was the first time all afternoon that she'd met my gaze without irritation tightening her features or annoyance clouding her eyes. Instead, I saw confusion line her forehead, there and gone in a flash.
No answer came from Grace, and whatever tension had been missing at the beginning of the ride was tugged tight like a rope, from her right to me.
Why are you here? I wanted to ask. I wanted to ask it as much as I'd ever wanted to ask anything, and that made absolutely no sense.
My phone rang and I blinked away from Grace's direct stare.
"This is Tucker," I said, not even looking at the screen.
"How'd your meeting go?" Magnolia asked.
I almost smiled, but I couldn't. My face felt hot, like I'd been caught doing something wrong. With a quick glance at Grace, who was looking at her own phone screen, I took a deep breath and opened the truck door to step out.
"Maxine kicked me out."
"What?"
I stretched my back and smiled. "Not really. She assigned me something, didn't need me to stay at the meeting, so I'm about to hike Cooper Road before I head back to the office."
Magnolia sighed, a dainty little exhalation. "Skipping work all afternoon?"
"Not all afternoon. We haven't had rain all week, so the trail won't take longer than a couple of hours."
"All right. Don't get eaten by any bears."
I laughed. "I won't."
"Want to grab dinner tonight?"
"Yeah, dinner sounds good. What time should I pick you up?"
"I made reservations for six thirty."
That almost made me smile. Leave it to Magnolia to make reservations before she checked to see if I had plans. "Six fifteen it is."
"Love you."
I felt the words come up by rote, I'd been saying them for so long. "You too. See you tonight."
As I tucked the phone back in my pocket, Grace got out of the truck and stretched her arms over her head. With her hands visible above the roof of the truck, I caught a glimpse of a small tattoo on the inside of her wrist, and another up by the crease of her elbow.
"Was that the missus?" she asked dryly.
I shook my head and braced my arms on the bed of the truck while she did the same opposite me. Facing off with her like that gave me the same sensation as when I walked into a courtroom and saw the opposition for the first time. Telling her the truth about Magnolia, and how it would feel to put that truth in between myself and this fascinating stranger, gave me a flicker of unease. Something I should have heeded as another clear warning. "My girlfriend, Magnolia."
I said the words carefully, and studied her face as I said them.
"Goodness, that's a southern name." Her tone was earnest, but her eyes, they sparked with something I couldn't name. Relief, maybe?
"We are in the south."
Grace lifted her chin and stared up at the trees. "Don't I know it," she answered quietly.
We waited for her brother, and Grace wandered over to a towering pine tree. She leaned over and aimed her camera straight up the trunk, so close to the tree that it looked like her face must have been scratching the bark.
The sound of an engine broke the silence, and a massive grin split Grace's face when a black Subaru pulled into the parking lot, with a small U-Haul connected behind it.
As he parked, Grace bounced on the balls of her feet. When she tried to pull open his car door, he locked it with a grin.
"Asshole," she said on a laugh.
"Harpy," he said back, though his voice was muffled by the closed window.
When he exited the car, she launched herself at him for a hug, which he took with a wide smile.
"Gawd, you gained weight since you came here."
She slugged him in the stomach. "I've been here one day, moron. I can't believe I missed you."
Watching them, even though I was only separated by the bed of my truck and the space between our cars, felt like I was a million miles away. Most of the time, I didn't think much about being an only child, until I saw Grace and her twin brother greeting each other after only a few days apart.
"Hey," he said, finally noticing me. "I'm Grady Buchanan."
We clasped hands when I cleared the back of my truck. "Tucker Haywood. Welcome to Green Valley."
Grady lifted a clenched fist in the air and whooped loudly. "About damn time I've heard those words. Sayonara, Los Angeles, you piece of shit city."
Grace laughed, and I did as well.
"Grace," Grady said with a sly smile aimed at his sister, "I can't believe you made friends already. What's the matter with you?"
She flipped her middle finger at him while I laughed.
I lifted my hands. "Oh, don't worry. She hates me quite thoroughly, as a matter of fact. We just happened to get kicked out of the same meeting when you called her, and I love this hike, so I invited myself along, if that's all right with you."
"Hell yeah, that's all right. Let me change my shoes, grab my CamelBak, and I'll be ready to go."
He had an easy manner and quick smile, and I liked him immediately.
“How do you contribute to society, Tucker?” Grady asked.
“Lawyer.”
Grace lifted an eyebrow at me, like that explained everything.
“Excellent,” Grady said. “It’s always nice to be friends with someone who can help you if you get arrested.”
I leaned closer to Grace. "I take it he's the nice twin?"
Grace rolled her eyes, but she bit down on a smi
le. Someday, I thought, I'd get her to smile like that at me, just to know what it felt like.
Grady grinned as he yanked on some worn boots. "I like this one, Grace."
"Goody," she mumbled.
"You coming with us, Angry Girl?" I asked.
Grady hooted at the nickname, and this time, she didn't stop the smile. It did something strange to my chest. "And miss seeing you hike in your fancy dress pants? Dream on."
Her brother tossed me a bottle of water from a cooler he had in the back, then did the same to his sister.
She marched off toward the trailhead in her big black boots, flannel shirt whipping angrily where she had it tied around her waist, me and her brother in tow.
Chapter 33
Grace
It took about less than a mile before I realized exactly how much trouble I was in.
First, I was woefully out of shape, and most of the elevation gain on this particular trail was in the first portion of the seven-mile loop.
Second, my stupid brother had a giant man-crush on Tucker Haywood.
It started in the parking lot as I marched ahead of them, an innocent question about the USC T-shirt my brother was wearing.
I'd barely taken my first step on the trail, and their conversation went from recruiting scandals, Rose Bowls, BCS ranking system, and how the college playoff structure was inherently flawed.
Half a mile in was the realization that their lists of hobbies were identical.
That spurred on discussions of local hikes, favorite fishing spots, and oh joy, the male fascination with comparing finish times. I stopped to take a few pictures, and they chattered on ahead of me, thick as freaking thieves.
"No way. You did this in ninety minutes? Holy shit, man."
Tucker laughed easily, hopping over the trunk of a dead tree before he turned back and offered me his hand.
How the bleep was he hurdling over massive tree trunks in dress slacks?
"I've got it," I told him, bracing my palm on the scratchy bark and lifting my leg over carefully. For a moment, I sat on the tree and lifted my eyes to our surroundings.
There was something magical about being in a forest, something that always made me feel like I was intruding where I wasn’t supposed to be. The two men up in front of me, big and strong and tall as the trees around them, looked more at home than I felt.
I lifted my camera and snapped a few pictures of them as they walked ahead.
They kept talking, oblivious to my study.
"You could do it that fast too, if the trail is dry enough. That's the key with this one. If there's been any rain, you've got to go slower because the trail gets muddy as hell in some spots. A lot of people don't realize how little sun the trail gets because of all the trees."
"See," Grady said, pointing a triumphant finger at Tucker, "that's what I mean. Visitors don't always know stuff like that. If you had a guide, or someone to get you set up when you're not used to doing hikes at this level, it would be safer."
Tucker nodded. "It's true. I found out the hard way when I sank my boot into three inches of mud and practically yanked my knee out of joint."
Grady peered down the sun-dappled trail thoughtfully. "And you've lived here your whole life, haven't you?"
"Born and raised," Tucker answered. "I'm on these trails every weekend I possibly can be."
My brother smiled wide, and if his thick skull had a window in it, I would've seen the wheels spinning.
Oh great. I could see it rolling out in front of me like a map. The edges weren't firmed up, but the general shape was there. I knew exactly what my brother was thinking. He was looking at Tucker like he just found his new business partner.
It was a full-fledged miracle that a groan didn't escape my mouth.
"It's a great hike, but not much in the way of views." Tucker stopped to make sure I was clear of the tree. My brother, of course, was too busy fawning over his new best friend, to pay any attention to me.
"Well that's something I'm used to," Grady said. "We had hikes in LA, but there's so much smog, you can't see for shit depending on the day."
As much as I wanted to defend our previous home, I couldn't. Even in one day, I felt like life was clearer than it had been last week, like my entire body could take a deep breath and relax without all the buildings rising up over me.
Tucker nodded, looking around the quiet forest surrounding us. "I can't imagine living someplace that has more concrete and glass than trees. I think my brain would shut down being crowded in by all that chaos."
At his words, so similar to what I'd just thought, I glanced sharply at Tucker.
I didn't look where I set my foot down, and I felt the hard edge of a rock underneath my boot just as it slid across the surface of the dirt. My hand shot out, but there was nothing there to stop me. My ankle rolled to the side and I hissed when bright pain burst through the joint.
Tucker looked at me. "You okay?"
"What happened?" Grady asked, pausing just ahead of him.
Looking at my brother, and the man that was apparently not disappearing from my life anytime soon, I pasted on a fake-ass smile as I tried to straighten back to my full height. "Nothing. Just … thought I saw something."
Grady narrowed his eyes, because if anyone could see through my bullshit, it was my twin brother.
I waved my hand. "You know, I underestimated my physical fitness. I'll wait for you guys in the parking lot. You go on ahead." Cautiously, I set some weight on my foot and stifled a whimper when it felt like someone stabbed me in the side of the ankle.
Tucker glanced at my boots. "What'd you do? Roll it?"
"Seriously, you guys go ahead. I'll wait here. It'll be fine if I rest it for a couple of minutes."
Grady rolled his eyes. "We're not leaving you here if you hurt yourself."
"I'll be fine." I pointed to a tree stump at the edge of the trail. "See, there's a nice little chair for me. I'll rest for about ten minutes and go back to the parking lot, you guys can finish your wilderness bonding."
Tucker took a long-legged stride back to where I perched on the tree, then knelt in front of me. The width of his shoulders was even more apparent when he lowered himself like that, and the stark white cotton of the undershirt stretched when he took a deep inhale. His hands, big and capable, picked up my foot despite the muttered curse that I threw in his direction.
"This one?" he asked, lifting his head to watch me as he turned it carefully.
I fought the urge to wince, but judging by the look on his face, he caught it. As I slicked my tongue over my teeth, I nodded grudgingly.
"You're lucky you're wearing these big ol’ boots," he said. "You'd be in a world of trouble without them."
"She never takes off those boots," Grady chimed in, peering at me when I swatted at Tucker's hands when he tried to untie the laces.
"That's not true … hey, do you mind?" I huffed. "I can untie my own shoes, thank you."
Tucker sat back on his haunches while I yanked the laces out. Pulling it off as carefully as I could, the tug on my ankle still wrenched a hiss of pain. As much as I didn't want to, I set my heel on the top of Tucker's thigh when he patted his hand there. His hands were warm, so warm that I could feel it through the heavy socks I was wearing, and fingers sure as he touched the side of my ankle with a gentleness that surprised me, given his size.
"Are you first-aid certified?" Grady asked.
"Yes, sir. You never know what'll pop up around here, and I like to be prepared."
Grady's eyes, the exact same shade as my own, gleamed with that little tidbit.
"How much rafting have you done around these parts?"
Tucker paused. “A bit.”
“And you like being a lawyer?”
"Umm, hang on, let me just give this ankle a peek."
I gave my brother a look, because while my bone was screaming in pain, he was all but conducting an interview.
What? he mouthed.
Stop it, I mouthed bac
k.
Grady shrugged unrepentantly. He's great, he mouthed.
My eyes narrowed so far that I could barely see him through the slits.
"Glad to see you can glare at other people like that too, Angry Girl," Tucker said. "I'd hate to think it's only me."
I sighed. "Oh, trust me, my little brother has been acquainted with this look his entire life."
"So I'm not special, is what you're saying."
"Ha. Not exactly."
The words had just left my lips when Tucker wrapped his palm around the back of my calf, his skin on mine for the first time since I met him. It was an innocent touch, meant so that he could carefully set my heel on the ground.
I was so grateful that I hadn't been in the middle of a sentence, that there wasn’t things I was trying to say, because they would've dried up in my mouth like sawdust. Goosebumps popped along the entire length of my legs, from the tips of my toes straight up to my belly button. I wanted to scrape my hands along the surface of my skin, run the flat edge of a knife over the bumps until they disappeared.
I had no business getting goosebumps over this man.
Because I didn't like him, even if I didn't hate him anymore.
And he had a girlfriend, as the drive to the trail taught me. Which was fine, because I didn't particularly like him.
His faceless girlfriend and her flowery-ass southern name could have him, I thought firmly.
My legs might not have known that, but they could easily be ignored. Those legs hadn't been touched in a year and a half by anyone other than my gynecologist. And my last boyfriend hardly knew what to do with them as it was.
The guys conferred quietly about how to get me back to the car, and I gingerly pulled my boot back up over my ankle.
Tucker stood and propped his hands on his hips. "Do you think you can stand?"
Grady held out his hand for me, and I took it, putting all my weight on my good foot. Carefully, I set my other leg down. It hurt, but it wasn't broken.
Then again, all I was doing was standing in one place.
"Standing is a bit different than walking," I said with a grimace. "But I can probably hobble along, as long as you two aren't clocking my progress. In fact, I'll make my way back. You two go."
The Love at First Sight Box Set Page 28