Mister Big Stuff_A Single Mom Friends to Lovers Novel

by Weston Parker

  Caleb's mouth fell open, and he stared, attempting to come to grips with what she'd just said. Dr. French? This woman was Masterson's professor? The woman didn't look like any professor he'd ever met. She was younger than him, for one, and he wasn't even thirty yet. Where were the thick glasses, frizzy hair and perpetual bad posture?

  "Dr. French," Caleb smiled, brushing off his charm and praying the last six months in the woods without human contact hadn't rusted it beyond repair. He took her hand and shook it. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

  She paused for a few seconds before responding. "Yes...well...I was able to get an early start, and, uh..."

  Caleb held her hand for a moment before she pulled it away and flushed, turning her face to the ground. She was gorgeous, and he felt his libido, ignored for so many months, kick into overdrive. He had to remember to thank Brice for this perfect little distraction.

  "You're here now," he said, already humming with the anticipation of the chase. He wondered which method would be most effective at getting her in his bed. A college professor that meant smarts. She was probably used to being in control, having students hanging off her every word.

  But she was no longer in her classroom. These were his woods, and he was the Big Bad Wolf.

  Caleb turned his attention to the equipment bulging out of her car, wondering how she would take a less-than-complimentary assessment of her visit. He prided himself on his skills at seduction and quickly calculated the most efficient means for roping in the young professor.

  If she was used to being right, it was time to show her what it felt like to be wrong. He wiped away any trace of a smile as he headed toward her car, then shook his head to give the impression of disapproval. "I see you've gone through a lot of trouble. Seems like you've got your heart set on your little campout. Might as well get started."

  Her smile faded while a fire kindled in her eyes. Hmm... must not have liked that remark . Good, she wasn't supposed to. First, he'd get her ire up, get her all bristly like an angry kitten, and then he'd turn all that fire to his own advantage.

  Instead of screaming at him, she'd be screaming his name.

  In ecstasy.

  "I'm sure you're busy," she said, stopping him in his tracks, "and I don't want to be a bother." She pointed to the all-terrain vehicle parked next to his forestry truck. "If you'll just allow me the use of your ATV, I can get settled on my own."

  Caleb's eyebrow rose at her words. She'd taken the bait, but he hadn't expected her to push back so hard, not right away. Besides, she was a fool if she thought he was just going to let her drive off into the woods without him.

  Dr. French didn't seem like the outdoors type. His gaze traveled down her frame, making its way down her Central Willamette University t-shirt to her hips around which hung low-slung jeans. A quick glance into her vehicle confirmed his suspicion. Most of her gear was still in its original boxes.

  "Not gonna happen, Professor," he said, heading around to the back of the car and motioning for her to unlock the rear latch. Her face screwed up, and he thought she might not unlock it, but she hit a button on her key fob before heading over to join him. Good girl .

  The latch popped and Caleb dove inside, cataloging the items she'd brought and started to unload them.

  "Careful!" she said when he began dragging out her gear to stack it around him. "I've organized all of my equipment, and it would really be better if you'd just let me..." Her words petered out as he tossed a box of books out of the back of her car. The box bounced once and some books tumbled out, along with a folder of papers.

  "Shit!" She raced to grab the papers and reorganize them. Caleb noticed the dirty look she shot in his direction and had to hide a grin. He watched as she stalked around him, attempting to bring order to the chaos he was creating. Phase One of Piss-Off-The-Pretty-Professor was working out according to plan.

  To call her attractive would be an understatement. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail that fell down her neck and past her shoulders. Arresting eyes the color of sweet bourbon glared in his direction. A small nose and full pink lips completed her delicate features, all framed by a heart-shaped face.

  Her face was gorgeous, but her body was a goddamn miracle.

  "Wait. Ranger. Sir!" the professor exclaimed, sliding around behind him and fidgeting as he continued pulling out her gear. "This really isn't necessary!"

  He didn't even pause in his inventory. "The name's Caleb Hunt. I've worked for the Forest Service for years and spend a majority of my time outdoors. There's no way I'm letting an inexperienced camper wander off into the woods alone. So just concentrate on gathering your equipment and let me do my job."

  ***

  Dani took a deep breath, pushing away the anger that she felt at the ranger's high-handedness. Her phone rang, and she glanced down, relieved to see it was her friend, Janna. She answered, turning her back on the ranger and concentrating on the call.

  "Hey, I missed you at lunch. I brought you some gluten-free muffins to take with you, but you didn't show. Another last-minute meeting?"

  The rapid-fire pacing of Janna's speech made Dani smile. "Not quite. I left a day early."

  "You what?!? But I thought you still had tons of stuff to do."

  Dani sighed. "I did, so I stayed up late and got it done. Then I finished loading up the car this morning and hit the road. I just arrived at the park a few minutes ago."

  "Any particular reason why you moved up your time frame? Your schedule is...how do I say this...very precious to you."

  That was Janna's polite way of reminding her of what she called her obsessive tendencies . "You probably schedule your bathroom breaks down to the last second. You must have had a good reason to move up your departure date. Spill it."

  "Because I was really excited, Puchie...?" The rising tone of Dani's inflection didn't convince her friend.

  "Bullshit. And don't call me Puchie, you know I hate it. Are you sure it didn't have anything to do with that meeting I mentioned?"

  Dani rolled her eyes. Janna went after gossip like a terrier after a squirrel, and she knew Dani was holding on to a particularly succulent morsel. "Fine. You're right. I rearranged my whole fucking schedule because of my meeting with Dean Fischer. To avoid it, actually, but that didn't work."

  "What happened?"

  "Well, after you high-tailed it out of my office..." They had been discussing the plans for her fieldwork in her office when they'd been interrupted by a knock at the door. Jeffrey Fischer, Dean of Sciences and the man currently overseeing her tenure review, leaned against the doorframe and nodded at them. Before the dean could even manage to recall Janna's name, she'd jumped to her feet and rushed out the door, heading down the hallway and abandoning Dani.

  "Couldn't be helped. You know I put my foot in my mouth whenever I get nervous, and deans make me nervous."

  Dani wanted to laugh, but she was still too annoyed. Janna, self-proclaimed "Oldest Graduate Student of All Time," was Dani's closest friend. Although she was still a student, she was a few years older than Dani, who was junior faculty in the Department of Biology and struggling to make her way up the tenure ladder. They often met for lunch to discuss their academic woes. Dani always enjoyed their conversations.

  Well, almost always.

  "Let's just say the meeting was less about my research and more about whether I'd be all alone in the dark and scary woods."

  "Seriously? I mean, the dean's always come off as an elite asshole, but not a creepy elite asshole."

  Dani's gaze scanned the forest around her; then she risked a glance at the ranger who continued to carelessly pitch her meticulously organized equipment to the ground. She watched him for a moment, trying to keep her mind from dwelling on her lunch with Fischer. Forget it, focus on something else , she told herself, her mantra whenever circumstances became unpleasant. Although perhaps choosing the ranger as her current focus would be just as unpleasant, despite his handsome smile. "Anyway, I won't go into the gory det
ails now--"

  Janna jumped in, right on cue. "Don't think you're gonna get out of telling me exactly what he said!"

  "I know!" Dani suppressed a groan. "And I promise to, the next time we have lunch together."

  "When will that be? Won't you be out in the field for the next few months? I can't believe you've decided to camp, by the way. You never seemed like the outdoors type."

  "Just because I'm from the city doesn't mean I don't like the outdoors."

  Janna's tone betrayed her smirk. "So, have you been camping before?"

  Dani hesitated before replying. "How hard can it be?"

  "Look, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure it won't be a cakewalk. There are bears and mountain lions. And the rainy season is about to start, and it gets pretty cold at that elevation at night. And did I mention bears?"

  Dani blew out a frustrated breath that lifted her bangs off her forehead. "Come on, Puchie, it's not like I'm heading into the wilderness for forty years."

  "I think you're underestimating the challenge you'll be facing. No hot showers. Mosquitoes. Bad weather."

  "I'll survive."

  "Really?" Janna said, her disbelief evident. "What about spiders?"

  Dani's smile faltered at the mention of her irrational fear. "Stop trying to freak me out! I'm doing this. This grant is a huge deal, so why don't you just support me like a good friend and---" Her words were cut off by the gruff laugh of the ranger.

  "What the hell did you bring this thing for?" he asked, holding up a camouflaged flashlight, one of five that she'd packed for her excursion. "Don't you use a flashlight in the dark? What good is camouflage in the dark?"

  Dani sighed, rolling her eyes. Her friend, however, was instantly on alert.

  "Who's that?"

  "The park ranger," Dani answered, walking a few steps farther away and speaking softly.

  "He sounds hot. Is he?"

  Dani laughed.

  "That's not an answer. He's hot, isn't he?" Janna never gave up. Dani wasn't sure if that tenacity was a blessing or a curse.

  "Yeah, he is," she replied. "But he's also an asshole."

  "Hmm, a few months in the woods with a hunky asshole. Things could be worse."

  "Yeah, I could run into one of those bears you keep mentioning."

  Chapter 2

  Dani hung up the phone and took a few steps toward her car as she considered the man currently wreaking havoc on her organizational system. He was over six feet of all-male, from his well-formed legs to his shapely biceps, visible due to the half-sleeve cut of his work shirt. His wide shoulders led to a broad chest bearing an embroidered patch labeling him, "Caleb Hunt, Forest Ranger."

  Shit . Why are the hot ones always assholes?

  She couldn't take her eyes off him. His face was beyond handsome, with a strong jaw, a straight nose, and the softest lips she'd ever seen. His head was covered in thick hair cropped short, the color a light brown kissed with golden highlights.

  Danielle was confused by the alternating hot and cold emotions that flooded her system. Ranger Caleb was definitely attractive, a fact her body couldn't ignore. But he was also rude and seemed less than happy to see her.

  Still, there was no reason to get off on the wrong foot. Sure, the ranger seemed to have a Sequoia-sized stick up his albeit-handsome ass, but he was experienced and she wasn't. It would be better to let him condescend to help her, even if his attitude stunk worse than a biological sample left out overnight in the lab.

  Her mind made up, Dani got busy gathering her cameras and research equipment. She placed it all into a large backpack, including her notebooks, laptop, and tablets. Meanwhile, Caleb stacked her things into various piles which he was quickly sorting through, removing unnecessary packaging and pursing his lips at some of the items she's brought along.

  "Are you kidding me?" he asked upon the discovery of her camp shower, the look of pure exasperation causing Dani to let out a laugh before she could restrain herself.

  "What can I say? A lady needs some creature comforts."

  He looked unimpressed at her response, pointing to her two-room tent, portable bathroom, and camp shower. "Looks like the lady wants to build a mansion out of canvas and tent poles."

  "Hardy-har, very funny."

  She grimaced at the effort it took to keep her emotions under control. You're just tired, she told herself, tired and anxious at your schedule changes and the less-than-stellar greeting you've received .

  Despite her inner voice's rationalization, she couldn't hide the irritation in her tone. "So I'm a camping greenhorn, so what? I'm a fast learner, and I believe in being prepared for all contingencies. If I over-packed, at least I erred on the side of caution."

  Unable to halt a burst of laughter at her description, the ranger was momentarily distracted from his task. He stood and stretched his lean muscles, then slid his hands onto his hips. Dani followed the line of his hips around to his front and thought she could make out the shadow of what could be a prodigious bulge. She whipped her eyes away and prayed that her blush wouldn't show.

  Why did he have to be so damn attractive? It made it hard to remember how annoying he was.

  "You can get rid of this stuff right now." He pointed to a large pile of discarded packaging and odds and ends.

  "Wait!" Dani cried, digging around in the pile and pulling out what she considered to be essential equipment. "You can't expect me to leave all this stuff. I just bought some of it!"

  "You don't need it." His voice was uncompromising. "What do you need that for, anyway?"

  "That's my back-and-belly contoured body pillow!" she shouted, pulling the plastic-wrapped cushion to her chest and hugging it as if it were her most prized possession.

  His voice was flat. "Your what ?"

  Dani narrowed her eyes and confronted his chilly stare. "I need this to sleep at night. No negotiation."

  "Fine." He sighed as she dug back into the discard pile and pulled out several more items. "Look, Professor Greenhorn, we need to hurry this up if you're going to get your campsite set up before sunset. We've been losing the light up here earlier each evening."

  It took multiple trips with the ATV to move all of her gear, but after an hour everything was piled up in her campsite. She took a moment to breathe and acquaint herself with her surroundings. Dani marveled at the serenity of the area. All around her trees towered, their branches swaying in the breeze. Down a short slope was the beginning of a wetlands area, comprised of a chain of small ponds created from runoff from the nearby Alsea River. It was the perfect place to find the amphibian species she was researching.

  Caleb didn't seem to share her optimism. He was currently engaged in unpacking her tent and rolling it out. "I'm glad you thought to bring a tarp for under your tent, and since you're on a bit of a rise here, the rainwater should run off away from you. Still, once the real rains start, you'll never keep everything dry in a tent."

  Dani refused to let the ranger's pessimism affect her mood. "I'm sure I'll survive. It's not like I'll melt in the rain."

  Caleb stood. His voice was husky as he replied, staring down into her face with his paralyzing gaze. "No, of course, you won't. Only girls made of sugar and spice and everything nice melt. You look like you'd go down in flames."

  Dani's breath caught in her throat as she looked up at him. She thought she saw hunger ignite those blue eyes, and it created an answering craving inside her. She was amazed at how her body reacted to his tone. The muscles of her core contracted, creating an uncomfortable tension.

  "Let's get this tent up," he said, his voice tight. "And once the rains start, if you need to store any sensitive equipment, I can always make room in my cabin."

  "Thanks for the offer."

  They fell into a companionable silence while concentrating on getting the tent and her portable shower and bathroom erected. By the time they'd finished the sky was filling with pinks and oranges as the sun began to sink behind the treetops. Carefully arranging her equipment and s
upplies inside her tent took another several minutes. Finally, the camp was completed, and the pair stood looking at each other in the fading light.

  "Thank you for all your help today, Ranger Hunt." Dani shoved out her hand in a gesture of goodwill.

  Caleb took her hand and shook it, and she felt a surge of heat shoot through her again when she touched him. She looked into his eyes and thought she saw that heat mirrored in their depths.

  "Call me Caleb." His voice was rough.

  "Okay, Caleb." Her response was almost a whisper. She thought she saw him shudder, and suddenly she was possessed by the image of him pulling her against him and putting those sexy lips all over her body.

  She gasped, and he dropped her hand and stepped back, his smile so seductive that she almost wanted to take him up on the offer to store something at his cabin. Herself.

  "Well, goodnight then, Professor Greenhorn," he said with a small wave, then he slid back in his ATV and drove off into the shadows. Dani stood, watching him depart and wondering at the sudden sense of loneliness that swept over her. It was followed quickly by exhaustion, and she decided then to skip building a fire.

  She made her way into her tent instead, lighting a lantern and digging through her pack until she found a granola bar and a baggie full of mixed nuts. "Good enough," she mumbled, then brought her small stash along with a water bottle into her "bedroom."

  A queen-sized elevated air mattress covered in a thick sleeping bag dominated the other room of her two-room tent. She plopped onto it, popping a few nuts into her mouth. When she'd filled her belly, she reclined against the cushion of air, letting her eyes close and trying to quiet her mind. It wasn't easy. Memories of the handsome ranger sprang up without prompting, and Dani wasn't comfortable with the electric pulse they sent through her body.

  He was confusing, to say the least. He'd been helpful, informative, and at times his good mood had shone through the clouds of his otherwise disdainful demeanor. But mostly he'd seemed condescending.