Timberline

by Skye McNeil

  “So, then if Asher had never died, your aunt wouldn’t have gone to help other soldiers in Vietnam,” Jessie put together.

  “And she never would’ve met the British soldier,” Grandma Jane finished.

  Asher shook his head and Dennis whistled low. “Wow. Talk about one epic story. It would make a great book, eh, Jess?”

  Asher swung his green eyes to her in question. “Yeah, Dad. It would be a bestseller, I bet.”

  She slid out of her seat and placed her cup in the sink. “So, what’s the plan for the day?” Jessie asked. Dwelling on the bittersweet story made her insides hurt. Crying over a romance book was not something she ever wanted to do, but if someone penned it, she would fall apart in epic fashion.

  Her mother took off on the planned activities for the day and Jessie sent her silent thanks. She heard a mention of the arrival of guests the next day and groaned. More people to preen over her sister’s wedding. Jessie caught Asher’s gaze. He just keeps getting more interesting by the minute. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall under the spell of her barista’s tear-jerking stories.

  »»•««

  Stabilizing the untethered end of the hammock, Jessie stood patiently while Asher looped his end of the rope around the thick tree outside the cabin. Thus far, the two newest members of the wedding entourage were given the fun activities of preparing the great outdoors for more guests. It didn’t take much time at all to set up the volleyball net. The ping pong table beneath the deck was a cinch as well.

  For some reason, the hammock was giving them the hardest time. It could be because the damn thing was well beyond its years or because the ropes were tattered. Either way, watching Asher attempt to figure it all out was entertaining. A vein in his forehead popped when his attempts kept falling flat.

  “Maybe we should get new rope,” she suggested when he cursed under his breath. Seeing him like this was soothing in an odd way. She wasn’t alone in her suffering in the wilderness, and it felt good to have him on her side.

  Asher dropped the rope and nodded curtly. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” He glanced around the woods. “Where might it be?”

  Jessie pointed to the shed at the end of the driveway. “My grandpa kept all his recreation items in there. I’m sure there’s gobs of rope.” She took a seat on a large rock. “I’ll keep the hammock safe while you search.”

  “How come you get the easy job?” He leaned against a spruce tree and folded his arms over his checkered shirt.

  “Because I’ve got delicate hands,” she asked with a dramatic flip of her hair. “Plus, there’s spiders in there.”

  Asher chuckled and shoved off the trunk. “Well, when you put it like that, I guess I’m the hero.”

  Jessie offered him an unbelieving glance. “Sure, you keep on thinking happy thoughts.”

  The tall barista pushed up his sleeves, drawing her attention without remorse. He needed to show them off more. “Yeah, yeah. Stay put, princess, while I do the heavy lifting.”

  Within seconds, the sound of his footfalls faded into the distance. Jessie closed her eyes and craned her neck at the sun overhead. The comforting scent of pine needles and chopped wood made a smile cover her face. She missed this peace. New York was nothing compared to Timberline.

  “If you’re trying to sunbathe, wearing less clothing is preferable,” an approaching voice said.

  Jessie flicked her eyelids open to see Tommy gaining on her position. “Good thing I wasn’t then, huh?”

  Tommy stopped shy of her spot and leaned against the tree which had supported Asher. Jessie narrowed her eyes. Asher looked a whole lot better against the tree compared to Tommy.

  “We haven’t had much time to talk,” Tommy began with a crooked grin.

  “Yeah, there’s a reason for my silence.”

  “Jess, I wanted to explain—”

  “No, I get it. You loved my sister, blah, blah, blah, happily ever after.” Jessie clenched her hands into fists. The urge to punch his perfect nose overwhelmed her. She took deep breaths to calm her scattered nerves. After all this time, she didn’t want Tommy to have this effect on her.

  An uneasy silence settled between the two exes. To her chagrin, Tommy opened his mouth again and asked, “So, this Asher guy, huh? I’m kind of surprised.” Jessie popped open her eyes to see him scrutinize Asher fumbling through yards of rope. “G.I. Joe isn’t your type.”

  Sitting up, Jessie was satisfied in Tommy’s interest by a small degree. “It’s not for the majority of the time, but it’s good to stray from the ordinary.”

  Asher’s sturdy form caught her eye despite her best efforts to ignore the barista so she could annoy her ex. The tattooed veteran quickly advanced on them when he spied Tommy. Jessie was giddy when she recognized a protective expression cover his features.

  “Normal gets monotonous,” she told him with sass as she stood. “Asher is the type of man my life needs.”

  Jessie slipped her arm around Asher’s waist when he joined them. “And I’m happy now, so I don’t want to talk about anything other than how you will make my sister glad she married you.”

  Tommy glanced between the two of them and then nodded. “Sure. I understand. Everyone moves on in their own way. I’m happy for you, Mina. Even if you don’t believe it.”

  Jessie held her breath until Tommy disappeared in the thick woods headed toward the cabin. Letting out a huff, she dropped her hold on Asher. “Did you find the rope?” she asked in a nonchalant tone.

  Asher jutted out his hand filled with the prize. “Yeah, I found some.” He eyed her cautiously, so Jessie took a step backward and grabbed the discarded hammock. “Do you want to talk about what happened with you and your ex?”

  Handing Asher the swing, Jessie shrugged. “There’s nothing to talk about. We chatted, the end.”

  Untying his end with ease, Asher laced the new rope through the hole. “Hmm, all right if that’s all.”

  When he stopped the conversation there, Jessie raised her eyebrows. Of course, there was more. She tugged on her side and gritted her teeth as he tied off his end. If Asher was trying to irritate her, it was working. This nonsense was bogus.

  Three minutes passed with excruciating politeness. Other than applying to his work, Asher didn’t say anything else. Jessie’s insides all but burst when he started toward the shed again. She needed to vent to someone and he was pretty decent at listening. His careless attitude perturbed her.

  Yanking the fresh rope through her side of the hammock, Jessie bit her lip in pain when it sliced open her finger. “Rope burn, oh, goody,” she uttered, holding the finger. “Oh, damn it hurts.”

  Within seconds, Asher was at her side. “Let me see,” he asked when he retrieved her finger. With delicate care, he examined the superficial wound.

  Jessie watched in awe as he pressed the finger to his lips and kissed it. She couldn’t imagine anything being sexier than a muscly, tattooed, ex-Army guy placing a smooch on a bruised finger.

  “You’ll live.” He paused. “But it may be touch and go for a while,” he finished with a teasing grin.

  Retrieving her injured finger, Jessie offered him a smirk. “Good thing you aren’t a real doctor. I would never know if I was dying or not.”

  Without warning, Asher scooped her into his strapping arms. “There, are you happy now?”

  Shrieking in glee, Jessie laughed at the threshold embrace. It was one she wasn’t accustomed to, but it felt magnificent nonetheless. Craning her neck toward him, she met his gaze. “Yes, actually.”

  Asher leaned his head closer and pecked her cheek, but didn’t linger as she desired. “Good. Now, off we go to get the invalid a Band-Aid before you bleed out.”

  Unable to pry her eyes off Asher’s face, Jessie’s heart lurched at the feelings for him seeping into her core inch by inch. It shouldn’t be this easy to like someone you met a few days ago, but she was falling more for her fake boyfriend each moment they spent together.

  Chapte
r Six

  “Mina, come on,” Asher yelled a bit later. His hiking partner was lagging behind, but it could’ve been because she was trying to find a signal for her cell phone. She looked like a fool, holding up the phone like a beacon welcoming ET.

  “It’s Jessie,” she snapped, huffing up the mountainside trail. They were hiking up Mount Princeton, but he doubted they would crest the mountain in the next year at their rate.

  After hiking with her family for an hour, Jessie suggested the two of them break off and continue up the lush woods to overlook the mountainous terrain. Asher placed his hands on his hips. Ever since they waved farewell to the Davis clan, Jessie’s pretty face was attached to her phone instead of him. She would rather seek attention from the outside world, and it bothered him when he was more than available to shower her with it.

  “You know, I’m the one who knows the trails around here, so maybe you should slow down. I can get back without you,” Jessie shot when she reached him.

  He doubted her cocky statement, but wouldn’t take the bait. He had a different bone to pick with the woman whose braid looked like a bird had built a nest in it. Leaves and twigs stuck through her twisted hair while ringlets framed her face. If he wasn’t pissed at her, he might have snuck her behind a tree.

  “And you can stop swinging your phone in the air like you’re looking for a signal from the space station. It’s not happening with the mountain interference.”

  The cool mountain breeze offset the sweltering heat of the mid-July day, but Asher maintained a hot head. Of course, he wasn’t her number one priority, but he wouldn’t mind if he was. After holding her all night, the main thing he wanted to do when he woke up was kiss her delectable pink lips. He opted against it since she was still a bush full of prickles when it came to the whole stranger bit. Plus, he hardly knew her. He shouldn’t be feeling any romantic inclinations for her.

  “I have a deadline for several books this month. I can’t be out of reach. Bridget will think I’ve abandoned her,” she said, tapping the screen in anger. “Ugh. Nothing. Zero signal. I swear I used to get one up here.”

  She surveyed the boulders and then the wildflowers growing on the side of the makeshift trail. “I should’ve brought a water bottle.”

  “Bridget will be fine without you, won’t she?” He studied her frizzy braid and Dolce sunglasses which looked way out of place with her hiking boots and less-than-designer clothes. The light pink tank top hugged her curves, tempting his touch on more than one occasion. He preferred her in the red shirt from this morning, but pink was just as aggravating to his hormones.

  “Maybe, but I’m used to being in control and updated at all times.” Jessie pushed up her sunglasses, revealing blue eyes that put the sky’s hue to shame.

  With a smirk, Asher plucked the useless phone out of her hands and tossed it over his shoulder. Without looking, he knew it tumbled down the mountainside, happily dialing as it fell. Instead of freaking out as he expected she would, Jessie laughed. Her eyes crinkled at the sides and her hearty chuckle echoed in the tree line.

  “If I wasn’t so dehydrated and running on thin air, I would shove you down the mountain too,” she said, holding her side.

  Smirking at her attitude, Asher decided he liked this part of her. The carefree, laughing beauty was better suited anyway. Yeah, she was pretty awesome. “You don’t need it.” He hauled her into his arms. “If you knock me down the mountain, who will entertain you?”

  Jessie shrugged. “If I decide to spare you, how are you going to keep me busy?”

  “Well, I’m thinking a nice dip in the creek for a start.” He took a step away and listened for the rushing water. After a woodpecker stopping drilling a tree, he heard it. “I know just the spot.”

  Before she could protest, Asher led them down the path and through the woods until they reached the creek. The slow-moving water was too tempting for such a hot day, so he pulled off his shirt and shoes and tossed them aside before stepping into the stony creek bed. Though the water was ice cold, it felt rejuvenating in the best possible way. “Come on in. It’s great.”

  Jessie folded her arms across her chest. “Nope. The water is freezing.”

  “How do you know? You haven’t tried it.” He shot back. She wasn’t wrong, but he wanted to see how far she would let herself give up on her controlled lifestyle. The woman needed someone to rattle her out of the cage she’d placed herself in as soon as possible.

  She observed the water and then fixed her gaze on him. Not rushing, Jessie’s cobalt eyes caressed his body until she made it to his face. The sting of the water no longer monopolized Asher’s mind. The heat in her gaze was warming his entire body.

  With a placid smile, she slipped off her boots and dipped her toes into the water. “Brr! You said it was great.”

  Asher held out his hand. “It’s warmer by me,” he lied, not breaking a sweat.

  “Oh, you don’t say?” She placed her hand in his for balance.

  Failing to recognize the plotting in her eyes, Asher felt a splash of cold water kicked in his direction. The spray doused his shorts and made his chest pebble. Tilting his head, he gripped her hand tighter so she couldn’t escape. “Hey, not nice.”

  Jessie screeched like a schoolgirl when she couldn’t wrench out of his grip. “I never said I was,” she admitted, fighting his hold.

  Not moved by her flailing, Asher picked her out of the water and she stilled in an instant. “I think you’re nice,” he confessed. “And sassy.” His eyes drifted to her lips. “And extremely kissable.”

  Asher heard Jessie’s breath hitch in her throat at his words. “Your douche-face ex was an idiot,” he pointed out, her arms encircling his neck.

  Her fingers grazed his short locks. “I liked your story earlier. Is it true?”

  Asher’s brows knit together in confusion. She thought he made it up on the fly? He was a superb storyteller, but not that good. Resting his hands under her shorts, he marveled at the exact match to his hands. “Every single word.”

  “Cool. It’s funny how everything worked out.” Her eyes fixed on something behind him and then returned. “I keep discovering new things about you and they make it difficult to think of you as a mere barista.”

  Asher chuckled and he felt her legs wrap around his torso. “It’s funny how opening up to someone shows you something new.”

  Jessie’s fingers traced his smooth jawline and he was glad he’d remembered to shave earlier in the morning. “What other secrets are you keeping from me?”

  “Nothing relevant. I’m a boring guy,” he told her and hoped she bought it. If she ever found out more, she wouldn’t be joining his fan club.

  “Hmm, I suppose I will keep you around for little while then,” she joked, bopping his lips with her index finger.

  “Sounds good to me.” He shifted his legs, done with standing on jagged rocks.

  As he walked toward the bank, his feet slipped on the smooth stones lining the creek bed, sending them both into the mountain spring. Asher ducked his head under water for a brief moment and came up laughing. Glancing over at Jessie, he saw her laughing as well.

  “I guess you deserved what you got,” she shot, splashing water at his face. “But you didn’t have to take me with you.”

  Asher scooted over to where she sat in the crisp water. “Would you rather have me toss you through the air like a trout?”

  Jessie squeezed water from her braid. “As it turns out, yes.” She eyed his arms. “You look strong enough for it.”

  Yanking on her waterlogged braid, Asher watched her hair tumble from its confines. “Next time, I promise to hoist you onto shore like a floundering trout.”

  Her eyes fixed on his lips and Asher couldn’t deny the way she read his mind. With care, he tipped her chin up so he had a better angle on her mouth. Her eyes sparkled against the water around her as he lowered his face to hers. Jessie pulled her arms out of the creek and water dripped down his bare shoulders as she looped th
em around his neck. He didn’t feel the chilling drops race down his back, though. All he could feel was the heat of her kiss when she met his tongue.

  Tugging her onto his lap, Asher dug his fingers into her braid and pulled the strands apart. Her wet locks fluttered down her shoulders, dripping water on her delicate skin. He would stay in the frigid water all damn day if he could kiss her the entire time.

  A soft moan slipped from her lips as he urged her closer. Damn, but it felt like heaven to kiss under mountain skies. Close wasn’t close enough as Asher deepened their kiss. His hands searched her back, her chest touching his and spreading fire over his body. For a woman set on staying far away from him, her body was doing quite the opposite.

  The sound of a clearing throat met his ears and he detached his reluctant lips, though he still hovered above hers. Swallowing, he saw Jessie’s eyes still closed when he turned his gaze to the creek bank.

  “I didn’t mean to intrude, but your mom sent me,” Grandma Jane interrupted with a smug expression.

  Asher lifted his left eyebrow. If Jessie’s grandmother didn’t stop barging in on them, he was going to go mad. “Hey, Grandma Jane. What can we help you with?” he asked with patience, though all he wanted to do was send the woman packing.

  Jessie stood like a blur and adjusted her clothes. Stumbling from the water, he was disappointed when she didn’t look over her shoulder at him.

  Opting to stay in the cool water another minute longer, Asher watched Jessie from his spot in the middle of the creek. He rested his elbows on his knees as he swiveled his gaze to the reason of their interruption.

  “Oh, right. Your mom wants us all to play croquet,” Grandma Jane announced with grandeur.

  Jessie jerked on her boots. “And she sent you into the woods for croquet?” she all but snarled.

  Asher held in a chuckle at Jessie’s venom and the matching devious smile from her grandmother. The aging woman was sneaky.