Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1) (28 page)

"Blue
salvia
and purple
palace
, but I'm still impressed."

They spoke of the house inside and out and Amanda's changes in lifestyle since she
met Dave. After the best tenderloins in town, they sat back to relax and finish their
last beer.

"Why do they always go to the bathroom together?" Tim looked to Nathan as he stretched
out his feet on the wooden bar booth.

"Don't know, but are they always gone for so long? I think I'll take a walk myself."

Nathan headed toward the bathrooms and noticed Brie and GI Joe through the glass in
the door leading out to the crowded beer garden. He shrugged it off until he saw McKinney
backing her up.

With Tim on his heels, he pushed open the door in time to hear what the little prick
had to say.

Grabbing hold of Brie's upper arm, McKinney spoke through his teeth. "... and then
jump into bed with the first guy you come across."

Nathan made it to the two of them in a three long strides. Taking McKinney's fingers,
he bent them back unnaturally. Using his other hand, he moved Brie out of the way,
let go of buzz cut's fingers and shoved him out the parking lot door.

McKinney stumbled and fell on his ass. "I bet you know all about the police coming
to question me." He bounced back up to his feet. "At my work. Who the fuck do you
think you are?"

"I told you not to put your hands on her again."

Satisfied, Nathan started to turn and head back into the bar. He saw the sucker punch
from the corner of his eye but not fast enough. It clipped the side of his temple
as he dodged, but not hard enough to keep him from dancing around the next swing.

Nathan blocked an uppercut, then landed a vicious hook to McKinney's left eye, dropping
him where he stood. He walked back to the beer garden with McKinney mumbling and holding
his eye while sprawled out on the concrete. He passed baldy on his way to Brie.

Rob gestured to Nathan's eye and smirked.

"You might want to check on your friend." Nathan jerked his head toward the parking
lot before turning to Brie. "And we might want to get out of here."

"You're bleeding."

"Not really." He took her arm and walked briskly with Tim and Liz on their heels.
The crowd was growing in the beer garden and the noise picked up.

"Why is it kind of sexy?" she added.

"In that case, I'm hurt really bad." He turned back to Tim and Liz as they walked
out the front door. "Sorry about all that."

"I've never liked him," Tim interjected. "He gives me the creeps the way he paws around
Brie."

* * *

"I've never flown first-class before." Brie stretched out, enjoying the room.

Nathan was resting his head back with his eyes closed. "You'll have to choose the
spot next time." He was massaging her hand with his thumb.

She hadn't noticed how sore her hands were from carrying bricks. Her eyes nearly crossed
from the feel. She shifted her body to face him, careful not to displace her hand
from his. "There are camping sites in New York. And we didn't bring any gear," she
said. How did he find all the tight knots?

"Just wait and see."

She pulled on her ear with her free hand. "Have you brought other women here?"

"I've never been here. My folks came last winter. I've seen pictures."

"You didn't bring any camping gear," Brie repeated.

He opened one eye and smiled. Leaning over, he used his thumb and forefinger to clasp
Brie's lips together. The corners of her lips turned up and she leaned her head back,
let her lids drop and took a deep breath.

* * *

"Alone on a romantic fucking weekend."

Without bothering with a glass, the swig of whiskey went down smooth and eased one
side of the rage while lighting another.

Copies of photos lined the walls of the tiny room. Pictures of Brie walking with her
precious wheelbarrow, running with the two mutts, shopping for a couch with the latest
flavor-of-the-day.

"I am going to get off watching you squirm." The bottle was tipped to the photos in
a kind of a toast.

"Watching you afraid, watching you bleed."

Chapter 24

Brie decided not to ask him why he rented a convertible to drive to a campsite. Instead,
she sat, enjoying the cool breeze and bright sunshine. The air smelled of pine needles
and fertile earth. The enormous Douglas firs and Sycamore trees lined the roads and
grew bigger as they drove farther back into the woods.

"Redwoods." Nathan must have noticed the puzzled look on her face.

"I thought you didn't know trees."

"Farther west are trees big enough to drive cars through the trunks."

She'd never known anything like this existed. They pulled up to about a dozen tiny
cottages nestled high in the air, each in their own tree. Actually around each tree.
Nathan checked in as she stood leaning against the convertible that looked all the
more out of place in this remote gravel parking lot.

She cocked her head at the one that was connected to the main lodge by a drawstring
bridge. It also had access through a tall and winding staircase around the trunk of
its towering Sycamore. Trying to imagine the visual of his parents staying here wasn't
much of a stretch. They seemed like teenagers to her. Suddenly, she thought a little
too much about them staying there. TMI.

Nathan came out with a few brochures in one hand and keys in the other. "We're down
the road a ways." He kissed her as he set the papers in the center console of the
rental.

"You call this camping?" she asked as she got in the passenger seat in her jeans and
flannel shirt.

"Point taken, but before you get too cozy, know there's no Jacuzzi or even a tub.
I assume the structure of the cottage can only handle a shower stall fifty feet up
in the air."

"Fifty feet? What were you going to do if I was scared of heights?"

"Distract you." He kissed her once more before putting the car in gear.

* * *

The cabin was absolutely amazing. The floor was hardwood laid in a hexagonal pattern
that grew out from the center around the trunk of the tree. A colorful patchwork quilt
covered the enormous bed that was centered in the single-area and was piled with matching
pillows. Smoothed tree branches littered with knots created the arms and legs of the
chairs and couch.

The curtains were sheer. Brie assumed privacy wasn't a priority this far up. There
was a mini-fridge and the smallest sink she'd ever seen. No table or desk, only a
single chair, which meant no cooking or working. Perfect. A tiny loft that fit only
a cot-sized bed looked out over the rest of the cabin.

She stepped onto a shallow porch that wrapped around the entire circumference of the
cottage and was scattered with chairs covered in outdoor cushions and surrounded by
the same bare-branch-looking railing. The air was clear and dry and felt amazing on
her face. It smelled... clean. Turkey vultures and hawks circled the trees. The view
was a breathtaking sea of brown and green needles littered with straight, brown trunks.

She stopped when she came back in and noticed him watching her. He was leaning against
the tree trunk with one ankle crossed over the other and thumbs in his pockets. So
cute. She would never tire of the stance.

He pushed off. "Are you up for a hike, or do you need some time to rest up after the
flight?"

"I'm anxious to get out there. Come. You can see where the trails lead from up here."

She pulled him out to the skinny porch feeling like an excited child and tucked her
arm in his. They compared the maps of the trails he'd picked up from the lodge with
what they could see. She turned to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'm glad we're here. I didn't know how much I wanted this, needed this." She looked
in his eyes and smiled.

He took her face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs across her cheeks. "I love you."

She closed her eyes and felt his thumbs and the love he had given her. She could lose
herself in this man without ever feeling lost.

They walked through oceans of Douglas firs. The quiet was peaceful and only disturbed
by snapping twigs under their feet and an occasional call from a bird. Brie stopped
every few hundred yards to study a plant that was completely new or somewhat similar
to what she worked with.

"I want to find a native plant guide before we come out again. I know these are Penstemon,
but I've never seen this variety. And look, these are bleeding hearts. You'll have
these in your corner, back by the pond."

* * *

By the time they made it to dinner, both were starved. At the main lodge, they ate
prime rib with garlic sauce and twice-baked potatoes. Brie wore her second flannel
shirt, a clean pair of dark blue jeans and hiking boots.

"I wish you would have told me what kind of camping to pack for."

They shared a piece of carrot cake and experimented with the Oregon craft beers.

Far too much experimenting made hiking up the trail a challenge. Her thighs burned
as they climbed the stairs to their cabin. She headed straight for the huge bed.

Nathan sat and loosened the strings of his shoes before kicking them off.

And she was sound asleep, fully dressed, boots and all.

* * *

Sunlight slanted through the sheer curtains. Brie opened her eyes to see Nathan inches
from her. She sighed frustratingly and closed them again, kicking herself for falling
asleep early.

Feelings that stirred deep were new to her. His hair curled just at the ends when
it was messy like this, much like it did when wet. She'd expected to feel fear attached
to this kind of intense desire for someone. She thought how he looked sitting at the
bottom of the stairs in his dilapidated house with his notebook in his hand. How careless
and sexy he looked when she opened her door to him on New Year's Eve. That mind-numbing
first kiss. With perfect clarity, she could picture him hiking Andy up onto his shoulders
and how tightly he'd closed his eyes when Duncan first called him
dad
. No, there was no fear and for the first time in her life, Brie knew what it felt
like to be in love.

Carefully, she crawled out of bed and headed for the shower. The water was hot even
if it was only a trickle. She stood there with the heat dripping down her back, feeling
more relaxed than she could remember in a very long time. As she dressed, he slept.
So, she decided to go out and pick up something to eat from the lodge.

The scene seemed surreal. She walked through the towering woods over the damp leaves.
Webs hung with droplets of dew, giving away the hiding places of spiders. She returned
with egg muffins, bagels and coffee to find him toweling his hair dry.

"I brought breakfast as a peace offering. Why didn't you wake me? We only have two
nights together. You should have woken me."

"Yes, but we have two days, too. Anyway, you're a light weight. I think you were passed
out, not sleeping." He took the bag from her and peeked inside.

She bit her bottom lip as he reached for the coffee. When he took it, she gave him
a tiny push in the center of his chest, landing him in the chair behind him. Standing
in front of him, she reached for the top button of her blue, cotton blouse. The look
on his face was one she hoped she'd never forget.

In that one small gesture, Nathan felt his IQ drop thirty points. Reaching for her,
Brie shook her head at him and continued painfully slow down the buttons of her shirt.
Brilliant morning sunlight shone on the side of her. She was just as irresistible
in her cotton and jeans as she was in her cashmere. The wind whistled through the
trees from the windows behind her. And he was lost.

Pulling the unfastened shirt over just her shoulders, she left it covering her chest
and toed off her shoes. As she pulled it down her arms, her fingers brushed over herself
before exposing the matching, blue lace underneath. The shirt dropped as did her hands
down the center of her stomach ending at the top of her jeans. Was she trying to make
him crazy?