Falling Fast, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 4) (7 page)

He took a slow breath and stared out the window. It was mid-afternoon and he’d come in from hours of grueling work on the trails with Gage. The slopes were dotted with the brightly colored jackets of skiers. He looked to the side where part of Kachemak Bay came into view. The sun glinted off the water and white caps ruffled the surface. The mountains across the bay rose up steeply from the water, their snow-covered flanks giving way to spruce forest dusted with snow. The beauty of this place was breathtaking. Nature had been so generous here with the glory of beautiful, wild coastlines and mountains in the same place. He took another breath and considered Ivy’s question. When he’d taken this job, he hadn’t thought too far ahead. Eric’s death had robbed him of the concept of planning. He was learning there were some upsides to that, namely that he tended to live in the moment and try to focus on that alone.

“Cam?”

Ivy’s soft voice nudged him out of his thoughts.

“I’m here,” he said, catching his sigh before it slipped out. “I haven’t really thought that far ahead,” he finally replied to her question about staying past the season. The second he spoke, Ginger danced through his thoughts. He didn’t know what to do with the feelings she elicited in him. That brief moment last night when she held his hand was so intimate, he felt strange thinking about it. He was startled by the intimacy and comfort he felt with her. Up to then, he’d been blinded by the blazing hot attraction between them. He mentally shook himself. “I don’t know. Maybe I will.”

“I just think if you like it that much, it might be worth trying. I worry about you bouncing from ski lodge to ski lodge. Even before Eric died, it was getting close to time for you to slow down and breathe.”

Ivy was so open and direct about Eric’s death that it hurt sometimes. Yet, it also helped. He thought back to those awkward moments at dinner last night. He could use some of Ivy’s matter-of-fact approach sometimes. “I’m not ready to make promises, but I get what you mean. I honestly don’t want to bounce around anymore, Ivy, so you don’t need to worry about that. I guess I just need a little time to figure things out. I won’t be going anywhere soon though, so get up here. Okay?”

Ivy laughed softly. “Well, alright then. I’m glad to hear you’re not planning to run all over the world anymore. Maybe I’ll see more of you now.”

“Hey, don’t blame me for that. You’re the one who’s had her nose buried in books for years. You could use a breather yourself.”

Ivy laughed. “Fair enough. So tell me something. I hear there’s all kinds of rugged, sexy men in Alaska—I mean, they even have a calendar—but what about women? Met anyone lately?”

Ivy had been on him for years about finding someone. Funny, but she’d never really gotten on Eric’s case about it. Eric had been more committed to the lifestyle of a full-time professional skier, which came with endless travel and few commitments. Though Cam had been there with him for most of it, of the brothers, he was more easygoing and a tad less dedicated. To an outsider, it might not have been obvious, but to Ivy, it was. Eric didn’t even contemplate the idea of a relationship, while Cam had always figured life would slow down enough at some point for it to happen. Hence, Ivy’s occasional pressure on him to look beyond skiing. Her question conjured Ginger in his mind, more specifically the bone-shaking and body-melting kiss of the other night. He wasn’t about to tell Ivy about that, but he didn’t mind mentioning Ginger. Ivy was the one and only confidant he had in his life now. Even when Eric was alive, Cam wouldn’t have talked with him about something like this. That wasn’t the nature of their relationship.

“I might have,” he finally hedged. “But don’t get all crazy. I just met someone who’s, I don’t know, uh, interesting.”

“Interesting is a horrible word to use to describe someone. It’s basically useless. I mean, serial killers and librarians could both be described as interesting, but it doesn’t tell you a thing about them,” Ivy declared. “Tell me about her. What’s her name, what’s she like, that kind of thing?”

Cam was damn relieved Ivy wasn’t here because his face felt hot. Well, his whole body felt hot. Thinking of Ginger automatically did that. “Interesting is not a horrible word, but whatever. I get your point it’s not particularly specific. I meant it in the sense that she interests me. Her name is Ginger, and I don’t know her that well. She just seems…”
Fucking hot as hell, beautiful, smart, and sweet. Oh and hot as hell.
“…I don’t know. She’s a friend of Gage’s wife, well I guess she’s everyone’s friend. I don’t know her too well, so don’t get all crazy over this.”

Ivy sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get pushy. I’d just love for you to meet someone. You’re an awesome guy, and you’d make a great boyfriend. I’m just glad you noticed someone.”

Cam chuckled. “Well, let’s call it good enough then. Okay?”

“Okay,” Ivy said with a laugh. He heard someone’s voice in the background. “Oh, crap! I have to go. I forgot I was driving my friend to pick up her car at the mechanic’s.”

“No worries. Call when you can.”

“Okay, I’ll check my schedule and text the dates I might be able to come up there. Bye!”

The line clicked dead in his ear before he had a chance to reply. Cam set his phone down on the counter and walked to the windows. He heard an eagle screech in the distance and scanned the trees to find it. He’d yet to get accustomed to the sight of eagles here. He saw one or more every day. Last week, Don had asked him to do the dump run, and he’d been floored when he got there and saw eagles everywhere. There were probably a hundred or more in the area. As he looked over the ski slope, a shadow on the snow alerted him to the eagle taking off from its perch in the trees. Its takeoff was slow, given the immense span of its wings. Once it was in the air, it swooped high and dipped down again before flying out of sight.

With Ivy’s question about staying past the season on his mind, he turned away from the window and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. It was on the early side for dinner, but Delia would have something for him to snack on. Gage was generous with staff and meals were part of the deal, so Cam didn’t have to worry about scrounging up his own meals. As such, he was probably eating healthier than he had in years because of Delia’s cooking.

***

Ginger kicked her feet on the front tire to knock the snow off her boots and climbed inside her car. She’d stopped to pick up the mail before heading home. When she turned the keys to start her car, the engine rumbled, but it didn’t catch. After several more tries, she leaned her head back with a sigh. Her mechanic had suggested she replace her battery before this winter, but she’d ignored him. She hadn’t wanted to bother with it and preferred to wait until she had to deal with it. It’s just that now she
had
to deal with it, and it was annoyingly inconvenient. It was after five in the evening and she just wanted to go home. The wind was whipping viciously off the water today and snow had started to fall within the last hour. Having grown up here, she had a good sense of when it felt like a big storm was brewing. This was one of those days. The air had felt heavy and scented with snow all day. The clouds were thick and foreboding, and the wind simply wouldn’t quit. With a sigh, she fumbled in her purse for her phone and quickly dialed her mother’s number. When she didn’t get an answer, she left a quick message and stared down at her phone. Usually, the next person she’d call would be Marley, but Marley was literally due to have her baby any day now. Ginger didn’t want to drag her all the way to town for a ride when the weather could get worse.

The sound of tires rolling across the snow-packed parking lot drew her attention. A black truck pulled up beside her. With the snow, she couldn’t quite see who it was, so she rolled down her window to find Cam waving to her. He rolled his window down as well. “Hey there, how’s it going?” he asked.

“Fine. You?” While she managed to speak to him, a hot flush washed through her at seeing him again and warmth curled around her heart at having him stop to say hello. That’s how silly she was over him—him simply greeting her fed straight into her annoyingly hopeful heart.

He shrugged. “Busy, but good. Thought I’d say hi when I saw your car.”

A blast of icy wind whipped through her car window and she flinched. Ginger pondered for a second. The smart thing would be to ask Cam for a ride, but her pride held her back, along with a prick of apprehension. She was betwixt and between about her stupid attraction to him. It annoyed her to keep hearing other women comment on how handsome he was and made her feel she was just like everyone else. Diamond Creek was a small world. Someone like Cam couldn’t breeze into town without being noticed. Another gust of icy air whooshed through her window, making the decision for her. She wasn’t going to sit here and wait to see if her mother called her back. She wanted to be home where it was warm, although her heart fluttered at the thought of asking him for help.

“Actually, my battery’s dead. Would you mind giving me a ride home? I don’t live far from here and it’s the same direction as the lodge.”

Cam’s brows hitched. “Of course not. It’s too damn cold for you to sit around in this. You want me to try to jump the battery?”

“Not now. My mechanic told me months ago this battery was on its last legs. It’s freezing out, and I don’t know if it will work. I’d rather just hitch a ride and figure it out tomorrow before the snow gets too heavy.”

He nodded. “Okay then. Come on over.”

She grabbed her purse and phone, and made sure her car was locked before she scurried around to the passenger side of his truck. He swung the door open from the inside when she reached it. In the brief moment from her car to his truck, she was shivering from the cold and her cheeks stung from the wind driven snow.

She climbed in swiftly and closed the door. In seconds, the warmth of his truck sifted around her. She rubbed her arms and glanced over. “Thank you. It’s freezing out there. I just wasn’t up for trying to do the whole jump start thing.”

He grinned. “Me neither. I would’ve done it if you wanted, but it’s brutal out there. So where to?”

She quickly gave him directions. As he drove along, the snow picked up pace, flying fast and furious against his windshield.

“Damn, looks like we’re in for a hell of a storm tonight. I said as much to Gage this morning. I don’t know how to explain it, but the air smells a certain way when snow’s coming.”

She glanced to him with a grin, almost giddy to find this detail in common. “I said the same thing! It’s hard to describe unless you know what it’s like.” On the heels of her words, the defensive part of herself reared up, reminding her not to be ridiculous. So they both happened to notice how the air smelled before it snowed? Following that, her heart, which was getting rather chatty lately, pointed out it wasn’t so bad to enjoy a small connection.

Cam chuckled. “Snow is snow. I might not have lived in Alaska before, but I’ve spent most of my life in places where it snows a lot.” He slowed as he approached one of the few stoplights in Diamond Creek.

Ginger could feel the wheels go into a brief skid as he came to a stop. He appeared unruffled by the slick road. While they waited for the light to change, a few cars passed through the intersection without incident before a truck came through and started to turn. The driver lost control and the truck spun out and bumped the curb. The truck came to a bouncing stop. The driver waited a moment and carefully maneuvered off the curb before driving away.

Cam shook his head, but didn’t say anything. The snow pelted against the windshield. In the few minutes since they’d left the post office, the snow had steadily gotten heavier and picked up the pace. By this point, visibility was only a few feet ahead. When the light changed, he started driving slowly through the intersection.

“I’m taking it slow, so I hope you’re not in a hurry,” he said.

“Seeing as I’d still be sitting in my car at the post office if it weren’t for you giving me a ride, you definitely don’t need to worry about me complaining about how slow you’re driving. Taking it slow is the smart thing right now. It’s getting bad pretty fast.” No matter how many years she’d driven in rough weather, it always made her a little anxious. Cam’s steady presence soothed her, which also flustered her because she didn’t like how much she enjoyed his confident, calm manner.

The rest of the drive was quiet, save the wind howling outside and the incessant sound of snow drumming against the windshield. He eventually made it to her house, following her earlier directions precisely. He carefully turned into her driveway. The snow was piling up, so she guided him to where to park. She looked his way and wondered what to say. The words that came out surprised her. She most certainly wasn’t thinking, yet she couldn’t help but want to hunker down with him to wait the storm out.

“Want to come in? You might be better off waiting the storm out here for a bit before you head up the hill to the lodge.”

Uh, what the hell are you thinking? I’m thinking the weather’s awful and I don’t want to see him drive away in this. I’ll be worried until I know he makes it back to the lodge. Oh right, you’re worried about him. Maybe so, but it’s more than that and you know it.
 

Ginger sighed internally. Cam had this amazing ability to turn off the sensible part of her brain. She could tell herself she was worried about the weather, and she legitimately was, but the part of her that got bold and invited him to come in was the part that wanted Cam like she’d never wanted any man.

She looked out the window into the swirl of blinding snow. The wind was flying in hard off the water and blowing the snow sideways. With her house situated on the bluff overlooking the bay, when storms came in, the house tended to bear the brunt of the wind with little to offer protection. When she turned back to Cam, he was staring out at the snow as well. His profile was silhouetted in the shadowed car. The strong, clean lines of his face held her gaze. When he glanced her way, a bolt of need shot through her and butterflies amassed in her belly.