Summer and Aspen strolled through the backdoor. The puppy bound toward her with a bark. Carrie Ann knelt down, receiving a dozen good morning kisses.
“Pretty impressive picnic basket you got there.”
His gaze lingered up her bare legs. A haughty grin slanted one corner of his lopsided smile, noticing her breasts filling out his thin white t-shirt. “If you’re impressed by the cooler, I can’t wait to hear what you say about everything else I have planned.”
“Where are we going?”
He approached, sifting his fingers through the tangles of her morning hair. Hooking a finger beneath her chin, he nuzzled the tip of her nose with his. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“Good morning, handsome.” Rising to her toes, she planted a kiss on his chin dimple.
“You wanna go hiking?” He grabbed her in a full embrace, deepening the kiss. She nodded beneath the scorch of his mouth. There was really no need for him to even ask. Summer introduced her to trekking through the great outdoors during their first month of dating and it quickly became a shared passion. “Get dressed. I’ve got everything else ready to go.”
An hour later, he directed her beyond the far corner of the barn. Her mouth gaped open catching sight of an orange Jeep Wrangler, jacked up and tricked out to the hilt, parked on the grass in front of three double garage doors spanning the back of the barn.
She tilted her head, slicing him a glance above the rim of her sunglasses. “We suddenly have a vehicle at our convenience? If I remember correctly, you said you only had a plane here.”
“Actually, you asked for car keys. And clearly, this is not a car. It’s an off-road vehicle.”
She saw a flash of white as he loaded the backpack into the back seat. Carrie Ann would definitely not consider herself a truck aficionado, but she circled the Jeep in awe, inspecting its rugged, thick steel cage, gigantic springs, and beefy bumper with a built-in winch.
“But, you don’t even have a driveway.”
“Now, what fun would that be, Carrie Ann?” His tone sardonic.
“But, how did you get it here?” She inspected the outreaches of the property. “Here I thought we were in the middle of nowhere. I suppose Mayberry is five miles down the road?”
Summer moseyed to the passenger side of the Jeep, opening a door that mimicked a ride enclosure at a California amusement park. Extending a hand, he encouraged her to use the step. As she raised her leg, he gladly assisted, spanning her bottom with one hand. Carrie Ann felt his middle finger glide between her cheeks. He twisted her hips so she faced him and nibbled on the exposed skin above the waistband.
“Jackson Hole is a short flight away, about one hundred miles.” He pointed southward and then moved his finger around like a compass. “Glacier National Park is about two hundred and fifty miles north. I’m told that our closest neighbor is a bed and breakfast about a thirty minute drive from here. There’s a small town there too. Nothing special. Just a gas station.”
Nerves fluttered in her stomach hearing the word our to describe his neighbors. Both were so immersed in the right now, they hadn’t even gotten close to discussing the future.
Her chin jutted forward, snooping further into the garage. “What else are you hiding in there?”
“Snow mobiles, four wheelers, a kayak and all kinds of fishing gear.”
“You fish?”
“Red, if you’re going to insist on standing here, taunting me with heaven a mere tongue lashing away, I’m going to rip those shorts off you and take you right here. I was hoping to make it to a little spot I found last time I was here.”
Tempted, her hooha waved from down under, giving a little hug, tempting her to strip. She could feel the blush seeping across the cheeks, climbing into her seat. Her heart beat a little quicker realizing he’d wanted to take her someplace special.
“What about Aspen? Isn’t she coming with us?”
He tossed her a rogue smile, turning the key. “Not today.”
Summer navigated his way through the dense forest, following somewhat of a marked trail. Two narrow tire tracks barely visible in the dense grass. He informed, “By the way, this is the driveway.”
Making their way out of the trees, he drove along the spellbinding glacier-carved valley nestled between the craggy peaks blanketed in ancient fir, and spruce pines. Their conversation flowed easily and naturally, exploring the varied terrain of the land. There was no need to fill the quiet solitude with dialogue. Both were completely comfortable simply being in the others’ presence. Summer happily pointed out a few wildlife sightings including, mule deer, bighorn sheep, a gigantic moose, and a small heard of elk grazing in a meadow near a broad lake.
Stopping to pick a bouquet of wildflowers and munch on some trailside berries, she asked, “I don’t understand. How do you get gas?”
“Pardon?”
“You know, for your Jeep? And your other toys? How do you get gas and power and water all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?”
Summer erupted into laughter. “Have you been thinking about that the whole drive? You’re supposed to be enjoying majestic Montana.”
“I’m thoroughly enjoying everything about this place. I was just curious,” she said timidly. “How do you get here in the winter?”
“Getting here in the winter is tricky and access is controlled by the weather. Much of the cabin is self-sustaining.” Gliding the back of his knuckles along the underside of her jaw, he stole a very nice, long intimate kiss. Summer patted her bottom. “We’re almost there. And I pay a guy, out the nose, to haul gas for me. My connection was already in place when Mr. Redford owned it, but things just switched a generation. The guy who used to do things for Redford…I guess you could call him a caretaker of sorts…retired, so his son handles a few things for me when I need him to. He loves it because he gets paid very well, plus I let him hunt on my property. I’ll show you all the ins and outs of prepping the cabin when we get back. But for now, I really just want you to put all that stuff on the back burner. Let that mind of yours settle.”
“I can do that,” she said breathily, already simmering under his lips.
Waterfalls lined the mountainside as they made their way up the pass. Nearing the edge of a cliff, Carrie Ann’s legs stretched out in front of her, stomping on her pretend passenger side breaks, while her fingers grasped the sleeve of his shirt. Her stomach dropped to her toes as the Jeep crawled up the steep trail.
“Have a little faith, Red. I just got you back. The last thing I want do is lose you again.”
Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. And it had nothing to do with the cliff. Unanswered questions, questions she hadn’t even considered, began to stack up like the mountain ranges off in the distance. Does he have me back? What does back entail? Even though Summer was just a regular guy to Carrie Ann, to the rest of the world he was Ryan a.k.a. Hollywood heartthrob. With old issues set aside, new concerns would present themselves the instant they left Montana.
Carrie Ann considered herself to be a smart, responsible, confident, put together woman with a good head on her shoulders. But when it came to Summer, she’d always had a jealous streak.
“Red,” he drew her name out, pulling her from her thoughts.
“So now that you’ve got me back…what do you intend to do with me?”
Summer pulled the emergency brake, parking the Jeep beneath the branches of a huge tree. The cocky grin drenching his profile gave an implication of exactly what he intended. Her smile mirrored his. Eyes glued to his gorgeous mouth, she backtracked a bit.
“I mean, when we go back to LA. What’s going to happen?”
“I’m guessing a lot more of what’s about to happen right now,” he laughed, lifting an index finger to his lips. “Shhh. You need to relax, unwind, you’re working your brain too hard.”