She rises up on her toes, presses a soft kiss to my cheek, and then she's gone, leaving me standing in my living room with my heart pounding and my control hanging by a thread.
Through the ceiling, I hear the guest room door close. Then the soft sound of footsteps. A drawer opening. Water running in the bathroom.
I pour myself three fingers of whiskey and settle into my chair by the window, staring out at the storm.
I'm in trouble.
Deep, dangerous, beautiful trouble.
And for the first time in years, I'm not sure I want to fight my way out.
I wake before dawn,my body on military time even twenty years after leaving the service. The storm has passed, leaving the mountain air crisp and clean. I pull on jeans and a flannel shirt, padding barefoot to the kitchen to start coffee.
My mind replays last night's encounter with Riley. The way water had plastered her clothes to her body. The defiance in her eyes when she told me what she'd done to that bastard Brad. The feel of her lips on my cheek, a whisper of what could be if I were a younger man. A better man.
A man who hadn't promised her dying father I'd look after her.
Bill Hart had been more than my best friend. He'd been my brother in every way that mattered. We'd served together, survived together, and when I left the Rangers to come home to Grizzly Ridge, he'd followed. Built a life here, raised his daughter here after his wife died.
And last year, when cancer ate him alive from the inside out, he'd asked one thing of me.
"Take care of my little girl, Elias. She's all that matters."
I'd promised. And a McKenna's word is his bond.
But Bill couldn't have known how she'd look at me when she came back from college. Couldn't have imagined the woman his little girl would become, or how she'd haunt my dreams.
The coffee finishes brewing as sunlight begins to spill over the mountains. I pour a cup and step onto the back porch, letting the morning chill clear my head.
My cabin sits on a ridge overlooking the McKenna family ranch below. From here, I can see my brother Sawyer's house at the edge of town, the lights just coming on as the sheriff of Grizzly Ridge prepares for his day. Further up the mountain, smoke curls from Cade's chimney where he and his wife Harper have built their life.
The McKennas have always been fixtures in this town. Protectors. Providers. Men who stand between their loved ones and harm.
Men who keep their promises.
I drain my coffee and head to the shower, needing the sting of cold water to wash away thoughts of Riley's rain-soaked clothes and challenging eyes. I've got work to do. The spring wildlife count starts today, and as game warden, I need to be in the field before the hunters start their day.
When I emerge from the bathroom, towel wrapped around my waist, I nearly collide with her in the hallway.
"Morning," Riley says, her voice sleep-rough and sexy as hell. She's wearing an oversized t-shirt that barely reaches mid-thigh, revealing long, tanned legs that make my mouth go dry.
"Morning," I manage, suddenly aware of water droplets sliding down my bare chest. Her eyes track one as it disappears into the towel, and the air between us turns electric.
"You're up early," she says, gaze lingering on my chest before rising to meet mine.
"Work." I sound like I've been gargling gravel. "Wildlife count. I'll be gone most of the day."
She nods, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Mind if I stick around? I need to figure out what I'm doing next."
What she's doing is testing my control, standing there with those long legs and sleep-mussed hair, looking like every fantasy I've denied myself.
"Stay as long as you need." I step around her, careful not to touch. "Coffee's made. Food in the fridge. Make yourself at home."
"Thanks." She watches me retreat toward my bedroom. "For everything, Elias."
I nod without turning. If I look at her again, standing in my hallway looking soft and warm from sleep, I might forget every promise I've ever made.
In my room, I dress quickly. Worn jeans, thermal shirt, flannel, boots. The uniform of a man who lives in the wilderness by choice. A man who prefers the company of trees and mountain lions to people.
