“Yeah,” I confirm. “First was the road, then my cabin and gardens. Next, my buddies will move up here to build their own places. Then we’re going to tackle the old mining town.”
Something I said sparked curiosity deep in her green eyes. She’s absolutely mesmerizing.
“Tell me everything,” she commands as she pulls the blankets up to her chin.
I stretch out on the floor next to the bed, a sense of peace and stillness settling over me. I usually don’t fall asleep until long after midnight, but something about Ari is calming and exhilarating at the same time.
“When my friends get up here, we’ll go over the lay of the land and some basic road structures,” I begin, weaving my hands behind my head as I close my eyes and imagine the town we’re going to build.
No more than two or three minutes into telling Ari about our plans, the softest, sweetest little snores come from the bed. I smile for the first time in forever and drift off to sleep.
4
ARI
Amuffled sound tears me from my sleep, followed by another louder, more urgent yelp. I wake up with a start, confused and disoriented by my surroundings. I’m in the coziest bed with soft, warm blankets that smell like pine and cinnamon.
When a third tortured cry rips through the otherwise silent log cabin, the previous night comes back in a rush. I was camping, freaked out, got stuck in a tree, and was saved by an honest-to-god bearded, growly mountain man.
A mountain man who has been to hell and back via his time in the Army Rangers.
I roll to the side, peering over the edge of the bed to see if Wilder is okay. He’s on his side, facing me. His eyes are scrunched up in pain, his jaw clenched as he relives something awful.
My heart breaks for him, like last night when he told me about his last mission. It’s clear he blames himself. I get the sense that Wilder chose to spend the rest of his days up here on the mountain working long, hard days as some sort of penance.
“Wilder,” I whisper, hoping to bring him back into the present moment. “Wilder, wake up. It’s just a dream.”
“N-no,” he slurs, his face twisted with regret and shame. I hate seeing him like this.
Tentatively, I reach out, placing just the tips of my fingers on his exposed arm. I gently stroke his feverish skin, whispering calming words and repeating his name over and over. After a few moments, Wilder’s muscles relax, and he heaves out a sigh.
When he blinks his eyes open, I’m struck once again by the magical color. I wasn’t sure I saw them correctly last night, but with the moonlight shining through the window, I can confirm that Wilder’s eyes are teal and filled with emotions he doesn’t know how to express.
“You’re okay,” I repeat, nodding while grounding him with my light touch. “It was just a dream.” He still looks a bit like a caged animal, but more and more of his humanness is returning as he wakes up and distances himself from the nightmare.
“Sorry,” Wilder says, his voice hoarse. He clears his throat and sits up, running a hand through his shoulder-length hair. “I don’t have guests over and…”
He trails off, but I know what he was going to say. It’s been a while since he’s slept with someone else in the room, and he didn’t think to warn me about his nightmares. I shouldn’t care that Wilder sleeps alone every night. It certainly shouldn’t make my heart do silly things like flip in my chest.
I’m not special because I spent the night. I’m an idiot who hurt herself while camping, and Wilder is a good person,I remind myself.
“When I used to get nightmares, I would do a muscle relaxation technique to try and calm down and put my body and mind back to sleep,” I say softly. “Would you like to try it?”
After a beat of silence, I’m about to pull the blankets over my head and tell Wilder to forget I said anything. But then he speaks.
“Why did you get nightmares?” he grunts.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s upset on my behalf, but he doesn't even know me, so that doesn’t make sense.
“I’ll tell you if you come up here on the bed,” I answer with a smile, though I know he probably can’t see it. “It’s huge, and I think you’ll sleep better up here, no matter how amazing the floor is.”
“The floorisamazing,” he mumbles, but I hear a hint of amusement in his tone.
Wilder finally stands, and holy wow, yes, he’s as shredded, huge, and muscular as I remember him being last night.
My body heats up at the memory of being pressed against his chest, those strong arms wrapped around me, supporting my weight as if it were nothing. And when I hugged him… I’m not sure what came over me, just that I knew in my heart this man needed a hug. When he tucked my head under his chin and folded me up in his embrace, the strangest thought floated through my head.We fit.
I stay stock still as Wilder crawls into the bed next to me, careful not to jostle my sore ankle. It’s already feeling a lot better after the wrap, elevation, and pain meds, though it still hurts.
