Whatever this was between us, it was real. And it was growing.
And I had absolutely no idea what to do about it.
Except maybe get another flat tire.
CHAPTER FOUR
Tucker
I shouldn’t have been at the clinic.
Again.
Two trips down the mountain in less than a week when I’d been avoiding the place for months. And for what? To drive Emily to pick up her car?
I should’ve just let the garage call her. I should’ve stayed on my mountain where I belonged.
But here I was anyway.
The parking lot was half-full when I pulled in. I sat in my truck for a solid minute, hands on the steering wheel, staring at the clinic entrance like it might disappear before my eyes.
This was stupid. Unnecessary. I’d already crossed too many lines with her.
Ordering her not to come back on my mountain.
Stopping to help her when she’d disobeyed.
Fucking kissing her.
I couldn’t get the feel of her out of my mind. Her taste. Her scent.
And the image of her sitting on the hood of her car, eating an apple like she had all the time in the world. The way she’d pushed back when I’d tried to intimidate her. The self-doubt I could see bleeding through every time I got too close.
In short, I couldn’t get Emily Carr out of my mind.
Her soft body and sharp tongue and those eyes that saw too damn much. She was the kind of woman most men were too stupid to appreciate.
And I had no business being one of them who did.
After I’d dropped her off, I’d gone back to my cabin, paced for an hour, then called Joe’s Garage. I’d had her car towed, her tire patched and told Joe to keep his mouth shut about who’d covered it.
Then I’d laid awake most of the night trying to convince myself I’d done it because it was the right thing to do. Not because the thought of her stranded on that road made something inside me want to move mountains to protect her.
And certainly not because I wanted an excuse to see her again.
I climbed out of the truck before I could change my mind and headed for the entrance.
Inside, the clinic hummed with activity—patients in the waiting room, staff moving between rooms.
Mandy looked up from the reception desk, her eyes widening when she saw me. “Tucker Barrett. Back again. Should I be concerned or impressed?”
I ignored the commentary. “Emily working?”
Her eyebrows rose, and I saw the knowing look on her face. The same look she’d had last time. Like she could see right through me. “She’s finishing up with a patient. Want me to let her know you’re here?”
“Yeah.”
“This medical or personal?”
