Page 36 of Mountain Dreams

“That’s okay. I prefer showers anyway.”

He eyed her in disbelief. “I thought all women liked to take long bubble baths.”

“Not me.”

“Hmm.” So much for strike two.

She opened the next door, which led to a tiny linen closet. He almost said something about the lack of storage space but decided not to lest she get suspicious.

Then they stepped into the bedroom, and this was his last chance to dissuade her. It offered another view of the idyllic stream and mountains and contained a decent-sized closet. Overall, he had to admit the place wasn’t bad, but then he heard a strange yet familiar noise.

She’d been looking out the window, but she suddenly turned toward him. “What was that?”

“Shh. Let’s listen,” he said, putting a finger to his lips.

The sound reminded him of when he and Jax used to jump on the bed they’d shared as kids. Those were the days before memory foam mattresses, when beds contained actual metal springs—squeaky metal springs.

His suspicion was confirmed when he heard voices.

“Yeah, baby!” said a man with a deep, gravelly voice.

“Harder. Yes! Just like that!” shouted a woman.

He looked at Maddie, whose eyes were wide and cheeks flushed a bright red. She clamped a hand over her mouth, either to muffle her laughter or because she was mortified; he wasn’t sure which. Either way, he didn’t want to stick around for the play-by-play in the adjoining unit.

“Let’s go,” he whispered, and they both hurried out of the bedroom.

They didn’t speak again until she’d locked up and they’d gone down the stairs.

“I’m crossing this one off my list,” she said vehemently.

“Really? I can’t imagine why,” he teased.

They paused in the middle of the parking lot and then burst out laughing. I hope the office guy is watching right now, because this is the last time he’s ever going to lay eyes on her.

Strike three! Mountain Stream Apartments was out!

Twelve

At the end of the day, Maddie felt disheartened. She and her very patient chauffeur had visited three more apartment complexes but with no luck. Two of them were nice but had long waiting lists, and one wasn’t even fit for the mouse who’d scurried across the grimy kitchen floor.

“I’m exhausted,” she said as he drove back to Sawyer’s Ridge.

“I’m starving,” he countered.

She chuckled. “Some things never change. You used to say that in history class all the time.”

“And you always had chocolate in your backpack and kindly shared it with me.”

“Thanks for doing this today,” she said, changing the subject.

He shrugged. “Consider it payback for all the candy I took from you.”

She laughed.

“Do you want to stop somewhere and eat?” he asked as he pulled up to a red light in the middle of Pigeon Forge. It was Saturday, and the traffic had increased as night approached.

Even though they’d spent the afternoon together, going out to dinner with him sounded like a date, and it gave her a strange feeling. When they’d first met, she’d often fantasized about dating him, though she’d known it would never happen. Then she’d started dating Wyatt, and as the years had gone by, she’d stopped dreaming about Cody—at least consciously. Nighttime dreams didn’t count, right?