AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Out, woman. Let’s go.”
She pulls away to walk toward the door, and I smack the other cheek for good measure. She looks back over her shoulder, sass and brattiness in her eyes, and I shrug. “I’m all about equal treatment, so the right had to get what the left got.”
“I’ll remember that later,” she says. “Your ass is mine, country boy.”
Outside, it’s still picture-perfect beautiful, and after showing Elise how to fire up the small generator I have and starting the water pumps, I lead her to the parking shed for my ATV. “Hop on.”
“And if I want to do the driving?”
I grin, mounting the ATV and firing it up. “After you know the local trails, I’ll be happy to let you. Safety first, though.”
Elise gets on behind me, pressing her breasts to my back and wrapping her arms around my waist, her hands dangerously close to my crotch. We ride, and I goof a bit, having fun and stopping to show her bits about the trail and property. Reaching the top of a ridge, I come to a stop at the beginning of a small trail. “Here’s a nice spot. Can’t take the ATV up though.”
Elise gives me an amused look but says nothing, which I appreciate. I’d hate to ruin the surprise. “So how’d you get into the outdoors?” Elise asks as we go. “You seem totally at home here.”
“Guess being country’s always been in my blood,” I explain, smiling. “My dad would take me out, sometimes into the mountains. We’d go fishing, camping . . . Dad wasn’t a hunter, but we had fun. There was this lake up at Lucky Peak that I loved to go swimming in. We had some good times there.” I fall quiet, not really wanting to talk about my parents and their reaction to my ‘damn-fool’ career, so I decide to turn the questions back on her. “What about you?”
“Other than those six months with the Girl Scouts, I’ve never really spent a lot of time outdoors,” she admits, grinning. “I did a few nature walks when I was in college, but those were more parks than real nature. I mean, you could hear the cars if you listened hard enough. Not at all like this.”
“Well, check this out then,” I tell her as the path ends in the clearing. I found this place on my first trip up here, and as Elise takes it in, I can tell she’s just as enchanted as I was. “It’s the biggest reason I bought the cabin.”
“It’s . . . you’ve got a fairy forest,” Elise says, looking around. The trees here are all pines, shooting high into the sky and shadowing a lot of the clearing, and for just a moment, I can imagine sparkly little creatures fluttering between the branches, intent on making magic.
“I never thought of fairies before, but it is magical,” I agree. Taking her hand, I lead her on. “And up here is the best part.”
I don’t know how a creek this high up in the hills is able to form a pool, but it does, with a soft grass bank and half of the pool in the shade, the other half in the sun. “Have a seat. I’d say swim, but it’s a bit cold except in July and August.”
Elise sits down, letting me gather her in my arms as we lean back, my leg cocked to the side to let her press her body against me. “And you don’t live here all the time why?”
I laugh softly, brushing a lock of her hair away from her cheek and inhaling the soft aroma that is naturally Elise. “If I thought I could, I might. But Carsen needs good schools, and besides, if I were up here all the time, I’d have to have visitors, all that shit. Ruin the scene. So I save it . . . for special people and for special occasions.”
Elise turns, looking up at me and taking my hand. “Thank you. I know this is a crazy way to meet someone, but . . . I really am glad I followed you that day.”
“So that was you,” I confirm, chuckling. “Took me a while. Those sunglasses and wig are a hell of a disguise. So, how’s the story coming?”
Elise sighs, leaning back and I can hear the worry in her voice. “Good and bad. Part three is done, but Donnie insists on dirt for part four. I don’t think posing some archery shots is going to be enough.” She spits out in disgust. “Hell, I wouldn’t put it past Donnie to make up some random shit and publish it, and that’s exactly what you don’t want to happen, so we’ve got to come up with something. Got any ideas on a scandal I can give you that is juicy but won’t be too embarrassing?”
