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NINE
HAYDEN
“Clouds in your head?”
Lowering my binoculars, I looked away from the scene in the distance of rolling forest land down below. A storm was coming, a few days out, but I could see the darkening in the distance. A bundle of clouds growing, causing a graying of the sky.
The storms were growing more frequent with more violence. The storm would hit us hard in a few days, but sometimes it brought even angrier weather not far behind.
Bucks was leaning against the doorway, mug in one of his meaty hands. He watched me from beneath his head of hair that ran loose around his thick brows. The man was a beast and someone I was proud to have as a mentor.
He was right, clouds in my head.
Travis Buckley “Bucks” Brown was a mountain man born and bred. Rumor was that he was born with an axe in his hand and a two-month-old beard. Only a few years older than me, the man was wise beyond his years. He never shared much of his past with me, though I suspected it was dark and full of anger. Everyone in the crew looked up to him and everyone knew that we would have his back in a heartbeat, just as he would have ours.
The one time we shared and attempted to swap stories, he always listened while I shared. When asked about his life, he would shrug, take a drink of his juice, and always say, “Not that interesting.” That was when all the Park Rangers knew not to push it and not to ask again.
Clouds in my head? “Maybe.” Was all I could manage in an answer to his question.
Answering him directly gave me an odd sensation in my gut. How would I explain anything about the woman I met yesterday? The woman who sucked my cock so well that I was certain my brain would explode. How badly I wanted all of her, more of her, to hold her, protect her - these words were to alien to me.
“A woman?”
For fuck’s sake, I could hide nothing from the guy. If I sneezed and he would know if it was a fresh pandemic or not.
I turned away from the windows of the fire lookout tower and folded my arms across my chest, binoculars still in hand. My thoughts and feelings a storm within me. Fucking clouds.
“Yes.” I admitted with an uneasy reluctance. “A woman.”
He sipped his coffee, eyes peering over the rim of his mug, listening. “The one you met yesterday?”
I nodded, grunting out a confirmation.
Lana. Just Lana.
Remembering her sent shock waves across my skin and a surge of fiery blood to my cock. I had to breathe. In and out, taking in the smells of the fresh oak, cool glass, and kerosene of the newly built fire lookout tower. I needed to stay calm, to keep my emotions in check.
Goodbye, Hayden Storme.Her voice a thunder in my skull, my cheek where her palm rested, still holding the residual warmth of her touch. I missed it.
“Well? Tell me about her.”
Bucks brought me back from my thoughts again. What about her? I think it’s more, but I cannot explain what or why. “Meeting her...” I started, trying to find words when I was never very good at them. “Was like a jolt to my, my soul.” I clapped my free hand over my face, running my hands over the week-old beard. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
Bucks set down his mug and looked at his watch. I guess it was time for him to move on to the next task. “Mm, love.” He said, tipping his hat. “Keep watch, Storme. Tickets don’t come free.” Then he was gone.
I sighed, setting down the binoculars, and turned back to the glass windows to look out at the glorious expanse of the national park. I pressed my palms to the ledge and rested a moment, hanging my head.
The mistake was hanging over me like a rumbling darkness. I raised my head again to look into the distance over the valley and forest. My eyes watching, looking out for any suspicious smoke. With the newly built fire lookout tower, we could watch the valley as guardians. But this time, we were on storm watch more than just for fires. Surprise storms would build over the valley and unleash a torrent of violence.
Though I was alert, my mind and thoughts were only on her.
Lana.
I wanted to see her again, but I did not know how. There had to be some way to have her in my life - to keep her by my side. Lana, with every curve, the softness of her lips and body, and that smile that would melt the hearts of the hardest man.
Once I found what that was, and what I needed to do, I would never again let her go.
Tickets. I swung back to the door, Bucks long gone to his truck and back down to the valley. Yosemite was on a reservation system and Lana had her car somewhere in the park that day. I pulled the radio from my belt and stared at it - they could view it as risky. Customer data was absolutely private.
But maybe there was another way.
I thumbed the radio awake. “Nathan, you there? It’s Hayden.”
A groan of static came to life, with Nathan at the other end. “Hey Hayden, I’m here. What’s up?”
“Do you still have friends who work on reservations and tech?”
“Sure do! Want to reserve a ticket for someone?”
I held the radio tight. This might actually work. “Actually, can you keep an eye out for a person and a Jeep for me? It’s important.”
