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Not Grant Holiday. Good guy extraordinaire.
Fuck, I'm stupid. Of course he'd look into me.
Of course, he never really trusted me. Does he even really like me? Or does he see me the way Abby saw me? An easy mark to use and discard?
In the tent, I dress quickly, and then I pack.
I'm taking the tent down when Grant says my name.
Glancing over my shoulder without stopping what I'm doing, I take in Grant and a woman who looks to be my age. She's in running shorts and a loose tank top, but her thick dark hair is down.
Doesn't look like she was out for a run. Just what was Grant getting up to this morning? Am I not the only woman he's chasing?
"Morning," I say and turn back to my work.
"Want some help with that?" Grant asks.
He's closer now. I don't even have to look to know that. And it's certainly not because his voice sounds closer, because he's lowered it to little more than a whisper.
I have a sense of him in my space. I feel things for this man. And I hate myself for it.
"I've got this." I yank a tent pole out of the ground and toss it into a pile with the others. "You have to get to work, right?"
He kneels next to me. "I left because I got a call about another Bigfoot sighting, Dani. Not because I wanted to leave. Last night wasn't a booty call to me."
He sounds so earnest and, I know, if I look at his face and see the sincerity reflected there, I'll cave. So, I stand and walk around the campfire pit toward the woman, who's scrolling on her phone like she's not listening in on our conversation.
Only once I'm standing in front of her does the awkwardness kick in. I went to her to escape Grant without thinking through what the hell I was going to say to her.
She looks up as I near, and I stick my hand out. "Dani Weston. Good morning."
She gives me a nervous smile and her hand, which I shake and release. "Sunny Mayfield. I'm sorry to interrupt your morning. I lost my car keys while I was out for my run and Grant offered to give me a ride home."
I bite back all the sarcastic things I want to say about good Samaritan Grant and smile. "Are you training for the same race as Grant?"
She glances over my shoulder in Grant's direction. I can hear the rustle of fabric and the clink of tent poles, which means he's folding up the tent for me. "No. I'm a casual runner. Just something I do for fun." She wraps her arms around her waist and pulls in a deep breath. Immediately, her demeanor changes. "I own the goat farm on highway nineteen. I make soaps and cheese. My cranberry cheese would pair great with your cranberry scones."
Her big blue eyes stand out against her tanned skin in her narrow face. I don't remember her buying pastries from me, but I've served a lot of people over the past few weeks. "I'd like that."
Her smile is wide and open. "Great. I'll bring it by the bookstore sometime."
"You parked at a trailhead? Or you need a ride?" Grant asks. He's got my pack hanging from one shoulder and his own pack over both of his shoulders.
"I'll just walk to the house." I put my hand out for my pack.
He stares me down for a long moment like he's thinking about arguing with me, but he hands over my pack. "You shouldn't hike alone. Anything can happen out here and cell service is spotty."
"Right. I haven't noticed you following that advice."
Before he can argue, I turn and start for the woods. "Nice meeting you, Sunny," I call over my shoulder.
Her 'you, too,' is drowned out by Grant. "I am a trained professional and I always carry emergency supplies."
I ignore him and keep walking, not fully relaxing until my feet touch the dirt of the trail that leads away from the campsite in a loop that will take me back to the parking lot if I keep following it, or will branch off onto another trail that will take me closer to my house. It's a four-mile hike and my stomach is already rumbling.
Once I'm half a mile down the trail, I stop, pull out a few graham crackers and take a long swig of water. Neither the food nor the water does anything to ease the ache in my throat and I realize that, no matter what I told myself, I had hopes for Grant Holiday.
I thought there might be something more between us than just great sex.
