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My pulse accelerates, but I don't let it show.
It could be an animal, or if it is a human visitor, it's most likely a lost tourist. Even though I live on the outer edges of Thickehead, the charming mountain town attracts a swarm of year-round tourists to the region.
There's a hiking trail a few miles away from my property line. Maybe someone took a wrong turn?
I stop floating and stand in the waist-deep water, swiping my hands through my slick hair, brushing it off my face.
I make my way toward the water's edge, taking long, deep strides, letting my eyes roam through the thick forest, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever is there.
I haul myself up onto the giant rock I dove in from and pat myself dry with my T-shirt. I bend down to gather my clothes when I hear a sound to my right.
Footsteps.
Dropping everything, I race off in the direction of the sound. Yep, somebody is definitely on my property.
I give chase.
The thing about running barefoot in a forest is that it kills your feet. As keen as I am to find out who my intruder is, a few prickly twigs spike painfully into my soles, quickly putting an end to things.
Dammit. They're getting away.
I scan my surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever it is. Suddenly, in the gap between two massive trees, a person comes into my line of sight.
They're hightailing it out of here as fast as they can, but for a few brief seconds, I get a clear, unobstructed view.
It's a man.
Wearing a navy blue shirt with a black backpack flung over his shoulders.
But it's not what he's wearing that captures my attention.
No.
The detail my eyes fixate on is the mop of red curls on top of his head.
I have my answer. I know who my unexpected guest is.
He slips out of view, but I stand there, grinning like an idiot.
A naked idiot.
But it looks like this naked idiot is about to pay a visit to the local library.
2
PJ
Five, six, seven, eighttaps on the top left corner of the book with my left hand.
I then silently count out eight taps on the top right corner of the book with my right hand.
Good.
Things are even.
I'm…balanced.
"PJ."
