Page 14 of Her Mountain Man Stalker

10

Gunner

It’s a bad idea. It will be so damn obvious—even more obvious than my Law & Order slip-up before. But as soon as I hear the words drifting from Scarlett’s window, I immediately head back through the woods, wending through the trees until I reach my truck. I only just got back from Winterdale after spending all day watching Scarlett from in front of the coffee shop, and now I’m heading back there to Sweet Tooth Bakery to grab her a huge slice of red velvet cake. It’s a stupid thing to do, I know it, but I want to give her everything she wants. It’s worth the risk if I can make her smile.

There were a couple of times this afternoon when I was sure Scarlett was looking right at me. I don’t think I was visible from where she was standing, especially not with the sun beating down on my windshield, reflecting off the glass, but I’m still feeling on edge. If she finds out that I’ve been watching her, I could lose her. She’d be well within her rights to tell me to get the hell away from her. I can almost imagine those pretty blue eyes widening in fear as Scarlett steps back from me, looking at me with disgust. Just thinking about it makes my heart clench painfully, but I try to push the thought from my mind as I drive down the mountain road and stop outside the bakery, grabbing the largest slice of red velvet cake they have before immediatelyturning around again, this time making straight for Scarlett’s cabin.

I park behind her car, my heart thumping as I get out of my truck and knock on the wooden front door. It opens almost immediately, and Scarlett looks up at me, eyebrows raised.

“Hi,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Hey! Come on in.”

There’s something in her expression that I can’t read as she beckons me inside the tiny cabin, and the back of my neck pricks with nerves as I turn to her.

“I, uh, I got you something. I was in Winterdale running some errands, and I thought you might…” I taper off, handing her the cake box without meeting her gaze. If she looks at me, I’m sure she’ll see guilt written all over my face.

“Oh, thank you,” Scarlett says, smiling as she takes the box from me. I watch as she opens it, looking down at the huge slice of red velvet cake inside.

“Sweet Tooth Bakery’s famous around here for its red velvet cake,” I say gruffly. “I, uh…figured you could enjoy it.”

Scarlett presses her lips together and sets the cake down before looking up at me. Her eyes glitter knowingly, and she looks defiant as she says, “You heard me, didn’t you?”

My stomach sinks like a stone, my throat closing up. But I don’t lie to her.

“Yes.”

“You’ve been following me.” Scarlett crosses her arms, giving me a pointed look. “You were outside the coffee shop today. You were watching me the night I had Law & Order on the TV.” She suddenly looks thoughtful, like something just occurred to her. “Were you watching me that day in the forest too? When I fell into the creek…were you following me?”

I could try to deny it, but I won’t. I’m not going to gaslight her or act like she’s crazy when she’s completely right abouteverything. I knew I was playing a dangerous game the day I started following her, and now it looks like I’ll have to suck up the consequences. God knows I deserve it.

“Yes,” I say quietly. “I’ve been following you since I first saw you walking in the forest.”

Scarlett’s eyebrows fly up, but she doesn’t step away from me and she doesn’t look surprised either. “Why?”

I run a hand through my hair, swallowing hard. “When I saw you in the woods, I was worried about you. You looked inexperienced, and I was worried you might get hurt, so I followed you. Then that night, I couldn’t sleep…I was thinking about you out here all by yourself, so I stayed up all night outside your cabin. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”

“And at the coffee shop?” Scarlett asks. “Why would I be in danger at a coffee shop in the middle of the day?”

“I was being paranoid. I got it into my head that you would get yourself hurt somehow, and I wanted to make sure I would be there to protect you when it happened.”

Scarlett doesn’t look scared or disgusted like I expected, but the small, knowing smile has vanished from her lips. She suddenly looks wounded. Offended even.

“So you think I’m an idiot?” she asks quietly. “An incompetent kid who can’t take care of myself? Who needs to be watched all the time for her own safety?”

“No!”

“Well that’s what it sounds like.” Tears well up in Scarlett’s eyes. “I…I can understand watching me in the woods. I can appreciate trying to keep me safe from mountain lions or intruders or whatever else. But do you really think I’m so useless that I can’t even serve coffee without being a danger to myself? You think I’m…I’m going to manage to ‘get myself hurt’ doing that?”

I stare at her, my heart squeezing as a tear falls down her cheek. I thought she’d be angry with me for invading her privacy, but I never imagined I’d make her feel like this. I’m a fucking idiot for not realizing before how she might interpret me following her around.

“Scarlett, I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re useless at all,” I say firmly, taking a step toward her and grabbing her hands in mine. “I think you’re strong and smart and capable of anything you set your mind to. I think you’re fucking amazing.”

She sniffs. “But then why do you think I need a babysitter? What makes you think I can’t be trusted to look after myself? The whole reason I moved here in the first place is because I wanted to learn how to stand on my own two feet, away from my parents.”

“It’s not you I don’t trust,” I say. “It’s the world…the bad shit that happens to good people for no reason.” I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “I know you can take care of yourself, but I just can’t bear the thought of something happening to you when I’m not there to stop it. I should never have said I thought you’d ‘get yourself hurt’, that was dumb, and it’s not what I meant. I’m just worried that something could happen to you, something that isn’t your fault, something you have no control over.”

Scarlett shakes her head, looking confused. “Like what? What do you think is going to happen?”

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