Page 49 of Dear Grumpy Boss

I was where I was supposed to be.

I didn’t know how much time had passed. One moment, I was resting beside the creek, and the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes, disoriented. I guessed I’d fallen asleep.

Taking out my phone, I checked the time, surprised to find an hour had passed.

Saoirse had texted me a picture of her in her skydiving gear with the message: “I survived!” I grinned at my brave, crazy friend. She never said no to a challenge and didn’t let fear stop her from having new experiences. It was part of why I loved her.

There was another text from Thomas. Oh, sweet, redheaded Thomas.

Hey! I’d love to see you again this weekend. Text me if you can fit me in.

I sighed.

Jeez.

We’d gone out last night. Music, drinks, his friends. There hadn’t been a huge opportunity to talk since we couldn’t really hear each other. I’d had fun, though. The band had been outrageous, and the vibe had been pretty chill.

Until he held my hand. I hadn’t been able to stop noticing how soft his was.

Like sinking into warm butter.

I’d let him kiss me when he took me home, and it had been nice. His hug had been even nicer. I wasn’t sure I could picture myself in bed with him, though.

Still, he was a nice guy. A good guy. I’d give him one more try. If I still wasn’t feeling it, I’d let him down easy. I’d never be the girl to drag things out just to have someone in my life.

I sat up, taking a deep pull from my water bottle. It was time to start heading back. I had a long walk ahead of me.

Climbing to my feet, I stretched my arms over my head. That nap had been exactly what I’d needed.

I leaned down to grab my backpack, but a band of iron caught me before I could grab it. No, not iron. Strong, unyielding arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind and yanked me backward into something hard. Alarm bells rang in my ears, but before I could scream, a big hand covered my mouth.

“Elise,” a low voice gritted in my ear. “Stop. Look in front of you. One o’clock.”

My brain raced to catch up. It was Weston holding me, not some crazed rapist or cannibal from the hills. His tall, lean body pressed into mine, crushing my backside against him.

“Are you stalking me?” I mumbled from behind his hand. “Let go of me!”

He gave me a shake. “Look in front of you, baby. Stay calm.”

He turned my head slightly to the right, and though everything inside me wanted to ignore his orders, I focused on the spot.

And nearly pissed my pants.

No more than twenty feet away stood a mountain lion. Stock-still, it watched us both, standing in the exact path I would have taken had Weston not stopped me.

My muscles locked up the very second I understood the situation. Mountain lions didn’t normally come out at this time of day. If they did, and they saw a human, they’d usually run and hide.

This one wasn’t hiding.

“Don’t look away,” Weston said firmly, raising his voice. “Keep your eyes on that cat, baby. You’re going to be fine. We’re going to stay big, make some noise, and scare that kitten away.”

I whimpered against his hand. My heart thundered in my ears. What was happening? How could this be real?

“Come on, Elise.” He took one of my hands and raised it up so our arms were straight out to the side. “Make yourself big and scary. Let’s be loud.”

He could be loud. I couldn’t do anything but suck in strawfuls of oxygen and try not to pass out.

Weston moved our arms around and talked to the mountain lion while I trembled helplessly.

---