Page 37 of Roughing It

“Want a blanket?”

Blakely looks up from the glow of her phone screen, and this time, the smile she gives me is real. “Thank you. I’m still not used to how cold it gets once the sun sets.” She reaches out a hand, but I plop onto the swing next to her, draping the blanket over her lap and gently tucking it beneath her legs.

Her breath catches when my hand brushes her knee, and despite the layers between our skin, I swear sparks tingle along my palm.

Clearing my throat, I ask, “So, how’s it going? The, uh, commenting stuff?”

She giggles. “Thecommenting stuffis going fine. Have you looked at Peak Adventures’ account lately? You’ve gained close to a thousand new followers already.”

“No, I don’t mess with that shit.”

Her pointy elbow digs into my side. “Oh right, I forget you’re above all this.” Thankfully, there’s no bite to her words.

“Some of us have to make a living the old-fashioned way.” I give her cute little nose a quick flick.

The porch goes dark when she closes her phone. Twisting so her back rests against the side and drawing her legs up beneath her, she cocks her head and asks, “How did you learn all this?”

“All what?”

“How to be a, what did you call yourself? An outdoorsman?”

“Oh, uh, my dad’s former military.”

She gestures for me to keep going. I lean back against the swing and enjoy the sway. “He learned wilderness survival during his time in the army. When he was home from deployments, he took me and my two younger brothers camping and trekking.” I glance at her to see if I’m boring her, but I swear, in the dim light, she looks interested. “He’d drop us off and make us navigate to the campsite or make it so we had to earn the tent by catching dinner. When he didn’t re-up, it turned to almost every weekend and any breaks we had from school.”

She pokes my thigh with one of those adorable toes. “I bet it had less to do with training you on the great outdoors and more about giving your poor mom a breather from all the testosterone for a couple of days a week.”

I chuckle. “You’re probably right.”

We sit quietly until Blakely asks, “When he dropped you off, was it you and your brothers or just you?” There’s curiosity in her voice, but also something more. Concern maybe?

“Me and them.” I scratch the back of my neck.

“So you were in charge of two younger boys while learning to navigate?”

I grunt. Where’s she going with this?

Thankfully, she doesn’t make me stew too long. “When did it go from weekends to a job?”

“We’d been to Trail Creek on vacation, and Mom and Dad fell in love with the place. Next thing I knew, they declared they were moving, and I was welcome to stay and finish school where I was, or I could pick up and come with them.”

“School?”

“College. I was twenty. Gray had just graduated, and Bowas starting high school. I transferred and finished my business degree while helping Dad get Peak Adventures going.”

“Business degree?”

The question is clear in her voice, and immediately, I’m on the defense. Paige’s voice echoes in my mind. “Is this really all you want to be? Some small-town nobody?”

I laugh, but there’s a sharp edge to it. “Yep. Surprised? Have my MBA too. I’m more than a dumb-ass country boy.”

“I didn’t… of course you are. That’s not what?—”

Blakely reaches for me, but I push her hand away. “Don’t worry about it, Princess. I’m sure all us hicks come off the same to you.” Without giving her a chance to say anything else, I jerk from the porch swing and retreat into the cabin and a glass of whiskey.

The first sip is more of a gulp, and I relish the burn in my throat. It helps counter the burn in my heart. This is why I can’t think about kissing her. She’s just like Paige. I’ll never be good enough for a woman like Blakely Bradshaw, and I’d do well to remember it.

DAY FIVE

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