Page 19 of Shared By the Mountain Men

“Any time!”

“Wait!” she suddenly said as I started to leave.

A swelling of hope filled me. “Yeah?”

“You didn’t tell me how you got blown up!”

“Ah, crap,” I replied. “It’s too long of a story. I’ll explain it next time.”

Melissa made a face. “Boo. You’re going to make me sprain my ankle again just to hear about it?”

“I’m sure we’ll run into each other. It’s not a big town.”

I waved to Marlene by the front door before rushing outside. My mind was already racing, thinking of all the steps I would need to take when I reached Floyd’s broken leg. The warm summer sun hit my face, a refreshing reminder of how much I loved the mountains this time of year. But it wasn’t as warm as the feeling I got when Melissa gave me a rare smile. I enjoyed her company, and didn’t want to leave. Ilikedher, and was drawn to her in a way that excited me.

Jack was right. This lunch wasn’t like those I’d had with my other patients.

I hurried back inside. Melissa gave a start when she saw me, a handful of French fries in her mouth. “Forget something?” she asked, voice muffled by the food.

“Have dinner with me tomorrow night,” I blurted out before I could regret it. “I’ll tell you all about how I got blown up. And lots of other stories.”

Melissa blinked and swallowed her food. “That sounds like a date.”

“Sure, let’s call it that,” I replied.What am I doing? I shouldn’t be asking her out.

She tilted her head sideways. “Are you allowed to date your patients?”

“Technically, you never paid for my services, so you’re not an official patient.”

“So it’s a loophole date.”

I shrugged. “Why not?”

For a few heartbeats, I was certain this was a mistake. I’d read the situation wrong; Melissa wasn’t interested in me, and was about to laugh in my face. The sting of rejection wasright there, waiting to flood my veins.

But then she blushed, and smiled. “Yeah. Why not?”

9

Melissa

I was buzzing with excitement while I finished my lunch.

I had a date? With the super-hot doctor guy who looked like Owen Wilson? I hadn’t expectedthatto happen on my Colorado hike.

But there was definitely chemistry between us.

At first I thought it was just the kind of guy he was, friendly to everyone he met. Especially when multiple people called out and waved to him around town. Surely the attention I was receiving from him was the same kind he gave everyone in this quiet little mountain town.

Nope. He was into me. And I wasextremelyinto him. It had nothing to do with him being a doctor, either—I would’ve batted my eyelashes at him if he dug ditches for a living. But the fact that he was a doctor bumped him up from a nine to aten.

Now I had to find a way to kill time until tomorrow night.

I got another refill of coffee, finished my meal, and then got up from the booth. My ankle throbbed with pain after sitting so long. Noah was right: I should’ve stayed off it. But I still wanted to see more of the town. Maybe if I went slowly, and took lots of breaks, it would be okay.

The kitchen diner was open for everyone to see, and on the way outside I did a double-take. Standing over a flat-top, flipping a fried egg, was the huge guy who had helped Jack bring me down out of the mountains. Ash. He was wearing a long white apron, but the tattoos covering his enormous arms were unmistakable. So was the dangerous expression on his face while he focused on cooking. He looked like the kind of guy who would snap if you looked at him the wrong way.

Suddenly, he glanced up and our gazes collided. I felt myself freeze, like a deer that had been spotted by a predator. How long had I been staring at him?

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