Page 7 of Just Can't Fall for the Enemy

“Something I can help you with?” a round woman in her fifties asked, coming up behind me. She wore a gray dress with a white apron and a name tag that said “Alice,”keys dangling from her hand. Suddenly, her eyes widened in recognition, and I realized I’d forgotten to grab my sunglasses on my way out. She clapped her hands. “You’re Tanner Carmichael. My staff said you were here last night, but I had a christening to attend so I missed you. I hope you had a pleasant time.”

“Every second of it,” I said honestly. “So you didn’t see last night’s little show.”

“No, but I heard about it. Pretty sure the entire town’s laughing about it today. I hear the man’s face was pretty comical. He won’t be returning anytime soon.” She unlocked the door and held it open. “What can I get for you? It’s on the house, of course. Especially if you mention my place to those followers of yours.”

I’d already put her restaurant on the list, but I wasn’t looking for free food. “Actually, I’m trying to find that woman from last night. Can you tell me who she is and where she lives?”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What do you want from her?”

As protective as last night’s acquaintance was of her town, it seemed they returned the favor. It only made me like the town more. “I only want to ask her a few questions. We tried to have a conversation afterward, but she wasn’t feeling well.”

She sighed. “Her name is Sophie, but I’ll let her tell you her last name. Have to protect my kind, you understand. She’s probably at work. Drive down the highway toward the national forest. They keep her crammed up in that entrance fee booth, heaven knows why. She’d be the best forest ranger in the world if they’d let her.”

I had no idea what she meant by that, but the woman’s name echoed in my mind.Sophie.“I appreciate it.”

Alice looked past me to my parked car. “What about your team? Do they want to sample anything?”

“I don’t have a team. I work alone.”

She shook her head in disapproval. “Sounds like a lonely job.”

“It’s my brand. People like it.”

“Maybe so, but it’s your life, not theirs.” She walked inside and threw a wave. “Good luck with Sophie.”

“Thanks,” I said, looking past her to the spot where Sophie had rejected me last night. And then she’d rejected me again in the parking lot, refusing to tell me her name. That wasn’t something that happened every day. What made me think I could convince the woman to spend six days showing me around when she wouldn’t even tell me who she was?

The door shut behind Alice.Good luck,she’d said, an amused tone behind the words.

Something told me I would need all the luck I could get.

Five

I leaned forwardon the metal stool and tugged my forest-green uniform shirt down over my hips. It never quite stayed where it was supposed to. My booth felt unusually hot for the end of September, and the open window didn’t help much without a breeze. I grabbed the broom propped in the corner and started sweeping outside, a silly feat at the edge of a national forest but better than slowly baking my guts inside. I kept my ear tuned for the sound of Paul’s battered truck approaching. The last thing I needed was for Paul to see me, the woman he refused to let outside the booth and into nature, doing something so . . . domestic.

Three vehicles approached from the direction of town, each with a sticker on the windshield. I returned to my booth and waved them on. The fourth stopped at my window. As I leaned out, my stomach flopped.

A red Tesla.

I resisted the urge to smooth my messy bun. I was a forest ranger, for goodness’ sake, not prom queen.

Tanner Carmichael rolled down the window and leaned out, resting his elbow in a way that flaunted his biceps. He wore the same grin as last night, as if he knew a secret and wouldn’t reveal it. “Hello again, Sophie.”

I barely contained a groan. I’d planned to chat with some of the more, shall we say,vocalmembers of the town today about how dangerous his presence was. If the warning spread far enough, hopefully he wouldn’t be able to charm the town of Huckleberry Creek into cooperating. But now, as I saw him in the daylight, sitting in his fancy car, I knew convincing anyone of that would be difficult. There was something so disarming, so open and honest, about his smile. It was probably exactly that smile that wrenched my name from some unsuspecting person in town.Traitor.

“I came to beg a favor,” he said.

I glanced back at the truck pulling up behind my booth. Paul.Great timing.“Unless this favor involves a week’s pass to the park, it’ll have to wait.”

“As a matter of fact, I do need one of those. How much?”

“Forty-six dollars.”

Tanner fumbled with his wallet and whipped out a wad of cash, which he held out, pinched between two fingers. I took it, ignoring the inner thrill as his fingers brushed mine. Three twenties. I’d have to get him change.

As I opened the register, he cocked his head. “I worried about you last night, driving off when you weren’t feeling great.”

“Well, I’m fine today. No spaghetti in sight.” My stomach did another flop at the thought.

---