Page 29 of Biker Daddy

When he released her, she felt like a hot, wet piece of cooked spaghetti. And then, while she was still befuddled, he left the little cabin, and her heart, beating at the pace of a hummingbird, fluttered against her ribcage.

The reverie made her edgier and she shoved herself off the tree and began to jog. Goddammit, she needed to clear her head, but the more time she spent here, the more time her head was pulled into the past. Everything was too much! With the rough terrain, she stumbled frequently, but caught herself until a root snagged her sandal and she landed face-down in the dirt.

She blew out in relief at not hitting her head off the pile of rocks only a few feet in front of her. Ignoring the sting in her torn palms, she started to push herself up and then froze at the sound of the rattle.

Oh, shit.

Fear pulsed through her. She knew the sound of a rattlesnake. Frozen, ironically in the yoga cobra pose, she searched frantically with only her eyes for the snake.

She was terrified of garter snakes and this was no garter—it was a venomous snake.

Her eyes darted around frantically. She didn’t see it anywhere, which was worse than knowing where it was. A mantra of ‘oh, God’ and ‘what do I do?’ was on repeat in her head when she heard a twig snap to her left. She whimpered. Her lip trembled and her teeth began to chatter. What had she been thinking, wandering into the woods on her own? She had no experience in the woods—nature TV programs didn’t count either.

“Don’t move, Addi. It’s right there in front of you.” It was Drew’s voice that pulled her from her terror. She couldn’t see him—couldn’t afford to turn her head, but his calm voice instantly soothed her. The snake shook its rattle again and she spotted it. There was a rustle behind her, and then Drew came up beside her with a branch in his hand. It was forked at the end like the serpent’s tongue.

He took three steps ahead and she stared at the thick tread of his biker boots, avoiding looking at the snake aggressively poised and ready to strike in between the crevice of a boulder and the rotting tree trunk. A garbled noise burst from her throat and Drew shot her a stern look.

“I’m going to distract it; you get up and get back.”

She was going to nod at first and then realized that was a bad idea. Besides, he was no longer looking at her.

He moved the stick to the snake’s side, and it zeroed in on the new threat. As soon as she rose, the serpent’s head swiveled back. Drew used the stick again, this time trapping its head in the fork. Addi jumped up and bolted back, before spinning and running twenty feet away. And just to be safe, climbing the nearest tree. She screeched as Drew released the snake and sprang out of striking distance. He backed away, and they both watched the snake dart into the rotting log.

Addi stared, still trembling, as Drew’s wide strides thumped toward her. When she finally looked down at him, his brows were knit tight.

“You can get down now.”

Addi swallowed and moved her hand to grip the branch differently. “I can’t.” She looked down at the tree’s branches. “I can’t get down.”

“For Pete’s sake. Yes, you can.” He looked down, sounding exasperated, and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. When he looked back up, his eyes settled on her feet. “What are you wearing?”

Addi looked down and wiggled her toes. “Sandals.” Her words were matter of fact. “Why?”

“High-heeled sandals?” He looked at her in disbelief. “Seriously?”

“Yes, you’re not hallucinating. They are quite obviously chunky-heeled sandals.”

“Don’t get bratty with me, Addi. You’re the loon that came out into the woods by yourself wearing chunky-heeled sandals, messed with a poisonous snake, and climbed a damn tree.” He crossed his arms, and again she admired his well-formed biceps.

“They’re all I have besides actual high heels, and I certainly didn’t expect to bump into a snake.”

“I know you know they’re here in the forest, and what about bears and wolves? You know they can wander around here too. Especially in the evening. Prime predator hunting time.”

“Bears? Wolves?” Her voice was unsteady. Bears were rare but Uncle Ray had told her stories of them occasionally wandering into camp. The boys had always learned animal safety on day one.

“Turn around, lean your belly against the tree trunk, hold the branch, and slide as far as you can until you’re hanging. I’ll get you from there.”

She started to shift, felt the branch sway with her weight, and then went back to her spot in the V-shaped crevice.

“Uh-uh, I think I’ll stay here,” she said, swallowing hard.

“You can’t stay there. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Yes, I can.” She went to cross her arms but stopped when she teetered.

“It’ll be dark soon, the mosquitoes will devour you, and bears can climb trees.”

“Oh.”

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