Page 21 of Thirst in the Mountains

She shakes her head as she grins at me. “Nope. I liked it.”

We slow to a stop, gazing into each other’s eyes. I lean down and kiss her softly. It’s not a passionate, full-blown make-out kiss. It’s a soft one. A loving one. A kiss that says you’re mine. And that you always will be.

One that says, this will be the first of many…

* * *

We have our picnic beside the flowing river, sitting on a large rock while Cutter tramps through the water confused and mesmerized by all the fish.

“He’s never been in a river before,” she says, laughing as he jumps back and barks when a large bull trout swims over to check him out. He flees onto the shore and then tentatively heads back in with his head hung low and his tail wagging.

“He’s a great dog. I think it’s wonderful what you did for him.”

She looks at me with her eyebrows raised. “Even if I broke the law, Mr. Policeman?”

“Laws aren’t always for the best,” I say with a heavy sigh. “Sometimes, if we want justice, we have to take it for ourselves.”

“Like you did last night?”

I sigh again. “Yeah.”

I don’t care what the law says, if those guys return to mess with my girl, they’ll be heading home in a body bag.

We dig into our fresh sandwiches, moaning at how good they are. Abby and Trish at the bakery always make the doughiest bread. It’s to die for. Lucy makes a sexy little moan when she takes a big bite and I struggle to keep my mind from spiraling into more dirty thoughts.

Luckily my phone rings, distracting me.

Oh shit. It’s the FBI.

“You can answer it,” Lucy says as I stuff it back into my pocket. “I don’t mind.”

“Sorry, it’s just…”

Her face goes a little red and she turns away with a flicker of disappointment on her face when I stop talking. Oh crap. I don’t want her to think it’s another woman. There’s no one else. There will never be anyone else.

“It’s just the FBI.”

She whips her head back around, looking at me in shock. “Well, answer it then!”

I sigh as I hit the button and stand up, wandering away. “Hello?”

“Officer Rush,” the familiar voice says on the other line. It’s the guy who recruited me and gave me the first two interviews before sending me up to the senior officials. “I’m calling with good news. They’re so eager to get you on board that they’ve upped the offer by fifteen percent!”

“Oh,” I say, feeling heavy all over. “That’s nice.”

“They sensed your hesitation and wanted to eliminate it completely. So? Are you ready to accept the generous offer and join the FBI?”

I look at Lucy sitting by the river and Cutter tromping through the water, looking so at peace, and I realize this is where I want to be. These mountains are my home. This woman is my future. Being with this amazing girl beats any career goals I thought I wanted.

I just want her. I want to have kids with her and raise them in the Greene Mountains. I want to protect her and protect my town.

That’s what I’ve been missing all these years. This is the feeling I wanted. And now that I have it, I know that I don’t need anything else.

“I’m going to respectfully decline,” I tell him. “Thank you for the wonderful offer, but it’s not what I want anymore.”

He sputters, sounding shocked that I’d turn it down. He probably has hundreds of cops desperate to get that position.

“But… Mr. Rush, it’s… The FBI!”

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