Page 9 of Score to Settle
And there it is. What she really thinks of me—fans and hookups. This woman is getting on my nerves.
“Let’s get one thing straight—I don’t want you here any more than you want to be here. And you don’t know the first thing about me, sweetheart.” I scowl, but Harper’s eyes light in victory like I’ve just given her the invitation she needs.
“That’s two things,” she replies with a knowing smirk. “You won’t even know I’m there.” And before I can say another word, she’s striding back to the ranch, Buck dancing at her heels. I’m still all kinds of pissed with Harper and this situation and I’m in no hurry to follow.
Won’t even know she’s there? Yeah, right! Harper can think we’re meeting at seven all she likes, but I’ll be halfway to the canyon by then.
FIVE
HARPER
MIA:Enjoying the riding at the ranch?
HARPER:They don’t have horses!
MIA:I didn’t mean that kind of riding.
HARPER:FML
Notes for feature: Sullivan sulks better than a toddler whose favorite toy just broke.
It’s hard not to laugh at Jake’s grumpiness as he strides two paces ahead of me on the trail. Every so often he throws a look back my way like he’s checking I’m still here. The scowl on his face tells me he’s hoping I’m not. Or maybe he just doesn’t like Buck trotting obediently by my side, stopping every so often to sniff at the undergrowth before scampering to catch up. Each time Jake looks at me I smile sweetly, like I did in the kitchen when he found me in my workout leggings and a sweatshirt, bag packed and boots laced, ready to go an hour earlier than we agreed last night. Does he think I was born yesterday? Clearly,Jake’s used to women fawning over him instead of challenging him.
The morning air has a bite to it as we make our way up the winding trail to Golden Gate Canyon. The sun has just begun to peek above the horizon, casting the first streaks of orange over the distant ridges of the mountains. Frost shimmers on the grass. Fallen leaves crunch beneath my boots with every step.
The trail curves up the side of the canyon, following a small stream that trickles over rocks and fallen logs. I pause, closing my eyes and inhaling the scent of pines and earth. If it wasn’t for the fact my assignment is giving all the vibes of a sulky teen being forced to do homework, it would be the perfect hike.
Even with Jake’s mood, it beats the gym workouts I usually drag myself to on Saturday mornings, spinning then weights followed by Pilates for three hours with thirty other men and women, all of us sweating, all of us hating and loving it in equal measure. At least my regular gym habit means I can easily keep up with Jake’s determined march. He’s lost in thought and seems oblivious to the natural beauty around us.
Alone together on the trail, no escape, is the perfect time to get him talking. I can practically feel Tim pinching the bridge of his nose at my hesitance, but I’m pretty sure any questions I ask Jake in his current mood will elicit little more than a growl. For now, I’m content to enjoy the views of the canyon.
The path widens as we reach the ridge and I step beside Jake, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. He towers over me, with broad shoulders filling out his long-sleeved hiking top. His black hair is hidden beneath a Stormhawks baseball cap and his stubble is just short enough not to be considered a beard. He looks manly and rugged and exactly the kind of bad boy fathers warn their daughters about.
He’s also not my type. Not since high school, anyway. Considering the number of women who’ve thrown themselves athim in the years since, it’s no surprise he doesn’t remember me. I’m more than happy for it to stay that way. I was a different person in high school. Big glasses and frizzy hair, a few extra pounds on me before I realized what healthy eating and exercise could do for my body. Without a mom to teach me, I didn’t have the first clue about makeup or clothes. It was only when I left for college that I realized it was up to me to take an interest. With Mia’s guidance, I tamed my brown locks and started making the most of my appearance.
In college, I veered away from jocks and focused my attention on clean-shaven, button-down shirt types. Someone I could take home for dinner with my dad. Someone who could keep up with his sparring on politics and current affairs, rather than someone I could really fall in love with. That’s when I met Scott. He was a year ahead of me on my journalism course. I took him home to meet my dad, hoping they’d hit it off. I never expected for it to feel like my dad liked him better than he did me.
I quickly discovered that men like Scott, who see themselves as smart and focused, are also entitled pricks. We broke up after a year, but not before my dad took Scott under his wing, helping him get his first job and then promotions along the way. Something he never did for me. He saw helping his daughter as nepotism. As if I cared. The only thing I’ve ever wanted from him is his love and his approval. But it doesn’t mean I like the fact he’s still close to Scott. Since then, I’ve pretty much avoided relationships. Never letting things go beyond a handful of dates. Never falling in love. Something Mia is desperate to change.
Jake steps ahead of me again as the trail winds around the curve of the ridge. I take in the vast landscape stretching below us, bathed in the pumpkin-orange glow from the morning sun. There was a time this past summer when I thought I’d never live down the humiliation of being fired fromInsight. When it wouldnever stop being my first waking thought. But it’s slowly gotten easier, thanks to Mia and my job atSports Magazine, and maybe in part the novel I started as a way to distract myself, choosing something crazy and never expecting to fall a little bit in love with it. Who knew vampire romances in ancient Egypt could be so much fun?
I’ve been back in Denver for four months and working at the magazine for the last three, but it’s only now—staring across the vast beauty of the landscape—that New York feels more like my past than my present.
“Wow,” I say. “This view is unbelievable.”
Jake is a step ahead and he turns, flashing me a roguish grin. “Checking out my ass, Harper?”
I roll my eyes and wave a hand to the endless forest below us. “Come on. You have to admit this is something special.”
He pauses, following my gaze. I take the opportunity to step up beside him, watching him drink in the view. His chest rises and falls like it’s the first breath he’s taken all morning. “Yeah,” he says. “It’s nice.”
“Nice? Is that all you’ve got? It’s spectacular.” I reach to rub Buck’s ear. He tilts his head and leans his warm body against my leg, tail thumping in the dirt.
Jake shoots the retriever a traitorous look before gazing once more to the landscape. “Sometimes I think this is as close to perfect as I’m ever gonna see. Other times nothing in the world can beat the feeling of standing in a stadium of cheering fans.”
The comment takes me by surprise. It’s the closest to a real thing he’s said to me since we met yesterday and I want to pull out my purple notebook tucked in my bag and write it down before firing a dozen more questions at him, but I heed Mama’s warning not to push Jake and decide to tread carefully instead.
“It’s a lot of pressure though, right?” I say, keeping my focus on stroking Buck, hoping Jake will open up.
