Page 28 of Hot Winter Nights (Bear Mountain Rescue 1)

And then, after kissing her, he’d told Allie he wasn’t interested?

Hunter was about to lose his shit.

“I am so sorry.” Her words were coming out a little choked.

Giving her a no-big-deal smile, he said, “It’s okay. Really, I…why don’t we take a little break and you can take all the time you need to figure things out.”

Allie’s eyes were shiny with tears, but he was too keyed up right now to comfort her.

He needed a break himself, some air.

Hunter left Allie’s office and headed downstairs and out the front door. Taking a few deep breaths, he closed his eyes and let the cold air seep into his lungs. A storm was coming, he could tell by the gray sky and the bite to the wind, and something about those gray clouds was calming. Helped clear his head.

Except then he heard Dex’s voice. “Hey, man, what’s up?”

Hunter’s eyes flew open, and all of his fury, all of the betrayal and hurt that had been churning inside him, boiled up and over as he launched himself at Dex.

Chapter 17

After Dex had finished the roof on the cabin, he’d gone into town for a case of beer and some essentials. After two weeks, the cabin looked better than it had in twenty years.

And he guessed he had Allie to thank.

He had to admit, he’d wimped out, the way he’d up and left like that, but Allie hadn’t exactly reached out to him, either. Clearly, she didn’t want to discuss what had happened.

But he was still her landlord, and now that he’d finished his work, he needed to reevaluate the rental agreement with her. He’d figured the safest place to talk was the hospital, where they wouldn’t be completely alone and he wouldn’t be tempted to kiss her again.

But when he’d approached the entrance, he’d seen Hunter standing out front by the big oak, looking a little nauseated.

Dex had called out a greeting as he approached, but when Hunter opened his eyes, Dex had paused and took in his molten red face and furious expression.

She’d told him.

“Ah, hell—oomph!”

Hunter tackled him to the ground, and for the second time in two weeks, Dex had the wind knocked out of him.

“You son of a bitch!” Hunter threw a right hook that made Dex’s cheek explode. The same cheek the biker had punched, too. Stars popped around Hunter’s head as Dex tried to focus. “Lying piece of shit, you’re supposed to be my best friend.”

Dex recovered his wits enough to raise his arms to protect his face, and as soon as Hunter’s weight shifted, he bucked, dislodging Hunter. He climbed to his feet and held out his hands in defense.

“It’s not what you think, Hunt—”

“What I think is that I told you I was interested in Allie, and you said go for it. Then, the minute my back was turned, you made a play for her. That’s what I think.”

Dex couldn’t argue the semantics, but it was more complicated than that. “I didn’t mean to kiss her, it just—”

“Don’t say it just happened. That’s a cop-out and you know it. Man up and tell me you want her. Don’t be a coward.”

“I don’t want her, okay?” Dex yelled. “I don’t. I am not interested in her, not for anything more than a casual f—”

Dex closed his mouth when he saw her, standing in the crowd he hadn’t even noticed. This time, he couldn’t walk away from the pain on her face. It became ingrained in his memory.

Hunter grabbed him up by his shirt, and he waited for the blow he deserved. It never came.

Hunter shoved him away from him, disgust oozing from his tone. “You’re not worth it.”

As Hunter turned and walked away toward the side entrance, Dex glanced back to where Allie had been standing, but she was gone.

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