Page 27 of Sexy Summer Flings (Bear Mountain Rescue 2)

The sky above was darkening to a purplish blue, and she was sure she saw one or two stars popping up. “I know you’re sorry.”

“Not exactly an assurance of forgiveness.”

She turned her head to look at him, squinting her eyes against the setting sun behind his head. “I’m not mad anymore. I’m only a little distracted. Got a lot of stuff to think about.”

“Like what?” Trent leaned up on an elbow and blocked the sunset. “You know I’m more than just a pretty face, right? You can talk to me.”

“I know, but I haven’t really told anyone.” Penny didn’t think she should mention the conversation she’d had with Hunter. She sat up, and pulled her knees to her chest. She wondered how Trent would react to her news. “I got offered two really great jobs. One of them would allow me to stay in Bear Mountain, and the other would take me away, but it’s an amazing opportunity.”

“Then why are you hesitating, if the other job is so great?”

“I don’t know. I’ve wanted to escape this place for so long, but now that I have the chance to, I’m not sure why I was so eager to leave. I mean, I have a home. Friends. It’s beautiful and crazy here, and the thought of leaving it all behind actually hurts.”

Trent sat up and she felt the weight of his arm on her shoulders. When she turned to face him, his brown eyes were heavy.

“Then ask yourself what you’re staying for.”

He kissed her softly, and she didn’t respond—not because the kiss wasn’t good, but because it added to the burden.

He pulled away and surprised the hell out of her by whispering, “When you come up with a list of reasons to stay, I hope I’m one of them.”

Hunter stood on Penny’s front porch, knocking on the door. He’d been trying to call and text her, but he was only getting one-word answers from her. And he was damn tired of it.

He hadn’t said anything to her about her job offer, mostly because he didn’t want to add stress on top of everything she was probably dealing with, but he needed to be honest with her.

The door swung open and Cal stood in the doorway, a dark scowl on his face. It slowly melted away, and he grinned at Hunter. “Yo, Wes! Grab a couple of beers. Hunter is here.”

Hunter stepped in and accepted the backslapping hug from the younger man. “Hey, guys. Is your sister here?”

“No, she dumped water on us, told us to clean the house, and took off with that tool from the bar,” Wes said as he handed Hunter a beer.

Hunter’s stomach dropped out as he tipped back the beer. It tasted like ash in his mouth. “Great.”

Cal threw his arm around Hunter’s shoulder and pulled him into the living room. “Screw that guy, man! You’re way better for our sister.”

“I’m not with her,” Hunter said.

“Yeah, right,” Wes said. “We heard everything. Hell, the newspaper basically had a story about how Deputy Luke caught you two screwing on the side of the road. Which is disgusting, by the way.”

“We were not screwing! All the gossip has been highly exaggerated, guys. She had some car trouble and I was helping her.”

Hunter had never seen two grown men so crestfallen.

“Really?” Cal said.

Wes shook his head. “Damn. I got to admit, I was kind of looking forward to having you for a brother-in-law. You’re good people.”

Hunter wasn’t sure why the other men’s disappointment made him feel slightly better, but it did.

But then Penny came through the door. Her cheeks were pink and she looked too beautiful for words. Hunter’s stomach knotted up as he wondered what had put that color in her skin.

“Hi.” She glanced around the house. “Thanks for cleaning up, guys.” She walked past them into the kitchen and set a bag of takeout on the dining room table.

“Where’s the douche?” Wes called.

Hunter wanted to know the same thing, but was glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of Penny’s angry scowl.

“Considering you hit him the first time you met him, I think he was a little hesitant to join us.”

---