Page 42 of The Outpost (Jamison Valley 4)
“You too.” I waved to her as she made her way out of my office and toward the front desk. She’d probably spend the next hour gossiping with Rose, my office manager.
I ran a hand over my beard and went back to my desk. If I spent the next three hours completely focused, I’d get through the stack of papers on my desk, clear my email inbox and be out of town on time. I was finally catching up from all my time away from work but it hadn’t been easy. Now that things were back on track, I’d actually be able to relax during my long weekend at the outpost.
My long weekend with Sabrina.
This would be my first time staying the night in a month. I’d stayed strong with my decision to keep boundaries with Sabrina but I felt my resolve slipping. The last time I’d stayed—the night I’d gone to the outpost to warn her about Ivan—I’d slept on the floor alone. This time, I didn’t know if I’d be able to do the same.
Sabrina MacKenzie was completely under my skin.
Every time I drove away from her at the outpost, I fought the urge to turn back.
I wanted her. Every piece.
Maybe Maisy had been right and Sabrina could find a way to like it here after all. I was going to start doing whatever I could to make her fall in love with Montana.
If she did? I’d be one lucky man.
If she didn’t? Well, I’d still be lucky. I was coming to realize that even if I only had Sabrina for a short time, anything with her was better than nothing.
Sabrina
“Here.” Beau tossed me a plastic sack.
It had been a month since Ivan Federov had left Prescott with no clue about my whereabouts. Since that visit, Beau had gone back to his day-only trips to check on me and deliver supplies. But this weekend, he was spending the holiday with me, and from the playful gleam in his eyes, he had plans.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“A swimming suit.” He chuckled at my sideways glance. “Don’t worry, I didn’t pick it out. Felicity bought it.”
“And we’re going swimming? Where?” The only water nearby was the small creek that ran along the far edge of the meadow.
“We’re going on a hike.” He tossed me another sack. This one had a shoe box inside.
“I’m confused. Why would I need a swimming suit to hike?”
“I’ve got a cool place to show you. Just trust me. Get changed and we’ll head out.”
“Okay.” I went to the bathroom and put on the simple two-piece black bikini Felicity had sent. Thankfully, it wasn’t skimpy triangles held together by dental floss but instead a halter top with a wide strap and hipster briefs that would cover ninety percent of my butt cheeks.
The new tennis shoes were a simple charcoal gray. They looked cute with my plain white tank and frayed denim shorts. Maybe our hike wouldn’t be entirely through the trees and my pasty skin could get some sun.
Dressed and ready to go, I came out of the bathroom and nearly tripped at the sight of Beau in something other than jeans and boots. He had changed into khaki cargo shorts and navy tennis shoes. In his white T-shirt and mirrored sunglasses, he looked more like an island tourist than a mountain man.
My eyes were immediately glued to Beau’s muscled calves. When had a man’s calf muscles become sexy? Beau’s were huge, at least twice the size of mine, and perfectly sculpted. His skin had a dusting of hair that stopped mid-calf. I loved that Beau did not believe in waxing. Did they even do waxing in Montana?
“All set?” he asked, snapping me out of my daze.
I smiled and nodded, not daring to speak because the words would certainly come out squeaky. Sometimes I felt like an awkward teenage girl around Beau. I stuttered my sentences, I had no idea what to do with my hands, and my face always burned a shade too pink.
This crush was seriously damaging my mojo.
I followed him outside and climbed in Green Colossus. Beau’s scent filled my nose and I dragged in a huge breath. The natural forest smell was lovely but it paled in comparison to Beau.
After a few minutes of scratching Boone’s ears while Beau drove, my curiosity got t
he better of me. “So where are we going?”
“There is a waterfall a couple miles away. The hike up is steep but short.”
