Tracking the Bear (Blue Ridge Bears Book 1)(8)

The car pulled in behind mine and the engine sounded like a purring cat before it cut off. I wiped furiously at my eyes, but the tears kept coming. The owner stepped out, and I caught a glimpse of one heavy work boot before he began walking around my car.

“Need a hand?” A familiar voice asked. I looked up sharply, aware the mascara leftover from my shift the day before was running. A handsome, chiseled face was peering down at me.

“Chance?” I asked. Was he really here, or was this a signal that my complete mental break was at hand? At least that would mean my brain was trying to be kind to me in the eleventh hour.

“Lucy,” he said, and a warm smile brightened his whole face. Why did he always seem so thrilled to see me?

“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to stem the flow of tears. “I saw you at the station. I thought you were heading out of town.”

“I am,” he said, gesturing at the road. “But I thought I ought to give you a hand. Your car doesn’t look drivable.”

“It’s not.” My voice quavered a little, and I hated it. I was just sitting here crying like a little girl in front of the most handsome man to ever grace the town of Fairchild. He gave my car a quick once-over, wincing at the sight of my smoking engine.

“Where were you headed?” he asked finally. “I can drive you there and back if you like.”

“No, that’s okay,” I blurted, finally getting my knees under me. I stood, brushing the gravel off my backside as I did so. “I don’t want to be any trouble. I’ll call Millie.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” he replied smoothly, bracing one elbow on the driver’s side door. He was so huge I felt like I owned a clown car. “I’ve got a few weeks before I need to report back to work. A few days won’t hurt anything. Where are you headed?”

I stole a glance at his car. It was bright red, and its glossy paint job shone in the early morning sunlight. It looked very roadworthy. I shook my head, trying to collect my thoughts. I couldn’t believe I was actually considering it.

“Is that a no?” he asked, leaning a little closer to me.

“Give me a minute. I’m thinking,” I muttered.

If I went back to Fairchild, I’d have to kiss major ass to get my job back. It was a toss-up whether Uncle Mack would let me back into the house. I’d still have no car, and buying a new one would set me back several thousand dollars. Then again, if I went with Mr. Lonesome, I’d still be facing all that when I returned.

But you’d get a handsome traveling companion. My mind supplied. And air conditioning.

Well, the latter would certainly be helpful. I was already sweating beneath all the flannel, and I could tell by the humidity that there’d be storms in the next few days.

“Fine,” I said, running a hand through my mussed hair. Great, I had running mascara and bedhead. What a catch I must be. “But no funny stuff. If I get the axe-murderer vibe from you at any point in this journey, I reserve the right to cold-clock you.”

He grinned, flashing dazzlingly white teeth at me. “I’d expect nothing less. Where are you headed?”

I had to pull hard to get the door open again. When I finally managed it, I leaned over the front seat and snatched my suitcase from the back. It was brown leather and absolutely covered in travel stickers. It was the only one of mom’s bags that Aunt Carol had allowed me to keep. She’d said I could have the rest of mom’s stuff when I moved out, but I wasn’t quite sure I believed her.

“Columbia. My brother, Luke, attends college at Ohio State.”

I looked up in time to see a flicker of emotion cross his face. It was gone before I could put a name to it, but something was there. Suspicion crept unwanted into my thoughts. Did he know Luke? Did Chance somehow know what had prompted his sudden flight?

“Too far out of the way for you?” I asked lightly, trying to get a read on his expression. He finally managed another smile, though this one was a second too late a fraction too tight to be genuine.

“Not at all. Want a hand with your luggage?”

Normally I would have bristled and told him I was fully capable of holding my own luggage. But he was doing me a favor, and despite what he said, he was going out of his way to help me. So I gave him an insincere smile of my own.

“Sure.”





Chapter Four


Chance


It had been a bad idea to pick her up for many reasons.

Her relationship to my quarry complicated things tremendously. I couldn’t imagine a woman as vivacious as Lucy standing by idly while I tracked her brother through the mountains with the intent to kill or capture. It was also unquestionably against regulations to bring an unarmed civilian into the line of fire, especially when said civilian had little to no knowledge about the situation.

Additionally, her scent was filling the car, and it was driving me mad. She smelled of petrichor, the rich smell of rain on dry earth. I scented ozone on her skin, and I could feel the answering current running between us, as if lightning might strike and send electricity singing through my veins. I wanted nothing more than to pull her across the space that separated us and into my lap.

But I was driving down the interstate at seventy-five miles an hour and she clearly didn’t trust me yet. She was leaning back in her seat, basking in the jets of cool air coming from the vents.