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Bret didn’t want Stephanie to know she made him nervous so he sat up front with the pilot for the final leg of the trip. He didn’t know why she unsettled him so much. Women were his specialty and she was a beautiful specimen but her gaze was harsh—always trying to figure things out. She judged him, wasn’t his biggest fan. He wondered if Stephanie would like to push him off a cliff on their hiking adventure.
And Bret wasn’t happy with the answer he came up with.
Most women he met were like his mother: sweet, docile, and nurturing. He had a feeling Stephanie could take care of herself and figure anything out she wanted. A self-reliant woman who really didn’t need a lout like him around mucking stuff up. Bret got the same impression the previous night about Lana. Was there something in the water in Sweet Falls? Bret wished he could figure it out.
Christopher seemed happy with his strong woman and together they were a team. A strong, unified front. It was nice but not something Bret wanted to get back into. He was a bachelor who liked to live alone, barely went out with friends. He was too busy working and building an empire to really take time for personal relationships.
It was easier that way. So why did he keep thinking about Stephanie? And Chris and Lana?
As the helicopter circled around to land on Widow’s Peak, Bret joined Stephanie in the back. He snapped his seat belt together. “We’ll be landed in a few minutes,” he said loudly over the whir of the helicopter’s blades.
Stephanie nodded. “Good! I can’t wait to get started!”
She said it but he detected a little apprehension in her voice. Her eyes were uncommonly wide. If he didn’t miss his guess, she was as nervous about this trip as he was about her. A funny thing and a little ironic. Maybe she’d feel better once things got underway. If Bret could find a way to put her nerves at ease, he’d do it. It might soften her opinion of him along the way.
Not that it should’ve mattered what she thought but it did. She was the one holding the camera. She was the one whose opinion would help piece together the expose she was putting together.
Hardly anyone was going to see it—so why let it upset him so much?
“Don’t worry,” Bret said. “I’ll be guiding you every step of the way.”
Stephanie’s eyes focused squarely on him. “I’m not worried! I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I’ll be fine!”
Famous last words. Bret hoped she was right.
******
The helicopter touched down on Widow’s Peak. Stephanie stepped off of the helicopter first and Bret threw the bags onto the ground beside her. “Hold on a minute,” he said to her and turned his attention to Richie. “See you in a days’ time at Grover’s Ravine. Don’t be late!” Bret had a book tour to rejoin.
The pilot nodded. “Right on time with hot coffee and bagels to go around. Good luck. She looks like a handful.” He smirked and lifted his sunglasses to give Bret a playful wink.
Bret restrained himself from saying anything and jumped to the ground. Stephanie was taking a video of the landscape. He saluted the pilot as the helicopter took off and Bret turned, picking up his backpack and slipped it on. He belted it across his chest and stepped toward Stephanie.
“You should try looking at the scenery yourself and not just through the eye of your lens,” Bret said.
“I did. Now, I need the audience to see what I’m seeing.” Stephanie pivoted slowly on her feet, panning until Bret was in the shot. Though she looked at him through her camera, Stephanie smiled. “Here we are, ladies and gentlemen. We’re on Widow’s Peak and will start our slow descent thanks to our personal guide—Bret Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell, do you have anything to add?”
“Nothing except you’re wasting precious sunlight hours talking to your camera. Pick up your bag and let’s get started. We have to hit the halfway point so we can setup a camp. A good camp site will give us some shelter from the elements and animals. Though, don’t worry. There’s nothing really in the area that would want to eat your face.”
Stephanie lowered her camera and put a hand on her hip. “Eat my face?”
Bret chuckled. “That’s the best I could do under short notice and it worked, didn’t it? Now, c’mon. Let’s get started.”
Stephanie picked up her bag and slipped it on. She buckled it just above her chest and just below. It was as stable as it could possibly be. “Lead the way,” Stephanie said and as Bret took the lead, he heard her camera turn back on.
Bret glanced back with a snort. “Again so soon?”
“I have limited battery life but I want to film it like a book end. A little story. This part will only last a few minutes, don’t worry. I want to say enough juice for when stuff gets really good.”
“Oh?” Bret asked.
Stephanie nodded. “You know, building shelter, hunting dinner, when the animal tries to rip your face off....”
Bret shook his head and turned to face the rock wall so he could scale down to the ground below. It wasn’t a long jump, or a dangerous one, but the rocks were still a slick one. When he turned back to the rock formation, Stephanie still stood at the top, looking pensive and unsure of herself. “It’s only a ten-foot drop. You can do it.”
“Of course I can,” Stephanie said with an edge of fear in her voice. “Take the camera though.” She tossed it and Bret caught it. He turned it on so he could film Stephanie climbing down. She wasn’t bad but her steps were tentative and unsure. “When her foot slipped on the last move, she yelped and slid.
Bret caught her waist to steady her landing but to do little else. “Easy, you got it.”
Stephanie touched his hands still gripping her waist and slowly turned herself around. “Thanks for the save but I’m okay. You better lead the way.”
“Guess I better.” Bret liked touching her more than he said. She was curvy and soft. He almost forgot how soft women could be.
She peered up at him and Bret noticed how deep her brown eyes were. Kind and compassionate, something he definitely wouldn’t have noticed at the bookstore. Her brown hair was in a pony tail and it blew behind her. Finally her gaze broke away from his and Bret cleared his throat, letting his arms fall to his side. He led her away toward the next descent and he stopped to consult his compass and handed Stephanie a pair of binoculars. “What do you see?”
While she held them to her eyes, Bret got out his map and made a few indications on where they were with his trusty pencil. Going off course was never fun and it was important to cross correct early.
“Blue birds. Maybe a few robins. A lot of trees. Oh, a water fall. I think. It’s too far away to tell.”
Waterfall, bingo. That was what Bret had been hoping for.
“It’s beautiful though. Sometimes I forget how surrounded by beauty Sweet Falls is.” Stephanie handed him back the binoculars as he stood back up.
“That’s where we’re headed. “We’ll take a break there and take some photos. Along the way, I’ll teach you what I can but first, let’s get down this next cliff. Then it’ll be smooth sailing, at least for a little bit.”
“So, you know exactly where we’re going?” Stephanie asked as she followed behind.
“Only by maps. On some drops I don’t have that luxury but this is supposed to be for fun and not a survival mission.” Behind him, Bret could hear the beep of the camera turning back on.
“When you’re dropping into a foreign terrain for your show, how do you find your way?”
“To count as a win on my show, I have to find a settlement, the coast, or a way out of the jungle I’m trapped in. On a mountain like this, I’m going to find a stream, a river. A source of water. Then I’ll follow it and use the sun as my guide. Building shelter is part of that experience. You don’t want to get too tired. That’s when we make poor decisions.”
“Sounds good. You say all the right things.”
“But you still don’t believe me, huh?” He glanced back to look at her.
Stephanie shrugged but her eyes looked apologetic and her lips set into a smirk. “I don’t know what I think. I’m mostly counting on you being honest and truthful. I mean, you’re my guide. I want to get out of here someday.”
“But not yet?”
Stephanie shook her head. “Not yet. It’s beautiful here. And I have the day off thanks to you.”
Bret laughed. “Nothing like a day off to get lost in the woods. I mean that. This is the best way to spend time.”
“I can tell. That you mean it. You’re a lot more comfortable here than you were on the helicopter.”
“I’m not made for close spaces, what can I say. This keeps me sane.”
“And now you get paid for it. Seems like a win-win situation to me.”
“Love what you do.” Bret smiled. “And do what you love. It’s that simple. I lucked out finding it early in life.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Stephanie said. “You’ve taken a hobby and created a huge empire of merchandise and endorsements. Any clues into what your secret is?”
“If I knew that, I’d write a book.” Bret laughed and pointed a finger at her.
Stephanie groaned and shook her head. “Please tell me your humor isn’t always this bad.”
Bret mulled that over. “It pretty much is. I guess that’s why I appreciate the company of trees.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, more comfortable than Bret expected. They continued their trek down over tree roots and jagged rock. They stepped between trees and debris of fallen leaves and small twigs. There was an old picnic table covered green moss and they turned, walking across old stepping stones.
It felt eerie, as if this old part of the forest had once been more popular. How many people had come before them?
Bret took them closer to water. He could hear faint splashes and the closer they got, the louder the sound of the waterfall grew. He pushed through the clearing and held the branches of the trees back so Stephanie could view the waterfall first. She had been filming and slowly she lowered her camera and took in a sight she could barely believe.
It was beautiful.
Not the waterfall but the look on her face. The splendor, the wonder. It had been so long since Bret had shared his adventures with anyone other than a camera man. He had forgotten what it was like to see that beauty on another’s face. It ached his heart and made him crave more. All the feeling he shouldn’t have had. All the feelings that were dangerous.
How had he missed the warning signs?
Love, attraction, and affection were dirty words he tried to run from but here....with Stephanie he had done nothing but run straight to her.