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“TAYLOR,” MY MOTHER called, “we’re going to the lake, to fish and take a paddle-boat ride. C’mon, dear!”
“Can I stay and unpack?” I asked.
“No, we’re all going,” she answered firmly.
I blew out a breath. “But I don’t want to fish,” I whined, far more interested in reveling in the memory of the mysterious hottie from the woods.
“Then you can try to get a tan. It’s supposed to be warm and sunny today.”
I gazed at the leaning tower of boxes that rivaled the one in Pisa. “How am I supposed to find my bathing suit in this mess?” I was hoping I might have found an out.
“I’ve got an extra you can borrow.” She chuckled as she walked into my room. “But I must warn you that it has a skirt.”
“Mom!” I laughed and shook my head.
She smiled. “Besides, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
My mouth dropped. “No way. Tell me you’re not trying to set me up, especially not while I’m wearing a swimsuit that makes me look like a nun.”
“Honey, it’s nothing like that,” she assured me. “I met a friend and she has a daughter your age. I was thinking you two could hang out. She’s new in town too.”
“Oh,” I said. “It’d be nice to have a friend around here. But let me look for my own bathing suit. I think I might know what box it’s in, now that I think about it.”
She grinned. “Great. We’re leaving in a couple hours.”
“Okay, I’ll get my stuff together.”
Knock!
When I answered the front door, a guy about my age with short brown hair and piercing green eyes looked at me. He shot me a grin, and I smiled back. He wasn’t as built as the guy in the forest, but he was definitely a cutie. He was dressed like a jock in a t-shirt, shorts, and Nikes. I couldn’t fathom why this guy was standing in my doorway.
“Hi,” I said. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Your dad hired me to do some yard work,” he answered.
I suddenly remembered that my dad had told me about that, but I had no idea the landscaper would be so young and attractive. I’d expected a short, balding man in a grubby old flannel shirt and clunky boots. “Oh, okay. Let me get him for you.” I called for my dad, and he came to the door.
“This is Fred,” my dad said, introducing him. “He’s going to give our back yard a makeover.”
“It could sure use one,” I said, smiling at Fred. “I can give you a hand if—”
“No way,” my father interrupted. “The last time you helped, the yard looked...well, let’s just say that yard work isn’t your forte, honey.”
Just then, my mom opened the door and peeked out. “Fred, would you like to come to the beach with us?”
Not wanting to be rude, my dad just cleared his throat and looked at her in disbelief. He was paying Fred to do a job and didn’t expect it to be put off. “We’ve gotta get this jungle under control, dear,” he said, looking a bit harshly at her. “I think the sooner Fred gets started, the better.”
“One more day isn’t going to hurt anything,” my mother said. “Let him come with us. He can deal with the yard tomorrow.”
“Is living in the Amazon one more day really going to hurt anything?” I asked.
Frowning a little, Dad wrinkled his brow at me, then at Mom. “Taylor, you go on and finish getting ready for the beach. Fred, please come with me so I can show you what we need done,” he said refusing to be dissuaded.
Fred’s green eyes sparkled like emeralds. “See ya later, Taylor.”
I waved. “Bye. It was nice to meet you.”
I watched intently as my dad talked his ear off with all his big plans for the yard. Fred snuck a look over his shoulder and smiled. I grinned back, then watched my dad escort him to the other side of the house. Once they were out of sight, I went back upstairs to my room to finish packing for the beach.
* * *
WHILE I STAYED ON THE beach for some sun and fun, my mom and dad went fishing not too far away. I spread out a colorful towel, applied plenty of Coppertone, slipped on a pair of sunglasses, and then laid down on my back to soak up all the sunshine I could. My gold bikini left little to the imagination, including more cleavage than my dad was a fan of, but I figured he needed to face the fact I was growing up and was not his little girl anymore. It didn’t really matter anyway, because there were so few people on the beach that one would have thought shark warnings had been posted. I just enjoyed the solitude, warm rays and listening to the birds and gulls soaring overhead.
“Taylor?” a girl’s voice said.
I sat up and grinned. “Yep, that’s me.”
A tall blonde in a gold bathing suit, with a large striped beach bag over her shoulder, standing there smiling. “Hi, I’m Julie,” she said, holding her hand out for a shake. “I’ve been dying to meet you. My mom tells me we’re the same age, in the same grade. I just moved here last week, and I don’t know a soul.”
I shook her hand and smiled. “That makes two of us.”
She smiled, then spread out her own beach towel, adjusted her sunglasses, and politely asked, “If you don’t mind? I’m gonna catch some rays too.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, laying back down and turning my head in her direction to talk. “Where do you live?” I asked.
“Not far from you. My parents split, and my mom’s—”
“Divorced?” I asked.
“You nailed it. Divorce, the future tense of marriage.”
I had to stifle a laugh, considering that her wounds were probably still fresh, but I appreciated her cynical sense of humor.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“It’s fine, and I’ll be fine too. I always bounce back. It’s like I have nine lives,” she said confidently. “My dad got remarried and lives in Washington, and my mom got a job as a manager for Sleepy Forest Cottages and their sister hotel. Where do your parents work?”
“In their pajamas sometimes.”
“Huh?”
“They work from home. They’re authors, so for them, this place is like a writers’ retreat, the perfect inspiration.”
“Oh. Well, that’s pretty cool.”
“I guess. They met at a writing conference and have been inseparable ever since. I guess you could call it love at first write,” I said with a smile.
She laughed. “Fairytale perfect, huh?”
“Well...sometimes, but speaking of fairy-tales,” I said, “I think I met Prince Charming.”
She lifted her glasses up and smiled. “Really? Where? Is he a lifeguard or something?” she asked, looking around.
“Not that I know of—at least not in the traditional sense. Yesterday, my dog Max took off into the woods, and when I ran in there to get him, I bumped into this super-hot guy.”
“Whoa!” She lifted a brow. “A hot forest boy, huh?”
Just then, another vision of him looking like a Greek god flashed through my head, his black hair wafting in the wind like some majestic stallion’s mane. I grinned as I imagined how the intimate touch of his lips on mine would feel.
“Hello? Earth to Taylor,” said Julie, snapping me out of my trance.
“Oh...sorry. I was just thinking about him. He was just so...hot. ”
“Do tell!” she said with a grin.
I lifted my sunglasses off my face. “Smokin’...really!”
She furrowed a brow. “As in...sizzling?”
I grinned. “Absolutely smoldering.”
“What’s his name?”
“Um...that’s the thing. I don’t know.”
“What!?” she gasped. “You mean to tell me this gorgeous creature was standing right there in front of you, and you didn’t even find out who he is?”
“Well, we talked for a few minutes, and I felt this amazing connection,” I answered, trying to explain something I really didn’t understand myself. “I guess I was so caught up in the moment that I just didn’t think to ask.”
“You know what that was, don’t ya?” she asked.
“What?”
“Chemistry.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“So lemme get this straight. You met some hot guy who took your breath away, and you didn’t even get his name?” she asked again. “Do you even know where he’s from?”
“You mean besides Heaven?” I answered with a grin.
She laughed. “Oh my gosh, that’s soooo corny.”
I laughed back at her. “I don’t know.”
She shot me a look like I was crazy. “Why didn’t you ask?”
“Well, there were mountain lions, and—”
“Mountain lions, as in plural?” she asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
She lifted a finger. “That’s clue number one. Mr. Wonderful doesn’t know much about the wildlife around here. I read up on it. Mountain lions travel alone.”
“Hmm. That’s odd,” I answered. “When we were out there, after we scared one lion away, my dog started acting funny, and he said, ‘They’re back.’”
“Only mothers and kittens live in groups, and I doubt a mama mountain lion would come back with her babies. So what happened after that?”
“He seemed jumpy and rushed me back home, then took off. When I glanced over my shoulder, he was gone.”
“Hmm. He does sound mysterious,” she said, looking intrigued. “I’ll keep out an eye for him. What does he look like?”
“He’s gorgeous,” I said.
“Yeah, you already said that. What else?”
“Well, he has black hair to his shoulders,” I answered smiling even wider, recalling every detail of his features. “And he’s got these big, bright blue eyes, almost like he was wearing those colored contacts.”
“You mean, like pastel or a piercing shade of bright blue?”
“I don’t know, exactly,” I said. “When I was a kid, there was this crayon in my box of Crayolas that was called Periwinkle. It was kind of like that, it was the rarest eye color I’ve ever seen. It was the lightest blue ever, as blue as the sky. I don’t know who he is, but I’ve gotta find out.”
She smiled. “So you’re calling dibs on the hottest guy in town already? I sure hope he has a brother.”
I put some more suntan lotion on my arms. “I’m not even sure if he lives here.”
“What would make you think otherwise?”
“Well, you said yourself that he made a mistake about the mountain lions. It seems like a local would know better. Maybe he was just hiking and is staying at one of the hotels.”
“Was he dressed like a hiker? Did he have a backpack and gear and hiking boots?”
“No, none of that.”
“Hmm. I do love a good mystery. We’ve gotta find your hunky hottie and see if he’s got an equally smoldering brother.”
I laughed. “And how are we supposed to do that? Stalk the resorts, hotels, and cabins?”
“No. I have a better idea. This guy named Jed is throwing a party tonight at his cabin. Lucky for us, I got invited. If this mysterious guy is a local, I’m sure he’ll be there.”
“And if he doesn’t show up?”
“Then we move on to Plan B.”
“Which is?”
“Stalking the resorts, hotels, and cabins.”
“Man, that’s gonna suck,” I said with a groan.
“Yep,” she said, rolling over to get some sun on her back. “If he’s a tourist, he’ll most likely be here for no more than a week or two. But even if he leaves, I’m sure there are other cute guys around here somewhere.”
I sighed. “I don’t want another cute guy. I want him.”
“Picky, picky, picky! When you show up tonight, make sure you look good. Wear something cute. If he happens to be there and he’s single, maybe you’ll snag him. At least you can find out his name this time.”
“Right,” I said, giving my new friend a fist bump.
“I need to meet somebody to forget about my ex.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling. I did meet another guy who’s pretty cute too.”
“Wow. What are you, a guy magnet?” she asked with a chuckle. “How’d you meet that one? And don’t blame your dog.”
“He knocked on my door.”
“Hey!” she laughed. “How come I don’t have that kind of luck?”
“My dad hired him to do some yard work. His name is Fred.”
“So introduce me.”
“I will.”
“Unless you want him.”
“Nah, he’s a cutie all right, but I’m all hung up on Mr. Blue Eyes. Fred’s are jade green, kinda like yours.”
“Well, anything to get my mind off my ex,” Julie said.
“My love life isn’t so great either. I was dumped about six months ago. Sean said we didn’t have the spark he needs.”
“Spark? The guy sounds like a jerk. Trust me, you’re better off with somebody else. You don’t need a guy who’d ever say something like that to a girl,” she said, adding, “If he wants a spark, maybe somebody oughtta shove a lighter up his—”
I squealed, cutting her off before she made me visualize something I didn’t want to see.
She laughed, and I couldn’t help laughing too.
“Anyway, he’s a jerk, like you said. He had a girlfriend one day after he dumped me.”
“Idiot!”
I sighed. “Tell me about it.”
Sitting up and grinning coyly, she looked at me. “So...are you ready to forget about him and have some fun?”
A huge grin spread across my face. “Definitely.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up tonight. My mom already told me where you live. Is seven okay?”
“I’ll be ready and waiting.”
“Cool. And look, Taylor, if your fiery forest friend isn’t there, don’t worry about it. I’ve got a feeling there won’t be a shortage of hotties around here—or at least I hope there won’t.”
“I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be really good friends,” I said smirking, somehow knowing it was the truth.