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CHAPTER FIVE

emma

Saturday Morning

L ogan Blackwood had been the sexiest thing I’d kissed in a long time, and I’d rushed headlong into his arms as fast as I could.

He’d been as much along for the lust-soaked ride as I had.

If Sheila hadn’t interrupted with her call, we’d have happily consummated our not-at-all-a-relationship in the passenger seat of his truck.

Of that , I had no doubt.

The window in my dining room slid up easily, letting in the morning air and the gorgeous sunrise, but it was all lost on me as I sipped my coffee. No, I was replaying the night before…

When Logan had held up his glass and said he was devouring a tasty Animal Doctor… Holy shit.

Every cell in my body cried out in a collective swoon, and it made me throbby all over. I needed to know what his three days of stubble would feel like, rough on my thighs while his tongue…

Every sensible thought had flown out the window, straight up until I had caught my breath and noped myself right out of Vixen’s parking lot.

As though I’d suddenly become risk averse as a person. Da fuck?

He probably slept around, and I didn’t have a condom.

The thought of asking him if he had one had made me realize I was about to fuck a stranger in his work truck, and I didn’t want to invite a stranger into my home.

Without my buzz, all those issues had seemed way bigger than they probably should have.

Mentally kicking myself this morning didn’t help much. At least I had camping to look forward to. Still, I had some serious regret over second-guessing myself and not taking one hot Logan to bed last night. Skipping out without saying bye hadn’t been a shining moment in my decision-making either.

No use whining over intentionally un spilled milk.

A breeze moved through the screen on the window, beckoning me out to the woods I loved. I closed the window, drained the last of my coffee, placed the empty mug in the sink, and scooped up my bags on the way out of the house.

The weathermen had underestimated the first cold snap following the Autumn Equinox, and the brisk air tickled my nose as I opened the garage door and loaded my tent, my sleeping bag, and supplies into the back of my Toyota Rav4.

The temperature had dropped at least twenty degrees overnight, and I was thankful I hadn’t managed to drink myself into a hangover.

Perfect camping weather meant I couldn’t wait to get out to Magnolia State Park, even with Logan sexing up my daydreaming.

With the possibility of patient emergencies, I never drove far from Willow Creek.

Someday, I wanted to see the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee or maybe the Catskill Mountains in New York.

For now, I didn't like being that far away from my patients and their families.

Sweltering didn’t begin to describe the humidity and heat of Louisiana during the summer, so I used up every weekend with agreeable weather.

My weekend bag was always easy to pack since I never emptied it all the way.

I rarely went hiking with anyone else, and I always let my mom, Sophia Carter, know where I was and how long I’d be gone.

She also had access to the location devices I kept pinned to my pack.

Now, whether she remembered how to access it or not, that was the actual question.

My mom had never gotten along well with tech.

I slammed the rear door of my car before holding down the two on my cell. It speed-dialed her. The line rang once before she picked up.

“Oh, Emma. There you are.” Her voice always soothed the part of my heart that missed my dad. Camping and hiking trips had been something we’d done for years… until Dad had gotten too sick to go on them.

“Hey, Mom. ”

“Getting an early start, are ya?”

“Old habits are hard to break.” We’d always left as early as we could. “You should come next time,” I said. “You used to love it out there.”

She chuckled. “I’m getting too old to sleep on the ground. Maybe we could take a Thanksgiving trip to New Port Orleans. You know I want to study with the veterinary surgeon there anyway.”

“We should.” I paused to wait for her to comment. We both knew she couldn’t go camping without Dad around—too many memories—so New Port Orleans would have to happen. “I’m headed out to Magnolia.”

“On your new bike?” She wasn’t fond of my latest acquisition—a bright red motorcycle, currently parked in the other spot in my garage.

“No, my saddle bags didn’t come in time. Maybe next trip.”

Shame, really. Perfect camping weather meant perfect riding weather.

“Anybody going with you?”

“No, I haven’t found anybody who likes it as much as I do.”

Or who I liked enough to take along.

In my head, Logan flashed his smirky grin. Could have ridden something last night…

“Are you ever going to get a hiking buddy?”

“At least you didn't ask if I was ever going to give you grandchildren.”

“Do you want me to ask that? I could start asking.” The smile in her voice was undeniable. “I could always ask that question. I mean, when are you?—”

“Mom,” I interrupted. “You know that's not what I meant. I’ve got to be a minimum of thirty-five years old before you can start asking that question. I’m pretty sure that’s a rule.”

“So, eight years? I’ll put a reminder on my phone.” She probably would as soon as the call ended. If she could figure out how.

She told me about some new neighbors who had moved in on her street while I jogged back to my porch. The lock on the front door of my small one-bedroom house clicked, and I tugged on the door to make sure it was latched.

After she finished her story, I said, “Well, I just wanted to let you know where I’d be. I have reception there, so you can get ahold of me when you need to. Don’t forget I turn my notifications off at night.”

“I just don't understand it. Out there in the wilderness by yourself… Why do you still do that?”

I slid into the front seat of my car, and the Bluetooth looped the call into the car’s speaker system. Telling her all the reasons why wouldn’t help. Her love for the great outdoors had died when Dad had. She’d only just become herself again, herself but slightly different.

Instead, I said, “You know I like solitude now and then. I lost two pets this week. They were both expected, but it doesn't make it any easier.” I then told her about Sully-Boy’s near miss.

“If we’d lost him, that would have been three, and he would have been a hard loss.

Besides, you know I like the park. It makes me feel close to Dad. ”

“I know, sweetie. I miss him too. You be careful and let me know when you wake up tomorrow that you're okay. Or I'll call your uncle and send in the cavalry.”

She cracked me up.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” I said.

At that, she laughed. “Too true.”

“Love you, Mom. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Love you too. Send me a photo of the stars before you shut off for the night.”

“Will do.”

The next call was to my vet practice. It was seven, and Shannon would already be there.

She cheerfully answered on the first ring. I’d never met a more morning person than Shannon, and she always sounded like she’d had a dozen cups of coffee before her eyes even popped open all the way.

“Willow Creek Vet’s office. How can I help you?”

“How's Sully-Boy this morning?”

“Oh, he's his usual hissing and spitting self. I think he misses his girl.”

“No problems?”

“None.”

“Then he's ready to go home today?”

“I think so. He's eating and drinking, and he's already made the messes we need him to this morning, though, he’s not happy with his leg.”

“Maybe he’ll learn not to get tangled in barbed-wire fences after he escapes,” I said with a chuckle.

“I'm headed out to Magnolia. Let Callie and her mother know they’re cleared to come get him at noon like we discussed. He needs five days of antibiotics and five days of pain meds. Make sure you give them instructions for what to look for at the incision site.”

“Will do.”

“Riley should be there in an hour.”

“Sure thing. I've got some things we can both do. We still need to disinfect stall one and stall three out back. Plus, you know, whatever’s left after they pick up Sully-Boy.”

“Sounds good. See you Monday.”

I ended the call without adding any more instruction. Those two could run the place without me, and they'd call if there was an emergency.

Carefully, I backed out of my driveway and off toward the wilds with my music blaring, fantasizing about a hook-up with Logan.

If the opportunity came again, I’d be on it faster than anything, but he couldn’t ever be anything more than a booty call. I refused to do anything to jeopardize the trajectory of my life and what I had worked so hard to build.

Enough was plenty, and I had everything in life I’d been working toward for the last decade. If I minded my P’s and Q’s, maybe with an added dick now and then, what could possibly go wrong?

I made good time to the wooden Magnolia State Park sign, stretching over the top of the entrance lanes.

The old log cabin drive-thru ranger’s station had been there for as nearly as many decades as the original park sign.

The state park kept the tiny office manned until three on Saturdays since most of the visitors started their day in nature in the mornings.

After-hours check-ins were strictly by the honor system.

The sliding window opened, and a cheerful khaki-uniformed man leaned out. “Good morning, ma’am,” he said. “I’m Ranger Ellis. Looking for a day pass or something else?”

“Overnight camping, actually.”

“Do you need a map, or do you have a site in mind?”

“Number fifty-two,” I said, tugging a twenty from my center console where I kept about one hundred dollars in spare cash hidden, a tip my dad taught me. “One night, and three bundles of firewood.”