Page 104 of Wrecked on the Mountain

That gets a weak laugh, but it's hollow.Dammit.Nothing like her usual bright sound that makes my chest warm.

"I'm fine, really."

Bullshit. She's about as fine as a helicopter with a busted rotor.

I swing my legs off the couch and lean forward, elbows on my knees. The afternoon light streaming through the windows catches the auburn highlights in her hair, and I notice she's wearing that little frown she gets when she's trying to solve an impossible problem all by herself.

"Brooke."

The way I say her name gets her attention. Those big, beautiful eyes finally meet mine, and I see it. That conflict. Fear. Something that makes my heart constrict with protective instinct.

"What happened last night?"

She closes the journal and sets it aside, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. One of my flannel shirts, actually, which would normally make me smug as hell.

Today it just makes me worry more.

"Nothing happened. Piper and I just caught up, like old times, that's all."

I've gotten good at reading Brooke over the past month. When she's happy, her whole face lights up. When she's thinking through a medical problem, she gets this intense focus that's sexy as hell. When she's trying to hide something from me?

She looks exactly like this.

I stand up and move to the fireplace, needing something to do with my hands. The flames are dying slowly, much like I am whenever I look at Brooke today. I grab the poker and scrape against the grate as I adjust the charred logs, sending sparks up the chimney.

"Is it something I did?" I ask, unable to help myself.

"No." Her voice is firmer now, eyes cutting into me like a warning. "Jamie, please. You didn't do anything wrong. Can we just drop it?"

I sigh with resignation. I still think she's hiding something, but I let it go. For now.

"Fine. Come on." I stand up and pull her to her feet. "Let's get out of here. I know exactly where we need to go."

"Where?"

I grab our jackets from the hooks by the door, my mind already racing ahead to think of a place that might help her remember why she can talk to me about anything.

"Anywhere. I'm done sitting around here all day."

I load up the truck, grab some food from Bear Paw Café on the way and soon, I'm driving through the winding forest roads when Brooke finally perks up in the passenger seat.

"Silver Falls."

I glance over at her, surprised by the first real energy she's shown all day.

"What about it?"

"That's where we're going." She turns to face me, and for the first time since last night, her smile looks genuine. "Rememberhow you dunked me in freezing water at the festival? Well, revenge is sweet, mister."

"No way. I don't have my swimsuit."

"Too bad." Brooke grins. "By the way, I heard major shrinkage can be a medical disaster. As your personal physician, I'd be professionally obligated to conduct a thorough examination."

I nearly drive us into a pine tree.

"Jesus, Brooke. Look who's finally awake."

"What? I'm just concerned about your circulation."