Page 41 of Wrecked on the Mountain (Stone River Mountain #2)

Chapter Twnety-Three

Jamie

The fire crackles in my fireplace while I stretch out on the couch, a safety precaution manual balanced on my chest.

Brooke sits in the armchair across from me with some medical journal she's flicking through, her legs tucked under her in that way that makes me want to abandon all pretense of reading and just watch her instead.

"Chase owes me big time," I say, closing the manual and tossing it onto the coffee table. "I may have mentioned that Piper seemed interested in outdoorsy guys."

Brooke glances up from her journal, but her eyes don't quite focus on me.

"That's awfully nice of you."

I study her face as she looks back down.

Something's off.

She's been weird since she got back from dinner last night. Distant, like she's thinking about something else entirely.

During breakfast, I caught her staring out the window for ten minutes straight while her coffee got cold. And I know she likes my coffee.

"You okay? You seem... off. Your book not good?"

She forces a smile.

"Just tired. Long night with Piper."

I sit up straighter, military instincts kicking in. In Afghanistan, reading people's micro-expressions often meant the difference between life and death. Right now, Brooke's giving off every signal of someone carrying weight she doesn't want to share.

"Another hangover, huh? I can rob another pharmacy? I've got connections after the last stash I got for you."

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. "Remember how 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."

"You realize Silver Falls is freezing this time of year?"

"Mmm." She traces a finger along my forearm, sending heat straight through my shirt. Her sudden shift in mood is mind-boggling. Is this a hormonal thing? "Good thing I know some excellent warming techniques."

I pull over so fast the truck skids on gravel.

"Out."

"Excuse me?"

"Get out. You're driving."

"Jamie, I don't know these roads—"

"Sweetheart, if you keep talking like that while I'm behind the wheel, we're going to end up wrapped around a tree."

I'm already climbing out, but she reaches across and grabs my arm.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop. But I'll have you know, I've been planning this since that night in the warming tent when you kissed me and I dropped my hot chocolate.

" She reaches over and squeezes my thigh.

"Plus, I thought we could make some new memories there.

Good ones. The kind that will last forever. "

Forever. The word hits me sideways, especially coming from someone who's been acting like she's carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders all damn morning.

"Forever? Brooke, what's really going on? And please don't tell me you're tired again."

She looks out the window at the pine trees rushing past as I shift gears and bring the truck back up to speed again. "Can we just... enjoy this for a minute?"

I want to press, but something in her voice stops me. Instead, I make the turn at the old timber sign pointing the way toward Silver Falls.

The drive takes another fifteen minutes through increasingly dense forest. The powerful sound of the waterfall reaches us before we see it. That low, hypnotic roar that grows louder with every step down the mossy trail I've walked many times before.

We break through the trees, and there it is.

Water spills in silky ribbons over smooth granite cliffs, cascading into a crystalline pool surrounded by ferns and colorful wildflowers. The air is cooler here, mist curling around the edges of the rocks and settling on our skin like tiny dewdrops fallen from heaven.

Brooke smiles for what feels like the first time all day. "This place is perfect."

I help her carry our supplies to the flat rocks near the pool's edge, spreading out the heated blankets while she unpacks Betty's feast. The mist from the crashing waterfall catches us both, leaving tiny droplets on Brooke's hair that reflect the filtered sunlight streaming through the pines.

"You know, most people come here at sunset," I say, cracking open a beer and handing it to her. "Romantic lighting and all that."

"Most people didn't get dunked in freezing water by their bosses." She takes a long sip, then grins at me with something approaching her usual mischief. "Besides, I like having you all to myself."

She gets to her feet and moves toward the edge of the water, testing the temperature with her fingers.

I lean back against the sun-warmed granite and let myself appreciate the view. Brooke's jeans pull tight around her perfect ass as she bends forward, testing the water one last time.

"Enjoying yourself over there?" she calls without turning around.

"Absolutely. Nice view."

"Well, unfortunately it's not that cold," she calls over her shoulder. "Want to go for a swim?"

"Brooke, I don't think—"

Brooke shakes her ponytail loose and pulls her sweater over her head, revealing her lacy bra underneath. She kicks off her boots and socks, then undoes her jeans with a slow, teasing smile that hits me right in the chest.

"What are you doing?" I ask, my voice dropping an octave as heat warms my groin.

"Swimming," she says innocently, sliding her jeans down those perfect legs.

Oh boy . She's got no panties on. Not a stitch.

"Wait for me!"

I jump up so fast I knock over my beer. But I don't care. I'm at her side in a flash, undressing even faster than she did, nearly tripping over my own boots as I kick them off.

She wades into the pool created by nature beneath the falling water, gasping as the cold water hits her waist.

"Argh! It's freezing!"

"You're crazy, you know that!"

She beams back at me, a smile so bright I just can't help myself.

Fuck it.

If she's going in, I'm going in. No way I'm letting her freeze alone.

The water hits me like a shock to the system, but Brooke's laugh makes it worth it. It's the first time I've heard it all day and I feel like I should have been recording it just in case it disappears again.

She splashes toward the waterfall, letting the cascade soak her completely, and I follow, mesmerized by the way the water runs over her skin.

"This is payback?" I call over the sound of rushing water.

"Hmmm, maybe not. This feels more like foreplay," she calls back, reaching out to pull me in until she's kissing me, her cold lips warming under mine as the waterfall crashes around us.

By the time we make it back to the blankets, we're both shivering and laughing as we wrap ourselves in the heated throws I left in my truck after our sunrise adventure.

Brooke curls against my side, her head on my shoulder, and for a moment everything feels perfect.

Then she gets quiet again.

"Jamie?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

She lifts her head to look at me, and I see it again—that conflict, that fear, whatever's been eating at her since last night.

"We need to talk. The hospital… they…" She swallows and slams her eyes shut, like the words are painful. "…they want me back. To head the department."

She's leaving. She's actually leaving me.