Hidden Gifts (A Castle Mountain Lodge Romance) (14 page)

After tucking Ella into her bunk, he’d decided to check the horses, anything to give him some space from Morgan and the feelings he was having. The feelings that scared the hell out of him.

But Jeff was with the horses and he’d already done everything that needed to be done, so he sent Bo to take care of the fire. He failed to mention that Morgan was still up.
 

Watching her from a distance was a beautiful kind of torture. Sitting on the ground with the warm glow from the fire illuminating her face, Morgan looked completely at peace, and more gorgeous than Bo had seen her yet. He’d leaned up against the wall of the shed and watched her, unseen. Morgan kept surprising him, especially earlier on the horses and her willingness to try everything that was so new to her. She was his opposite in so many ways. It didn’t make sense for her to be having such an effect on him.
 

He probably would have stood there all night watching her if the owl hadn’t chosen that moment to call, causing him to startle and step on the stick. The trance broken, Morgan’s head jerked up and she called out to Jeff. She was scared; Bo could see it on her face and he instantly felt like an ass. He grabbed an old wool blanket from a shelf in the shed and made his way to her.
 

“Is anyone there?” Morgan asked. Bo’s chest tightened when he heard the fear in her voice.
 

“It’s me,” he said softly. He moved into the circle of light cast by the campfire.
 

“Bo! What the hell are you doing? You scared me half to death!” Her transformation from terrified to angry was instantaneous and almost made him chuckle, but he was smart enough to know that it was never a good idea to laugh at a woman right after he’d scared the daylights out of her.

“I’m sorry,” he said instead. “Here.” Bo shook out the wool blanket and moved around the fire so he could drape it around her shoulders. “I thought you might be cold.”
 

She took it and pulled it tight. “Thank you.” She still looked pissed, but she no longer looked as if she was going to attack him.
 

Instead of moving back to the other side of the fire, Bo sat on the ground next to her. She was close enough to touch, and he had to fight against the overwhelming urge to reach out and take her hand. Instead, he grabbed a long stick and poked at the fire.
 

They sat in silence watching the sparks fly when he jabbed the stick into the glowing embers. Finally, it was Bo who said, “I really am sorry that I scared you.” He snuck a look over his shoulder. She didn’t look at him. Her eyes were fixed on the flames. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine,” she said slowly. “I thought I was alone is all and Jeff had mentioned something about animals. You just caught me off guard.” She tossed a twig into the fire. “Are you okay?”

Her question caught him by surprise and he turned to see her looking at him.
 

“I mean,” she continued, “you’ve been acting kind of strange all night. I was just wondering if you were okay.”

He smiled and poked at the fire again. Apparently, his efforts at trying to create distance from Morgan hadn’t gone unnoticed. They also hadn’t done him any good at all. “I’m fine,” he said. “I was just thinking about a few things. This place makes me think is all.”

“I could see that,” Morgan said after a minute. “It’s so beautiful out here. I had no idea.” Her voice was filled with emotion, almost as if she might cry. Bo had seen people, even grown men, reduced to tears by the raw beauty of the mountains. It wasn’t uncommon. Something about the glacier seemed to bring things out in people—things they weren’t even sure they needed to get out. “I’ve never seen so many stars,” Morgan continued. She tipped her head back just as she had earlier, only this time he was close enough to see the smooth skin of her neck as she stretched back. “The sky is so full of them that it’s almost white. It makes a person feel pretty small, like there’s so much more out there.”
 

If she’d been a guest, or any other visitor to Stanley’s Cabin, Bo would have pointed out some of the more common constellations. If he’d been thinking rationally, if he’d been thinking about maintaining a professional distance, that’s exactly what he would have done. But she wasn’t any other visitor. He didn’t know quite what Morgan was to him, but there was something about her that drew him. Something, that despite his best efforts, he couldn’t shake. Maybe it was that look in her eyes when she’d thought no one was looking? That same look she had when she was sitting, watching the flames before he’d sat.

He should leave it. He should leave her, get up and put out the fire before it was too late. Despite the mess of feelings he had, he knew he couldn’t treat her like she was any other woman because Morgan wasn’t like any other woman and he’d never felt so strongly before. Which meant there was no way he could walk away.

~ ~

He watched her for a moment more as she gazed up at the stars. “Morgan,” Bo said, before his rational brain could stop him. “I’m really glad you came with us. It means a lot to me.”
 

It seemed to take forever, but then she sat up, pulling her gaze away from the stars and looked directly at him. Her face was illuminated by the glow of the fire, and Bo could clearly see the uncertainty on her face. “Because of Ella, you mean?”

“No.” His voice was rough and throaty to his own ears. “Because of me.” He closed the slight gap between them and reached out to brush back a tendril of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. His fingers traced the soft curve of her cheek as he tucked the hair behind her ear. A small puff of air escaped Morgan’s lips and she closed her eyes.
 

Despite everything his brain was telling him, his heart was speaking much louder, so he slid his hand behind her head, wrapping his fingers through her hair and pulling her gently towards him. He leaned over and bridged the small gap between them. When he finally touched her lips with his own, he knew he’d never want to stop. She tasted sweet like marshmallows and something he couldn’t define. Her lips yielded to his and slowly he explored her mouth with his while his other hand came to rest on her cheek. He let his thumb gently stroke the soft skin on her face while he lost himself in her.

Bo’s gut clenched at the sensations she produced in him. Never had he kissed a woman so softly and had it stir up so much passion. For that matter, never had he experienced such intense feelings with any woman, which was probably because what he was feeling—it wasn’t purely physical. That was the part that worried him.

With a slight groan, Bo pulled back to give them air. It took her a second to open her eyes but when she did, the dazed, passion-clouded expression she wore almost made him take her in his arms for the second time.

“I’m—“

“Don’t.” She cut him off.
 

Bo nodded and sat back. He let his hand trail down her shoulder as he moved, so it rested on the ground next to her. She was right.
 

He picked up the poker stick and jabbed it in the coals, stirring up the flames of the fading fire. It sparked to life again, providing an instant heat. The weight of Morgan’s hand covering his startled him and he turned. She’d slid one arm from the blanket and was watching him intently. He turned his hand over so hers rested on his palm.

“I shouldn’t,” he said with a crack in his voice.“There’s so much
…
”
 

“Ella.”

Bo nodded. “Yes, Ella.” He closed his fingers over hers, encasing her hand despite his uncertainty. “I don’t know what to do.” He hadn’t thought about his call to Clara Kersey in days and he still hadn’t heard from her, but being so close to Morgan stirred up a lot of unanswered questions.

Morgan nodded. “I’m not going to pretend to know what it’s like to be surprised with a four-year-old,” she said. “I don’t know what it’s like to have a child at all.” Her voice broke, but when Bo looked, her face gave away nothing. “But she’s beautiful,” she continued, “and with time, you’ll figure each other out. It’s going to be okay, Bo.”

Somehow when she said it, Bo believed it.
 

He squeezed her hand in his and looked into her eyes. “You know what? I think you might be right.”

“You weren’t sure?”
 

Bo reached up and slipped his free hand behind her head so he could wind his fingers through her silky hair. He kissed her once on the lips before pulling back. “Up until very recently I wasn’t sure about a lot of things,” he said without releasing her.
 

“And now?”
 

He pulled her into his arms, letting his kiss answer her question.
 

Chapter Sixteen

“Watch your step here,” Bo called back to Morgan, who was doing her best to keep up to him on the trail to the falls. She had to concentrate so she didn’t trip over the exposed roots and stones, while Bo seemed to bound over the obstacles without any trouble.

After a quick breakfast, they’d left the rest of the group at the cabin so Bo could take her to the falls as promised. The night before, at the campfire, Morgan had let herself believe that maybe she could act on her feelings for Bo. She hadn’t even thought about it when he’d kissed her. And maybe that was the point. It was easy and it felt natural. She didn’t have to overthink it.

Morgan stopped walking and looked up. Bo was standing in the middle of the trail, watching her with a secret smile on his face. Her stomach flipped at the sight but she forced herself to focus.
 

“Are you waiting for me?”
 

“Of course,” he said, and extended his hand for her. She took it and in one smooth move, he pulled her up the rocky trail so they were standing close together. “I was waiting for this.” Without letting go of her hand, Bo pulled her tight with his free arm and his lips crushed hers. They were both out of breath when he finally drew back.
 

Morgan’s heart was beating so hard she wasn’t sure she’d be able to make it down the rest of the trail and she had to work hard to get her breathing under control again. When they’d finally been able to let each other go the night before, put the fire out, and make their way to their separate beds, she wasn’t sure how things would be when they woke up. And around the others earlier that morning, Bo had acted the same as always.
 

As if he’d read her mind, he kissed her again and said, “I’ve wanted to do that all morning.”
 

Her heart did a happy dance that surprised even her. Just a few days ago she’d been dead set against starting any kind of relationship with anyone. But there was something about Bo, and standing alone with him in the middle of a mountain path felt like the most natural thing in the world at that moment.
 

“We should get moving,” he said but he didn’t move. “I want you to see Forgotten Falls.”

“Forgotten Falls? Is that what they’re really called?”

He nodded and unwrapped his arms from her but didn’t let go of her hand as they started back down the trail.
 

They walked quietly for a few minutes and when Bo had to let go of Morgan’s hand to navigate the trail, it immediately felt empty. He didn’t offer any more explanation, but something about the name of the falls resonated with Morgan. The tragically sad name had to have a story behind it. She was about to ask Bo about it when all of a sudden, she could hear the roar of the water.
 

“Is that it?” she asked, barely containing her excitement. She’d only ever seen Niagara Falls on a family vacation as a child, but had definitely never done anything as outdoorsy as hiking into a waterfall.
 

“It’s just around that bend.” Bo pointed and stepped out of the way as Morgan charged ahead. “Be careful,” he called after her, but she could hear the laughter in his voice.
 

~ ~

Morgan stopped short and stood in wonder at the miracle of nature that stood before her. She wasn’t sure anything could be any more beautiful than Lake of the Hanging Glacier and the meadow up at the cabin, until that moment. Just as Bo’d said, the falls were right around the bend. When Morgan turned the corner, she hadn’t been prepared to see the water cascading over boulders in a frantic dance down the side of the mountain, crashing twenty feet below to a small, rocky pool. The water drained into a stream that disappeared farther into the trees as it made its way down the mountainside. Morgan walked toward the edge of the pool through a fine mist rising from the water’s surface. She clambered over the rocks before turning back to Bo.
 

“Go ahead,” he called to be heard over the roar of the water. “Test the water. But don’t fall in.”

She gave him a look and turned back. She’d never seen such clear water before. Along the edge, she could see the rocks at the bottom. She could also feel the chill and she knew even before touching it that it was going to be cold. Morgan stuck her fingers in anyway and immediately yanked them back out.
 

“It’s freezing!”
 

“Of course it is,” Bo answered. “That water is coming straight off the glacier. The freshest water you’ll ever drink. Better than that fancy bottled stuff, anyway.”
 

She laughed and put her fingers in again, this time waving them through the water, letting her skin absorb the frigid temperature. It only took seconds before they were numb and she pulled them out.

“Come here,” Bo said. “Let me warm you up.”

Morgan pushed herself up from the rock and carefully made her way back to where Bo was waiting. He took her hand; the warmth of his skin instantly heated her. Bo turned her around so she could watch the water as it crashed down the falls.
 

“It’s beautiful,” she said.
 

Bo pulled her backward so she was leaning into his chest. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured into her hair.
 

A thrill went through her at his words, but Morgan was too focused on the sight before her to dwell on it. She let herself become hypnotized by the falling water and the way it swirled in wild currents before easing out into the stream. After a few minutes, Bo led her farther away from the chilly water’s edge to a flat rock where they could sit together and still enjoy the view.