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“More like I’ve watched way too many episodes of
Supernatural
and don’t know what’s in
those trees.”

“You’re more likely to see a moose out there than a
wendigo.”

“Someone watches crap television like I do.”

He shrugged. “Sanding can get monotonous. It’s either
television or music most nights when I’m working. And most of the time Sam and
Dean don’t get all mushy.”

“Heaven forbid.”

Without the sun, the only relief in the darkness was their
headlights. Finally he pulled around a clearing and parked.

“Where are we?”

“Technically still the park. It’s a warm enough night. I
thought we’d sleep in the truck bed tonight.”

“You know how to romance a girl, Justice.”

He reached under the seat and clicked a light under his
chin. “Afraid?”

She tucked her hands into her sleeves. “No.”

The light went out. “Grab the food. I’ve got a lantern in
the back.”

There was still enough light that it wasn’t pitch black, but
not by much. She jammed her feet back into her shoes and reached for their bag.
She slid out of the truck and simply stared.

The cliffs towered above them, making a dome of pinpricks in
a navy sky. Dark evergreen trees lined the clearing, leaving them completely
alone. Night sounds penetrated her shock. A light breeze kept the trees in a
constant state of sway. Instead of scaring the crap out of her, it was so
serene she was afraid to speak.

She felt her way along the truck bed and peeked over the
open tailgate. He stood above her with a Coleman lamp.

“I’m not much for camping, but wow.”

He smiled down at her and held out his hand. “We’ll eat and
get some rest. If we leave at dawn, we can get into Nevada tomorrow.”

She dumped their food onto the truck bed and let out a quick
laugh when he hauled her up as if she weighed nothing. He rested his hand on
the small of her back, keeping her close. The two sleeping bags were zipped
together and a pair of pillows lay against the tool chest. Glamorous it was
not, but the sentiment made her smile.

They ate, but neither one of them seemed inclined to ruin
the peace of the night. The sky sparkled as the moon rose. They quietly climbed
into the supersized sleeping bag. There was a thin pad underneath it, so it
didn’t feel like they were sleeping on steel.

She stretched out next to Shane. The sky dragged her
attention away from conversation. She lived in a small town with a view like
this every night if she wanted it. But with the craziness of her life, she
never quite got the chance to just be.

Shane seemed to give her that. In so many ways.

He curled his arm under her head and rolled her in close.
She smiled into his chest. Only the tip of her nose was cold. Between Shane’s
body heat and the long day, she slid into sleep.

Shane woke to a human vine curled around his legs and waist.
She slept heavy and still. Better than a thrasher, but the oddity of having her
pressed against him had woken him a few times in the night. He’d wanted her
close, had made sure to bring her into his space before dropping off to
sleep—and yet that desire was as foreign as it was alluring.

Between getting his furniture company off the ground and the
early schedule with Justice Construction, he hadn’t had much opportunity to
date anyone. And the few times he’d found someone to share a night with, he
made sure to leave before the morning afters.

But he liked her weight, liked her smell on him, liked her
hair sliding across his throat—hell, he didn’t have one thing to complain about
with her and the horizontal. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.
The only thing he knew definitively was that it was a dangerous thing.

A pearly mist curled around the basin of El Capitan. It was
an impressive mountain, and he’d done his fair share of rock climbing with Kain
when they were in college. In the end it was the water that interested them
more. They’d traveled during the school breaks to find waves in Australia,
Hawaii, and South Africa.

It had been a very long time since he’d been in the park.
And having Kendall there with him felt natural. Everything about her felt right
and scary as fucking hell. Had this been the old man’s plan all along? Finding
family for him?

He wove his fingers through her sunlight-colored strands.
Dew dotted her hair, adding another layer of freshness to her fall scent. The
curls coiled around his fingers and wrist. The dawn came with the birdcalls of
the hawk and fluttering song of the sparrows. The world was coming alive, and
it was time for them to go.

One more stop and they’d leave California in their rearview
mirror. He would miss it. His life and his friends had been so much a part of
the cliffs and waterways of Monterey. But there was nothing there for him any
longer. Every day since his dad had died, he’d felt a little more detached from
the land and the house. Kain was the only thing holding him to Monterey. And it
just wasn’t enough any longer.

Maybe he’d find something new and amazing in New York. Or
maybe their shared house was a conduit for them both to start fresh lives.
There was a loneliness in Kendall’s eyes sometimes. When her smiles faded and
the conversation died away, he caught a look as she took in the miles of trees
and foliage of Yosemite. Even in the cliff sides of Monterey, he’d sensed a
similar restlessness inside her.

Was it that kinship that drew him to her, or was it more? It
felt like more. Why did it have to be now? He didn’t even know where he was
going to live. And she sure as hell hadn’t been in his plan.

The longer he was in her company, the more he wanted to be
close to her. He’d known the flush of lust and had fallen in love in his senior
year of college. He’d even contemplated forever with the exciting
environmentalist. But the lure of the Peace Corps had been her dream and hadn’t
melded with a business major who already had a job already waiting for him.

And when he and Julie had decided to go their separate ways,
the loss had barely made a wave.

Kendall crashed in on him like an Australian Gold Coast
undertow. The waves were amazing, but the ride was full of warning signs and
breakers that could snap him in half. And like surfing, this woman was just as
addicting.

She tucked her chin lower into the blankets, and her calf
stroked along his leg. He tried to focus on the butter-light sun peeking around
the cliffs as it burned off the fog, but her hand brushed his belly and zeroed
in on the ridge of his cock under his zipper. He ground his molars together.
“C’mon, Sunshine. Time to wake up.”

Kendall moaned into his neck. “It can’t be morning.”

He rubbed his ear against his shoulder to stop the buzz of
warmth and the soft teasing of her voice from distracting him. “Oh, but it is.
And we’ve got to get on the road. Nevada won’t get driven across by magic.”

She propped herself up on her elbow. The wide neck of his shirt
slid across her collarbone and uncovered half her shoulder. She was
heavy-lidded and soft from sleep, and he wanted nothing more than to settle in
and spend a lazy day with her. He must have stared just a touch too long
because her smile transformed into a sexy smirk. She pushed a wild hank of
curls out of her eyes. When it all fell forward again, she groaned. “Still want
me to keep my hair down?”

They weren’t tight curls. Just wild waves that seemed to
have a mind of their own. “Do you do anything I ask anyway?”

She drilled her finger into his chest. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

He caught her hand and drew it up to his mouth. He nipped
the webbing between her thumb and forefinger before letting her go to sit up.
If he didn’t get up now, he wouldn’t. “We’ve got a long drive ahead.”

She lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt and scraped her teeth
over his shoulder. “Vegas?”

He focused on the mountains and the birdsong. On anything
but how bad he wanted to lie back and lose himself in her again. “Too far
south.” He looked down at her. “This leg of our tour across America is going to
be boring.”

She reached for her jeans. “We’ll find something.”

He swallowed back a groan when she rolled up onto her knees.
She’d changed into a pair of sleep shorts with miniature Tweety Birds all over
them that she’d picked up before the trip. They were ridiculous and hugged her
hips like a second skin. Warner Brothers cartoons should not induce a boner.

He hiked his jeans on and stuffed his feet into his boots
before jumping over the side of the truck bed. Remove the temptation, and just
maybe they’d get out of there without him doing something stupid. He dragged
out two bottles of water, her knapsack, and his toiletry kit from the truck.

“Heads up.”

She looked up and caught her bag. “Thanks.” Unruffled, she
tucked the water bottle in her bag. “I’m going to go do the nature thing. I’ll
be right back.”

He did the same and started packing up the truck. A few
minutes later she came back with jeans and a dark red shirt on, her hair tucked
through a black hat. She looked like she was sixteen, for fuck’s sake.

“Do I get my shirt back?”

She shook her head and opened the passenger door. “I told
you it was mine.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep.” She put her bag in and stood on the running board.
“Well, come on. The desert awaits us.” She slapped the top of the cab and
grinned before disappearing into the truck.

He shook his head and stowed the rest of their gear. If he
didn’t know firsthand just how female she was, he’d have thought she was any of
his buddies. No muss, no fuss, and as easygoing as a summer afternoon. Both of
their lives were about to change, and she acted like she was on vacation. Then
again, wasn’t he treating this like a vacation? He should be on a straight path
to New York with as few detours as possible.

“Idiot,” he muttered and jumped to the ground. He got in the
truck and started it. “Got everything?”

She sipped her bottle of water, her phone in her hand. “Yep.
Just checked in with my mom.”

“Have you told her yet?”

“I…” She sighed, and a frown creased between her brows.
“I’ll have to since your supplies are going to the house.”

He backed down the pitted road. “Don’t you think she
deserves to know?”

“I’m going to tell her, but I wanted to do it face-to-face.
It’s not exactly an over-the-phone kind of conversation.”

“Didn’t you do that with your friend?”

She turned in the seat. “Bells is different. It doesn’t
affect her life. She just has to be there for me.”

He frowned. Wasn’t that a parent’s job? How many times had
he gone to his father to help him figure out problems over the years? From what
he could tell, Kendall acted more like a mother than a daughter. She was a
grown woman and independent as hell, but something felt off there.

He pulled out onto the main road. The park was full of cars
and families. Trees lined the road, and blue skies burned off the pearly gray
of the morning. The sun glowed behind the mountains, and it felt more like
early October instead of the middle of November. She sat forward. “Oh, wow.
It’s gorgeous.”

The drive was familiar. It had been a good fifteen years
since he’d been here, but memories overlapped. His mother’s wide smiles and
shining dark eyes. Camping and hiking had filled their summers until his mother
got too sick to travel.

Kendall opened the window and unclicked her seat belt before
leaning out. He reached over and grabbed one of the belt loops from her jeans.
“What the hell are you doing?”

She had her phone in her hands. “When am I going to see a
view like this again? I need a picture.”

“I’m driving, Kendall.”

Instead of getting back inside, she grabbed on to the handle
by the door and sat on the window frame. “You’re driving slow enough.”

“Jesus.” He slowed to a crawl. “Get back in the truck.”

She wriggled back inside and sat down. “Spoilsport.”

“Put your damn seat belt on.”

She slid across the bench seat and held her phone up.
“Smile.”

He jammed his molars together.

“There we go. Perfect picture. I wouldn’t want you to smile.
It would make the picture look fake. Such a growly bear.” She waggled her
eyebrows and got back on her side of the truck. “I can’t believe how amazing
this park is. No wonder there’s so many families here.”

Once upon a time he thought he’d bring his own family here.
He gripped the steering wheel until his heart rate finally returned to normal.
He focused on following the winding road out of the park. “Does Bradley look
like this?”

“Not all that different. The mountains aren’t quite as
impressive, of course, but we’re close to the Adirondacks. So it’s really just
a matter of perspective.”

“How big is the Heron?”

She turned in her seat, a stance he was getting used to. She
seemed to need to face him when she talked. “You know just how big it is. I
read the will, same as you did.”

Spatially, he had a good idea. He’d been in the business
long enough, but a feel for the converted house was different from what was in
pictures and the not-so-impressive brochure he’d found online. It showed the
square footage and the room rates, but it didn’t give him jack shit about what
the Heron was all about.

He glanced at her. “What’s your favorite part?”

She smiled, and her eyes sparkled. “The dock. There’s a path
that leads out to where we keep a few kayaks and things, but at the end of the
dock, there’s a platform that I love to sit on. It’s got a lot of space for
Adirondack chairs and loungers.”

“Sounds nice.”

“I want to restain it and seal it this spring. I’m hoping to
make it a little oasis for families to hang out by the lake.”

“And there’s a good amount of people that come to stay?”