I’ll take another encounter with Luca over whatever wild animal Mother Nature has in store for me next, even if I have my suspicions about him. I don’t know what it is I suspect him of exactly, other than toying with my hormones, but it’s something. The hat I am positive belongs to him is burning a hole in my bag, constantly reminding me of what happened a few nights ago in the restaurant’s parking lot.
As if I need the reminder.
Every time I close my eyes, I see that silver wolf. Sometimes I see the wolf and Luca. Both awake and in my dreams. He is somehow involved. I know it.
Danny’s fingers snap in front of my face, bringing my rambling thoughts to an abrupt end.
I blink. “What did you say?”
He eyes me curiously. “Sites thirty and eleven already checked out,” he explains slowly. “The couple at eighty-four bounced a few nights ago, even though they’re in the book for another day, so that site is open for drop-ins. You have a dozen or so reservations coming in this morning, so it’s going to be busy.”
I nod once. “I can handle it.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Positive.” I wave a hand at the door. “Go manage, or do whatever it is that you do all day.”
“You mean other than prevent the crew from killing each other over the fresh meat?” He flashes me a playful smile.
“How is that going so far?” I ask, mildly more interested now that I know for a fact that Luca is part of that “fresh meat” currently riling up the female and same-sex oriented staff.
“Be thankful you weren’t on the schedule yesterday. Site eight was MIA all day. I thought Mel was going to off herself. Then a big group of guys showed up to breath the life back into her. She’s rediscovered her purpose in life.”
I snort on a laugh. “You mean to sleep her way out of Castien Valley?”
“It is about the only way to get out of this town. You should try it sometime.” Danny wiggles his thick brows then pats the radio strapped to his hip on his way out. “Call me if you need anything.”
The instant the door shuts behind Danny, I turn toward the large filing cabinet behind me. The top drawer holds the registration details on all of the current campers. I leaf through them until I find the folder for campsite eight. Feeling like I could be James Bond’s daughter, I spread the file out on the counter and start my investigation.
They’re registered under Luca’s name, which means I get to see a copy of his driver’s license. According to that, he’s twenty years old and has a birthday coming in a few months. He’s a Leo. Six-foot-two. Organ donor. Castien Valley address. Ridiculously attractive picture.
Beneath that is his vehicle information. Listed on the paper is a Range Rover with a license plate number that matches the one I typed into my phone.
Bingo.
“He was there,” I murmur to myself.
I flip through the remainder of the registration forms. His friends are Ryse and Ryder DeGraw. Other than their names, I learn nothing about them. The trio are confirmed for the rest of the week, with an option to extend their stay. Luca’s credit card was used to check in. Nothing new there, but I already found what I was looking for.
The hat I’m carrying around is his. He was in the parking lot at some point around the time I was attacked.
I am more convinced that something strange is going on around here and he is involved in it somehow. What I don’t know is whether or not he can be trusted.
Is he as friendly as he seems? Or is he a threat?
I don’t plan it. When I punch my time card, gather my bag, and get in my car, I have all intentions of going straight home to crack open a book. I don’t know what I’m thinking when I take a left at the stop sign instead of a right, park my car on the side of the narrow road, and get out.
I step into the trees. I’m still on Hilderness property so the undergrowth is thin, with only a few patches of poison ivy to skirt around. After about thirty paces, I see spots of color peeking between the branches and leaves.
Since I’m here, I may as well have a look around.
I inch closer, eyes wide and alert for any signs of activity around the campsite. The Range Rover is parked under a canopy of leaves. Two tents have been erected in the small clearing, and border a pit filled with ashes from a recent fire. A navy blue cooler sits nearby.
I stop at the tree line to listen for any indication that someone is moving around in one of the tents. I hear nothing.
With a deep breath that fills me with courage, I step out of cover. I cast a furtive glance toward the trail that leads to the main part of the campground. No one is walking this way.
I start with the cooler since it’s the first thing I reach. Inside, I find bottles of water and a few cans of beer swimming in ice water. Nothing out of the ordinary for a group of guys camping in the woods. No food has been left out to tempt the bears, and I suspect most of their supplies are locked in the vehicle.
I don’t bother to check. A nice ride like that probably has an alarm that will alert the entire campground to the fact that I’m snooping around. I give the Range Rover a wide berth.
The green-and-brown tents are zipped up tight, the mesh windows covered from the inside. I look over my shoulder to confirm that the trail is still clear, then I tug the zipper of the nearest tent open. Inside, I find one sleeping bag, a duffel bag stuffed with clothes, and a muddy pair of hiking boots. The next tent holds the same.
Nothing unusual. Nothing unexpected. Nothing to make me think these guys are anything but a group of friends enjoying a week of camping.
So what if one of them consumes my thoughts day and night? So what if he happens to have been present both times I was attacked by wild animals?
I have no reason to suspect Luca of being anything more than the handsome, flirty guy that he seems. I suppose coincidences can happen. Not everything requires an explanation.
Except I can’t let this go.
I know he is here for a reason. It may not be any of my damn business, but I want to know why. Almost as much as I want to know who he is.
My need to know may have nothing to do with the strange and unexplained things going on around me. A tiny voice in my head reasons that it is simply Luca, and not his possible connection to anything nefarious, that I want to know more about, and that voice is getting louder by the moment.
He’s cute. Really cute. Anyone with eyes would agree.
And he’s noticed me.
Maybe he doesn’t have ulterior motives. Maybe he is genuine.
I give my head a shake and slip back into the woods before I’m discovered and outed as a stalker. The sun is riding low on the horizon now, and that means the creatures of the night that prowl these mountains will be stirring soon. With my recent string of bad luck, the last thing I need is an encounter with a grizzly.
I pat my hip, where my bag always hangs and where my bear spray is always near.
Except when I leave it lying on the front seat of my car—exactly where I left it when I set out on this impromptu adventure to discover absolutely nothing.
“Perfect,” I grumble under my breath.
The first time in nearly three years of carrying the spray that I’ve had that feeling, and I don’t have it on me. The hike back to the road seems a lot farther now—an insuperable distance that I will never cross.