Slipping on a terrycloth robe, Isa slowly made her way to the kitchen. The stitches on her arm hurt and pulled. They hadn’t bothered her through the night thanks to a painkiller right before bed, but the numbing was gone. She winced, reaching for the bottle of pills.
“Are you okay?” Tarrah asked, rushing forward to grab the bottle. She twisted the cap off, dropped two capsules onto the counter, and poured a glass of water.
“I’m fine. Just a bit sore. Nothing to keep me from doing the bungee jump today.”
Tarrah shook her head. “We can’t. Luke is gone. He took the car early this morning. He didn’t say where he was going or what errand he had to run, but we don’t have a car. We’re basically stranded here.”
Isa took her phone from one of the robe’s pockets and texted Luke.
Isa: You better be back here with the car in the next ten minutes.
Luke: Can’t. I’m a couple of hours away. I needed to check a few things. Take the day off to rest and take care of your arm.
Isa: You’re not my boss or my parent.
He didn’t respond, but the read receipt made it clear he had indeed read her text.
Isa: Do not ignore me.
Isa: You can’t keep me stranded at the cabin and not expect me to find something to do to pass the time. Maybe I’ll chop off all my hair. Maybe I’ll try to do a one-handed backflip.
No matter how ludicrous and dangerous she made the stunts appear to be, Luke didn’t message her back.
With a series of mumbled complaints, she poured herself a cup of coffee and took it out to the back deck. She settled onto one of the lounge chairs and sighed.
“He doesn’t mean to be so contemptuous, you know,” Tarrah explained, sitting beside her. “He worries. We both do.”
“I don’t pay you or keep you around to worry.”
Her friend winced. “Well, I know that, but you also have to take into consideration that you don’t seem to have very much respect for your well-being, so we do it for you.”
Isa didn’t say anything. She was tired of having the same fight over and over again.
“Maybe this is the perfect day to work on your next article idea.”
This perked her up. “Oh, you know that’s a really good idea. I sort of told someone last night that I would write a piece on this town. Maybe I should head over to the main street and explore. Take some notes. See what the town has to offer to make my article that much more real.”
Tarrah beamed at her. “I like that idea. Do you want any company?”
“No, no. Pretend this is a day off. Do whatever you like. I’ll take one of the bikes into town.”
The other woman scoffed. “How are you going to ride a bicycle with one hand?”
Isa laughed. “I’ve done it before. Besides, I can totally figure it out.”
Famous last words.
“For fuck’s sake,” Isa roared to the sunny midmorning sky.
It was the second time she bailed off the bike. It was one thing to ride one handed when she was on top of her game. This was different. She was trying to balance herself, all the while protecting her injured arm. She kept overcorrecting. That made her fall. Not her lack of experience.
“Jesus, Isa. You’re gonna hurt yourself,” a male voice chided her, holding out a hand for her to take.
The strong sun framed the man’s features as he stood over, making it impossible for Isa to see his face. But she didn’t need to see his sexy scowl or beautiful mouth to know who it was.
“Well, well, well. Good morning to you, too, Doctor Thatcher.” She held out her hand and let him help her up.
“Why in the hell are you trying to ride a bike with one stitched-up arm?”
“I don’t have any other means of transportation at the moment, and this was the next best thing.”
“Where are you going? I can give you a ride.”
Isa shook her head. “I’m just heading to the main street. I want to do a bit of touristic exploration for that article.”
His features lightened, his shoulders visibly relaxing. He had a boyish charm about him when he didn’t want to destroy her. “You’re really going to write a piece on Thatcherton?”
She shrugged. “Of course. I said I would.”
“Then you have to let me show you around.”
Her mouth fell wide open, and she stood there, opening and closing her mouth in pure shock.
“What?” he asked her, genuinely confused.
“You just politely asked to show me around town. I’m expecting the ground to open up and swallow you whole in a second.”
He chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Don’t be like that. I’m a good guy. You just seem to bring out the annoyance in me.”
She giggled. “You don’t say. But really, I couldn’t impose. You go do the doctor thing. I’ll explore all by my lonesome.”
Valens shook his head. “Not a chance. I don’t want you to miss the best parts of town. Besides, I don’t have any appointments this morning. If someone walks into the clinic with an emergency, my receptionist will call.”
“Is that how it works in a small town? Always on-call?”
He nodded. “I don’t have conventional hours. I work when I’m needed, which is a hell of a lot more in the summer months. Especially when daredevil women come into town, riding on the back of a boat without proper flotation devices.”
“Are you gonna show me around, or are we going to continue to bicker?”
“Show you around,” he answered immediately, bending down to grab her fallen bike. He set it beside his car and made his way over to her. “Are you okay to walk around? I can show you way more if we’re on foot instead of in a vehicle.”
“Of course. Makes a lot of sense. Is my bike gonna be okay here? No one will steal it?”
“Not a chance. This is a safe town. Besides, it’s next to my car. No one will mess with it.”
She frowned. “That’s a state-of-the-art bike. It’s so expensive. The only way I was able to get it was because the company gave it to me to advertise in my videos and social media posts.”
“I promise you, you’re not gonna get jacked.”
“Fine. But if the bike disappears, you owe me a new one.”
“Deal,” he agreed with a grin, so darn sure of the people in his town, despite the fact it was overrun with tourists.
“Lead the way, Doctor.”
Valens smiled at her, and it sent a sexy shiver down her spine. She had all kinds of flashbacks to her dreams.
This isn’t a date, you idiot. This is just a kind and hospitable man showing you around his town. You’re writing an article for him. This isn’t anything. This doesn’t mean a damn thing.
She almost believed herself.
Almost.
8
VALENS
We’re on a date with our mate.
Valens’s tiger chanting those words with so much enthusiasm and volume, he had to ask Isa to repeat herself a few times.
It wasn’t a date, anyway. He was showing her all the best spots and small businesses in Thatcherton. Hopefully, this would increase foot traffic next year during the tourist season. The town didn’t exactly need the exposure, but he wouldn’t turn down a chance to increase the number of daily visitors to the mountain.