“That’s really nice of you to offer.” Bellamy’s friend Jenna gave him a genuine smile. “But honestly, I don’t think Holly’s going to budge from the couch now that she’s figured out how much better Irish coffee tastes indoors.”
“She’s not wrong,” Holly acknowledged with a nod. “But thanks for the invite,” she added, toasting Shane with her mug.
“I’ve got my cell phone on me, and I won’t be long,” Bellamy said, hugging both friends goodbye before falling into step next to him as he headed toward the exit leading out the back of the resort. “Okay, so what’s Carrington Ridge?”
He held the door for her, waiting until their feet were back in rhythm together before continuing. “It’s on the other side of the mountain from the resort, facing Big Gap in the east. The resort has the market cornered on skiing and snowboarding, but all of the trails are over here, on the west side.” Shane paused, gesturing over his shoulder. The night trails were lit up like a beacon, dotted with skiers gliding over the largely manufactured snow.
“Oh. It’s not part of the resort?” she asked slowly.
He shook his head. “Nope. It’s not far, but it isn’t part of the grounds.”
Shane registered the hesitation on her face and stopped. Spending the past year in Pine Mountain—where everyone knew everyone else—had made him forget the way the rest of the world worked.
“Here.” He reached for his cell phone. “While we still have cell service, go ahead and text Jenna and Holly my number.”
Bellamy’s brows rose. The offer seemed to put her at ease, though, and she waited for him to pull up his contact information, then sent it to both of her friends. “Thanks,” she said, but Shane just shook his head.
“I don’t mind at all,” he said, and meant it. The truth was, she’d only met him a few days ago, and, as pretty as Carrington Ridge was, it was out in the middle of God’s country. Playing it safe was just smart.
Bellamy tucked her phone back into her pocket, then gestured for him to lead the way. “I take it this place is more of a local hangout, then?”
“I guess you could call it that, yeah.” They walked for a minute before Shane continued. “Carrington Ridge is one of my favorite places up here. Most people who know about it go for the great sunrises. They’re pretty incredible, honestly, and the view is even better at night.”
They’d reached his truck, and he opened the passenger door for her before moving around to slide behind the wheel.
Bellamy laughed. “Okay, I’ll bite. How is the view so good if it’s dark outside?”
“Actually, it’s what you can’t see that makes it so cool.”
Her puzzled expression warmed him up faster than any heater, but he flipped the thing on high anyhow, watching her crease her brow in thought.
“I don’t get it,” she admitted, lacing her fingers around her coffee cup and taking a sip.
“You will when we get there,” he said, and yeah, that little frown she gave up in response?
Definitely hot.
“So, you’re just going to leave me hanging.” The playful edge to her voice teased Shane’s ear, and he reached out to crank the heat down a notch. Man, his truck got hot quick.
Or maybe that was just him.
“You’re a smart woman,” he said, working up a smile. “I bet you can figure it out.”
Even in the dim glow of the dashboard lights, he could see her surprise. “How do you know I’m smart?”
“Law school or MBA?” Shane’s pulse quickened.
More surprise, but she didn’t hesitate. “MBA. But you didn’t answer the question.”
He looked at her for as long as the road would allow before returning his stare to the windshield. “Just a guess. Boy, you weren’t kidding. You really do like it right out on the table, don’t you?”
“Yes. You’re seriously not going to tell me how we’re going to take in this spectacular view in the dark?” Bellamy persisted, not giving him an inch.
She should’ve been a lawyer.
“Nope,” Shane replied, grinning at her frustration.
“Are you trying to get under my skin?”
He smirked and let the question hang. “How’m I doing?”
She arched a pale brow back at him. “You’re a natural.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes before he reached the turnoff from the main road. Shane angled the truck through the space that would’ve seemed nonexistent to anyone who didn’t live in this zip code, guiding them onto a narrow dirt road.
“Hold on, it gets a little bumpy.” He maneuvered over the back road as far as his aging F-150 would let him before pulling onto a grassy stretch of flat land overlooking the twinkling lights of the valley below.
Bellamy’s face was set in confusion as she squinted through the windshield. “Okay. There’s nothing here.”
“Or everything. Just depends how you look at it.” Shane reached around to the tiny storage space behind her seat and grabbed the old Army blanket he always kept there in case he got stranded in the snow. He’d kept her in the dark, so to speak, long enough, and although he had to admit that the irritation on her face was turning him on like a light switch, he didn’t want to piss her off completely. “Come on.”
He walked around to her side of the truck, eyes adjusting to the darkness that came not just from the sun having long since set, but from the fact that there weren’t any city lights to speak of for miles around. The tiny town that lay at the mouth of the valley showed itself in a sprinkling of warm porch lights and barely visible streams of shadowy chimney smoke rising to greet the cold night air.
“Are we going far? Because I’ll be honest. I can’t see a thing,” Bellamy admitted with an unsure waver in her voice.
“Yeah, this is a totally different brand of dark than you get in the city. Here.” He captured her gloved hand in his bare one, just meaning to help her get her bearings.
But the way she squeezed him made him forget his own.
“Sorry.” She let go of a nervous laugh. “I promise, I’m not normally scared of the dark.”
He commanded his legs to move and the pang in his chest to settle. “Don’t worry. I felt the same way the first time I came up here.”
“Well, sure. You were probably like eight or something when that happened, though.”
Shane’s thoughts darted to the first time he’d stumbled upon Carrington Ridge, but he quickly stuffed the memory away. By the feel of the hard, flattened grass under his boots, where they stood right now should do the trick. Most of the snow that had fallen the week before had melted, exposing big gaps of frozen earth. Shane stopped about halfway through the field, eyeballing it in the dark shadows. Yeah, this was good. He made quick work of unfurling the blanket, kneeling down to make sure no sharp twigs would poke through and hurt Bellamy when she sat down.
Nope, not even a stray rock or anything below the dirt. This was perfect.
“Okay. This’ll do it.” He sat down on the blanket, making sure there was plenty of room for her to sit next to him, but she hesitated.
“You coming, or what?” he asked, jerking his head toward the space on the ground next to him.