“Mark, if you dropped me off at a hotel, I’d probably change my mind about being here and go back to Alaska in the morning. I didn’t come to California for a new start in my life. I came because this is where you are. Besides, I’ve spent the last week with you, why would I feel awkward about it now?”
He palmed the side of her neck with one of his large calloused hands and the feel of it made goose bumps break out on her arms. “I just don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck here. That you don’t have any options. I didn’t give you a lot of time to think about this. The last thing I want is for you to feel trapped. And staying with me in my house is a lot different than being out in the wilderness, and I think you know it. We aren’t reliant on each other anymore. You can leave whenever you want. But if you decide to stay…it means something to me.”
“It means something to me too,” Zoey said. “It means that I want to explore the connection we made out there in the forest. I don’t feel trapped and, if I’m being honest, I think being away from you tonight would make me feel lost. This might not be the wilds of Alaska, and I might not have to start my own fire, but I’ve still never been here and it’s all new to me.”
Satisfaction filled Mark’s eyes. “Okay. But I meant what I said. If things aren’t working out and you want to go home, I’ll help you get there.”
“Without Colin there, Juneau feels less and less like home the more time I spend away from it. It’s about time I cut the safety cord and experienced life. I’ve spent my entire thirty-one years in Alaska. I love it, but I’m excited about seeing new cities, experiencing new things. Do you know I’ve never swam in the ocean?”
Mark didn’t say anything for a moment, and Zoey got worried. “Mark?”
Taking a deep breath, he said, “Sorry, I’m just thinking about how lucky I am.” He winked. “Come on, I think Rex is about to say ‘to hell with it’ and let us walk.”
Zoey wanted to tell Mark that she was the lucky one, but he was already turning to pick up her backpack and steering her toward the door with his hand on her back once more. Mark tried to put her in the front seat when they reached long-term parking, but she protested and sat in the back, listening to Mark and Rex talk about their commander, PT, and other general work stuff.
She was half asleep by the time Rex pulled up to Mark’s house. She climbed out and got her first look at where he lived.
The house was small, but well maintained. It was two-story, brick, and had a lovely little porch in front. It wasn’t fancy, and it was obvious the neighborhood was lower middle class, but secretly, Zoey was relieved. She’d never had all that much money in her life, and if Mark had ended up living in some huge mansion, she wasn’t sure how she’d feel about that.
But no, the house was modest. Exactly like Mark.
“Thanks for the ride, Rex. I’ll be late tomorrow. I’m going to bring Zoey over to meet Jess and get her settled, but I’ll see you after PT.”
“Sounds good. I’ll let the commander know, although I’m sure he’s probably not even expecting you in tomorrow at all.”
“I’ll be there,” Mark said firmly.
That was one more thing Zoey liked about him. His work ethic. It matched hers. She didn’t want to sit around and do nothing. She’d be bored to tears in hours. She was glad she’d be meeting Jess tomorrow. She was anxious to start working, doing something productive.
“I’m glad you’re all right,” Rex told Zoey. “Thanks for looking after this big lug. Not sure what we’d all do without him.”
“And you’ll never know,” Mark told his friend. “Now, get.”
Rex laughed and gave them both a chin lift before he turned his body in his seat to look behind him as he pulled out of the driveway.
“Thoughts?” Mark asked
Zoey looked up at him. “About what?”
“The house. The neighborhood?”
“I like them both. They’re down-to-earth. A lot like you.”
He sighed in relief. “When we were first stationed here, I lived in the barracks for a while but that quickly got old. I didn’t have a ton of money, but I had enough for a down payment. I wanted a small house that I could keep clean. I didn’t want a cookie-cutter house and preferred an older home with more character. This neighborhood wasn’t the best back then, but my realtor assured me that it was up and coming. She wasn’t wrong. Jess has lived here for most of her life, and she has a ton of crazy stories about this neighborhood in the seventies and eighties.”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” Zoey said.
“Tomorrow,” Mark said with a nod. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
Zoey followed him to the front door and inhaled deeply when they entered his house. It smelled like him. She’d gotten hints of it when they’d been sleeping out in the open, but ever since they’d spent the night in the hotel together, it was as if every time he moved anywhere near her, she got a whiff of him. Clean soap, mixed with his own natural musky scent.
Being here in his space, surrounded by his things, made her realize exactly how much she’d come to enjoy that smell. It signified safety to her. And stepping foot in his house, and smelling his scent so strongly, made her never want to leave.
“You okay?” Mark asked, ever watchful and aware of her feelings.
“I’m great,” she told him.
“Good. Come on, I’ll give you the dime tour.”
It didn’t take long for him to show her the three-bedroom, two-bath house, but Zoey fell in love with it immediately. It felt comfortable. Lived in. The wood floors looked original, complete with scuffs and scratches. The kitchen wasn’t top-of-the-line, but it had everything Zoey could need or want to make quick and easy lunches and more elaborate dinners. The bedrooms were on the small side, and she managed not to blush when he showed her the master room with the queen-size bed.
When he was done with the tour, Mark pointed out the large front window at the dark house across the street. “That’s Jess’s house. I see her grass needs mowing, and I’ll take care of that tomorrow when I get home from work. Make sure she doesn’t get a bug up her butt to do it herself.”
Zoey’s brows went up. “She’d do that?”
“Yes,” Mark said with a sigh. “She would, and has. It’s annoying.”
But she could tell that he wasn’t really annoyed because of the slight smile on his face.
“You hungry?”
Zoey shook her head. They’d eaten right before they’d left Alaska, and she figured maybe their week of only eating berries, leaves, mushrooms, and the occasional fish or squirrel had shrunk her appetite. “I’m good. Thanks.”
“Tired?”
She wanted to say no. That she’d love to stay up and talk to him. But the mere question made her immediately yawn.
Mark chuckled. “Come on, Zo. I’m beat too. I guess all that time out in the wilds of Alaska tired me out more than I’d thought.”
She preceded him back up the stairs and headed straight for the master bedroom. Mark caught her hand and stopped her. She looked at him in surprise.