Page 9 of Rocky Top

“Did you see the other one?” she asked, eyes narrowing.

Shit. My chest went tight. “Other one?”

“Yeah. There were two. The second one, it fought the first. I swear it saved me.”

She was watchin’ me now with laser focus, like she was tryin’ to read me. And I knew I was two seconds from givin’ somethin’ away. So, I gave her the most neutral damn face I could manage.

“You musta been shaken up. Probably just one thing out there, makin’ a racket.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she lowered the poker. “Yeah. Maybe.”

I moved in and started kickin’ dirt over the fire. “You can’t stay out here alone. Not after that.”

“Rocky, I may not look it, but I’ve camped alone before plenty of times.”

“Not like this you haven’t.”

“I’m not some damsel, alright?” she said, defensive now. “I don’t need rescuing.”

I stepped close, real close, and looked her square in the eye. “Ain’t sayin’ you do. But you almost got torn apart tonight, Birdie. And you’re shakin’. You don’t have to act like you ain’t scared. I saw the whole damn thing.”

“What were you doing out here, anyway?” she narrowed her eyes at me.

“Rode to the overlook. It’s where I come to clear my head.”

“You too, huh? I needed to get away after all that mess with Mark.” She hugged herself.

“Alone?”

“A girl’s got to do what she’s got to do.”

“There’s no camping allowed out here. Park closes at dusk. If you didn’t see the signs.”

“Says no motor vehicles either, but it didn’t stop you.”

I smirked. “Well, the mountain bikers made some trails I couldn’t resist. Seems like neither of us give a damn about the rules.”

Her lip trembled, just for a second. She looked down at her scraped hands. “I don’t even know what I saw.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and reached for her gently, my fingers brushing the edge of her arm. “Come with me. We’ll ride back to the clubhouse. Eliza’ll wanna see you. You can clean up, rest somewhere safe.”

She didn’t move for a beat. Then she nodded, going for her backpack. It looked like she hiked in.

“You can get your gear tomorrow.”

“My car’s at the bottom of the hill,” she said, eyeing my Harley.

“You’re in no shape to drive.”

When she climbed onto the back of my bike, I felt her arms wrap tight around my waist. And hell if my heart didn’t squeeze at that. She trusted me. Even if she didn’t know why she shouldn’t.

The ride back to the Wild Dog wouldn’t take long. Birdie pressed in close, her breath warm against the side of my neck. Every bump in the road sent sparks shootin’ through my blood. I gripped the handlebars tighter, not lettin’ myself think about the fact that her thighs were pressed to mine, that her scent was all over me now.

Not the time. Not with secrets hangin’ heavy in the air like a storm brewin’.

We pulled into the clubhouse lot just past midnight. A few of the boys were still up, Bandit the treasurer nursin’ a bottle on the porch, TNT our Sargeant at Arms and Smokey who was Road Captain shootin’ pool inside. The minute they saw me roll in with Birdie on the back, they perked up.

Smokey opened the door wide. “Well, damn. Ain’t that a sight.”

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