Page 7 of Devoted Mountain Man

So that was exactly what I did. Holding my breath, I slowly turned the handle. It opened easily under my touch. I winced at the noise it made. Far noisier than what I’d heard next door.

That was the first time I doubted myself. Maybe all I’d heard was strange rustling outside or more popping wood. If someone had opened my door, the sound would have echoed throughout the cabin, leaving no doubt that someone was entering.

But I was the one making noise now. If he was awake, he couldn’t help but hear it. Maybe he’d come running out, wielding a weapon, like an axe. I was back to the axe murderer thing. I was also back to picturing him naked.

I should probably be scared, but instead, I was thrilled at the idea.

His cabin was quiet, but it had a homey feel to it. I’d noticed that earlier. I wouldn’t expect a man’s cabin to be quite this well designed.

Pausing, I listened for any signs of movement. Maybe Gigi’s paws, tapping on the hardwood floor. Or her owner coughing.

But I heard none of that. Just the whir of the air conditioner and the creak of the floorboards as I crept across the living room floor.

What should I do? I could stand here and yell out hello, see if anyone answered. At the very least, Gigi would come running.

The cabin wasn’t all that big. It had two rooms, and both doors were closed. I assumed one was the bedroom where Dayton and Gigi slept. The one in the very back of the cabin seemed like it would be the big bedroom, so I headed in that direction, stopping in front of it and listening for sounds on the other side.

I lifted my hand and knocked. Three gentle pounds on the door. What if he came out? What if he was worried that I was an intruder, having snuck into his cabin?

I called out a very gentle, “Dayton?”

That was when I heard something. It was the very distinctive bark of a small dog. Good. Gigi would wake him up.

I’d barely taken two steps back when the door flung open, and I was face to face with my hot neighbor. His hair was disheveled, his eyes barely open, his jaw clenched.

The best thing about the sight in front of me was that he wore only a pair of boxer briefs. He wasn’t naked, but close to it.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

His expression changed as soon as he saw me. He wasn’t angry that I’d woken him or even dazed from sleep. No, he was wide awake and braced for a fight.

“I heard something,” I said. “It sounded like someone was trying to break in through the back door.”

He looked toward his front door. “At your cabin.”

I nodded. Words weren’t coming easily. Not when I was standing this close to a man in his underwear.

“Hold on.”

He disappeared into his bedroom. I heard a series of high-pitched barks, but no dog emerged. I assumed that meant Gigi slept in a crate.

Dayton came out seconds later, holding a gun. “I’ll be right back. You stay here.”

“But…”

I wasn’t sure what was going to come after the “but.” All I knew was that he wore only his underwear while running off to confront Lord knew what. I didn’t want him to go alone. What if the intruder had a gun too? Dayton could get hurt.

I chewed my lip nervously and began wandering around, looking for a window with a view of my cabin.

When had I started caring about this guy enough that I was this anxious over him confronting an intruder? It went beyond just worrying about the safety of someone defending me. No, I had a bona fide crush on this guy.

Crap, that wasn’t good. Not when I was only in town temporarily. But hey, this could be fun. Maybe it would spice upmy writing a little. Or it would distract me, and I’d get absolutely nothing done. Either way, it couldn’t be worse than how the past few hours in that cabin had gone.

I finally found a window that gave me a view, but all I could see was a closed front door and the lights on. I heard absolutely nothing. No gunfire, anyway. That was a good sign. I doubted I’d hear sounds of a scuffle. Maybe I should just go out on the front porch and listen.

Seconds passed, then minutes, as I stood on Dayton’s front porch, listening intently for signs that everything was okay over there. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to go check.

I closed the door behind me and began my less-than-confident march toward my rental cabin. I just hoped like heck he’d found it empty.

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