Page 28 of Seduced By the Mountain Man

It wasn't the answer I'd hoped for, but it wasn't a rejection either. I'd take it.

"Fair enough," I said. "Figure it out on your own time. No pressure." I paused, then added, "I hope you come to the Fourth of July celebration tomorrow. The fireworks are always spectacular.”

I stood, offering her my hand. After a moment's hesitation, she took it, letting me help her up from the lounge chair. I released her immediately, not wanting to push my luck.

"For what it's worth," I said as we walked back toward the path to the cabins, "I think you're the strongest person I know. You always have been. Even when you were little, tagging after Tyler and me, determined to keep up despite being four years younger."

Delaney smiled—just barely. "I was a pest."

"You were determined," I corrected. "And Tyler needed the challenge."

We reached the fork in the path where we would separate—her to the lakeside cabin, me to my staff quarters.

"Goodnight, Dee," I said, keeping my voice casual despite the pounding in my chest.

She hesitated, then surprised me by rising on tiptoe to press a light kiss to my cheek. "Goodnight, Jace."

I watched her disappear down the path, her silhouette fading into darkness. The spot where her lips touched my skin burned like a brand.

Tomorrow was Independence Day. Maybe it was time we both claimed ours.

Chapter Seven

“Independence Day”

Delaney

I woke to the sound of gentle drumming drifting across the lake, rhythmic and hypnotic in the pre-dawn stillness. For a moment, I lay listening, feeling the ancient cadence settle into my bones like a meditation. Today was the Fourth of July—Independence Day—and somehow that drumming felt like a call to something deeper than patriotic celebration.

My phone showed 6:47 AM. The girls were still asleep, but I was wide awake, my mind immediately jumping to last night's conversation with Jace under the stars. The way he'd opened up about his childhood, his fears, his feelings. The gentle kiss I'd pressed to his cheek before walking away, my pulse racing with emotions I wasn't ready to name.

I don't know what I want.

The words echoed as I slipped quietly from bed and padded to the kitchen for coffee. But maybe that wasn't entirely true anymore. Maybe I was just afraid to admit what I wanted because it meant risking everything.

I carried my mug out to the deck, wrapping a soft throw around my shoulders against the morning chill. The lake stretched before me like glass, the mountains reflected so perfectly it was hard to tell where earth ended and sky began. The drumming continued, and I spotted a small fire burning on a distant point of land, tiny figures moving around it.

"You're up early."

Whitney emerged from the cabin, her own coffee in hand, blonde hair mussed with sleep.

"Couldn't sleep," I admitted. "What's with the drumming?"

"Resort newsletter under the door said there's a special Fourth of July sunrise ceremony this morning. Optional, but it sounded interesting." She settled into the chair beside me. "Native American guide leading some kind of release ritual. Perfect for someone who needs to let go of a few things."

Her pointed look wasn't lost on me. "Subtle as always."

"I prefer 'observant.'" She sipped her coffee. "So, how did stargazing go last night?"

Heat bloomed in my cheeks. "It was... educational."

"I'll bet." Whitney's grin was knowing. "You came back looking like someone had rearranged your entire worldview."

Before I could respond, Kayla and Amber emerged, drawn by our voices and the promise of coffee. Soon we were all on the deck, watching the sun climb higher over the mountains while the distant drumming called to something primal in our souls.

"We should go," Amber said suddenly. "To the ceremony. When's the last time any of us did something truly meaningful on vacation instead of just... existing?"

"I'm in," Kayla agreed. "There's something about this place that makes you want to dig deeper, you know?"

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