Page 20 of Mountain Man Summer

Standing on my porch, I suddenly felt shy, the intimacy of our gazebo kisses seeming almost dreamlike in the return to reality. Noah sensed my hesitation, maintaining a small distance between us despite the obvious desire still simmering in his eyes.

"You should get inside, get dry," he said, voice husky. "Don't want you catching cold."

"You too," I said, reluctant to end our time together. "Thank you for today. Waterfall, storm and all."

"My pleasure," he replied, his gaze dropping to my lips briefly before returning to my eyes. The restraint evident in his posture made my heart race—he wanted to kiss me again but was holding back, giving me space.

The realization of his thoughtfulness, his careful respect for boundaries even after what we'd shared, made me want him even more. I stepped forward, intending to close the distance between us, when a crack of nearby thunder made us both jump.

The moment broke, and Noah stepped back with visible reluctance. "I should go," he said, though everything in his stance suggested he wanted to stay.

"You should," I agreed, not meaning it at all.

His smile told me he knew exactly what I was thinking. "Goodnight, Didi from Chicago," he said, echoing his words from the previous night.

"Goodnight, Detective Mountain Man," I replied, watching as he turned and walked back to his Jeep, rain plastering his shirt to the broad planes of his back.

I stood there long after his taillights disappeared, rain mingling with the lingering warmth of his kiss on my lips. Whatever was happening between us had just shifted into dangerous territory. Noah Sterling was no longer just my attractive neighbor or a potential friend—he was quickly becoming something much more complicated.

And as I finally turned to enter my cabin, I couldn't help wondering if I was making the biggest mistake of my life by letting him get so close—or if pushing him away would be the real mistake.

Chapter Six

“Heat Wave”

Noah

I couldn't get the taste of her out of my mind.

Sitting at my kitchen table hours after dropping Didi at her cabin, I stared unseeing at the patrol schedules for the Fourth of July weekend. The papers lay spread before me, notations half-finished, my concentration utterly shot. Every time I tried to focus, I was back in that gazebo, the rain hammering the roof, her lips soft beneath mine.

The kiss shouldn't have happened. I knew better than to get emotionally involved with summer visitors. They always left—that was the whole point of a vacation. Since Jessica, I'd carefully maintained a life built around casual encounters and physical release without emotional entanglement. The occasional hookup with Shawna had been perfect—satisfying, uncomplicated, and with clear boundaries.

And yet.

There was something about Didi that felt different. The way she'd looked at me in the storm, vulnerable yet unafraid. The way she'd laughed as we ran through the downpour, finding joy in the chaos. The glimpses of her past she'd shared, revealing layers beneath her carefully maintained façade.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, the storm making another pass over the mountains. I scrubbed a hand over my face, pushing back from the table. The patrol schedules could wait until morning. Right now, I needed to clear my head.

My phone rang, Sheriff Callahan's name lighting up the screen.

"Sterling," I answered, grateful for the distraction.

"Noah," Callahan's gruff voice came through. "Just checking in on those schedules for the holiday weekend. With this heat wave, I'm expecting even more lake traffic than usual. People trying to cool off however they can."

"Working on them now, sir," I said, staring at the barely-started notes. "Should have them to you by tomorrow morning."

"Good. Make sure we've got extra coverage around the public beaches, especially during the fireworks. And I want double patrols on the water. Last thing we need is drunk boaters when the lake's this crowded."

"Already planning on it," I assured him.

"Alright then. Get some rest, Sterling. You've been putting in long hours."

After hanging up, I leaned back in my chair, the weight of my professional responsibilities settling heavily against my growing feelings for Didi. My personal life was separate from my role as Hope Peak's detective, and I intended to keep it that way.

A flash of lightning illuminated the room, followed by a rolling boom of thunder. The storm was circling back, the oppressive temperatures creating unstable weather patterns across the mountains. Through my window, I could see Didi's cabin, lights still blazing despite the late hour.

That was unusual. In the short time she'd been here, I'd noticed her lights typically went out by eleven. It was nearly midnight now.

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