Page 6 of Barn Burner
And damn, is he rugged. Pure definition of a mountain man. All stubbled jaw, dark brows pinched over a crooked nose that looks like it’s been broken once or twice before, and dark hair that’s long enough to curl against the collar of his shirt.
Jesse is fucking hot, and the way he talks with that deep, gravelly, grumpy-ass voice makes me want to do somethingreckless. Like asking him to pull over so I can lean over and give him a “thank you for rescuing me” blow job.
But considering how shit my luck has been recently, the guy is probably straight and would respond to my advances by kicking my ass out of this beat-up red truck, and I’d definitely be lunch for the grizzly bears then.
“Where were you going?” Jesse’s rumbling voice snaps me back.
“I thought I’d head toward Sheep River Falls, then make my way up until I reached Lake Louise. I hadn’t really decided an exact route. All I knew was I just wanted to explore a bit.” I shrug. “Be outside.”
A muscle twitches in his cheek. “Camping?”
“Yeah, that was the plan.” I nod, then let out a heavy sigh as I slump back in my seat and look out at the straight road that seems to go on for miles. “I’ve been looking at the mountains from the city and have been so desperate to get out here and see it, you know? Get rich on the views. Refuel the soul by being in nature.”
He hums. It’s something he does a lot. The noise sounds like it comes from deep within his chest.
I like it. A lot.
“Do you know if there’s any good camping spots around here?” I find myself asking.
“Yeah, there’s a few, but you’ve gotta have your wits about you. No layin’ yourself on the ground like a ready-made feast for bears to find you.”
My mind latches on to theready-made feastcomment. Does he think I’m a feast?
I smirk, a witty response about happily being a satisfying meal for him is on the tip of my tongue, when something clicks.
“Wait! There really are bears out here?” I almost shriek.
The corner of his mouth hitches up ever so slightly. His eyes quickly dart over to me before focusing back on the road. “What d’ya think? We’re in bumfuck nowhere, ’Berta, Brayden. ’Course there’s fuckin’ bears.”
I snicker at him throwing my earlier words back at me, then let out a low whistle. “Damn, I’ve only ever seen bears in the zoo.”
He frowns. “That’s fuckin’ sad.”
“I know,” I sigh, and silence falls upon us once again until Jesse takes a left into a single-track gravel road. He hops out of the truck to unlock a metal gate, and then we’re driving beneath an archway built from roughly chopped wooden posts after he locks it again. A flat piece of wood hangs from the top post by metal chains, with the words ‘Huxley Creek Ranch’ carved into the panel.
I’m not embarrassed in the slightest as I roll my window down and stick my head out like a dog. Vast green landscape passes by, joining rolling foothills at the base of the mountains and black dots that I assume are cows. But it’s the smell that gets me. Fresh, clean air. The smell of the earth and the blanket of trees surrounding the edge of the property line. If I could bottle this up, I would. No scented candle has ever come close.
We pull up alongside some other vehicles parked in front of a huge two-storey log house with a grey slated roof and a wraparound porch. Excitement bubbles in my stomach at the sight of the Adirondack chairs and boxes full of pretty, colourful flowers attached to the ground-floor windows.
Don’t get me wrong, I fucking love the English countryside. Quaint stone cottages and thatched-roof homes. Narrow, cobbled streets and greenery that looks never-ending. But there’s something so… endearing about this place. Maybe it’s the novelty of the whole cowboy thing that’s making me giddy, orit’s the fact that this is so far detached from my everyday life, it almost feels like a fever dream.
Either way, I’m grinning from ear to ear as I exit the truck and close the door behind me, taking in the gorgeous scenery before glancing over my shoulder at the stoic man who’s looking at me over his truck. “Wow, Jesse, this place is beautiful.”
He hums again, before saying quietly, “Let me see if I can find Cooper.” With that, he turns on his heel, and I watch as he stalks away toward one of the other buildings further up the gravel driveway.
Not wanting to stray too far but also struggling to keep still, I walk toward one of the fences. It’s a smaller, closed-off area compared to the others. A couple of donkeys are grazing near a red panelled building with white windows that has two large doors that open up onto the field. I squint under the bright sun, trying to see inside, then remember my sunglasses are still sitting on top of my head. Pulling them down, I use my hand to shield the sun and look back at the open doors. It looks to be a barn of some kind. Smaller than the others. Newer, too, but still equally expansive.
Resting my arms against the top of the fence, I lean against it and close my eyes, taking a deep inhale. It’s so fucking peaceful out here. The only sounds seem to be coming from the animals nearby, the clip of hooves against concrete, birds singing, or the occasional moo.
Jesse reappears with a younger guy, who I assume is his brother, Cooper, dressed in dark blue coveralls. They look so alike, except Cooper has short, cropped dark hair beneath a cream cowboy hat.
“Hey there.” Cooper flashes a brilliant white smile. “Hear you broke down, eh?”
I chuckle under my breath, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “Yeah, seems like it.”
“Let me take a look for you and see what I can do.”
Jesse and Cooper move my car into one of the free spaces and unhook it from Jesse’s truck. I feel useless standing here. My dad tried to teach me the basics about cars when I learned how to drive at seventeen, but I only had two things on my mind at that age: hockey and sex.
