Page 6 of Jackson's Redemption
Although, fuck, it was cold and it was only early September.
I turned my head and saw him. The man who had introduced himself to me as Jackson Young through email. He was standing at the end of the runway and he was…huge.
A shorter blonde woman was walking toward me. She also had a bag over her shoulder.
“Welcome to Hope’s Point,” she said with a smile and a Southern accent. “I’m here to tell you you’ve got nothing to worry about up here. These are some good guys. Although that one there is a little grumpy.”
I stared over at him. His arms were crossed over his chest like he was expecting a fight.
Holy shit. He was scary looking as fuck. What the hell had I been thinking?
“He may look ferocious but trust me, he doesn’t bite. He grunts a lot though so be warned. And good luck!”
I laughed, then made my toward where he was standing.
Okay, check that. He wasn’t just scary looking, he was also fucking hot. If that wasn’t a deadly combination for me, I didn’t know what was.
Six three at least. Thick arms, massive chest. Dark blond hair. A scruffy beard hid most of his face, but still I could see the sharp angles of his cheek bones.
I held my hand out to him. “You must be Jackson Young. I’m Kate Lazio, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Kate.”
He lifted his chin in the direction of the blonde. “What did she say that was so funny?”
“She told me not to worry. That you might look pretty ferocious, but you didn’t bite.” I paused, then added. “Just grunted a lot.”
He grunted.
Which made me laugh again. Strange, I couldn’t remember the last time I had laughed. Not since it happened.
“I have to tell you, this is the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” I said honestly. “I’m not exactly sure what to expect.”
“I guess this is the part where I ask you out. Probably should do it properly. Kate, will you go out on a date with me?”
I took a breath. This was so insane. I was in no shape to be dating anyone. Let alone this beast of a man. But still, I was here.
“Okay. I didn’t come all this way only to turn around. I’m in.”
“Great. Come with me.”
* * *
Kate
“Oh my gosh. The views here are amazing.”
We were driving to the town in his truck and all I wanted to do was stick my head out the window and take it all in. It smelled differently up here. Like I had never smelled fresh air before.
He acknowledged my statement with a short grunt. The woman leaving today had not been kidding about this guy.
Since he obviously didn’t want to make small talk, I stopped yammering and just took in the scenery and thought about how insane it was that I had even clicked that contest ad in the first place. It just kept coming up over and over in my Facebook newsfeed.
Free ticket to Alaska. Free ticket to Alaska.
The date with the hot guy I was currently sitting next to…that was inconsequential to what really mattered.
Escape.
