Page 2 of Spooking the Mountain Man
"Did you already ask him?" I suspect I know the answer.
Tyler has the grace to look sheepish. "He'll be here in about an hour."
"Tyler!"
"Look, you don't have to hang out with him or anything. He'll probably just camp out in the guest room and pretend you don't exist. That's his usual strategy with people."
The front door opens again, and Tyler's face brightens. "Actually, that's probably him now. Callum! Up here!"
More footsteps on the stairs, slower and heavier than Tyler's. My heart starts beating faster, which is ridiculous. I'm a grown woman sitting in my childhood bedroom, not some teenager with a crush.
Except when Callum MacReady appears in my doorway, I feel exactly like that teenager again.
He's bigger than I remembered, broader through the shoulders, with new lines around his eyes that make him look older than his thirty-five years. His dark hair is longer now, curling slightly at the collar of his faded flannel shirt. Thoseblue eyes sweep over me once, taking in my probably wrinkled clothes and unwashed hair, and I fight the urge to hide under my grandmother's quilt.
"Kelly," he says, and his voice is deeper than I remembered.
"Hi, Callum." I'm proud that my voice comes out steady.
Tyler claps Callum on the shoulder. "Thanks for doing this, man. I owe you one."
Callum's gaze never leaves my face. "No, you don't."
There's something in the way he says it that makes my skin tingle with awareness. Like maybe this arrangement isn't just about Tyler needing peace of mind.
"I should let you guys get settled," Tyler says, standing up. "I need to pack and get on the road before it gets too late." He leans down to kiss the top of my head. "Be good, little sister. And try not to give Callum too hard a time."
"I don't give anyone a hard time," I protest.
Both Tyler and Callum make identical sounds of disbelief, and I glare at them. "I don't!"
Tyler just grins and heads for the door. "I'll be back in three weeks. Callum's got my number if anything happens, but cell service is pretty spotty where I'm going."
"We'll be fine," Callum says, and there's something final in his tone that makes Tyler nod and disappear down the hallway.
Which leaves me alone with Callum MacReady in my pink-walled childhood bedroom, surrounded by unicorn stickers and the suddenly overwhelming scent of his cologne – something woodsy and masculine that makes me want to lean closer.
"Your brother's worried about you," Callum says after a moment of silence that stretches like taffy between us.
"Everyone's worried about me. I'm fine."
Those blue eyes narrow slightly. "Are you?"
The question catches me off guard. Not the words themselves, but the way he asks it – like he actually wants to know the answer, not like he's just making conversation.
"I will be," I say.
Callum nods once, sharp and decisive. "Good. I'll get my stuff from the truck."
He turns to leave, then pauses in the doorway. When he looks back at me, there's something in his expression that makes me catch my breath.
"Just so we're clear, little Kelly – while I'm here, you don't go anywhere alone after dark. And you call me if anything makes you nervous. Anything at all."
The way he says "little Kelly" sends a shiver down my spine that has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the way his voice drops to almost a growl on the words. Like he's tasting them.
"I can take care of myself," I say, but it comes out breathier than I intended.
Callum's mouth quirks up in what might be the ghost of a smile. "I'm sure you can. But you won't have to. Not while I'm here."
