Being with these guys had made him think about his options. If he didn’t make it in the forestry service, he could find something else that would be just as rewarding. Not the military again, but he could find happiness.
He woke early, stretching as he stepped out of his tent. After taking a piss, he gathered some wood and got the fire going. Zeke and Talon were already awake and had grabbed the food.
The camp coffee was particularly delicious. He sat on a smooth but worn log, sipping his coffee, using both hands to pin his full mug in place as he watched the orange, pink, and purple colors of dawn slowly creep over the hills and valleys with an ever-changing display of color and light. The area was beautiful, and he hoped he could spend his life in a place like this. Just as he was about to take another sip, he spied two deer on the hill in the distance, their breaths creating clouds of mist as they made their way over the rise and into another valley. The sight inspired him, giving him the belief that today would be a great day.
After they ate a quick breakfast, they doused the fire and broke camp. The hike back to town wasn’t as long as the hiking they’d done the day before since they’d circled back toward the trailhead before stopping for the night.
A few jokes were made, but everyone kept to their own thoughts for the most part.
Once in town, Mac dropped by the room he was renting and showered. He thought about dropping into bed and sleeping the day away, but he needed to run by the post office and pick up a package his mom had sent.
When he finished at the post office, the scent from Grinders beckoned to him. He should head home and skip the coffee, but he wanted to drop in and see if the new woman was working.
Why was he getting excited about a perfect stranger? She lived here in Fallport, and he would leave at the end of July. That did give them two months together, but did he want to get involved with someone when he knew he would have to end it?
How many of his friends would laugh at him if they saw him now? He was pining over a woman he didn’t know and probably never would. He was supposed to be the one who chicks came running to. That’s how it worked at the university.
Here he was, just another nobody. The women his age didn’t know him, not that there were that many people his age. Most of them had moved out, and here he was, thinking living in this town would be great.
With a town this small, everyone would talk if he started dating the woman from the coffee shop. He needed to know her name, needed to know everything about her.
From outside the shop he could see her working behind the register. Steph wasn’t standing over her shoulder, which meant the woman had picked up the job quickly. He found that was sexy.
Before he opened the door, he drew in a slow breath. Two more people came in right after him, meaning he wouldn’t have time to talk.
It was his turn to place his order, and he stepped up to the counter, his smile wide.
“What can I get for you?” she asked.
Her voice was clear, her eyes bright. It looked like she was having fun.
“Your name.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s a terrible line. You can do better than that. What is your coffee order? More sugar?”
Mac snorted. “That’s a good one.”
Her lips twitched a little, and she raised her eyebrows. “I need you to order. People are piling up.”
“Coffee, black.”
“Oh, living dangerously?” she asked as her eyes twinkled brightly.
He paid for his coffee but didn’t leave like he’d planned. He wanted to spend some time chatting with her, and he needed to get her name. The tag she wore on her shirt said April, but he wondered if that was a tag the shop already had and if her name was something different.
Five, maybe ten minutes had passed when the last customer had their coffee and left. She turned to him and narrowed her eyes.
“Is your coffee okay?”
He flashed a smile. “It’s perfect. So what is your name?”
“Can you read?” She pointed to her chest, and he glanced down, heat wafting through him as his gaze strayed over her breasts.
“April is your real name?”
She nodded and began cleaning the counter. “Do you want to go get dinner tonight?”
Her gaze shot to his, and a frown hit, making him wish he hadn’t asked that question. He wanted her smile back. Something flew across her features. Was that fear or sadness? He wanted to be able to read her reactions. A storm started brewing in her eyes, and he thought for sure he would be shut down.
“What time?”
April’s reply shocked him, but he tried to play it off like he knew she would agree. He shrugged. “I’m good for whenever. We can stay out as late as you want.”
Her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed before she shrugged. “I can’t be out after dark.”
A reply stalled on his tongue. What did she think would happen after dark? The door opened behind him, and another customer entered. No way could he ask her what she thought would happen with this other person in here. He would have to wait.
April’s smile seemed a little less bright with this new customer. Did she really want to go out with him? And what was her problem with the dark? He would have to wait to find out, but he was intrigued.
CHAPTER THREE
Mac didn’t leave the coffee shop. He sat in the corner and started watching videos but may have drifted off. He was jerked awake when something ran into his seat. He glanced up, finding April right beside his table. Had she kicked his chair? The wicked gleam in her eyes made him think she had.
“What?” he asked, trying not to sound too shocked from being woken up by her bumping into his chair.
“Are you drifting off? You know sleeping in public is illegal.”
A beat of shock pulsed through him. “No it’s not.”
April shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “It could be.”
“I think you’re pulling my leg.”
Her brown eyes twinkled again. “Maybe.”
“Dinner. Tonight. Where can I pick you up?” Mac asked.
The uncomfortable look was back on April’s face as she glanced around the coffee shop. Worry created lines on her forehead, and she turned her lips down in a frown. He leaned in, looking as innocent as possible as he stared at her. He wanted her to like him. It was odd having to work so hard just to get her to go out with him.
He lifted his eyebrows and flashed a smile. “Or we could meet at a restaurant. We don’t have to arrive together.”
She chewed on her lower lip, and he reached out and grasped her hand lightly. When his fingers touched hers, he swore a spark jumped between them. Her gaze shot to their hands, and he feared she would pull away, but her fingers only flinched before squeezing.
“I guess I could meet you at On the Rocks.”
Mac nodded. “Sure, that would be great.”
“I need to get back to work.”
Mac nodded again, then stood and reached behind his back, grabbing his neck and squeezing as he stretched out from sleeping on the ground the night before. “I’ll see you at seven? The sun should still be up by then.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” April turned and headed over to the register.
He could see in the reflection of the window the smile on her face. He liked that she was smiling about their date. He hoped she saw it as a date. Maybe he shouldn’t push too hard. Friendships developed into more than friends sometimes.