Chapter 3

I pointed in the direction of where I’d come from. “I saw a mountain lion!”

My dad immediately pulled me into a tight hug, then stepped back and began inspecting

me from head to toe. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking concerned.

I sighed. “I’m fine, Dad. Max ran off, and I just—”

“You weren’t supposed to go in the woods.”

“What was I supposed to do? I had to find Max.”

“You shouldn’t go out there alone. You could have hollered for me, and I would have gone

with you.”

“It would’ve only taken a minute to get me or Dad,” Mom added.

“I didn’t know he was gonna go so deep into the woods, or I would have,” I explained.

My dad’s brown gaze narrowed. “Are you sure it was a mountain lion you saw?”

“Positive. I just took off running and—”

“Taylor,” my father pushed, “if that was a bobcat or mountain lion, its natural instinct

would be to chase you. Never run. Just yell, shout, and make yourself look bigger.”

“Yeah, I know, but I panicked, I guess. Still, it didn’t chase me.”

“I don’t want you going out there alone again,” my mom chastised, as if I was five years

old.

Dad handed me a plate with two slices of pizza on it. “Well, you’re safe now, so sit down

and eat.”

I tried to calm my breathing. I didn’t have the guts to tell them I’d met a man in the woods,

or that he had saved me from the mountain lion. My stomach was tangled in knots. “Thanks but

I’m not really hungry. I think I’ll just go unpack a few boxes.”

“All right. I guess you have had quite a day,” Mom chimed in. “We’ll save your pizza, and

you can just microwave it later if you get hungry.”

I nodded and started to head to my room. “Thanks.”

On my way upstairs, I couldn’t help glancing out the window, but I didn’t see anything

unusual.

Later that night, as the moon began to shine, the crickets began to chirp, and the wind

began to whisper through the treetops, I thought about my mysterious stranger. In my dreams,

my mind replayed the entire scene over and over again. I woke up the next morning with his

beautiful face on my mind. I had to find him, to see him again, if only once more. I wanted to at

least have a name to pair with that beautiful face, a face that I knew would linger in my mind for

a long, long time

“Oh,” I said. “It’d be nice to have a friend around here. But let me look for my own

bathing suit. I think I might know what box it’s in, now that I think about it.”

She grinned. “Great. We’re leaving in a couple hours.”

“Okay, I’ll get my stuff together.”

Knock!

When I answered the front door, a guy about my age with short brown hair and piercing

green eyes looked at me. He shot me a grin, and I smiled back. He wasn’t as built as the guy in

the forest, but he was definitely a cutie. He was dressed like a jock in a t-shirt, shorts, and Nikes.

I couldn’t fathom why this guy was standing in my doorway.

“Hi,” I said. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Your dad hired me to do some yard work,” he answered.

I suddenly remembered that my dad had told me about that, but I had no idea the

landscaper would be so young and attractive. I’d expected a short, balding man in a grubby old

flannel shirt and clunky boots. “Oh, okay. Let me get him for you.” I called for my dad, and he

came to the door.

“This is Fred,” my dad said, introducing him. “He’s going to give our back yard a

makeover.”

“It could sure use one,” I said, smiling at Fred. “I can give you a hand if—”

“No way,” my father interrupted. “The last time you helped, the yard looked…well, let’s

just say that yard work isn’t your forte, honey.”

Just then, my mom opened the door and peeked out. “Fred, would you like to come to the

beach with us?”

Not wanting to be rude, my dad just cleared his throat and looked at her in disbelief. He

was paying Fred to do a job and didn’t expect it to be put off. “We’ve gotta get this jungle under

control, dear,” he said, looking a bit harshly at her. “I think the sooner Fred gets started, the

better.”

“One more day isn’t going to hurt anything,” my mother said. “Let him come with us. He

can deal with the yard tomorrow.”

“Is living in the A****n one more day really going to hurt anything?” I asked.

Frowning a little, Dad wrinkled his brow at me, then at Mom. “Taylor, you go on and

finish getting ready for the beach. Fred, please come with me so I can show you what we need

done,” he said refusing to be dissuaded.

Fred’s green eyes sparkled like emeralds. “See ya later, Taylor.”

I waved. “Bye. It was nice to meet you.”

I watched intently as my dad talked his ear off with all his big plans for the yard. Fred

snuck a look over his shoulder and smiled. I grinned back, then watched my dad escort him to

the other side of the house. Once they were out of sight, I went back upstairs to my room to

finish packing for the beach.

While I stayed on the beach for some sun and fun, my mom and dad went fishing not too

far away. I spread out a colorful towel, applied plenty of Coppertone, slipped on a pair of

sunglasses, and then laid down on my back to soak up all the sunshine I could. My gold bikini

left little to the imagination, including more cleavage than my dad was a fan of, but I figured he

needed to face the fact I was growing up and was not his little girl anymore. It didn’t really

matter anyway, because there were so few people on the beach that one would have thought

shark warnings had been posted. I just enjoyed the solitude, warm rays and listening to the birds

and gulls soaring overhead.

“Taylor?” a girl’s voice said.

I sat up and grinned. “Yep, that’s me.”

A tall blonde in a gold bathing suit, with a large striped beach bag over her shoulder,

standing there smiling. “Hi, I’m Julie,” she said, holding her hand out for a shake. “I’ve been

dying to meet you. My mom tells me we’re the same age, in the same grade. I just moved here

last week, and I don’t know a soul.”

I shook her hand and smiled. “That makes two of us.”

She smiled, then spread out her own beach towel, adjusted her sunglasses, and politely

asked, “If you don’t mind? I’m gonna catch some rays too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said, laying back down and turning my head in her direction to talk.

“Where do you live?” I asked.

“Not far from you. My parents split, and my mom’s—”

“Divorced?” I asked.

“You nailed it. Divorce, the future tense of marriage.”

I had to stifle a laugh, considering that her wounds were probably still fresh, but I

appreciated her cynical sense of humor.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“It’s fine, and I’ll be fine too. I always bounce back. It’s like I have nine lives,” she said

confidently. “My dad got remarried and lives in Washington, and my mom got a job as a

manager for Sleepy Forest Cottages and their sister hotel. Where do your parents work?”

“In their pajamas sometimes.”

“Huh?”

“They work from home. They’re authors, so for them, this place is like a writers’ retreat,

the perfect inspiration.”

“Oh. Well, that’s pretty cool.”

“I guess. They met at a writing conference and have been inseparable ever since. I guess

you could call it love at first write,” I said with a smile.

She laughed. “Fairytale perfect, huh?”

“Well…sometimes, but speaking of fairy-tales,” I said, “I think I met Prince Charming.”

She lifted her glasses up and smiled. “Really? Where? Is he a lifeguard or something?” she

asked, looking around.

“Not that I know of—at least not in the traditional sense. Yesterday, my dog Max took off

into the woods, and when I ran in there to get. him, I bumped into this super-hot guy.”

“Whoa!” She lifted a brow. “A hot forest boy, huh?”

Just then, another vision of him looking like a Greek god flashed through my head, his

black hair wafting in the wind like some majestic stallion’s mane. I grinned as I imagined how

the intimate touch of his lips on mine would feel.

“Whoa!” She lifted a brow. “A hot forest boy, huh?”

Just then, another vision of him looking like a Greek god flashed through my head, his

black hair wafting in the wind like some majestic stallion’s mane. I grinned as I imagined how

the intimate touch of his lips on mine would feel.

“Hello? Earth to Taylor,” said Julie, snapping me out of my trance.

“Oh…sorry. I was just thinking about him. He was just so…hot. ”

“Do tell!” she said with a grin.

I lifted my sunglasses off my face. “Smokin’…really!”

She furrowed a brow. “As in…sizzling?”

I grinned. “Absolutely smoldering.”

“What’s his name?”

“Um…that’s the thing. I don’t know.”

“What!?” she gasped. “You mean to tell me this gorgeous creature was standing right there

in front of you, and you didn’t even find out who he is?”

“Well, we talked for a few minutes, and I felt this amazing connection,” I answered, trying

to explain something I really didn’t understand myself. “I guess I was so caught up in the

moment that I just didn’t think to ask.”

“You know what that was, don’t ya?” she asked.

“What?”

“Chemistry.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So lemme get this straight. You met some hot guy who took your breath away, and you

didn’t even get his name?” she asked again. “Do you even know where he’s from?”

“You mean besides Heaven?” I answered with a grin.

She laughed. “Oh my gosh, that’s soooo corny.”

I laughed back at her. “I don’t know.”

She shot me a look like I was crazy. “Why didn’t you ask?”

“Well, there were mountain lions, and—”

“Mountain lions, as in plural?” she asked.

“Yeah. Why?”