Lucas grinned at Mal as she came back and threw an arm around her shoulder as she sat next to him. He pulled her in tight against his shoulder and said something that made her roll her eyes, but she smiled and didn’t push him away.
Something about that made Hunter frown. He didn’t know Jenna’s brother well, but he seemed to be a pretty good guy. That didn’t explain why he was so familiar with Mal, or why he’d called her a heifer, and that set Hunter’s teeth on edge.
“Ready to go?” Bethany asked in a too-chipper voice as she sat beside him. “Oh… are you supposed to hold the steering wheel that tight?”
Hunter looked down and saw his white knuckles blaring back up at him. “Precautionary,” he said as he forced them to relax. “Brakes don’t always work.”
Bethany nodded, eyes wide, not intelligent enough to know he was lying.
He exhaled and shook himself, then turned on the cart and followed the trail Tom had taken, frustrated by the sudden tension in his chest. That wasn’t a good sign at all.
They caught up to Tom quickly, and Lucas slid up beside him, joking loudly with the people in his cart and making them laugh just as loud. Above all of them, he heard her laugh, and it jolted his senses.
Tom, Jenna, and Caroline got out of their cart as Tom talked about the house in front of them. It was one of Hunter’s favorites, which was why he had given it to Tom and his family for their regular visits. No one else stayed there but the Yardleys, and at the moment, it was empty. Tom’s parents and siblings were arriving in a few hours, so this brief window was all they would have to see it.
He had to admit, though he had seen this house time and time again over the years, he was still impressed with it. The view was one of the best from any of the houses on or around the resort, and the layout was one of the most natural he’d ever seen. The architect who had designed it was retired now, but he still consulted with Hunter and his family over new projects and renovations as a favor. That and he had the prime piece of property he’d always wanted on the other side of the lake.
Tom was saying something now, and everybody had gathered around and was listening. Tom had that effect on people. It explained why he was so good at his job; the business world was falling to its knees for him.
The group moved like an awkward museum pack around the house, toward the vista. Hunter hung back and walked slowly, hands in his pockets, letting everyone else see what he had memorized.
“I thought they said we were going to a resort,” Alexis whispered to Bethany in front of him.
“I know, right?” Bethany whispered in her bizarre twist of Valley Girl meets Southern Belle accent. “All they’ve got here is… nature.”
“Yeah. Is there always so much wood?”
A faint snort behind him echoed the thoughts in his head perfectly. He glanced behind him to see Mal shaking her head as she shifted around, camera raised. If she moved too far to her left, she would—
She lost her footing, and he heard her small gasp as if she had screamed it.
Impulsively, he lunged for her and seized her arm hard, pulling her back over to safety. He should tell her that the ground near the edges of the ravine wasn’t as firm as it looked. He should tell her that it had rained last night so it was going to be slicker than normal. He should tell her… something.
She exhaled heavily and flashed him a wild grin. “Thanks for that. Guess I should watch my footing, huh?”
He swallowed roughly and let go of her arm as if he’d been burned. “Yeah,” he managed, shifting away to collect what remained of his thoughts.
How did he know she was going to do that? How had he been moving before she actually slipped? How… how had getting to her become so important when he didn’t know a thing about her?
He heard the camera clicking behind him, and it might as well have been the beat of his heart.
This was not good.
ChapterThree
“I thought she said casual dress.”
Mal sighed, pushed her loose braid off her shoulder, and shrugged as she put her camera down and looked at Taryn and Dan, who had just arrived. “So did I. Here I thought I was going to look cute in my flannel and skinnies, so I dressed quickly and told Jenna I’d come up to the lodge and take some pictures while everyone else was getting ready. Then, when they showed up…” She trailed off, gesturing faintly.
Really, no explanation was needed. Every single one of the girls, including Jenna and Caroline, were in designer clothing. It might have been casual for the red carpet, but beyond that, it was anything but.
“Do I have time to change?” Taryn asked softly, adjusting her thrifty TJ Maxx combo uncertainly.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Dan muttered as he buttoned his shirt and tucked it in, tossing his hat into a corner of the room.
Mal looked over to see her aunt and uncle come into the room just ahead of Tom and his parents. They were all smiles, and they, too, could only be considered casually dressed if this was a five-star hotel in New York.
She sighed and shook her head. No matter how deep her family blood ran, she was never going to be like these people.