Chapter 1: Introduction
Diane had never actually thought she'd have trouble telling apart one tree from the next in the dense South Dakota wilderness. But then, there was a first time for everything. The young, vibrant canopy overhead gave way to a hesitant darkness that swallowed the late afternoon sun. Golden shards of light tunneled through the shrouding trees, casting a pastoral glow on dew-kissed ferns and wildflowers. Long brown hair, snarled by an afternoon of hiking, quickly became the wild, untamed mane of a woman lost.
Her heart thumped mercilessly with every uncertain step, and her spirits sank deeper than the roots beneath her feet. It would be poetic to say the echo of a wood thrush guided her – perhaps it did – but she could no longer hear much over her own fear.
Diane balked when the sun dipped below the towering horizon, sending the forest into a premature blue dusk. Her thighs burned, hands trembled, and lungs screamed for a reprieve.
Dark uncertainty loomed, and she was about to surrender when she stumbled upon a clearing-an enclave nestled in tranquil solitude. Metallic glints of a mysterious campsite greeted her with a mixture of relief and caution.
Diane stepped closer, heart fluttering as her boot brushed against a juddering pot. Among the scents of earth and hemlock, campfire smoke carried warmth and whispered tales of other lost hikers who had found solace in this untamed haven through the ages.
At the center of this orderly chaos sat a man.
The mysterious Jay.
Perplexity knotted Diane's brows. Who would have thought that an accidental encounter in the woods would bring her face-to-face with someone so devastatingly handsome?
His short dark hair was casually disheveled, reflecting an afternoon of manual labor. She tried not to stare, but her eyes kept darting to the effortless curve of his biceps, exposed by a rolled-up flannel sleeve.
"Lost?" he asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Brown eyes, warm and inviting, shone with a strange sense of familiarity that sent a shiver down Diane's spine.
Her voice caught, then dissolved into the hum of the forest. "Uh-yeah, just a bit," she finally stammered, then added for good measure, "I think."
The man's eyes twinkled. "Think" is a start," he mused, then shifted his intense gaze, skillfully studying her without appraising. "I'm Jay."
Her lips parted, but words eluded her.
Diane's cheeks flushed, threatening to set the sky ablaze as it blended with the encroaching dusk, and she desperately longed for the cloak of dark shadows to hide behind. She fought the girlish impulse to fidget with her curling hair, her wide, bright blue eyes betraying the chaotic tempest of thoughts flitting through her mind almost as rapidly as the woodland creatures around them.
"I'm Diane," she murmured, almost inaudibly, and silently cursed her nerves.
She couldn't recall the last time she'd been this unnerved-this thrillingly captivated-by a stranger.
Jay's gaze lingered for a moment before flickering to the dancing flames. He poked the fire, causing it to roar and flare. "You're welcome to join me, Diane. I'm assuming you have no better place to be."
Diane couldn't help but smile at his quip. She appreciated his unspoken invitation, as it allowed her a chance to collect herself and restore her composure.
"I'd like that," she finally said, sinking into the proffered yet weathered canvas chair beside the fire. The warmth caressed her skin, while its gentle crackle serenaded the darkness.
As nightfall blanketed the forest, the flickering shadows playedfully danced upon Jay's angular features, crafting the allure of a charming rogue. Entranced by the hypnotic dance of firelight and the irresistible magnetic pull of this stranger, Diane's heart thrummed wildly with every stolen glance.