Prologue
Around him, the air grew thick and heavy as he settled into place. Blades of the wheat brushed against the material of his pants, the grains tickled his forearms as he crouched onto the ground. Within the dense fog, a sheen of mist coated his skin and caused a shiver to travel down his spine. Fall weighed heavy in the air, it was Cliff’s favorite season, and as he took a deep breath, the scent of summer’s end filled his lungs.
The inhale did little to shake off his nerves. He had felt flustered since he woke in the early hours of the morning. In the Army, Cliff was used to the wakeups before dawn broke through the horizon; that habit had stayed with him through the years, despite leaving his branch seven years ago. Or leaving as much as someone could, he still kept a military-grade computer at his apartment and helped when requested.
Off in the distance, the sun began to rise above the mountainous tree line. Since moving to Carson, North Carolina, Cliff couldn’t seem to get enough of watching the sun climb above the mountains, filling the sky with orange and pink hues. There was a time Cliff wasn’t sure that he would ever see the light of the morning again.
He shook his head to clear his mind and reached up to push back the locks of dark hair that fell over his forehead. The cabin in the distance, just barely noticeable over the wheat field, glistened beneath the shadows as the sun’s rays beamed down on the wooden structure.
The sound of rustling jerked Cliff’s attention toward the bushes on his left. He watched as a gathering of does meandered through the field and headed toward the raspberry bushes near the cabin.
Just as he had hoped.
Perched on his knees, Cliff adjusted his scope and made sure that his target was centered in the frame. After a few twists, he had a shot lined up exactly the way he wanted.
Perfect.
It only took him a moment to line up the scope, years of practice relied on his muscle memory. The deer don’t even realize that he had his eyes set on them.
He filled his lungs, then held his breath as his finger hovered in the air. And with a soft exhale, Cliff let the sound of the click and shutter fill his mind.
Cliff pulled the camera away and glanced down at the small LCD screen. A smile grew on his lips as he inspected the final product.
Photography became his savior when he left the Army, it gave him something beautiful to focus on instead of the ugliness he had experienced for years.
As he stood from his knelt position in the field, Cliff tucked the camera back into his bag just as a swath of dark brown hair came into his line of sight. The ponytail swung with each step as its owner traveled down the dirt path by the cabin – his cabin. Or so he hoped one day. Maybe he missed his chance and this was the new owner.
Cliff was mesmerized by the person as she came closer to where he stood, utterly stagnant in the middle of the field. He watched as the woman turned the corner and that’s when he got his first full glimpse of the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes on.
A bright pink sports bra covered her strong and fit body, it barely contained her large breasts. Her lower half was wrapped in a pair of shorts no bigger than a bikini bottom.
He had been in Carson for three years and knew most of the residents, but this creature, this woman, wasn’t someone that he recognized.
Nor did he acknowledge the ache in his chest as she passed in front of him, not even noticing his presence as she continued her quickened pace.
Cliff knew he needed to move from his spot, but he was frozen in place. He hadn’t felt this visceral reaction to a woman since he was sixteen, and that thought scared the crap out of him.
Like pulling himself out of quicksand, Cliff lifted the concrete weight of his feet and took steps closer and closer to the dirt road until he found himself standing in the middle of the path. His focus was once again drawn to the back-and-forth swoosh of her hair as it swayed with her pace. His heartbeat quickened until it matched the same beat as her ponytail.
Who was this woman and why did she have this effect on me?