Tumble Into Love

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Risa Holden was driving down the highway from Anchorage to Diamond Creek—a spectacular drive in coastal Alaska with vista after vista of mountains, glaciers, and the ocean unfurling along every mile. She reached the outskirts of Diamond Creek. Her windows were rolled down, and she gloried in the salty ocean air blowing through. She came around a corner to find a moose and two calves ambling across the road. She swerved to avoid them and flinched at the screech as her tires spun out. The guardrail raced toward her, her car hurtled through it, the crunch of steel so loud it hurt her ears. Next came several thumps and a sudden stop when her car bounced into a cluster of alders. Risa sat frozen in her car, stunned and disoriented. There she sat surrounded by alder trees, her car most definitely not going anywhere.

Risa shifted carefully, uncertain if she was injured. It happened so quickly, she hardly had time to think or feel. The alder branches settled around her car. She glanced out her broken window to see a porcupine clinging to a spruce tree nearby, looking curiously in her direction. A stellar jay landed on a branch a few feet away and squawked—as if she’d interrupted the bird’s afternoon. Which she supposed she had. Her ears stopped ringing. Her neck felt tight. She tugged the visor down and checked in the mirror. A thin trickle of blood ran down the side of her face. She sifted pieces of broken glass out of her dark hair. Glass was scattered across her lap and throughout the car.

Assessing that she could move, Risa carefully brushed the glass off of her purse and slipped her phone out to call her brother.

Trey answered on the first ring. “Hey sis, when are you due here?”

“Well, I made it to Diamond Creek, but I’m sitting in the middle of a bunch of alder at the bottom of a hill.”

After Trey, her overprotective older brother, finished freaking out, he said he’d be on his way as soon as he called 911. He made her promise not to try to get out of her car, which annoyed Risa though she didn’t really feel like trying to clamber out. With a sigh, she leaned her head back and wondered how come her life so often felt like it was skidding out of control. Today, it happened to be more than a metaphor.

The sound of sirens carried through the trees. Moments later, footsteps approached her car. She turned and her eyes landed on the sexiest man she’d seen in, well, since she could remember. He had golden brown hair – not quite brown and not quite blond – chocolate brown eyes, and a face an artist would love to paint with sculpted cheekbones, a strong jaw and full, sensual lips. She swore when it occurred to her she must look like hell, what with the blood in her hair and on her face.

To top it off, whoever this amazing man was, he was a cop and looked damn sexy in his uniform. He was clearly built, his shoulders and chest completely filling out his shirt in a mouth-watering way. His eyes held a look of concern when he reached the car. “Hey there, give us a few minutes and we’ll get you out of there. Are you hurt?”

Risa sighed. “Aside from the cut on my head, which I can’t even see by the way, I think I’m fine. I only stayed put because I promised my brother I would.” She moved to open the car door to find it was jammed shut.

Sexy cop moved quickly, bringing his hand against the door. “No, don’t do that! I don’t want you to accidentally make the roof collapse. It’s not looking good from out here, but the door’s helping keep it up. I have a crew coming down to get you out safely.”

“Okay, okay. I won’t move.” Risa lifted her hands to show she wasn’t trying to open the door anymore. A shiver of fear raced up her spine. Since she felt mostly fine, she’d only stayed put at Trey’s insistence. To have sexy cop all worried about her trying to get out was the opposite of comforting at the moment. She swallowed and forced herself to take a slow breath.

“So Trey Holden is your brother?” sexy cop asked.

Risa nodded. “The one and only. Did he call you?”

Sexy cop smiled at her reply. “He did, but I was already on my way out here. Another driver saw the broken guardrail and beat him to it. You must be Risa then.”

“Yup. And you are?”

“Darren Thomas. Trey’s a friend of mine. Got to know him through Jared Winters who’s another friend.”

“So you’re the wonderful cop who helped dispatch Emma’s ex far away from here,” Risa said with a grin. Once he said his name, she recognized it. Trey’s wife, Emma, had an ex who excelled at being a complete asshole and stalked her for a few years after they broke up. When he showed up in Diamond Creek a while ago, Darren had been instrumental in helping deal with the situation. So he was sexy as hell, her brother’s friend, and an upstanding cop who was prone to saving the day, according to Trey at least. On all marks, he was the kind of man a smart woman grabbed onto and never let go. Risa figured he was way too good for her.

Darren lifted an eyebrow at her comment. “Don’t know if I’d put it that way, but yes, I helped out with that situation. It’s my job.”

He turned away at the sound of more footsteps coming through the trees. The next few minutes were a bustle of activity around Risa while she was forced to sit still and repeatedly reminded to do so. The rescue crew was made up of six more men—every single one of them sexy as hell, along with the whole ‘I’m here to save you’ vibe. While she had her pick of men to stare at, Risa’s eyes kept traveling back to Darren as if they were leashed to him.

When they finally pried her door open and she could climb out, she realized how frightened she’d been. She felt shaky once she finally got out of the car—her heart raced and her legs almost collapsed. She hadn’t quite realized how shaken she was until she made an attempt to walk. Fortunately, Darren was right beside her and immediately slipped his arm around her and steadied her.

“Take it easy,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

His warm, strong grip was disconcerting. Risa shook her head and tried to shift her weight away, only to stumble again.

“Should’ve known you’d be stubborn like your brother,” Darren said with a soft chuckle. He glanced over to the cluster of men. “We need to get her up to the ambulance. Can one of you get on her other side and help me walk her up the hill?”

One of the guys nodded, while another asked if they needed to get a stretcher for her.

“I can walk. I’m fine!” Risa declared.

Darren ignored her. “I don’t think she needs a stretcher. She’s just not too steady on her feet.” He looked down at her, those amazing brown eyes colliding with hers. “You probably are fine, but I’m not taking any chances. Trey’ll kick my a*s if I do.”

“I don’t answer to my brother, so don’t go thinking you need to on my behalf.”

Darren’s lips quirked and he shrugged. “In this case, I do, so you’ll have to deal with it.”

Risa felt disconcertingly pleased to have Darren insist on taking care of her, though she should have been annoyed. Darren looked away when one of the men approached them. “Risa, this is Travis,” he said tipping his head in Travis’s direction.

Travis had light brown hair and blue eyes. He nodded and smiled. “Glad you’re doing okay. Could’ve been much worse. Your car is totaled though.”

Risa turned to look at her car—a trusty, old blue hatchback. It had taken her many places, but it was clearly done with that now, its roof crumpled and the front end bent entirely out of shape. She looked back at Travis with a sigh. “I know,” she said ruefully. “Nice to meet you.”

With a quick grin, he moved to the side of her opposite from Darren. Without a word, he slipped his arm under her shoulder and nodded to Darren. With most of her weight borne by them, she made her way up the hill. Though Travis was handsome, objectively speaking, and he was draped around her as well, she didn’t feel the slightest spark with him. Darren’s closeness, on the other hand, was disturbingly distracting. She was startled at how easily he affected her. Usually, she could appreciate a man’s looks without turning into a puddle.

When they reached the road, Trey’s car was pulling up behind the ambulance. He raced to her side with his wife, Emma, following at a slower pace. “Are you okay?” Trey asked the second he reached her.

“Trey, I’m fine. You’ll be happy to know Darren wouldn’t let me get out of the car by myself and insisted on having Travis help him walk me up the hill,” Risa replied wryly.

Trey looked to Darren. “Thanks man. I know how stubborn Risa can be, so I appreciate you being here.”

Risa rolled her eyes and went to move away from Darren and Travis though neither budged. “Um, guys?”

“Let’s get you seated over there,” Travis said, gesturing toward the back of the ambulance.

Risa realized she was surrounded by men who thought they knew best, so she elected not to argue the point and quietly made her way over to the back of the ambulance.

When Darren finally stepped away, she instantly missed his warm strength. A friendly female emergency responder greeted her and quickly checked her over. In short order, the cut near her hairline had been cleaned and bandaged. After a quick overall check and a run of tests to assess whether she had a concussion, they determined she didn’t need stitches and cleared her to leave. Trey stood with Darren and Travis talking.

Risa glanced to Emma who’d joined her by the ambulance. “You look amazing, as usual. I still can’t believe you had a baby a few months ago. How’s Janet?” Risa asked with a smile.

Emma grinned at the name of her months-old baby. “She’s great. When you called, Hannah was at the house, so she stayed with Janet while we came to get you.” Her eyes coasted over Risa. “Great entrance today. Ready to head to our place?”

Risa nodded and stood carefully. Trey approached them in the road. “I wasn’t thinking when we left. The back of the car is a mess with the car seat and some of my fishing gear.”

Darren was right on Trey’s heels. “Risa can ride with me. I’ll follow you to your place,” he offered. Risa’s pulse leapt at his words with her mind instantly trying to point out she was being ridiculous.

Trey turned to Darren. “You sure you don’t mind?”

Darren shook his head. Trey looked to her. “Do you mind riding with Darren?”

Risa did and didn’t. If it weren’t for the fact that the electricity crackling between them was a force to be reckoned with, she wouldn’t mind at all. She couldn’t come up with a rational reason to say no, so she merely shrugged and followed Darren to his patrol car.

The car was quiet as Darren drove. They’d been delayed for a few minutes after Trey and Emma left when Darren was called over to respond to some questions from the tow truck guy. Since it was a single vehicle accident, it had been quickly decided that Risa’s car would be dragged back up the hill and towed to the local junkyard where it would await the insurance assessor who would likely determine the vehicle totaled in less than one minute. Risa had called Trey to let him know she’d be there once Darren finished up.

She glanced around Darren’s patrol car. Aside from the radio and the divider between the front and back, it was rather basic. She wasn’t accustomed to sitting on a bench seat without a console. Her mind couldn’t help but think how easy it would be to slide right over and soak up the warmth she knew emanated from Darren.

Darren came to a stop at a stoplight and glanced over at her. She wanted to dive into his eyes and wished he wasn’t her brother’s friend. Before she’d discovered that inconvenient detail, she’d been thinking a little fling would be perfect. Trey was friends with half the town practically. As these thoughts tumbled through her mind, she realized she was staring at Darren, and he was staring right back. Desire coursed through her. A horn honked behind them.

Darren tore his eyes from hers and turned away, driving through the light. She wanted to draw his profile. The lines of his face were beautiful and strong. He had a faint scar on the side of his face. Close to his ear, it traced a faded path up to his temple and into his hair—that honey brown hair she wanted to run her fingers through.

Risa forced herself to look away and wondered if she’d lost her mind. She didn’t know what it was about this man, but his body and hers seemed to be having a conversation over which she had no control. Her pulse raced, her breath was shallow and heat slid through her.

“So how often do you come down to Diamond Creek?”

Darren’s voice was deep and steady. His question was so benign, her thoughts the second before embarrassed her.

“I try to get down here once a month. I live in Anchorage.”

Darren nodded. “Yeah, Trey mentioned that. I grew up there.”

Her curiosity was piqued. “You did? What brought you to Diamond Creek?”

Darren glanced at her, his eyes warm. She could have sworn they fell to her breasts and back up, but it was so fast, she couldn’t be sure.

“Oh, I moved away from Anchorage when I went to college down in Washington. I came to Diamond Creek when I got offered a job here. I was done with the whole urban cop beat after Seattle, so Diamond Creek got me back to Alaska and a much slower pace. I love it here,” he said.

He had to stop again at the light in the intersection that would bring them up the hill toward Trey’s house. He looked over at her. She was so flustered, she didn’t know where to look, but she couldn’t look away. She was beginning to wonder if she’d hit her head harder than she thought in the accident.

When the light changed, Darren turned up the road and abruptly turned again onto an unfamiliar road. Before Risa could ask where they were going, he pulled into a driveway surrounded by trees. He stopped the car quickly and looked at her again. The electricity humming between them arced higher.

Risa’s eyes were locked into the heat of his chocolate gaze. Her pulse was off the charts.

“I think I’ve lost my mind, but I have to kiss you. You say the word, and I’ll turn around and drive you right to Trey’s place.” Darren’s eyes held hers.

She couldn’t have told him to turn around if her life depended on it. Instead, she slid across that handy bench seat and paused inches away from him. He lifted his hand and brushed a loose tendril of hair out of her eyes, his fingers sliding around her ear, shivers following. Never breaking eye contact, he slowly lowered his head until his lips met hers.

The first touch of his lips was soft—almost a question. The answer was a shock of sensation racing through her body, heat unfurling in a wave. She slid her hand behind his head, through the soft layers of his hair, and tugged him close. Her mouth fell open and she dove into the most intense, devouring kiss she’d ever experienced. He traced her lips with his tongue, delving in with deep strokes, their tongues tangling. She pulled away to catch her breath. His lips blazed a heated trail down her neck. Her breath came in gusts against his hair. Hot shivers skated across her skin and she shifted to get closer.

Suddenly, Darren pulled back. “We have to slow down,” he whispered.

Risa realized she was half in his lap. Her thoughts were a jumble. She looked into his eyes. Strangely, she felt like she’d known him for far, far longer than she had. The haze of passion began to clear in her mind. Whatever this was between them was a bit…too much. She carefully pulled away, her body protesting.

“Well,” she said, her voice thick with feeling. “I, uh…”

“Don’t know what the hell this is?” Darren offered helpfully.

She looked over at him, his eyes mirroring her uncertainty and dazed feeling. As startled and confused as she was, she felt an instant comfort with him. His eyes crinkled at the corners with his grin. She laughed and nodded. “Definitely not.”

Darren’s palm had been on her back when she shifted away and it remained there, a warm anchor.