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I move closer without thinking about it, stepping around the trees until I’m close enough to hear her camera shutter clicking softly in the quiet.

She’s wearing a fitted thermal shirt beneath a weatherproof jacket, jeans tight enough that I notice the shape of her legs immediately.

Also unfortunate.

“You planning on trespassing all day?” I ask.

She spins so fast her boots slip slightly in the mud, camera jerking upward defensively before her eyes lock onto me.

Fear flashes first.

Then irritation.

Then something hotter once she gets a good look at me.

Yeah.

I know that look.

“You always sneak up on women in the woods?” she asks sharply.

My mouth almost curves.

Almost.

“You always wander onto restricted land without checking who owns it?”

Her chin lifts immediately. Defensive. “I’m not trespassing.”

“You crossed three warning signs.”

“I crossed survey markers.”

“Same thing.”

She studies me openly now, gaze dragging across my chest, my beard, the rifle hanging at my side before returning to my face.

Not subtle.

I like that more than I should.

“You work for the developers?” she asks.

The disgust in her voice is immediate.

Interesting again.

“No.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Doin’ what I always do. Officially, I’m on the search and rescue team. You got the town buzzin’ already.”

“Is that so? So what’s Devil’s Peak saying about me?”

“That depends who you ask.”

“And you?”