Take Me There: A Dare With Me Novel Read online

  Take Me There

  A Dare With Me Novel

  J.H. Croix

  Contents

  1. Skylar

  2. Tucker

  3. Tucker

  4. Skylar

  5. Skylar

  6. Skylar

  7. Tucker

  8. Skylar

  9. Skylar

  10. Tucker

  11. Skylar

  12. Skylar

  13. Tucker

  14. Skylar

  15. Tucker

  16. Skylar

  17. Skylar

  18. Tucker

  19. Skylar

  20. Skylar

  21. Tucker

  22. Tucker

  23. Skylar

  24. Tucker

  25. Skylar

  26. Tucker

  27. Skylar

  28. Tucker

  29. Skylar

  30. Tucker

  31. Skylar

  32. Skylar

  33. Tucker

  34. Skylar

  35. Tucker

  36. Skylar

  37. Skylar

  38. Tucker

  39. Skylar

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  * * *

  Copyright © 2022 J.H. Croix

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Najla Qamber Designs

  * * *

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  “Everything that's worth having is some trouble…” ~L.M. Montgomery

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  Chapter One

  Skylar

  I dashed across the parking lot to the public restroom. Too many seconds later, my bladder felt as if it let out a giant sigh when I made it into the stall and slammed the door shut.

  “Finally,” I muttered to myself.

  “You know you’re in the men’s bathroom,” a voice said.

  “What?” I yelped before slapping my hand over my mouth.

  Oh, my freaking god.

  Fu-uuuuck, I hissed silently to myself.

  There was no stopping my body now, though. The sound was way too loud for my comfort.

  “Do you mind?” I ground out.

  “I was in here first,” the voice returned.

  I could’ve sworn I recognized the voice and prayed it wasn’t who I thought it was.

  “Fine. I’m sorry I came into the men’s bathroom.” I flushed the toilet so I didn’t have to hear the guy next to me peeing.

  Another moment passed before I heard the stall door opening beside me. I considered just waiting it out, but I didn’t want to be a coward. I pulled my dignity on, along with my pants, and walked out only to discover it was exactly who I feared.

  Tucker Harrison stood there calmly washing his hands at the sink. He glanced over with a sly glint in his blue eyes. “Hi, Skylar.”

  Oh. My. God. I was usually able to speak, but Tucker could render me speechless even without me accidentally encountering him in the men’s bathroom. I didn’t want to admit I had a crush on him, but my body defied me every time I saw him. With his sky-blue eyes, rumpled brown curls, and a seriously fit bod, I got hot just standing near him. Now, we were in the men’s bathroom together.

  “Hey,” I squeaked.

  I almost ran out, but that meant not washing my hands, so I cleared my throat. “Excuse me.”

  He turned off the faucet, stepping out of the way as he dried his hands on a towel. “All yours.” He nudged his chin toward the sink.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled. My cheeks were burning up. I carefully kept my gaze lowered as I quickly washed my hands. “Are you going to leave?” I finally asked when I glanced over to see him waiting by the door.

  “I was just trying to keep any other men from coming in while you’re here.”

  “Oh, god,” I finally said, feeling even more flustered. “I was in a hurry.”

  “Yeah, that was obvious,” he replied dryly.

  “Do you have to make it a thing?” I muttered when I shook the water from my hands.

  “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

  I snatched a paper towel out of the dispenser, drying my hands as fast as humanly possible then tossing it in the wastebasket.

  Tucker even held the door for me as I walked out. Two strange men I’d never seen in my entire life waited out there. But then, this was a public restroom. I let out a sigh when they looked curiously at Tucker and me. I suddenly realized what conclusions they might be drawing from the fact that we’d been in the public bathroom together. I didn’t know it was possible for my face to get any hotter, but the temperature climbed. Chin held high, I kept on walking.

  One of the men chuckled as they walked in. “Hope it was good.”

  “Oh, my fucking god,” I muttered to myself.

  Tucker laughed softly as the door swung shut behind them and fell into step beside me.

  “Why are you walking with me?” I ground out.

  “Because I’m walking in this direction.”

  Of course. “Sorry, I won’t make that mistake again.”

  “Oh, I bet not,” he mused.

  I glared at him. “Can we just move past this?”

  “We already have. We’re out of the bathroom. Moment over.”

  “Do you know who those guys were?”

  “One of them is a new pilot. I’m not sure which airline he flies for.”

  Airline, in this case, meant a number of small airlines that flew lightweight, small planes in Alaska. That meant I would probably get to know the guy. I worked for a local air transport coordination business here.

  “Ugh. Could you please clear up that misunderstanding?”

  “I think the less said, the better, don’t you? The guy who cracked the joke wasn’t the new pilot. You can assume he was a random tourist.”

  Tucker stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked alongside me.

  “This is the longest conversation we’ve ever had,” I observed.

  He slid his gaze to mine. “What do you mean?”

  “Just that. You’re not exactly chatty.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “No, no.” I felt a little defensive for making that observation. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m actually going all the way to your office,” he replied.

  “Huh, why?”

  “Because I need to stop by and pick up something for Flynn. I guess a delivery was left there for him.”

  “Oh,” I said brilliantly.

  When we arrived at the square industrial building where I worked, Tucker opened the door for me just as someone was coming through. The man turned too fast and bumped into me, bouncing me directly into Tucker.

  Tucker was hard all over. His palm lan
ded on my hip as he steadied me. A blaze of heat radiated from his touch. The man muttered an apology and jumped back before hurrying away. I practically sprinted into the building after a rushed goodbye to Tucker and hurried down the hallway into the back.

  “What’s up, Skylar?” Ludie Hill asked.

  Ludie and Dan owned Diamond Creek Transport, which basically functioned as a sort of port for the wide array of items that landed here to be routed out to the smaller communities off the road system in Alaska. They also managed a local communication hub for the various small planes that passed through here, sending along safety messages and more. The business didn’t make much sense anywhere other than Alaska. It was the most interesting job I’d ever had, and I loved it.

  “Nothing, I was almost late,” I said, hoping my flustered state could be chalked up to that. It had nothing to do with encountering Tucker Harrison in the men’s bathroom and then having an actual conversation with him. Well, sort of a conversation. Nothing to do with that.

  “You’re not late,” she said easily.

  I immediately plunked down at the desk, putting on my headset and clicking open my computer screen. I couldn’t believe I’d finally spoken more than a few words to Tucker. He probably hadn’t even known who I was before. Maybe he knew my name. If that.

  Chapter Two

  Tucker

  The following day

  * * *

  “Dan loaded everything this morning,” Skylar Bridges’ voice came through my headset, low and throaty.

  I doubted she knew I looked forward to hearing her voice every single day. I was getting ready for takeoff and had called over to check on the status of the delivery I was scheduled to fly across Kachemak Bay. I flew small planes for Walker Adventures. I loved flying, and I loved my job. Best of all, the company was owned by one of my best friends from the Air Force, so everyone there was like family to me.

  I smiled, thinking about how flustered Skylar had been when I’d accidentally encountered her in the men’s room the other morning.

  “Got it. I’m taking off in a few minutes.”

  I was flying two tourists along with some cargo across the bay. After I signed off, I hopped in the plane, did my pre-flight checks, and reflexively glanced into the mirror to make sure both passengers had their seat belts on. It was a couple traveling to Seldovia.

  After taxiing toward the runway, I waited until another plane landed before I took off. While Diamond Creek, Alaska, had a regular airport for commercial planes, this airport was adjacent to that one with a shorter runway for the lightweight aircraft that filled Alaska’s skies. So many communities were off the road system that flying was the only way to reach them and bring in supplies.

  * * *

  I pondered Skylar’s comment yesterday about me not being chatty. I knew it was accurate. However, it’d surprised me. I was so used to hearing her voice it felt as if I had talked to her a lot more. But those were mostly one-way conversations. Skylar handled the radio calls for this little hub in Diamond Creek, Alaska. Rural though Diamond Creek was, the town had a busy little airport. Over fifty flights came in and out daily, all small planes with a mix of tourists, supply delivery, and residents from the smaller communities traveling in and out for various appointments and shopping. It was a unique situation anywhere outside of Alaska. As a pilot from my military days, this allowed me to fly in a fun way.

  Although I knew Skylar’s voice well, I didn’t see her often. She was hard to forget, though. She had brown hair and wide blue eyes. She kept to herself as far as I could tell. Seeing as I did as well, I understood. Alaska was a good place for that. She’d shown up in town just last summer.

  Savoring my privacy, I preferred to keep my social world small. Even though I could admit I noticed Skylar in a major way, I needed to keep a clear boundary with her. Not because of her, but me. All I ever wanted was casual, and Skylar tugged me to her in a way that tested my discipline. My last serious relationship ended in a cold, sterile hospital. I preferred not to repeat that experience.

  I kicked her out of my thoughts. I didn’t need to dwell on Skylar, not today, not ever.

  Many hours later that evening, I rolled my preferred plane into one of the hangars for Walker Adventures. I ran through the usual checks on the plane at the end of the day before locking the hangar and walking toward the parking area.

  I stopped to look up at the sky, my breath catching in my throat. Alaska could do that to anyone. Tonight, the sunset was outdoing itself. The sky was painted with streaks of tangerine and red, fading into gold along the edges. The stars were breaking through the colors, and the moon was rising low above the mountains. On the heels of a breath, I began walking again and touched my keys in my pocket.

  My boots crunched on the gravel as I angled across the parking lot toward my truck. I came to an abrupt stop when I heard what I thought was the sound of a sob. Glancing around, I didn’t see anyone at first. Then I heard the muffled noise again. The only reason I knew someone was there was I saw the last rays of the sun catching on the top of someone’s head, someone with dark hair.

  I didn’t even know what vehicle Skylar drove, but I suspected that was her. I told myself it was none of my business, and maybe she wasn’t crying. Of course not. She couldn’t be crying. But my feet veered in her direction when I began walking again.

  “Everything okay?” I called, striving to keep my tone nonchalant.

  Her head whipped up as she spun around. “Fine. Everything’s fine.” Her voice was clipped with a sharp edge.

  Clearly, everything was not fucking fine. I could see the tears smeared across her cheeks. My heart twisted a little. “You sure?”

  “Uh-huh.” Her hand was resting on the top of a small hatchback.

  “That your car?” I asked, curiosity getting ahead of my brain telling me to shut the fuck up and stop asking any questions.

  She nodded. “Yep.” There was a cargo compartment on top of it. It looked a little worse for the wear.

  “Going somewhere?” I asked, gesturing toward it.

  Looking a little sheepish, she shook her head. “No. I guess I could take it off.”

  I shrugged. “Not if you need it.”

  I stopped at the back of her car. I felt as if I were watching her pull on her composure like a jacket.

  “It’s sentimental, really,” she offered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I was supposed to come to Alaska with my best friend. That was hers. She got it for the trip but never made it.”

  “Ah, so she decided not to come?”

  I didn’t know how to describe the expression that passed across Skylar’s face, but it was a mix of emotions—sadness, anger, and deep hurt mingled with a dash of bitterness. She nodded. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it.”

  “Well, you might want to fix the latch on the other side,” I commented.

  “What?” She scurried around the back of her car, eyeing it from below. “What do you mean? You’re taller than me, so I can’t tell.”

  “It’s this,” I reached up and tapped the inside of the latch on the racks supporting the cargo container. One of the bolts was coming loose. “You want me to take care of it?”

  “I can’t reach it very well,” she said.

  Stepping closer to stand beside her, I reached up and wiggled the lock. “Do you have a key?”

  “Here.” She reached into her pocket and handed me her keys.

  Our fingers brushed, and it felt as if lightning sizzled up my arm. I turned the key in the lock before reaching around to adjust the casing and manually tightening the bolt. “There. You might want to get a wrench to tighten it more fully, but it should hold. I used to have these same racks on my old car. They loosen up after a while if you leave them on. Just check it occasionally if you’re going to keep it up there.”

  “I should probably just take it off.” She let out a quick breath.

  “Not my call. Anyway, have a good night,” I said. The lightn
ing that had sizzled up my arm felt like it was spinning fire into every cell, sending a jolt of electricity to my entire system. I backed away, lifting a hand. “Catch you later.”

  “Thanks.” Her throaty voice carried through the quiet sounds of dusk as I crossed the parking lot.

  I waited until she climbed into her car and left. The sound of magpies chattering reached me, and I smiled to myself. This time was for owls, but magpies were bossy. They pushed into the space of every bird. I climbed into my truck and drove home. The drive was twenty minutes or so, and beautiful every mile along the way.

  Chapter Three

  Tucker

  It was almost fully dark by the time I came to a stop in front of Walker Adventures. Pocketing my keys, I smiled to myself as I crossed the parking area to the steps of the lodge. I had a sweet job, including a fabulous place to live. The main lodge was an octagon-shaped building. The lights were blazing tonight.

  Flynn, one of my best friends and the guy who called me up after our years in the Air Force and offered me a job, had worked himself to the bone getting this place going. The lodge was fully self-sufficient with solar and wind power. And, damn, with seven pilots and counting, we stayed busy.