Katy was getting bored. As winter approached, visitors to the National Park office and general store slowed to a crawl. She was working alone behind the counter, as usual, when she saw a Jeep pull into the parking lot. Katy watched as a man stepped out and strode toward the office door.
The little bell above the door rang cheerfully as he stepped in. Katy now saw him to be a handsome, well-built man around her own age of forty. She was used to having male hikers in excellent shape stop by, but this man was especially handsome.
"Howdy," the man said with a smile, then turned away from the counter and into the store. Katy watched him patiently as he moved up and down the short aisles. Finally, she walked his way.
"Can I help you find anything?" Katy asked.
"I'm looking for a pair of gray gloves," the man told her. "Extra large."
"Hmmmm. Let me look," Katy said, striding toward the back wall.
She inspected the few gloves hanging there, and said to the man, "I don't see any. But I know we've had some. Let me check the inventory, OK?"
The man agreed. Katy opened a door to the small storage area at the back of the store. She heard his footsteps following her but did not look back. Katy headed straight for the area where she believed the gloves were stored and studied a few boxes.
"Sorry," she said sadly, "Doesn't look like we have any."
She turned and the man was close behind her. Almost touching. She looked up into his gorgeous face.
"Well, you tried," he said with a smile. "It must get kind of lonely working in here this time of year."
Katy shrugged. "I get used to it."
"I hope you're careful," he said. "Someone as pretty as you shouldn't be alone with strange men too much."
Katy felt her face get warm at his kind words and said, "I can take care of myself."
"I bet you can," he said. "Sometimes, strange men just want a kiss from a pretty woman in the safety of a storage room."
Katy was trapped where she stood but didn't try to escape when the man ran his hands down both of her arms. He was SO good-looking. He leaned forward and lightly put his lips on hers. Katy was nearly shaking. The man put his hands firmly on the top of Katy's arms and kissed harder. Soon, their mouths opened, and their tongues fought for space.
Their bodies came together. Katy's back was against the shelves. The man held her tighter, and the kiss grew in intensity. Almost instinctively, she put her arms around him, one hand moving up to the back of his head. He was a marvelous kisser, and Katy was not one to easily let go of a marvelous kisser.
When the kiss ended, the man looked at Katy and said, "You really ARE quite pretty. Some guy is very lucky."
"Yes. Well, thank you," Katy said nervously. "I...I better get back to the counter."
The man wouldn't let her free without one more prolonged kiss, his hands exploring the entire length of her body from shoulders to ass. Katy pushed herself past him and walked quickly to the desk.
The man followed. At the door, he stopped and told her, "Maybe we'll meet again. That would be nice."
"It would be," Katy said.
The lucky guy the man referred to was Tom, a park ranger who recently entered into a relationship with Katy. She moved in with him when the man she was with was arrested for embezzling money to pay for his gambling addiction. Tom was five years older than her, but more than energetic enough to meet Katy's sexual cravings.
Tom was a former minor league baseball player. Between his job as a ranger and working out, he was still in great shape. Katy had some serious choices to make soon, and having men like the guy in the Jeep enter and exit her life didn't make them easier. She was still, and maybe always would be, open to flirting with any man she wanted.
When her shift ended and Katy drove to Tom's house, the guy in the Jeep was still on her mind. She would keep the little incident private. Tom didn't need to know about all of Katy's weaknesses.
Katy pulled into the driveway of the old farmhouse Tom inherited from his parents. It was a beautiful one-hundred-year-old mansion on lots of land. Katy loved it and she would be more than comfortable there if she and Tom decided to stay together.
Katy parked in the drive and entered the house through the kitchen door. As soon as it opened, she gasped.
"Howdy," the Jeep guy said with a broad smile. "Told you we'd meet again."
"It's you," Katy said with surprise. "What are you...."
"Tom invited me. Hope you don't mind. C'mon in."
"Where's your Jeep?" Katy asked.
"Tom had me park it behind the barn so you wouldn't see it. Didn't want to scare you off."
Katy shut the door behind her and walked through the kitchen, turned down the hall, and turned again into the living room where Tom was sitting on the couch with a woman Katy didn't know.
Tom stood up and walked over to Katy, kissing her on the cheek.
"Let me introduce Kevin, an old teammate of mine in Memphis, and his wife, Cheryl," Tom said.
Katy grinned and nodded at each of them.
Tom said, "But you've already met Kevin."
"Briefly," Katy replied. "How'd you know?"
"Oh, I set that whole thing up," Tom explained while everyone sat. "I told Kevin to ask for extra-large gray gloves. I knew we were out, and you would go into the storage room to look for more."
