Enchanted

By Beverly Buchanan

Josh literally runs into Jessie on a trail in a forest. They are instantly attracted to each other. The problem is that Jessie thinks that Josh is married. She also discovers that she is staying in the cabin beside his for a month's vacation. She is ready to return home in order to avoid being near him when she discovers that he isn't married. Fate deals them numerous obstacles in their quest to finding their happy ever after! Come share their journey and see if love conquers all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781626758094

Book preview

9781626758094

Enchanted

        Chapter 1

A loud rustling noise startled Jessie out of her day dreams! She whirled around just in time to see a huge man come charging out of the woods. He was moving so fast that he couldn’t stop and ran straight into Jessie, almost knocking her off her feet. He grabbed her by her shoulders and steadied them both just in the nick of time to prevent them from falling.

The sudden impact jarred Jessie slightly as the man grabbed her and regained their balance. It also scarred her a little. It wasn’t every day a huge gorgeous man burst out of the woods and ran into her. The thing that startled Jessie the most was when the man grabbed her arms to keep her from falling. She should have been scared and started screaming bloody murder. Instead she felt as though a bolt of lightening had gone through her whole body. She was stunned to say the least! Just as Jessie opened her mouth to tell him what an idiot he was, their eyes met. She found herself looking into the most beautiful cornflower blue eyes she had ever seen! They stood and stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like forever. It was as thought they were in a trance. Jessie realized in some remote part of her brain that was actually still working, that they were beginning to lean closer to each other. Oh no, he was going to kiss her! Please, part of her brain begged. Those lips were definitely made for kissing. Finally the man shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. He turned Jessie loose and took a step back.

"I’m terribly sorry! I should have been paying attention to where I was going! Did I hurt you? I tackled you pretty hard,’ he said.

She had never seen a man as handsome in her life! He dwarfed her five foot two inch frame by at least a foot, and every inch of him looked like muscle! He had on a snug fitting black T-shirt and low riding worn jeans, both of which showed those muscles off to the best advantage! She could imagine what the muscles on his flat stomach looked like without the shirt. He looked like a Greek god with a square chin, full lips -- beautiful kissable lips -- and sun bleached wheat colored ‘almost’ shoulder length hair. He was beautiful to say the least! Jessie was so lost in her appraisal of him that she didn’t realize he had said something until she looked back to those wonderful lips and saw that they were moving. O crap! Caught checking out her attacker! Embarrassed, she said,

I’m sorry, what did you say? She must be crazy! Here she is in the middle of a forest, alone, and this mountain of a man has literally run into her and almost knocked her down. She should be running away from him as fast as her feet could take her. What if he is a serial killer or a rapist? But no, here she stands gawking at him as though she had never seen a man before! But in her defense, she had never seen a man like this before! He seemed as shook up as she was by the way he stood there starring at her.

He shook his head again as if still trying to clear his thoughts, smiled and said, I’m Josh Martin and again, I’d like to apologize for running into you like that. Grinning, he added, I’ve always wanted to knock a woman off her feet, but that wasn’t exactly the way I had planned on doing it!

They both laughed at this remark. Hi, I’m Jessie Neil, she replied extending her hand to shake hands. Okay, now she has given a complete stranger her full name and reaching out to take his hand. She had totally lost her mind! The scary part was that what she really wanted to do was wrap her arms around his neck and kiss those beautiful lips. Jessie couldn’t believe she would even think of doing such a thing! She didn’t consider herself a prude, but that was moving way too fast! Apparently going into the forest alone wasn’t really a good idea for her. When their hands touched, Jessie felt as though another bolt of lightening had surged through her hand. She had never felt such a physical force from touching someone. She wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. With that much energy going on between them, if they were to make complete body contact, they might spontaneous combust. From the looks of him, this might be a science project worth perusing! Her mind was in overdrive going way too fast in the wrong direction. She quickly turned loose of his hand.

There’s no need to apologize, I ’m fine, she said taking a step away from him. She didn’t know what it was about this man, but being around him for too long could be either be very interesting, or very disastrous!

Josh couldn’t believe what was happening! He felt as though he were caught up in a fairy tale. Here in the middle of the forest, he had literally run into the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was a tiny, petite woman. Her skin was so light and creamy it looked like porcelain. Dark auburn silky hair reached just below her shoulders and framed a perfect oval face with lips that he knew he would love to kiss! But her eyes! Her eyes were so brown that a person could get lost looking into their depths! And touching her!! He felt as though he had been physically hit in the bottom of his stomach. If touching her hand and arms could provoke feelings this strong, he could imagine what it would be like to hold this woman! It would be wonderful. He was beginning to wonder if she was a real fairy, and if she had placed a spell on him. He had never met a woman that attracted him like this. He felt like a moth being drawn to a flame!! He wasn’t sure what was happening, but he wanted to know more! He had an intense desire to protect her. Maybe it was because she was so tiny and fragile looking. He had an even more intense desire to take her in his arms and make love to her. He had never met a woman that stirred such strong feelings in him, all in five minutes. He wasn’t sure if he could handle an hour with her, but he would sure like to find out! Maybe the jar from running into her had jarred his brain loose or something. They were still standing only a foot apart and looking into each other eyes. Josh couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her any more than he could wait too long to draw in his next breath. He leaned in toward Jessie with the intent of kissing her. She seemed to be as spell bound as he was and hadn’t moved an inch.

A loud noise startled them both, causing them to jerk apart, the spell broken. Suddenly two boys came bounding out of the woods laughing and yelling. The boys looked to be about six and eight years old. As they ran past Jessie and Josh, the oldest yelled, Hurry! We’ve got to go! We have to meet Mom in ten minutes! And they were gone on down the trail and out of sight.

Jessie couldn’t believe the stab of pain she felt at hearing those words! How stupid could one person be! In five minutes she had met a man that had almost knocked her off her feet, fallen head over heals in love with him, and now was ‘mourning’ because she had found out that he was married. Talk about life in the fast lane! She knew that the elevation was higher here and the air thinner, but no one had told her that it affected the brain! No wonder Angiee had told her to rest. Apparently she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She needed a ‘keeper’. It wasn’t safe for her to be alone! But, that was the problem right now, she didn’t want to be alone. She wanted to be with Josh. That was a heartbreaking thought. He was married and she would not date a married man. Crap, life could be a bitch sometimes! She knew that she could really get into being with Josh. Why did he have to ‘run into’ her life?

Chapter 2

Josh couldn’t believe the timing! He wanted this enchanted moment to last forever, but knew he had to go. He knew that Samantha would worry if he and the boys weren’t there to pick her up on time. He hadn’t felt such a strong attraction to a woman in a long time. Well, actually he hadn’t felt that much attraction to a woman, ever! He chalked up his feelings to not being in a relationship for so long. He was going to have to stop working so much and start dating. Apparently he was becoming a pathetic excuse of a man! He really wanted to see her again.

Josh said, I’m sorry to have to run like this, but Samantha will be worried if we are late. It was a pleasure; excuse the pun, running into you. He smiled another dazzling smile and was gone. As he ran down the trail, he knew that this was by far the hardest thing that he had ever done. He knew in his heart that he was walking away from someone he would love to have in his life. As soon as he picked up Samantha, he would come back here and see if she was sill here. He could only hope.

Bye, Jessie said as he ran off in the direction the boys had taken.

Jessie felt as though the sun had quit shinning when Josh left. She was beginning to think that she had received brain damage when he ran into her. She was definitely feeling strange. In doing her job, she was around really handsome men a lot. She never gave them a second thought. She was acting as thought she had never seen a man before! Again, in her defense, she hadn’t ever seen a man like Josh! He was ‘sexy man’ personified! He was tall, handsome, looked like he was all muscle and had a smile that could light up the dark. Jessie gazed down the empty trail that Josh and the boys had just taken. She heard voices and knew someone was coming up the trail where Josh and the boys had just gone down. Her heartbeat quickened, he was coming back! Then an older man and woman came into view. Jessie felt a surge of disappointment. He was gone and she might as well get over it. She was going to have to slack off on her work and start dating again. She had shut herself away from everything except her work, and apparently her body needed more from the way she was tingling from head to toe!

Jessie had come here to rest and enjoy herself, and that was exactly what she was going to do. No use crying over spilled milk huh? A crisp autumn breeze caused the beautiful colored leaves to dance like a band of fairies around Jessie’s feet. She was on a trail in a forest along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mountains of North Carolina. It was Fall, and the weather and scenery were beautiful! The leaves had changed colors to various shades of brilliant reds, oranges and gold. There was a slight nip to the air. It was one of those days that made a person glad to be alive, and to be fortunate enough to be where she was. Jessie had only been in the mountains for a few hours, but already she had fallen in love with the place, and with a married man, her mind had to throw in. It was so relaxing and peaceful here. Jess lived in Atlanta, Georgia. The city never slept. There was noise 24/7. There were always the sounds of cars running, sirens wailing, and horns blowing, ‘city sounds‘. For Jessie, it had become a lifestyle that was a little too fast paced. Her body and mind needed healed and If anything could heal her wounded soul, this place could. She realized that it was time she got back to her ‘roots’. She loved nature and loved being in the forest. There was so much beauty and peace, and everything about it eased her mind, body and soul as nothing else could. She really wished that she hadn’t met Josh. He had awoke feelings in her that she had rather kept dormant, especially since she couldn’t have him.

A gentle breeze caused the dry leaves to make a soft rustling sound. Numerous birds in the trees chirped happily as they searched for a bite to eat. A small stream of water softly gurgled beneath the wooden walk bridge. These are the sounds of nature. With such a contrast to Atlanta, Jessie felt like she was in a whole different world. There were no ‘hurries or worries’ here. She knew that she had made the right decision in coming to this area. It had the feeling of ‘coming home’.

Jessie was only twenty-five years old; but had begun to feel like she was sixty! Her best friend, Angiee, had been on her case for a couple of months to go to the doctor for a check up. Jessie was determined that there was nothing wrong with her that a little more hard work wouldn’t cure. Finally, to keep Angiee from getting mad at her, she had gone to her family doctor. She and her family had gone to him for years. Jessie was amazed when the doctor told her that she was on the verge of exhaustion. He told her that her body and mind had to rest sometimes whether she wanted to or not. The consequences could be severe if she kept pushing herself so hard and neglecting her health. The level of stress that she was living in was definitely not good. He wanted her to get outside, walk and rest, no work. He told her that she was to take at least two months off from work and do nothing but enjoy herself! This completely blew Jessie away! For Angiee to fuss at her and tell her to slow down was normal, but for the doctor to tell her was scary. Jessie was forced to stand back and take a really close look at herself. She knew that she worked a lot, but hadn’t realized that her work had become all consuming.

Jessie’s parents had died in a terrible car crash three years