The bunkhouse was silent, as it should be for the tired hikers inside at a quarter after midnight. Since he would follow her in the morning, he decided to cancel his alternate lodging in favor of staying close.
He let himself in as silently as he could and showered, finding an empty bunk. He pulled the curtain closed, cocooning himself in darkness. He loved being so close to her—he loved even more that tomorrow night would see them much closer than that.
Propping his hands behind his head, he stared at the bottom of the bunk above him and daydreamed about how his life was about to change.
He was the type of man who had always been overlooked. He was neither intelligent nor foolish, witty nor dull. His life was all about being in the middle, but all that would change with someone as magnetic as her at his side.
He wasn’t traditionally handsome, but he wasn’t ugly either. He’d spliced enough pictures of him and Bébhinn to know that he was a perfect complement to the petite, dark-haired beauty. Her hair was long and thick and hung to her tiny waist. He’dseen pictures of Bébhinn with her mother and two aunts in her living room and bedroom. The four women were freakishly similar, though Bébhinn was the most beautiful.
Bébhinn was at least five inches shorter than he was, and he knew from previous group hikes that she was lean and muscular while still maintaining a round ass and mouthwatering tits. He should know. He’d seen her naked in her bedroom many times. He couldn’t wait to replace the camera lens with his own eyes.
Tomorrow would be the first day of the rest of their lives, he thought as he quietly parted his bunk curtain to peek at where his future was sleeping peacefully.
sixteen
DAGR
Dagr was exhaustedand aching to high Heaven. In the trail running world, those symptoms equaled euphoria.
He was hunkered down on the side of a mountain under a thick rock ledge. If he kept pushing hard, he should be able to avoid the worst of the coming storm. He’d spoken to his father that morning. He’d cautioned Dagr again and asked him to call it quits. That wasn’t how Dagr rolled, though. Pushing the limits was his specialty, in and out of the courtroom.
So far, he’d only logged two areas on the main trail that needed tending, where rockslides had created a dangerous crossing between two of the summits and several large, downed trees were partially blocking a river. The mountain creatures and plants wouldn’t like their water source at such claggy strength.
Otherwise, the past few days had been precisely the mind numbing and body workout he’d needed. Not to say that the dissatisfaction he’d been feeling for months hadn’t managed to creep in during the dark of night.
“And what in the bloody hell do you have to be dissatisfied about, boy?” he asked himself as he tied off the ends of his tarp between the two stout oaks bracing each side of the rocky overhang. His makeshift bed was nestled in a dense thicket of trees and would create a snug sleeping nook to pass the night.
He couldn’t pinpoint what had triggered the months of unease and restlessness plaguing him. Nothing unusual, and certainly nothing catastrophic, had triggered his disquiet. In fact, it had been years since anything tragic occurred. His mother passed from cancer when he was twelve. He and his dad had managed.
His dad’s folks, Dagr’s grandparents, passed away ten and sixteen years ago. They’d adopted dad late in life…very late. It was grand to have had the years they’d had with them.
Dagr had turned thirty-nine a few months past, and since then, he could feel that his typically sunny nature had begun to compete with bad moods and sullenness. The busier he stayed, though, the better he felt, which meant he was always working or hiking. His body tended to function well with minimal sleep.
Dad had called him out more than once for his shitty attitude. Dagr definitely needed to get a handle on himself.
He’d considered getting serious about finding a woman with whom he could have a serious relationship. He’d had numerous brief flirtations, where witty banter and great sex were his only criteria. Perhaps he needed to dig deeper.
The problem with going deeper was that it was almost impossible to find a partner uninterested in his bank account, and even harder to find a woman who held even a few of his wish list traits.
They weren’t even that difficult, but one would think he was asking for perfection.
Educated—He wasn’t talking about a uni degree, just well-read and an intelligent conversationalist was plenty.
Independent—Happy with her own company. No pouting if her boyfriend goes out with his friends occasionally and never complains about him spending time with his father.
Funny—Not like a comedian or anything, just that she could find humor in small things, especially that she could laugh at herself.
Love her family and friends—A person could tell a lot about a partner by how they interact with the people closest to them.
Adventurous, e.g., hiking—A must.
The list was far from out of line. As he made a small fire to give him warmth and light for the evening, he nodded to himself, secure in the belief that his expectations were average. It’s not like he was asking for a runway model. In fact, appearance wasn’t on the list because he’d been taken in too many times by a pretty face in the past.
His resume was filled with past stunners—unfortunately, he’d even dated a woman from his office. As it turned out, her beauty and brains couldn’t erase her complete lack of personality. He’d sworn off women, at least casual women, months ago, which meant the closest interaction he’d had with the opposite sex was boardroom meetings and standing in line at the dry cleaner’s.
Lying down on his pallet, he sighed as he covered up with an ultra-thin, insulated blanket as he watched the fire. Mesmerized by the growing flames flickering in the moonlight, and with no one near to pass judgment, he admitted, “You’re lonely, Dag.”
Damnit.He was lonely, and nights were, of course, the worst. One thing that the past few days had made him face was that he wanted a partner. A forever partner. That one person besides his dad that he could count on, rely on, tell his secrets to, and obsess over.
