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“Hardly,” I bit my lip to hold back more laughter.
He puffed out his chest and put his hands on his hips. “I was the best boy scout ever, I’ll have you know.”
“So if a bear happens to wander by, what will you do?”
“I’ll wrestle it to the ground, of course,” he flexed his arm muscles. “No bear can withstand these.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Your confidence never ceases to amaze me.”
He chuckled, placing a hand to his chest. “Never doubt my bear fighting abilities.” He nodded his head towards the woods, coaxing me to follow him.
I was still a bit wary, but I knew Trace was bound to know these woods like the back of his hand and the chances of being eaten by a bear were minimal.
There didn’t seem to be any discernable trail, and while I was an outdoorsy girl, hiking had never been my thing.
Trace helped me over fallen trees and always made sure he held my hand so I didn’t fall. We’d been hiking for about fifteen minutes when I asked, “How much farther?”
“A lot farther.”
“How much is a lot farther?” I skidded around a stick I was convinced was actually a snake.
“A lot farther,” he repeated.
“You’re not going to tell me?”
“Absolutely not,” he replied.
Another fifteen minutes later he said, “Almost there.”
The sun was beginning to rise and bits of brightness peeked through the tree branches.
Trace stopped and turned to me. “Ready?”
“For what?” I questioned hesitantly. Lord only knew what Trace had up his sleeve.
“To have your mind blown,” he grinned crookedly.
Nodding his head, he led me further into the trees. I was looking down at the ground, so I didn’t see what was in front of me. He slammed his arm against my chest to halt my progress and I momentarily panicked, thinking there really was a bear or something.
With my heart racing, I looked up and my mouth fell open.
“Holy crap,” I gasped.
The ground stopped suddenly, dropping straight into a small river. I didn’t know how I had missed the sound of rushing water, but it could probably be explained away by my thinking a snake, bear, moose, or other woodland creature was going to attack me.
The sunrise reflected on the crystal clear water, i
gniting it with oranges and reds.
I had honestly never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. I wished I had a camera so I could take a picture and remember this moment exactly as it was. I didn’t want to tell Trace, but this was definitely worth getting out of bed for.
He turned to me with a smirk. “Glad I woke you up?”
I reluctantly nodded. There was no point in lying. He could tell from the awe on my face that I was mesmerized.
“How did you know about this place?” I gasped, looking around me.
“Exploring,” he shrugged, bracing a hand against a tree trunk. “Trent and I found it.”
