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Tiny strands of hair stuck to my face from the sweat. I was glad I’d had the sense to pull it back in twin french braids. I was also thankful Sid had stopped at Tom’s store, Best Foot Forward, and made me pick out some better boots since the ones I had were more dressy than outdoorsy.
The hike itself wasn’t difficult. I just wasn’t used to all the exertion. When I worked out, which wasn’t often, it was yoga or light jogging, not climbing up an elevated slope. My heart was beating hard, and I felt more winded than normal.
“Do you need a break?” Sid asked.
“No. I’m good,” I panted.
He chuckled, and I wanted to kick him. Sid made it seem so easy when it was anything but. Shiloh had stopped to drink out of a small stream that ran down the mountain as if she was waiting on me. I frowned and continued to watch my steps and take it easy.
Ten minutes later, the forest we were climbing through opened up like Sid had promised, and the view took my breath away. The trees were orange, red, yellow, green, and brown, and the forest seemed endless. The tall mountains far off in the distance were a dark blue in contrast. It was gorgeous and everything I had hoped it would be.
“Wow,” I said, walking out into the clearing.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sid asked, coming to stand beside me.
I nodded.
Sid put Shiloh’s leash on and then started pulling things out of his backpack. He spread a large blanket over the ground, then grabbed the small lunch cooler and two bottles of water. He sat on the blanket and patted the spot beside him.
“Come sit. I have lunch for us.”
I smiled and took a seat.
Things between Sid and me were easy and stress free. Over the past week, we hadn’t really seen each other except for a few meals here and there. I watched the twins most days and even stayed overnight twice, which Mindy was eternally grateful for. When I wasn’t helping Mindy, I was working at Knead to Relax. Sid was busy with the case he’d been working on.
Today was the first day we were both free—or mostly free. I had to work at Knead to Relax this afternoon since it was the weekend.
“This is so beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be honest. I’ve lived here my whole life and have only been on the trails a handful of times. There’s not a lot of downtime to go for a hike. It’s usually an all-day event, and I haven’t had a day off in a long time.”
“How did you get today off?” I asked.
“I don’t have it off. I’m on call right now, and I have to take the night shift.”
I nodded, a little disappointed. I’d been hoping that we could watch another movie together when I got off work. I loved sitting with him on the couch and falling asleep on his shoulder. Even though we didn’t cuddle, it was nice being with someone without the expectation of something more happening.
Sid opened the lunch box and took out two ham and cheese sandwiches, a bag of chips, and a bag of sliced apples. My heart swelled at his thoughtfulness. The air up in the mountains was a few degrees cooler than in town, and I shivered against the breeze. Sid set the bag of chips down and scooted back off the blanket.
“Come here,” he said, patting the ground in front of him.
I stared at him. He patted the ground again and gave me a serious look. I moved between his legs, and he settled me back against his chest, pulling the blanket over us. I sighed. He was so warm, and the blanket felt amazing against my chilled skin. I should have dressed warmer.
“Better?” His voice was low and gravelly. The vibrations rolled over me, and my eyes slid closed. I let out a small moan of contentment.
“Much.”
We stayed like that for a few more minutes. “Tell me more about growing up here.”
He sighed. “It was fun. I rode horses, played on the farm, went canoeing, hiking, and fishing. Anything I could do outdoors, I did.”
“Did you do those things with Frank?”
“Eventually, yeah. We met at horse competitions when we were both a little older. But I had my brothers, and he had Jacob. That meant we were always getting into trouble.”
“Of course. You were boys.”
He tickled my side, and I squealed.
