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She put her hands on her hips, narrowed her eyes, and waited for him to catch up with her.
He stopped toe to toe. “You’re cute when you’re suspicious.”
She scrunched up her nose and spun back around. Ignoring the chuckling behind her, she trekked on.
Josh came up beside her, and they chatted about the books they were reading.
After a while, Chloe pointed ahead. “I can see the falls.”
They picked up their pace and carefully maneuvered around the mud and boulders until they were in the opening near the base of the falls.
Chloe removed her backpack and pulled her hat off her head, stuffing it in the top of her pack. She climbed across the boulders and onto a large slab, the creek washing over the end of it. She liked this waterfall and trail. No one was going to suggest climbing to the top because you couldn’t. Not easily anyway.
Josh set his pack down and came up behind her to her right.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. A strong, almost magnetic urge to grow closer to him caused her to step back toward him without processing what she was doing. It just felt right.
He put his left hand on her shoulder, and the space between them disappeared. Did she move more toward him, or did he come to her? Or was it a bit of both?
He wrapped his arms around her.
She put her hands on his forearms and relaxed against his chest.
They watched the water cascade over the side of the cliff and thunder against the rocks below, stirring the water at the bottom.
Something else was stirring too.
Chloe had to fight to keep her breathing steady. Why did she want to run from this situation just as much as she wanted to never leave it?
Jesus, I know I need to trust you with every aspect of my life. And I think I want this, but . . .
Owen’s face flashed in her mind.
She’d only loved one man in her life. And it was Owen.
Fear pulsed in her mind, screaming that she should run. Run out of Josh’s arms. Run down the path. Run away from everything. But there was no simple way to run. Not when another part of her seemed glued—no stronger than that, riveted—to Josh and the strength of his embrace. Not the physical strength, but the comfort and stability found there.
She patted his arm. “Shall we have that snack?”
They’d eaten lunch in Gatlinburg and picked up some gourmet popcorn and filled a thermos with their favorite hot tea.
“That sounds delightful.” He squeezed her before letting go.
She immediately regretted the suggestion. Why were his arms so reassuring? She wanted just to stay in them all day. Or did she? Why did everything have to be so confusing?
They found a spot among the boulders to sit and watch the falls. Josh pulled the popcorn and some beef jerky out of his pack, while she grabbed the tea.
She filled his tin cup and handed it to him.
His fingers brushed hers, and he smiled at her. But when he offered her some of the popcorn, his expression took a serious turn. “How are you doing about that note?”
She popped a kernel in her mouth and shrugged. “I’ve tried to put it out of my mind.” Being with Josh was making that easy to do today. She felt so foolish for letting these emotions stir up about Josh, her friend. “It’s probably just an empty threat.”
“But from whom?”
“If I knew that I’d feel a lot safer,” she said. “At least then Gabe could arrest him, and I’d be fine.”
He ripped apart a big piece of jerky and ate it.
