AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Marcus looked up the hill they were about to climb with doubt. “You may have to wait for us at the top of this one. I like to think I’m in good shape, but the combination of the hills and the uneven terrain — I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to keep up with you at this pace.”
She looked at Kyle. “How are you doing?”
He grinned. “I’m used to keeping up with you now. The first couple of times we went running I was in the shape Marcus is in though — IthoughtI was in good shape until I went out in the woods with you.”
She looked back at Marcus. “I’ll back off a little going up the hills. You need to let me know if you need to take a break, or if I need to slow down more. Injuries happen when you push too hard — it’s your responsibility to tell me you’re tired before you reach that point. Got it?”
“Got it.” And he took off up the hill.
* * * *
By the time they reached Edward’s Point, Heather was exhilarated, but Kyle was a bundle of nerves. The trail was near the edge of a drop off in places towards the end, and he hadn’t dealt well with itat all.Most of the time, Heather put either herself or Marcus between Kyle and the edge, but at a few points they’d needed to travel single file, and he’d held his breath while he moved from tree to tree. Luckily, there were trees for him to hold onto, otherwise Heather wasn’t sure he’d have been able to do it.
One year, she’d camped out at Edward’s Point on the Fourth of July, and had watched the fireworks over the city from above. The professional fireworks downtown had looked like little miniature roman candles going off. The other fireworks around town just looked like fireflies. She wondered if she’d ever be able to camp out here with Kyle.
When they arrived at the Point, Kyle walked straight to the tree line, fifteen yards away from the stone edge, and leaned against a tree. Heather went to the rocks and stretched out in the sunshine on her back, soaking in the chill of the stone under her and the heat of the sun beating down. Marcus stood for a moment, observing, and then went to the edge and sat with his feet hanging over the cliff’s edge.
Kyle’s face ghosted to white, but he didn’t say anything.
Heather was surprised they had the spot to themselves — a myriad of trails led to Edwards Point from other places, and between the hikers, the mountain bikers, and the four wheelers, it was usually a pretty active place.
No sooner did she think the thought than she heard the sounds of mountain bikes headed their way. She waited until they got close and she heard a bike drop and footsteps walking her way before she shielded her eyes from the sun to see how many people there were and whether they looked friendly or not. One of the men looked familiar, and she sat up to get a better look.
* * * *
Kyle heard the bikes, but was focused on Marcus, sitting with his legs over the edge of the cliff. If he leaned forward, he’ddie.
He was so focused on Marcus’s imminent death, he jumped and nearly had a panic attack when Heather squealed, “Eric!” and then jumped up and ran towards the woods.
The blond man she was running towards said, “Nitro!” seconds before he caught her in midair and swung her up into a bear hug.
He put her down and said, “Long time no see, what’ve you’ve been up to?”
Heather shrugged, “This and that.” She looked behind him at the other men with him and asked, “Where’s Kendra?”
“She’s more of a night owl — you won’t see her out and about much during the day. This is my uncle, Ranger, and I think you know Jim Bob over there. We decided it was a good day for just us guys to have some fun. My uncle is still getting the hang of this mountain bike thing, but he’s doing okay. We did the t-wall this morning before the sun heated things up too badly, and now we’re trying to show him some tricks on the bikes. He’s new to town, and I’m showing him around, illustrating why I’ve chosen to make Chattanooga my base. Hey, why don’t you show him what you can do?” He motioned towards his bike.” You know, let him see that even agirlcan do this? Really give him some incentive to try some tricks of his own?”
“Even a girl?Evena girl?”
Heather swept her leg at the man’s feet, and he ended up on his back on the dirt, though Kyle noted she reached for his hands as he went down so he didn’t hit too hard. He grinned up at her as she stepped one foot over him and looked down to talk. “I’ll show you what a girl can do. If I remember correctly, I won the challenge at Castle Rock last year, leaving you in the dust.”
Marcus had moved to stand beside Kyle, and he chuckled. “First time I’ve seen you on your back to someone, Eric.”
Marcus knew this man, too?
The man Heather had called Eric glanced at Marcus before turning back to Heather, his eyes more focused now. Sharp. Almost disbelieving. “You’re here with Marcus? As a friend? Or… more?”
Heather ignored the question and offered her hand to Eric. He accepted it and let her help him up.
Eric looked from Marcus and Kyle back to Heather again, and Heather finally told him, “Kyle, Marcus, and I did a trail run, and now we’re enjoying the point. If you want me to do some tricks on your bike, you’ll need to adjust the seat and handlebars for me. If you don’t want to move them around, that’s fine, but I can’t ride it like it is.”
“Not a problem. My spots are marked, so it’s easy enough to get it back where I want it. Adjust away and then let’s see what you’ve got. Oh, but first....”
Eric grabbed her, spun her towards him, and then dropped her to the ground while he followed her, so they ended up with Heather flat on her back, and Eric lying mostly to the side of her, but pinning her in a wrestling move, so she was stuck.
Kyle instinctively moved forward to help her, but Marcus grabbed his arm and held him back. He put his mouth near Kyle’s ear and muttered, “They’re friends. This is horseplay. She’s fine.”
Heather laughed and told Eric, “Touché, do you need someone to count it out, so I’m officially pinned?”
