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I raise my brow. “If this has to do with your list, I am absolutely shutting this door.”
He gives an airy laugh before schooling his face and crossing his heart with his finger. “That’s for later.”
I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment, willing my heart to slow long enough for me to eke out my response. “And what’s the plan for this morning?”
“There’s one thing I haven’t done while I’ve been here that I’ve really missed.”
“Wassail Night.”
He laughs. “No, a bear hunt.”
I blink slowly and give him a dull stare. “A bear hunt? Besides this being the wrong time of year, I have a suspicion you don’t even have a hunting license.”
“Who is the boring adult now?”
I scoff and release my tight hold on the door. “Boring? Me?”
“Relax, it’s not that kind of a hunt. My uncle works with the Idaho Game Commission, and they have a webcam on some hibernating bears. My favorite thing as a boy was to go into the woods to search for bears. I thought it would be fun to hike up to the area the bears are in. We can’t get too close, but my uncle was at my mom’s yesterday and sent a location pin on my phone.”
I raise my brows, impressed. “Very cool.”
“So does that mean I can come in?”
“I suppose.” I reluctantly step aside. I’m still so embarrassed about last night, but I’m curious about this bear hunt. “Will this take long? I want to make sure we’re early to Wassail Night. The Snowball Slam is an earlier event, and I need to get my cookies to the bake sale booth.”
Rockwell settles on the couch and pulls up a map on his phone. “We can drive most of the way and then hike a mile up and a mile back. I think we’re looking at three hours tops.”
I scoot beside him to see the map. I vaguely know the area on the screen. My dad is big into camping and outdoor stuff. I’m not a big enthusiast like him or my brothers, but I like a good hike. Even if going will mean I’m wearing a hat and ruining my hair.
“What do you think?” he asks.
I love the anticipation in his eyes. It reels me in like the suckerfish I am. “We’d better start right away.”
His face lights up like Christmas. “Really?”
“Really.”
He jumps to his feet. “I’ll go grab my snow bibs and boots I picked up at my mom’s and warm up my car.”
Not ten minutes later, we are off on our adventure. I’ve got the Christmas music blaring and my hand microphone in Rockwell’s face. He begrudgingly sings a few lines, and the trip is already made for me. Once we’re out hiking in the snow, I remember how out of shape I am. I never used to be this bad when I danced regularly. I miss it. I miss feeling strong.
We get up to the spot Rockwell’s uncle pinned to his map and glass the terrain with his binoculars until we find the location of the den. We can’t see any bears, obviously, but it’s still a cool experience.
On the way back down, Rockwell reaches for my hand. “Thanks for coming with me, Briezy.”
Our boots crunch into the snow making a matching path behind us. “I’m glad you asked me to join you.”
“Yeah, well Travis said no.”
I slug his arm with my free hand.
He chuckles. “Fine, I never asked Travis. I had no intention of bringing anyone else with me but you.”
“I suppose you’re forgiven.”
His eyebrows dance. “Do I still get my mistletoe kiss tonight?”
“I don’t know what to say on that topic.” I’m especially not telling him how we have the exact same thing on our Christmas lists. It’s uncanny. I thought my list dead to me, but it’s still functioning enough to nag at the back of my mind. I swear it’s whispering, “Just kiss him,” over and over again in my ear.
