Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
HUDSON
I tried not to get distracted as I watched Kenna navigate the path in front of me. The last thing I needed was to trip over a protruding root or lose my footing on loose rock. But the truth was, seeing her so confident and capable had me hard as fucking steel from the second we’d stepped foot on the trail.
I’d seen this side of her before—back when we’d been younger. When we’d been cocky as hell but too stupid to realize how incompetent we actually were. But back then, it’d been different. She’d still been coming into her own, still finding out what she was capable of, still learning about her strength. Since I’d been gone, it was clear she’d grown into herself.
And I found this new version of her sexy as hell.
I held Kenna’s hand as she climbed over a fallen tree trunk at least two feet in diameter. “You ever come hikin’ up here?”
What I didn’t ask was whether or not she’d come when we’d originally planned to and who she’d done so with if she had. Kenna and I had wanted to climb the Ridge for years, but my momma had forbade us from doing so, the terrain too unpredictable and difficult, given our lack of experience.
Instead of sneaking like we were prone to do, we’d used our brains and had worked up to it. We’d hiked dozens of locations in the area that were on par with our skill set—challenging enough to keep us growing but not so much to get us hurt, or worse. We’d planned to take wilderness training the summer after Kenna’s first year in college so we’d be prepared for the hike when the time came. Had she done that without me?
She shook her head, and it took me a moment to realize she was answering the question I’d spoken aloud and not the one niggling my brain.
Pulling her hand from mine the second we’d cleared the tree, she moved her fingers to grip the straps of her pack instead. “No one really enjoys this like I do. When you left, I lost my hiking partner.”
She said the words without heat, as if they were fact. And they were. I’d left her with little notice—hardly any time at all to discuss it, let alone for her to become acclimated to the change—and then I’d been gone.
It’d been the two of us for so long, neither of us cultivating many friendships beyond the one we’d shared with each other, so it was no wonder she hadn’t kept this up with someone else.
I cleared my throat as if I could so easily clear the thoughts from my head. “It’s a good thing I made this bet with you then, isn’t it?”
She glanced at me over her shoulder, a smile lifting one side of her mouth. “I don’t know. I really could’ve used some help with my gutters. You’ve seen how many trees I’ve got out there. It’s a nightmare.”
I laughed. “Remember the bet we made on my first day home? When I told you I’d’ve made you the pies anyway?” I waited for her nod before I continued, “I’ll do this for you too.”
Kenna bit her lip, staring at me for a long moment, before she turned around and continued hiking up the trail. “Speakin’ of pies, I still haven’t gotten mine.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got them chillin’ in the freezer for you. Ready to finish off as soon as I get a chance.”
“Mhmm…you sure you’re not just flakin’ on our bet? I know you like to weasel your way to winnin’, but I never took you for a flat-out cheater.”
“Hey now… You know better than to call me that. You don’t think I’ve changed that much since I’ve been gone, do you?”
Her eyes, narrowed and studying under her furrowed brow, bored into mine, telegraphing her thoughts as clearly as if she had a megaphone. She didn’t know what I changed into, because we hadn’t been given the opportunity to learn each other as adults.
The truth was, I didn’t know her either. I’d seen glimpses of the old Kenna since I’d been home, but they’d been carved with new facets. These secret parts of her I’d never known but so desperately wanted to.
I wanted to cram ten years’ worth of knowledge and understanding and conversations and inside jokes into a few weeks. Twenty measly days. And half of those were already gone. Coming back here, I’d known I wouldn’t have enough time, but I’d done it anyway. Because I’d needed to see if there was something still between us.
For a while, I’d been wondering if the army was truly the place I belonged. I hadn’t voiced that aloud, hadn’t even really allowed myself to think it, but it was there, nonetheless, simmering under the surface.
At first, I’d loved being a soldier. I’d loved the thrill and the excitement… Loved the challenges I faced daily and the pride swelling my chest as I followed in my dad’s footsteps and served my country. As I became the man I knew I could be.
But lately, I’d been unsettled. Unsatisfied. And I knew that had little to do with my career and everything to do with the woman I’d left in Havenbrook.
So, I’d decided, whether subconsciously or not, to come home. And I’d done so knowing it would be the test to see if this was where I belonged.
The more time I spent with Kenna, the more I realized she was who I belonged with. Of course she was. It had always been her. The foundation of our friendship was still there, supporting this new thing we were exploring, and our chemistry had only seemed to blossom more in the time we’d spent apart. Everything was so easy with her, even when she was so obviously fighting it. We fit. We belonged together.
Now I just had to make her see it.