Chapter 15
Fifteen
It really shouldn’t be this hard to relax. The meeting with Victor Bellmont was set for Monday morning, and Michael had the weekend off. So why the nerves?
It was a hike with Dani, Finn, and Eliza. Not a double date, even if Finn and Liza considered it one. Because a double date implied that Michael and Dani were dating too. And they weren’t.
They were friends.
Friends who had shared a couple of passionate kisses, but only friends nonetheless. Certainly nothing to get so worked up over.
Not when every time he started to bring up said kisses with Dani, she quickly changed the subject. Obviously she didn’t want anything more.
Eventually he needed to get it through his thick skull and stop replaying certain memories over and over again. Dani didn’t want to stay in Renegade.
Then again, maybe they could make something work. It wasn’t completely unheard of, right? Finn had encouraged the idea of a relationship with her.
Because really, when was he going to meet another woman like Dani Kim? She’d woken something inside him, and he couldn’t lull it back to dormancy.
If nothing else, he could at least ask her about that last kiss when he’d rescued her. He’d get some closure, and it would stop keeping him awake at night.
If he had a chance to get her alone, he would ask.
With the plan in place, he finished organizing the gear and water bottles in his pack and some energy bars in a cooler that would stay in the car for afterward.
Finn would probably say he was going overboard with the ropes and a harness, but he didn’t want to be caught in a situation where he needed them and didn’t have them.
“Michael, they’re here! You coming?” Eliza’s voice called from downstairs.
“Be right there!” He checked his watch. Impressive. Dani was notoriously late for everything, and here she was a full ten minutes early.
He went downstairs and followed the voices to the kitchen. Finn and Liza were standing way too close to each other while Dani raided the fridge.
It was still weird to see his partner and his sister flirting with each other. He tried to ignore them as he reached over Dani’s head and snagged a yogurt cup from the refrigerator.
“You’re early.” He couldn’t quite bring himself to tug on her silky dark hair, swinging from a ponytail, like he would’ve done at one time. “You feeling okay?”
“Are you implying that I’m habitually late?” She gave him a mock glare, standing there in her fitted athletic shirt, running shorts, and hiking boots.
“I’m not implying anything. I’m saying it out loud. You’re habitually late.” He opened the drawer for a spoon.
“He’s not wrong,” Eliza chimed in. She snagged an apple from the bowl on the counter. “She’s only here now because I told her the wrong time on purpose. It was Maria’s idea. She told me you were late to your first-hour class every day your senior year.”
Dani laughed. “All right, obviously you guys know me well. But I’ll have you know I’ve grown up a bit since high school, and I’m much more punctual now.”
“Sure you are.” Eliza smirked.
“Well, hopefully you know me well enough to also have packed me a sandwich or something for lunch, ’cause my only options at Josh and Lily’s were applesauce packets and frozen chicken nuggets.”
“We have you covered.” Michael winked.
“I figured.” Dani grinned.
“Am I that predictable?” Michael looked to Finn and took a big bite of yogurt.
“Completely predictable.” Finn chuckled.
“But it’s not all bad.” Dani grabbed one of the hard-boiled eggs out of the fridge and reached around Michael for the saltshaker on the counter.
“Right. I’m sure he has a first aid kit, satellite phone, and fire extinguisher next to the emergency flares in his pack.” His sister raised an eyebrow.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing, but as soon as things go south, who will you look to for flares and a fire blanket?” Michael stared them all down.
“Since he’s willing to carry the extra gear, I, for one, will not complain.” Dani polished off the egg in two bites. “So, let’s hit the trail.”
As soon as they drove west out of Renegade, the road quickly climbed in elevation.
There was a reason Bagg Trail was one of his favorites.
The mountain views were spectacular. It followed a river part of the way too, with impressive waterfalls and alpine meadows along the trail.
They parked at the trailhead just outside one of the state forest campgrounds.
Michael passed a can of bug spray to his sister. “I know you’ll want this.”
Eliza looked at the famous Renegade peak in the distance as she doused herself in DEET. “How far up that thing are we going?”
“I told you when we made the plan, remember? We’ll climb almost three thousand feet in elevation.”
“What?” Eliza froze.
Michael shouldn’t be surprised his little sister hadn’t caught all the details. She’d been too busy giggling with Finn when they’d hammered out the plan. “I tried to warn you this was an expert trail and would take all day.”
“I heard ‘follow the river and picnic in the meadows.’”
“The trail does run along the river, and there’s a great meadow halfway up where we’ll break for lunch. But there are also waterfalls and really steep sections. It’s supposed to be challenging.”
“Sounds fun.” Dani took the bug spray from Eliza and sprayed her ankles. “I’m ready.”
But the storm cloud on Liza’s face didn’t bode well for what was sure to be a rigorous hike.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you.” Finn smiled down at her.
She returned the smile, but twenty minutes into the hike, there was no hint of it to be found. Drenched in sweat and huffing like a steam locomotive, Liza collapsed on a large boulder on the side of the trail.
“I can’t do this.”
“Aw, come on, Liz.” The first stretch of switchbacks was grueling, but it would be even harder in sections of the trail up ahead. “We’re just getting started. It’s still gonna be a few hours to get to the halfway point, then we’ll have lunch and start the descent back.”
“Hours more of this?” Eliza whined.
He should’ve known she wasn’t up for this sort of thing. She’d always balked at their family hikes—or any sort of physical exertion, for that matter. And being a defense lawyer, she was really good at getting out of them.
But before he could say anything more, Finn stood behind Liza and started massaging her shoulders. “What do you say, Michael? Maybe Liza and I will find a different trail. There was another one where we parked, right?”
“You can barely call it a hike. It’s more like a walk along the river.” And ew. He’d refrain from saying anything about Finn’s hands on Liza’s shoulders, only since she obviously didn’t mind.
“That sounds perfect.” Liza wiped her brow. “Why don’t you and Dani go on the crazy hard trail, and Finn and I can take a nice stroll along the river? You don’t mind, do you, Dani?”
Dani shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” Unlike his sister, Dani had barely broken a sweat so far. She stretched her quads as she stood there, ready to continue the climb.
And suddenly, all the irritation at a change of plans and expectations evaporated.
Why drag Liza up the mountain when he and Dani would actually enjoy the challenging trail?
And added plus, he wouldn’t have to watch Finn and Liza making puppy-dog eyes at each other, and he could ask Dani about that kiss.
“Okay.” Michael opened up his backpack and handed Finn food and water for their portion of lunch.
Finn added it to his pack and took Liza by the hand. “We’ll see you back at the car later. Enjoy the hike.” He crooned something in Liza’s ear, and she laughed.
Guess Finn wasn’t too bothered by the change in plan either.
“’Bout time we lost the deadweights. Race ya to the top, Mikey.” Dani’s eyes sparked with a daring glint.
“Oh, you’re on.”
Together, they settled into a swift pace on the dirt trail. She never lost the bounce in her step, even on the steepest parts, climbing over paths riddled with tree roots and large rocks.
The expanse of blue above them, the Colorado spruce and pines offering shade when the path cut through the forest, and the mountain breeze cooling them all provided the perfect scenario for a hike.
His muscles burned with exertion, but in a good way.
The kind of burn that reminded him he was alive, pushing his body to the limit, breathing hard, all feeding into a sense of accomplishment as they moved on.
It had been way too long since he’d been out here. Too consumed with work, keeping his siblings on task, and working his mother’s case in what little time he could spare. Maybe he needed to make more time for things like this.
And the company was nice too.
“I don’t know what Liza was thinking when she suggested a hike for the four of us.” Michael reached over the ledge he’d just climbed and offered Dani a hand up. She grasped his palm, her slender fingers fitting perfectly in his grasp.
“Duh. She wanted to impress Finn.”
“By climbing up a mountain trail when she hates any sort of exercise?”
“What can I say? Love makes you do crazy things.” She grinned up at him as she stepped onto the ledge beside him. Even with a smear of trail dust on her cheek, she was gorgeous. His gaze snagged on her full lips.
Love. Crazy things. Yeah, it tracked.
And maybe this was the perfect time to bring up that kiss.
Dani was in so much trouble.
She didn’t want to break Michael’s heart—not when she’d been dreaming of this moment since she was twelve years old. But still…chances were she’d mess this up like everything else. And she couldn’t live with herself if she hurt Michael Martinelli that way.
But the desire pooling in his eyes, the strong grip on her hand…she couldn’t ignore them. Even the scenery conspired to lure her into the deep end of the pool where she had no business being.
And it was so tempting to give in when he looked at her like that.
No! It’s just my impulsive nature. I need to be methodical. Smart.
She was only in Renegade long enough to prove herself, and then she was out of here.
She would be a horrible long-distance girlfriend.