Chapter Five
WEDNESDAY MORNING, EMMA STOOD in front of the antique mirror in the corner of her room. There was no getting around it—looking cute in hiking clothes was impossible.
Rolling her eyes at herself, she turned away. She might not feel her best in a book-themed graphic tee, a flannel shirt, and straight-leg jeans, but she’d feel even worse trying to climb a mountain in a dress and heels. At least this way, she was comfortable.
She swept her hair into a braid, swiped on some SPF and tinted lip balm, shoved her feet into the most practical pair of sneakers she owned, and was off.
The way up to Silver Pine Preserve was all back roads.
They took her out of town before winding up into the mountains, over a few creeks and through increasingly dense trees that felt like walls to either side of her—but in a comforting way, somehow.
She exhaled deeply, her shoulders dropping and her spine relaxing.
They couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for their excursion. Up above, the sky was a brilliant blue with wispy clouds, the sun bright and warm without being overly so. All of that had to be a good sign.
She pulled into the preserve and followed the arrows to the welcome center. It didn’t seem too busy, which made sense for a random day in the middle of the week. She parked and got out, glad to have remembered her flannel shirt. As warm as the sun was, the air up here was crisp.
She found Hunter standing right outside the station, talking to a couple of women in fleece vests, equipped with hiking poles and canteens.
He pointed toward the tree line, and she definitely didn’t drool a little at the way his biceps flexed.
She’d half expected him to be stuffed into a classic park ranger outfit, but he was dressed more casually in a dark green long-sleeve tee with the logo for the preserve printed across the front, tan cargo pants that looked like they’d seen their fair share of adventures, and sturdy boots.
He hadn’t noticed her yet, so she let her gaze linger a bit.
The pants weren’t fitted or anything, but they molded to his backside in a way that did nothing for her sudden saliva problem.
Had he been this attractive the last couple of times she’d seen him?
Yes. Definitely. But she hadn’t had a chance to really take it in. Now she was going to be wandering in the woods with him all day?
Keep it together.
As the hikers thanked him and headed off in the direction he’d been pointing, she forced herself to pick her jaw up off the ground and put a nice, normal, friendly smile on her face instead.
“Hey there,” she called as she approached.
He turned, his gaze landing on hers, and the edges of his mouth turned up, his hazel eyes sparkling in the sun. “Hey—you made it.”
Was she late? No, she was basically right on time. “I did,” she agreed.
“I’m glad.” There was just a hint of roughness to his voice that did exciting things to her insides. “Hold on one sec.”
He made a motion for her to stay put, and he darted inside for a moment. He came back with a pack that he slung over his broad shoulders. “You’ve got everything you need?”
“Think so.” As she regarded his big bag, she second-guessed herself, though. He’d told her to bring water and snacks, but were a twenty-four-ounce bottle and some blueberries and granola bars enough? “How long of a trek were we planning?”
“Beginner-friendly,” he promised, suspiciously vague. “Anyway, I’ve got extras of everything, plus emergency supplies.”
That was thoughtful of him. Then again, it was literally his job.
A teenage girl with super short blond hair popped her head out of the ranger station. She glanced around before spotting Emma. The girl frowned. “You’re wearing those shoes?”
Yikes. Emma glanced at Hunter. “Is there something wrong with my shoes?”
He hesitated for a second before shaking his head. “They’ll be fine.” He shot a warning glance back at the girl. “Don’t you have work to be doing?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” The girl rolled her eyes before turning back inside. Over her shoulder, she called, “Have fun, boss.”
“Don’t mind her.” Hunter tipped his head in the opposite direction from the way he’d sent the other hikers. “Alix’s heart is in the right place, but half the time, her head is in the wrong one.”
“And where is her head at today?”
“Mostly giving me a hard time about taking a civilian on an inspection run.”
“Oh.” She paused, flicking a hand toward the parking lot. “If this isn’t okay—I don’t want you breaking any rules or getting in trouble or anything.”
“It’s a gray area. But it’s not a tough trail, I’m not anticipating any hazards, and you’re fully capable of completing the route unassisted—right?”
“I think so.”
“Then it’s fine.” He waved a hand. “If it makes you feel better, I’m heading off to inspect the boardwalks, and you happen to be going on a hike on the same trail.”
She started moving again. “Am I allowed to talk to you while I do?”
“No law against it. Though I do have to warn you, I’m not much of a conversationalist.”
Emma didn’t know about that. They’d shared a pretty easy rapport so far. Or at least she thought they had. “If I get too chatty, I won’t be offended if you let me know you need some space.”
He muttered something under his breath. Louder, he said, “Duly noted.”
The way he smiled at her set off those flutters again. Like maybe he liked her company so far, too.
She glanced downward as the gravel of the parking lot transitioned to a wood-chip-strewn path. “Seriously, though, are my shoes okay?”
“For what we’re doing today? Absolutely. But if you get into this kind of thing, something waterproof with ankle support wouldn’t be a terrible idea.”
Okay, yeah, that made sense. “Not a lot of call for hiking boots in Manhattan.”
“Well, you’re a long way from the city now.”
And didn’t she know it. For a second, she couldn’t help comparing her life now to her life a couple of months ago.
She’d traded a third-floor walk-up for a second-story one, and noisy human neighbors for frogs and owls.
Instead of talking to booksellers, she was one.
And instead of sitting on the couch, trying to read while her manscaped fiancé watched sports, she was spending her day off in the woods with a bearded man who wore scuffed-up hiking boots.
Even her life before New York hadn’t entirely prepared her for this. She’d enjoyed being outside, but she’d lived in manicured suburbia, with busy parents and a grandmother with a disability; her handful of nerdy high school friends had mostly hung out at the library or the mall.
Things had changed. But maybe not entirely for the worse.
At the tree line, there was a welcome sign with a little green roof over it and a giant map.
Hunter pointed out their route. “Plan is to take the yellow trail past the creek, then head up the west side of Mount Darcy. Nice and gentle, lots of switchbacks. Blue trail back down is a little steeper, but nothing too difficult. Should be a couple of hours if we keep a decent pace. Maybe more. Sound okay?”
Sounded intimidating as hell, honestly, but sure. She wasn’t backing out now. “Lead the way.”
“One last thing.” He pulled a pen out of his pocket and handed it to her, stepping aside so she could access the logbook. “Always sign in and out—got it?”
There was an unexpected sternness to his voice. She accepted the pen and filled out the next free line in the book. Name, phone number, date, time. She glanced up at him as she passed back the pen. “You have a lot of search-and-rescue missions up here?”
“Not many, fortunately, but when we do, it’s good to have as much information as possible.”
She hugged herself, just imagining getting lost out in the woods and having to hole up and wait for help. The worst-case scenario only got more nightmarish as she scanned the warnings posted next to the map. Beware of ticks, don’t approach the deer, don’t feed the bears.
Her breath hitched. “Are there really bears out here?”
“Sure are. But I wouldn’t worry about them too much, unless you’re camping with a sack of venison under your pillow.”
“Ha ha.” He wasn’t laughing, though, and her trepidation grew. She was only half joking when she asked, “You’re sure this is safe?”
Finally, his expression softened. “Thousands of people hike this trail every year. No fatalities so far.”
“‘So far’?”
“It’ll be fine.” Then he held out his hand. “Trust me?”
She drew in a breath, hesitating for some reason. She joked, “Isn’t that what the charismatic stranger says right before he lures his victim out into the woods to murder them?”
“I wouldn’t know. But considering I’m not charismatic and we’re not really strangers anymore, I don’t think it’s relevant.” There was a warmth to his self-effacement that made her smile, and she really liked the fact that he didn’t consider her a stranger anymore.
She refused to be distracted, though. “That wasn’t exactly a promise not to murder me in the woods.”
“I wouldn’t have had you sign the logbook if I was planning on it.” He smirked, his eyes twinkling in a way that was entirely too appealing. “Believe me—you go missing now, and it’s a logistical nightmare. The paperwork alone…”
She laughed despite the bleak topic. At long last, she placed her hand in his. The warmth of his broad, rough palm seeped into her, sending little tingles racing all the way up her spine. He closed his fingers around hers for a brief second, and their gazes met. Time seemed to stop.
And then in the next instant, he was pulling away. Clearing his throat, he brushed his hand on his pants before setting off. “Better get started, then.”
Right. She fell into step beside him, following the trail as it led off into the woods.
For a few moments, they walked in silence, and she chewed the inside of her lip.
She definitely hadn’t been the only one to feel that frisson of warmth a couple of seconds ago.
The tight set to his jaw implied that he had absolutely no intention of acknowledging it, though.