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“You know, for someone so big and tough, you’re pretty slow,” she teases, hands on her hips, eyes sparkling.
I raise an eyebrow, fighting the urge to smile. “I’m conserving energy.”
We hike for another hour, and I know the trail continues going up to one of the lookouts on the mountain, but when we get to a meadow in the clearing, she stops and admires it.
“This is beautiful,” she whispers.
“I agree,” I say—however, I’m only looking at her.
She turns and sees me, shyly smiling. We hold an unspoken conversation, and I feel emotions streaming out of her in waves. I watch her, heart pounding. This is uncharted territory, but as her smile lingers, I can’t bring myself to care.
As things between us grow too intense, she clears her throat. “Last one to the cabin owes the other dinner.”
Before I can protest, she’s already sprinting away, hair flying behind her, fluttering in the wind. Shaking my head, I chase after her, deliberately keeping a few paces behind. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes bright with adrenaline and laughter.
“Come on! Don’t go easy on me,” she hollers, so I pick up my pace.
When I try to push past her, she kicks her foot out and trips me.
“Cheater!” I say as I tumble to the ground, but it’s more of a maneuver than a complete stop, and I pop back up.
“Oh my fucking God, are you a Terminator?” she yells, sprinting as hard as she can.
“Yes!” I say as we emerge from the forest’s edge, the cabin coming into view.
Harper runs as fast as she can, and while I can easily pass her, I let her push forward, crossing her imaginary finish line on the porch.
Harper raises her fists victoriously. “Yes!” she shouts, spinning around, breathless. “Dinner’s on you, Calloway!”
I catch up to her, stopping close, unable to suppress my smile, not even breathless.
Her joy is contagious, and for a moment, we’re both free of every heavy thought, every worry that’s been weighing us down.
“Congratulations,” I say, chuckling. “You earned it.”
She grins, stepping closer, her gaze softening. “You’re terrible at losing on purpose, you know.”
I shrug, pretending to be innocent.
She studies me knowingly, eyes full of unspoken emotions, as we step inside the cabin.
The afternoon drifts by in a haze, and by the time the sun starts dragging low across the trees, the world around the cabin softens into that lazy kind of quiet I can only ever find here. This is easy. Real. But also a dream in a way I’m trying not to think about too much.
I chop more wood, making sure we have enough for the next few days, as Harper stretches out on the porch swing, wrapped in one of the cabin’s old quilts, her bare feet peeking out the bottom. I stack the logs on the porch as she watches the sunset looking half wild, half angelic, with her hair a mess from the breeze. A smile touches my lips as I step inside grabbing snacks, thinking about how her cheeks are sun pink from the sunshine she soaked in earlier.
She needed it. We both did.
I nudge door open with my shoulder, carrying two sodas and a big, half-smashed bag of cheese puffs under my arm. Classy as hell.
“You planning on staying out here all night?” I ask, passing her on the porch.
Harper lifts her head lazily, and that slow, sexy grin is already forming.
“Are you volunteering to carry me inside, Calloway? Because you’ll have to wrestle me for the privilege.”
I chuckle, handing her the soda as I drop onto the swing beside her. “Harp, if you want my body on top of you, just ask.”
She scoffs as she opens the cola with a hiss. “You actually wish!”