Page 5 of Just a Plot Twist (Tate Brothers #7)

A low chuckle sounds behind me and I startle, whipping my head around to look over my shoulder.

“Oops. You weren’t supposed to hear that.” I offer an apologetic smile. It’s the cute guy from earlier.

He sticks his thumb behind him. “The family in between us had to stop and rest for a minute, so now I get to hike with you.”

I take in a quick breath. “Lucky you!” I mean it to sound light and funny, but with how hard I’m breathing, it probably doesn’t.

“Lucky me,” he agrees. “Do you want to take a breather?”

“No!” I wipe a thin line of sweat from my upper lip. “I’m fine. Do you need a breather?”

He chuckles again. “Not yet. Besides, we’re only a few minutes from the top. Almost there.” A companionable pause, then: “So what do you do when you’re not out enjoying nature? ”

I glance behind me, wishing we could walk side by side, but the trail is too narrow to do that.

“I’m the assistant manager for the city of Longdale. My friend, the city manager, was supposed to be at the trailhead, but she’s not feeling well.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here.”

I don’t answer right away. I can’t due to being a bit out of breath. It’s on an inhale that I’m suddenly aware that my posterior, in these tight leggings, is just…out there.

Great. As we climb, he’s got a perfect view of the junk in my trunk.

And there’s more junk back there than there has been in the past, which is another reason this trailways project is so perfect. I really need to get back in shape.

Once I catch my breath a little, I speak up.

“And what do you do when you’re not enjoying nature on a Saturday morning?”

“I live and work in Denver,” he says. “But I have family in Longdale, so I come here often.”

“Are you an avid hiker?”

“I’m a computers guy, so does that answer your question?” His bass laugh is nice. “I like to run, but—” he pauses to inhale, and I feel a kinship with him since he’s also out of breath. “Hiking is a whole other skill set.”

My hips and outer thighs burn, so I run my palms down them to rub them out. “You’ve got that right. So, IT nerd, do you program video games about goblins and elves?”

“I’m not that kind of nerd. But I like reading the fantasy genre. Do you have something against goblins and elves?”

“Not at all. Just trying to get a feel for the level of your nerdiness. ”

“I don’t do much programming. I’m working to update the backend of the finance company I work for. We’re bringing in new software.”

“The city of Longdale could use an update on our software.”

“How long have you worked for the city?”

“Oh, going on nine years now. I’m actually working on a trailways project, so that’s one reason I came. To check out the state of things up here.”

The other reason is to get my burning, sore hinny back in shape, dang it.

“That’s cool. What do you hope to do with it?”

Normally, I wouldn’t go on and on about the project. It’s something that wouldn’t interest a lot of people. But this guy? He seems interested. Besides, he has nowhere else to go, so looks like he’s stuck listening to me.

“I spent a year creating an exploratory report with our city manager. It’s a project that the mayor asked us to head up. We’re cataloguing and codifying our trail systems to further protect our land. Now it’s time to find some more funding and get this project off the ground.”

“You think the local government will have your back?”

I swallow hard. “That’s the hope. It’s one of the reasons I have to get this right.” I pause to breathe. “I have to be so convincing they can’t say no.”

“I should talk with my brothers who live here. They might know of ways they can support. If enough of their people are behind it, maybe the city will have to say yes.”

“Your brothers have people? Fancy.”

He chuckles. “No, I just meant that the more support you have, the better, right? My brothers might be able to help. They own a resort company and want to do what they can to preserve the area. ”

Wait.

Brothers?

Resort company?

Finance company in Denver?

It’s clear now who this mystery man is.

“Oh!” I let it escape before I can school it. “I know you. I mean, I know of you.” I nod and throw a look back at him over my shoulder. “My sister is Sophie, Oliver’s wife. And you must be his oldest brother?”

He’s a Tate. And it’s a family rule that we hate the Tates. Ever since they outbid the Hansons on the acreage for the resort, there’s been bad blood between us. Except Sophie married one, a fact that my grandparents still aren’t totally okay with.

And actually, this guy’s not a Tate. Technically, his last name is Kilpack, after his adoptive family. It was a whole thing awhile back when Thomas discovered he’d had a baby he didn’t know about when he was still in college, before he even met Celine.

The thing is, the Hansons are sworn enemies of the Tate family. But Sophie and I are Lawsons—our father’s last name—and it’s their beef, not ours. I never got why it was such a big deal.

Still, I’ve been guarded around them, even after Sophie and Oliver got married. They’re just so…perfect and handsome and rich. Intimidating. They’re nice and all, and Sophie sure loves them. Maybe I have that reserve left over from all the years my grandparents besmirched their names.

“Oh, yes,” he says. “You sort of look like her. I’m Benson Kilpack. Nice to meet you. Are you Claire?”

Does one stop and turn around in this situation?

Do we shake hands? I mean, I’d love any excuse to stop for a second, but I settle for a quick toss of my head in his direction.

“Nice to meet you, too. I am Claire.” I spend too long looking, waylaid for a second on his dark brown eyes.

The lashes that fan out so perfectly. The robust brows and strong chin.

I’m not looking where I’m going. My foot wobbles in a rabbit hole and I pitch forward, managing to stop myself before I tumble. “Whew! That was close.”

He steadies my elbow. “You okay?”

“Just clumsy.” I laugh.

He drops his hand. “Oh wow.” Benson whistles. At first, I’m offended by his getting so much pleasure at my expense, but I’m trying not to fall, so I don’t notice what he’s talking about until I lift my head. He’s stepped around me and off the trail to a small clearing overlooking the view.

This whole hike, we’ve been under the cover of the trees overhead and the trail hasn’t been near the edge at all, so the view has been different. But now?

“What a sunrise,” I say. It’s uncommonly gorgeous. I get why people wake up at unholy hours and climb up freaking mountains.

I’m dreaming inside a kaleidoscope.

We’re not at the top quite yet, but this little cozy clearing here, with a small break between the trees, is everything. I get it now. The rows of violet mountains in the distance, the rolling valleys. The way the new peeks of sunlight dance on the still-dewy leaves.

All my work on the trailways project makes more sense now.

I’m so mesmerized, another divot in the trail sneaks up on me. And this time, my foot locks in, and gravity wrenches my ankle. Hard.

A tear…a pop.

And against my will, I’m on my hands and knees.