Page 48 of Riverbend Gap (Riverbend 1)

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Something stirred Katie from slumber. She opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. All was quiet on the shelter’s platform. The air held a chill, and sometime in the night she’d sought warmth—from Cooper.

Last night surged back to mind. He’d been so sweet to listen. To comfort her. She hated to admit it, but she’d enjoyed being in his arms. Apparently she liked it so much she’d come back for more.

She was currently curled up to his side, arm slung around his waist, head resting on his chest. The delicious weight of his arm rested on her shoulders, and his hand cupped the back of her head.

Judging by the slow, steady rising and falling of his chest, he was still asleep. Would it be wrong to stay here just for a moment, absorbing his solid strength? She had a difficult day ahead. It was Spencer’s birthday—he would’ve been twenty-three today.

A minute ticked slowly by, and she still didn’t want to leave thewarmth of Cooper’s arms. But she probably should. Perhaps she could just slip away without him ever knowing she’d been wrapped around him like a Christmas ribbon.

His breathing stuttered and his heartbeat quickened beneath her ear.

Too late. She drew up onto her elbow, meeting his gaze. His heavy-lidded eyes made her pulse kick up a notch. She was suddenly conscious of her snarled hair and makeup-free face. Her eyes were probably swollen too.

“Good morning,” she whispered.

“Morning.”

She glanced back at the Cook family, more to escape Cooper’s perceptive eyes than anything else. They still slumbered.

Katie rolled onto her back, staring up at the food bags, just shadows really, hanging on the lines above them in the predawn light. She snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag until it was up to her nose.

“Sleep okay?” Cooper asked quietly.

“Like a baby. You?”

“Not bad. But that coffee’s sure going to hit the spot.”

“That sounds so good.”

“You cold?”

“Freezing.”

He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, then he quietly got up and settled his sleeping bag over her. “It’s early yet. I’ll stoke the fire and be back with some coffee.”

Almost five hours later Katie’s calves ached as they made the steady ascent to Max Patch. They’d passed many hikers on the way.

“Max Patch is a popular camping spot,” Cooper had said. “You can’t beat the stargazing up there.”

They were mostly quiet on the trek, enjoying the views. Katie suspected Cooper was giving her time to prepare herself mentally.

They’d spotted a few deer near a creek, and a couple salamanders had scurried across their path. At one juncture they’d come upon a half-empty crate of water bottles and snacks.

“Where in the world did these come from?” Katie asked.

Cooper reached in and helped himself to a bag of almonds. “Trail magic. Go ahead and grab something.”

She did as he suggested. “What’s ‘trail magic’?”

“Basically it’s an act of goodwill. People in nearby towns do little favors for hikers. The people who do this sort of thing are called trail angels. My mom and Jeff have hosted hikers for supper, given them rides to town or to the grocery, and even given them a place to bed down.”

“Is that safe?”

“People do it all the time. It’s a different culture here. That five-to-seven-month thru-hike is a real challenge. People want to cheer them on.”

They continued climbing steadily for miles until they broke out of the woods. A broad summit rose before them, the breeze blowing the tall grass and wildflowers.