Page 28 of When You Blush

“Is that good so far?” She gestures to my book.

“I’m loving it,” I reply and pop a chip in my mouth. “I think I’m going to join the book club across the street. Are you a reader?”

“A voracious one,” she confirms. “Less now that I’m here all the time, but yes. That bookstore is a gem, and the owner is just the best.”

“You should join the book club.”

Her smile turns kind of sad, and she lifts a shoulder. “It’s complicated. But I’ll scoop that one up for sure. Enjoy your dinner, Harper.”

And I do. I’ve never been one of those people who doesn’t like to go out to eat alone. It doesn’t bother me at all.

Besides, I’m not alone. I have a whole motorcycle club with me.

I’ve been questioning why I didn’t move home much sooner.

My job is excellent. I found a reliable car, the cutest bookstore ever, and a fuckingfabulousrestaurant. Yesterday was a great day of exploring Bitterroot Valley.

I spent this morning catching up on laundry and a little housework. I went to the grocery store to stock up for the coming week, and I even got a little more reading in. I dropped Ava’s book off to her last night from the safety of her doorway, and she’s excited about it, too.

And now that all of my chores are done, I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon in the woods.

There’s a hike I remember as a teenager that I want to do today. The trail isn’t too far from Xander’s house, just outside of Bitterroot Valley. I looked it up online last night to make sure it’s still there, and that it’s what I remember it being.

It’sbetter.

New trails have been added, and according to the photos posted on social media, it looks incredible.

I’m so excited to get outside and sweat a little on the trail.

I pull up to the trailhead and park. Although theparking lot isn’t completely packed, it’s also not empty, which makes me feel better.

I don’t want to hike in the woods alone.

There are animals out here. Mountain lions and bears. There are also men.

And yes, if I had to choose, I’d go with the bear.

I clip my bear spray to my backpack, change into my hiking shoes, tug my hat on my head and thread my ponytail through the back, then lock the car.

I dressed in layers because it’s still a bit cool, especially in the shade. But it’s spring in Montana, so it’ll warm up as the day progresses, and I’ll start to sweat.

I’ll stow my shell in my backpack when the time comes.

I pause to read the trail map sign, double-check where I want to go, then head off in that direction. I’ll gain about eight hundred feet in elevation today, but the reward of seeing the view of the lake and mountains will be so worth it.

It’s been dry enough that the trail doesn’t have much mud on it, and before long, I’m in thezone, enjoying the trees and the fresh pine-scented air. I love the way my lungs start to stretch and my muscles engage.

A family of deer crosses the path about a quarter of a mile from the trailhead, making me grin. The baby isso tiny, covered in white spots, and she watches me curiously. I stop and wait for them to go on by, not wanting to startle them.

I pass several couples and then a single man, whodoesn’t even give me a second look as he passes by, clearly zeroed in on his workout.

It feels good to be home. Better than I even thought it would when I made the decision to come back and take care of Greg. I think I avoided moving back for so long because I was ashamed that I got into that relationship with Nathan and ended up leaving with practically nothing to my name. And he was so unpredictable, I didn’t know if he’d follow me.

And if that was the case, I wasn’t going to lead himhere.

The traveling nurse position gave me the opportunity I needed to leave a bad relationship and work on myself before I was ready to come home to be with the people I love the most.

And the fact that I needed tohealfrom someone who was supposed to love me really pisses me off.