Page 12 of Wild About the Mountain Guide (Maplewood Springs #2)

Knox

One year later

The sun has barely crested the horizon as Peyton and I start up the familiar trail toward Mount Hartley. It’s been exactly one year since our first summit together, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate our anniversary than retracing our steps to the spot where everything changed.

Peyton moves with the confidence of someone who’s spent the past year exploring every trail within fifty miles of Maplewood Springs. She’s grown to love the outdoors as much as I do. I think she could probably guide this route herself now.

“Remember when you thought this trail was going to kill you?” I tease, watching her navigate a tricky section of loose scree like she’s been doing it her whole life.

“I remember thinking you were going to kill me when you made me cross that first stream,” she shoots back with a laugh. “What was I thinking, trusting some mountain man I’d just met?”

“Best decision you ever made?”

“Second best. The best was moving here to start my life with you.”

It still amazes me that she actually did it.

Three months after that retreat, Peyton packed up her life and moved to Maplewood Springs.

Her writer’s block vanished completely after our week in the mountains, and she wrote her new thriller in a creative frenzy that surprised even her.

The book released last month and is smashing record after record.

Peyton also insisted on helping Grandma and me, which meant we could finally afford all the pre-transplant testing and evaluations.

She got her new kidney four months ago, and she’s doing better than she has in years.

No more dialysis, no more exhaustion, and no more home nurse.

The anti-rejection medications are expensive, but manageable now.

Last week, she asked when I was bringing Peyton by for Sunday dinner again because she wanted to teach her how to make her famous apple pie.

“Are you nervous about Saturday’s party?” I ask, offering her my hand as we climb over a fallen log.

Her book release party is in three days, and half the town is planning to attend.

Even the original retreat group is flying in.

Harmony from her new crystal shop in Sedona, Christine from her yoga studio in Portland, Brandon from his tech job in Seattle, and Alex and Alexandra from their newlywed life in Denver.

It’ll be the first time we’ve all been together since that week that changed everything for me.

I’m super nervous about it. Not to see everyone again, but because I’m going to ask Peyton to marry me at the party.

“A little,” she admits. “It’s weird having everyone make such a fuss. I still feel like the same person who couldn’t get a word on paper last year.”

“You’re still the same person, Peyton, just wildly successful. You should be proud of yourself. I still can’t believe I’m dating the most famous person in Maplewood Springs,” I say.

“Didn’t that NFL player, Travis Steelbird, used to live here? He’s way more famous than me.”

I laugh. “ Used to being the key phrase. He moved away years ago, so you’re technically still our reigning celebrity.”

“Lucky me,” she says with mock seriousness. “Though Reese told me he still comes home for the holidays.”

“Yeah, his family’s still here. Mrs. Sheffield from the deli counter practically faints every time he visits. But that’s just a few weeks a year. The rest of the time, you’re our claim to fame.”

She laughs. “I better not let it go to my head.”

“Too late. I saw you signing autographs at Summit Sweets yesterday with a big smile on your face while I was ordering our cinnamon rolls.”

She blushes. “That was different. Those were tourists who recognized me from the book jacket photo.”

“I’m just messing with you, Peyton. You’re the most modest woman I know, but remember, it’s totally okay to show the world how amazing you are.”

“You always know exactly what to say,” she says with a grin.

We reach the alpine meadow below the summit, and I can’t help but think about what’s above us. The spot where everything changed between us, where Peyton threw herself into my arms without hesitation after conquering Mount Hartley, and gave me the best kiss of my entire life.

“What are you thinking about?” she asks.

“What happened up there last year,” I say, nodding toward the summit. “Our first kiss. Best moment of my life.”

“No regrets, right?”

“None,” I say immediately. “You?”

Instead of answering, she steps closer and kisses me, soft and sweet and full of love.

“No regrets,” she whispers against my lips.

We make the summit in record time and find a spot to catch our breath before we descend again.

“One year ago, you were convinced you were going to die on this mountain,” I remind her.

“That’s true.”

“And now?”

She looks around at the peaks stretching in every direction with a contented smile. “Now it feels like home. You feel like home too. I love you, Knox.”

“I love you, Peyton. More than you’ll ever know.”

She leans against me, and I wrap my arms around her.

Tomorrow we’ll hike back down to our real life, to her book deadlines and my guiding schedule and all the beautiful, ordinary moments that make up a life together.

But today, we’re back where it all started, celebrating our first year as a couple.

There isn’t a happier man alive than me.

Knox and Peyton were right: Travis Steelbird is coming home for the holidays! Find out how he finds his HEA in Touchdown Under the Mistletoe, book three in the Maplewood Springs series —or catch up on his and his family’s summer adventures in Her Maine Catch (When in Maine series) .