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I reached across the car and took her hand in mine. We traveled several miles in comfortable silence, Rowan admiring the view as we drove to the trail head. I let go of her hand when I turned into the parking lot. It was filled with cars for the popularMcAffee Knob trail, which ran eight miles and, along with Dragon’s Tooth and Tinkers Cliffs, made up the Triple Crown. I was beginning to think we wouldn’t find a parking spot when a family emerged from the trailhead of the two-mile out-and-back hike I’d planned to make with Rowan. I pulled into the space they left behind at the edge of the lot.
Rowan was already out of her seat and at the back of the SUV before I’d finished placing the sunshade across the windshield.
I chuckled as I joined her and pulled out my pack. She practically climbed into the trunk for hers. “Let me help you. I want to lighten your pack as much as possible.”
Some of the excitement dimmed from her face. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
“Hey,” I said, laying my hands gently on her shoulders. “I wouldn’t have suggested this if I didn’t think you were strong enough. But there’s no sense carrying extra weight. I have plenty of room in my pack.”
She unzipped her pack and handed me a massive plastic bag of brownies. “I thought they’d be easier to eat on a picnic than cupcakes or monkey bread.”
“These look amazing.” I opened my pack and put the bag on top of the lunch I’d made, then held out my hand for more. She sighed and handed me her large aluminum water bottle. “Anything else?”
She shook her head. I frowned and lifted her pack but found it surprisingly light.
“Satisfied, doctor?”
“Never.” I gave her a wolfish grin and she laughed.
“Come on,” she said, gripping my arm. “The sun’s only getting hotter.”
It was much cooler than last week, but still, I was thankful for the shade cover as we started out. Sawtooth Ridge was a sliver of the Appalachian trail that ran from Maine to Georgia. Thisportion of the trail hugged the ridgeline and mountain edge, with only a 417-foot rise in elevation. Still, it offered fantastic views of the valley below. We stopped after a quarter mile to drink from our water bottles and admire the view. I’d watched Rowan carefully for any signs of discomfort, but the smile never left her face.
“I missed this so much,” she said, twisting the cap back on her bottle and handing it to me. I’d thought we’d share my water, but with the heat, I was glad to have my own.
“Do you hike often?” she asked.
I nodded. “Theo, Aiden, and I got into it during the pandemic.”
“I have to get Poppy and Chris back out here with me,” she said. “They haven’t even let me make the short hike to see the waterfall by town. They’ll be easier to convince if you wrote a note. Preferably on letterhead.”
I laughed as she swung her pack onto her back. When the trail narrowed, I walked behind her and studied her gait again. She moved slower than someone of her age and fitness level, but her steps were much more fluid than they’d been in our first session. Before long I stopped focusing on her footfalls and found myself staring at her perfect ass. If Adam weren’t on my case, I’d probably suggest Rowan switch to another PT since I clearly couldn’t tamp down my attraction when I observed her.
The trail opened to a large rock scramble, which Rowan eyed with interest. I could picture her hopping from boulder to boulder as she worked her way to the top.
“Don’t even think about it,” I said, guiding her to a flat rock with views of Brushy Mountain. I opened my pack and took out the water bottles. We both drank deeply before she helped me spread out the blanket I’d brought on the boulder.
Once we were sitting, I pulled out the soft cooler from inside my pack and laid out the sandwich wraps and fruit salad I’d made as well as the brownies. “I realized this morning I shouldhave asked what you liked, so there’s a turkey, a ham, and a veggie wrap. Take whichever you want. There’s hummus on the veggie wrap, mustard on the ham, and mayo on the turkey. Now that I think about it, there’s a good chance you don’t like any of those combinations. I should have left them plain.”
She smiled. “You don’t do this often do you?”
“Picnics?”
She shook her head. “Dates.”
“Is it that obvious?”
She laughed. “No, not if I didn’t know you. It’s just you always seem so confident and in control. It’s like you’ve thought everything out five steps ahead, but you forgot to include another person in your plans.”
“Guilty,” I said, taking the ham sandwich after she grabbed the turkey. “You’re right. I don’t date. I just—.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Keep things casual.”
“Exactly,” I said, taking a bite of my sandwich.
But this was a date. I’d said so yesterday, yet the knot in my stomach that usually formed whenever the word snuck into a conversation with a woman never came. I might have eaten a few meals with Avery, but I never planned something just to spend time talking with her. I’d tried not to give her the wrong idea about our arrangement—and utterly failed. Rowan was different. Our end was built into our beginning. She’d be leaving Peace Falls and me soon enough, and I planned to enjoy whatever time I had with her.
I finished my sandwich and polished off the veggie wrap as well. Then we shared the fruit and opened the brownies, the rich chocolate finally filling my stomach.
