Page 17 of Close to Heaven

Does he ever say more than a few words at a time?

“How’s your dad doing?” he said.

She was both surprised and pleased that he’d asked.

“He seemed fine when I saw him this week. In fact, he tried to convince me to go back to Knoxville.”

“Your boyfriend would probably like that.”

His reference to Trevor gave her a jolt. Since they’d been hiking, she’d almost forgotten about him.

“That’s not going to happen, though, at least not yet.”

“Ready to get going again?”

“Yep.” She’d been enjoying the reprieve and the conversation, no matter how limited it had been, but she stood up.

Jax gave a loud whistle and Smoky immediately dashed to his side. Jax leashed him up, and they were off again.

While they walked, the sun began its descent, and she started to feel chilled. It was cooler at the higher elevation, and though she was wearing a sweatshirt and fleece jacket, the cold seeped through. If she were going to be here a while, she’d have to replenish her outdoor wardrobe, which was no tragedy since she loved to shop.

A while later, they came to a stream, and Jax stopped again. “Dinnertime,” he announced.

She laughed. “Are you going to catch fish for our dinner?”

“Nope. I have it all right here.” He patted his sturdy backpack, which he’d set on a rock. “Have a seat.”

She glanced down at the ground, which was covered with leaves, sticks, and who knew what else. “Here?”

“I couldn’t fit a table and chairs in my backpack, so yeah.”

She used the back of her hand to brush away some of the debris and then sat down. “No problem. These weren’t my favorite jeans anyway,” she teased.

He studiously ignored her while he took some plastic containers out of his pack. He even had a container of kibble for Smoky, which he opened first. He took out a small bowl, poured some of his water into it, and set it down with the dog’s food.

He’d obviously done this before, and she was impressed by his preparedness. She’d been in such a hurry to change and get to his cabin that she’d forgotten about dinner. Now she realized how hungry she was.

“I didn’t know what you like, so I brought turkey and cheese and ham and cheese sandwiches. Please don’t tell me you’re a vegetarian.”

She smiled. “I’m not, and I’ll take the ham and cheese.”

“Great,” he said and handed her a container.

She opened the lid and saw he’d even included a dill pickle, wrapped in wax paper so it wouldn’t make the sandwich soggy.

“Wow. You thought of everything.”

“Wait. There’s more.” He brought out individual packets of mustard and mayonnaise like you’d find at a fast food place.

She pointed at the mustard packet, and when he gave it to her, their fingers brushed. Warm, masculine, strong hands, she thought as she felt his touch like a bolt of electricity. He quickly pulled his hand away and went back to digging through his pack, but she was willing to bet he’d felt it too.

Next he brought out three bags of chips and dangled them in front of her. She snatched the bag of Cool Ranch Doritos out of his hand.

“Damn! I knew I should have brought two of those.”

She laughed and held the bag out to him. “You can have them since you did all this.”

He waved her away. “You go ahead. I’ll eat the Cheetos.”