Page 31 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

Mimi

So you’re feeling better then?

Yup. Thank you so much for the soup.

Thanks to her sister Door Dashing tortilla soup and Logan bringing soup, River had enough of the stuff to last her all week. She wasn’t going to tell her sister this detail, as she wasn’t sure how much she wanted Mimi to know.

Logan was a funny guy. He put up this big gruff front like he hated everything, but she knew this couldn’t be true. If it was, he wouldn’t have shown up with a bag of groceries, medicine, and a box of real Kleenex . . . something her family never purchased because toilet paper worked just as well. It was embarrassing how blubbery she got over the kind gesture and even more so when she realized she had his picture posted right in the middle of her refrigerator. The image had made her laugh, but he’d most likely think his neighbor was a weird creep who had a thing for shirtless firefighters. And perhaps she did—at least in this one particular case.

Either way, as close as she was to her sister, she wasn’t ready to talk about it.

Mimi

I hope you’re taking it easy. I know you don’t like being cooped up, but I don’t want you to push yourself too hard.

Don’t worry. I’m doing okay.

For the most part, she was feeling good, and she wanted to go on a hike with Logan.

There was a forceful knock at her door as she was tying her shoes. That had to be him ready for their trip to Lake Aloha. They seemed to have turned a corner, and maybe, possibly, she could claim him as a friend. This development made her smile as she opened the door.

Logan, appearing as grumpy as ever, shoved an item into her chest. “Let’s get going. I don’t want to be out all day.” He then stomped down the stairs without so much as a hello.

“Good morning to you too!” she replied brightly only to be ignored. Good gravy—what porcupine decided to shove its way up Logan’s butt? Okay, so maybe they hadn’t turned as dramatic of a corner as she had hoped. This wasn’t how she wanted their excursion to start, and she was hoping this was just a case of him not being much of a morning person.

She inspected the item in her arms. It was a sage green daypack with orange trim. There was a patch in the center—a sleeping red fox. She lightly drew her fingers over it. He’d bought her a backpack so she could use it on hikes instead of a tote bag.

It was confusing how he could do something sweet and yet seem angry about it. Logan was an infuriatingly confounding man.

“You got me a backpack,” she said after making her way to the parking lot, where he was throwing his bag into the backseat. “I love it.”

Logan didn’t even glance in her direction. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Can I give you a hug?” He was so prickly it might give them a nice restart.

“It’s just a silly backpack. I don’t need a hug,” Logan growled.

River had been here before with animals, usually when they were injured. There was nothing visually to indicate Logan was physically hurt, but that didn’t mean anything. She knew it was better not to push or River could get bit.

Instead, she held the backpack to her chest. “We don’t have to go out today if you don’t want to.” Yeah, it would be disappointing but better to give the guy an out. She didn’t want to force anyone into doing a favor for her.

His gaze met hers, and there was something stormy in his gray eyes that she couldn’t quite decipher. “We don’t have to go,” she said once more. If he wanted to spend the day stewing in his place, that was fine with her, and she’d go do her own thing. River had purchased herself a trail guide, and even if she didn’t have the confidence to go off-path, she could have fun doing her own exploring.

He blinked, his brow softening. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. We can do it another time.” Should she return the backpack? It felt expensive, and he seemed annoyed at having given it to her.

“No, I . . . I mean, we can go hiking. I just have been having a bad day. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” She could see he looked miserable and understood it had nothing to do with her, but he also appeared ashamed of his behavior, his eyes downcast.

“Okay.” River took a breath before saying, “Put out your hand like this.” She demonstrated by placing her hand in front of her, palm side up.

“Why?”

“Because I’m asking you too.”