Page 11 of Paging Doctor Grump

“You’ll have to work together to plan a route. Roundtrip, the route should only take you three hours. You and your partner are going to plan the trip on the route cards that Fletcher is passing around. You will then give them to Dani before you and your partner head out on that route.”

Jessie sighs and moves closer to me as soon as Fletcher hands me the trail card. She doesn’t say anything as she takes a seat on the stump beside me and sets her backpack on the ground.

“Your boot is untied,” I say, glancing down at the beige hiking boots she’s wearing. “How do you want to tackle planning the route?”

Her cheeks burn a bright pink as she leans down and ties up her boot. She crosses one leg over the other and opens up the map.

“Do you have much experience doing any of this?” I ask as I take a look at the map, trying to figure out the hike with the best views. If we have to spend three hours together, we may as well have a good time.

“Not really. I skate and run. I don’t like hiking much.” She sighs and pushes her hair behind one ear.

For a moment, I consider what it would be like to comb my fingers through those soft strands again. To hold that hair in my hand while I pull her head back and kiss her neck until she’s writhing beneath me.

“Do you hike?” she asks.

I’m shell-shocked. It’s the first almost-nice thing she’s said to me. It’s said in the same cool, professional tone she uses at work, though I guess that’s better than outright hatred.

“Yeah. I prefer rock climbing or mountain biking, but I do love hiking too.”

“And you found time to do that with med school?” Her tone is vaguely curious, but I can hear the judgment there as well.

She’s just like everyone else in that regard. For the past week, she’s only seen me as an extension of my father’s money. She doesn’t seem interested in getting to know the real me.

I don’t know if I want her to.

That’s a lie.

Five years have changed Jessie, but every now and then I see glimpses of the woman I spent an entire night with. When she thinks I’m not looking, I see the kind and caring woman who opened up to a man who was nearly a stranger to her.

“Not a whole lot,” I say, gently taking the map from her to get a better look at it. She doesn’t put up a fight, but I doubt that will last for long. Jessie isn’t the kind of woman to take a back seat to anybody.

It’s what I like about her. I’ve watched her make grown men nearly shit themselves in the last week. Their faces drain of color once they realize that she isn’t going to tolerate any of their bullshit.

“I wish I had more time to go skating. It’s been a long time. I manage to get in a lot of running though.”

“Oh?” I don’t want to risk saying more in case she starts to close herself off from me again.

“Yeah. I try to run before work most days. On the really rough days I go running after work.” She picks at a loose thread on her puffy vest.

My mouth drops open slightly. “It’s midnight when we’ve been getting off shift for the last few days. Are you going out in the middle of the night and running alone? You know it’s not exactly safe, right?”

Jessie shrugs, looking off into the distance. “Sometimes it’s the only thing that can quiet my mind. Between the residency and the other shit going on in my life, there’s a lot going on up there.”

I still don’t like the idea of her running alone at night, but it’s not my place to say anything about it. Hopefully she has someone in her life looking out for her. I finish filling out the route card before showing it to her.

“I think this will be the best route and give us the best view while we walk. It should take just under three hours at a beginner’s pace.”

She scowls at me, and I can see the argument on the tip of her tongue. Jessie has fire burning in her eyes, but instead of arguing, she just nods. I get up and give our route card to Dani before returning to Jessie.

“You ready to go?” I ask as I tighten the straps of my backpack and take another look at the map. I’ve drawn our route on there too.

Jessie takes the map from me and nods. “Let’s get going. The sooner we’re out of the damn woods, the better.”

We approach the edge of the woods and I see the hesitancy in her eyes. She stands a little straighter as she glances back over her shoulder at the Barn before taking the first step into the woods.

“We’re lost,” Jessie says, turning the map upside down and trying to figure out where we are. “I thought we would have a good hike if we followed your path?”

“We are going to have a good hike.” I grit my teeth and take the map from her. “Look. We’re right here. This river is running on our left side right now. As long as we keep to the left of it, then everything should be fine.”

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