Page 80 of Shared By the Mountain Men

The longer I considered that, the more I liked the idea. Maybe I could convince Noah to let me crash at his place, so I wouldn’t need to inconvenience Jack any more. And that would give me some more time to have fun with my two new lovers.

Yeah. That sounded great.

I had just gotten a pair of sweat pants on when a knock came at the door. When I opened it, Jack was standing on the porch in jeans, a flannel shirt, and sturdy boots.

“Get dressed,” he commanded. “We’re going on a hike.”

34

Jack

She was lingering.

I wasn’t sure what I expected when I let her stay in one of my cabins. I knew it would take some time for her ankle to heal, and it had only been a week. But she didn’t show any interest in leaving, or evenpreparingto leave. She was hanging around all day, getting cozy with Noah. That was a man who fell for womenhard, and she was toying with his emotions. She was going to break his heart, and the longer she remained, the worse it would hurt when she eventually left.

Not to mention I’d seen Ash looking at her. And lending her his bike? His favorite mountain bike, the one he took on RAGBRAI with him every year?

Then there were my own feelings. Whenever she was walking around the campsite, I found my gaze drawn to her like a moth to flame. I couldn’t focus when she was around. And the dreams I’d been having…

Yeah. She needed to go.

Even if she needed a little push.

“Get dressed,” I told her after she’d returned from Noah’s place. She’d spent the night. Again. “We’re going on a hike.”

She blinked those long eyelashes at me. “We are?”

“Three miles round trip. Easy. Make sure to wear your good hiking boots.”

She crossed her arms under her breasts. “Just because you’re letting me use this cabin doesn’t mean you get to bark orders at me.”

I clenched my jaw. She was still as stubborn as an old mule. “I’m going up to Snodgrass trail. It’ll take two hours, max. You don’t have to come with me, but youshould, because it’ll be a good low-risk way to test your ankle.”

I half expected her to protest some more just to be difficult, but she surprised me by saying, “Okay, yeah. Give me a few minutes to change.”

She slammed the door in my face, but I still considered it a win.

The trailhead was up above town, beyond the ski resort. I had a full-length ax in a leather sling that strapped to my back, plus a smaller hatchet that slid into a loop on my belt.

“You look like you’re going to battle,” she teased.

“There’s debris from the storm the other night. Gonna clear it as best as I can. Ready?”

She tapped her GPS watch, which made a beeping noise. “Ready.”

I glanced over at her as we began hiking. “You’re tracking this hike?”

“Yep! If it’s not on Strava, it doesn’t count.”

“What’s Strava?”

She gave me a confused look. “You haven’t heard of Strava? Really?”

“Are you going to keep judging me, or explain what the hell that is?”

“It’s a social media platform, but for exercise,” she replied. “It started as a cycling app, but then runners began using it, then hikers, and now it’s good for tracking any workout. You should download it.”

“I have enough apps in my life,” I grumbled. “You should be able to go for a leisurely hike without having to post about it.”

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