Page 105 of Shared By the Mountain Men

“Okay, the vibe is nowfirmlykidnappy.”

“Don’t care,” Ash rumbled. “Get in the Jeep.”

“No!” I shouted. “I’m not going back! I need to leave, to return to the right path. The one I never should have left. All of this…” I gestured at the Jeep in the middle of the road, “…is only making me more certain of that decision!”

A car slowed down behind us and then politely honked. Ash walked toward them and pointed, shouting, “Fuckallthe way off!”

“We’re not taking you back to Crested Butte,” Noah said calmly. “If you’re going to resume your hike, then you deserve to be driven by friends. Not a stranger in a taxi.”

Out of all the things I expected them to say to me, that was at the bottom of the list. “Oh.”

I got in the back seat of the Jeep with Noah, and we resumed the trip. After the scene we’d caused on the road with all the honking and shouting, the ride was weirdly quiet.

“Did you come straight from the clinic?” I asked Noah.

“This was important,” he replied.

“We’re not here to guilt trip you,” Ash said over his shoulder from the front. “I get it. You probably felt trapped. Like you had to run before you were stuck there forever.”

“Actually, yeah,” I said. “How’d you know?”

His dark eyes met mine. “Same feeling I have every damn day.”

I nodded. That tracked, especially considering how afraid he was to put down roots.

We drove in silence for a little while. I didn’t want to break the silence. Even if I did, I wasn’t sure what to say.

“I fucked up,” Jack finally said, glancing at me in the rear-view mirror. “I moved too fast. Freaked you out. I kind of freaked myself out, if I’m being honest.”

“That’s Jackie,” Noah said. “Always trying to pick up strays. Like those cats he pretends not to like.”

Jack made a disgusted noise. “Seriously? Does everyone know about the cats?”

Ash looked over at him, deadly serious. “You’re only embarrassing yourself.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Jack muttered.

“Jack fucked up,” Noah said. “But maybe it was for the best. It helped remind you of what you’re trying to do out here in Colorado.”

I didn’t respond. His comment was surprisingly on the nose.

“And we’re not going to give you some huge profession of love,” Noah went on.

“Fuck no,” Ash grumbled.

“But Idowant to say that I like you, Melissa. You’re pretty great. So when you finish your hike…”

“IfI finish it,” I murmured.

“Whenyou finish it,” Noah reiterated, “we’d love for you to come back to Crested Butte to celebrate the accomplishment. For a few days, or a week, or however long you want.”

“That’s what I meant to say earlier today,” Jack said. “What Ishouldhave said.”

I smiled at him in the mirror.

“You don’t have to decide right now,” Noah added. “You’ve got some time to think about it. But I hope youdothink about it.”

“Crested Butte is beautiful in the late summer, before it getsreallycold,” Jack said awkwardly. I could tell this was hard for him.

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