Page 134 of Broken Dreams

All thoughts of him fall away as Callum grabs my hand to pull me closer, and Duncan throws his arm around Linus. The gun case is in Duncan’s other hand, which means they’re going to put us to work with target practice. I can’t say I’m unhappy or disappointed by it, because I can’t imagine a prettier place for it.

I’m not finding the need to speak much, and the guys happily walk in silence with me, only stopping to point out a beautiful tree or flowers. I don’t think I could have ever imagined a better date than this. My guys and nature, it’s perfect.

I realize how not in shape I am as we hit a sharp incline, and my thighs begin to burn. Linus just smirks at me because there are different muscles being used right now. He’s been going for runs with the guys, while I would much rather dance than do that.

Oh my sweet baby Jesus, I’m going to need a bubble bath, candles, and maybe some chocolate after this.

“How are you doing there, Quinn,” Linus teases me, snorting out a laugh when I snarl at him.

“What’s wrong?” Duncan asks, glancing at me. “You’re all flushed.”

“Inclines suck is all,”I tell him in my mind.

Chuckling, he hands the gun case to Linus and moves in front of me.

“Jump aboard, princess,” he says, hunching down. “I know you can get up here.”

Biting my lip, I let go of Callum’s hand to step back. Shaking his head, Callum puts his finger to his lips before dropping to a knee and holding up his linked hands to give me a boost.

Princess treatment indeed.

Placing my foot on his hands, I gasp as he launches me onto his brother’s back. My arms and legs wrap around him like a spider monkey, and Duncan shifts me so that I’m his own personal backpack.

“Well, that’s one way to go up the cliff,” Linus teases me.

I stick my tongue out at him, while he rolls his eyes. This is fun and easy. There’s no hurry to get anywhere, Mom can get ahold of us if needed, and I saw water in Callum’s backpack. I have everything I should ever want.

So for now, I won’t dare wish for more.

Finally, the top of the cliff emerges, the trees appearing to cling to the edge of it. Duncan continues to carry me, so I rest my chin on his shoulder and gaze out at everything. There’s miles of water as far as I can see, along with rock formations that appear as if a huge child left them there when they were done playing.

“I can’t believe this is so close to where we live,” Linus whispers. “It’s like our own paradise.”

“That it is,” Callum agrees. “Sometimes it's nice to simply leave everything stressful behind and just be.”

I couldn’t agree more.

There’s happiness to be found in so many things. I don’t have to try as hard to find it anymore.

I want to preserve it forever.

“I want a picture of us,”I tell Duncan and Callum through the bond. Just because their phones won’t work here, doesn’t mean one of them doesn’t have it. “Can we take one?”

“Yeah,” Callum says. “Linus, Quinnie wants a photo. Duncan, don’t drop her off the cliff when you turn with her, yeah?”

His brother rolls his eyes at him, but I notice the way he hitches me higher on his back before turning to face away from the view. Callum pulls out his phone and crowds in with Linus, making sure we’re all smiling before he snaps a few photos.

“Good call, baby,” Linus says with a grin as he checks them out. “I can’t remember the last time I did something like this.”

We both find ourselves saying or thinking that, because it’s true. The things that everyone else takes for granted were ripped away from us.

“Water break, and then we’re going to do some target practice,” Duncan says, taking a few steps away from the cliff edge before letting me slide down his back.

It’s becoming hotter now that the sun is higher in the sky, so we make sure to hydrate before Callum opens his backpack to line up targets at different heights. There are cans, bottles, and even little cloth dolls that he hangs from the branches of trees.

Those dolls are creepy. You’re going down.

LINUS

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