Page 106 of Lady and the Camp
I clenched his hands, my emotions a mess. No, not a mess. Ajoyof confusion.
“All of that to say, a dream job doesn’t matter if I can’t see you again,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I want to go on a journey with you, Hudson, wherever that may lead.”
He’d detoured his dream for me. No, he named me aspartof the dream. How was it possible? “I left so you could pursue your passions without any strings.”
He slid a finger beneath the thin spaghetti strap at my shoulder. “Turns out, I like your strings.”
Lucas—bringing the flirt! I couldn’t help grinning at the attention. “I don’t want you abandoning your longtime goal for me. I can’t survive in the woods, Lucas. I can’t even pilot a canoe.”
“Canoes don’t need pilots and you don’t need to survive in the woods. I promise, if we ever do an overnight hike, we’ll book a yurt.”
“A yurt?”
“It’s like a tent with more structure, insulated, and in a cute round shape.”
“Ooh, that sounds intriguing.” A car honked nearby and I blinked to reality. “Hold up. Marcy…so she’s not coming. You twoconspiredagainst me!”
“Conspiredfor you. By now, you should know she’s crafty.”
And not the kind of crafty with yarn. “So, how does this work? You’re riding with me? Across two thousand miles?”
He hesitated. “If you’ll have me.”
I was speechless.
“It’s a big ask, I know,” he went on. “No pressure with me standing here having flown on a one-way ticket.” He winced through a nervous laugh. “Plan B is I can book a flight home. Marcy’s on stand-by to fly out if you want to stick to your original plan. Or you fly back and I drive your car to Michigan. We have options.”
“No,” I said quickly and with confidence. I reached for his chest, to his well-worn T-shirt. “Stay.”
His steady gaze never left mine. “But you’re leaving.”
A welcome flush went through me. “Want to come?”
He pulled me the rest of the way to him, grazing his hands along my shoulders. I slid a hand into his hair and joined my lips to his.
His kiss was familiar and new at once. Exciting and filled with possibility.
I pulled back. “We haven’t known each other long.”
“Crazy how it feels like longer.” He brushed a strand of hair from my face and all noise around us dulled. “I can’t promise I know what the future holds, but I know I want to experience it with you.”
I reached for him again. He kissed me with a fierceness, as if he poured his intentions and hopes into each breath against my lips.
This was wild. This idea of us venturing across the country together. Wild and exhilarating. I felt the most excited I’d been maybe ever.
This excitement was no mere hit of dopamine. I didn’t care about posting an update to prove my worth. This energy came from hope. From possibility. This next chapter offered plenty of adventure with an open road to make my mark on the world.
And my mountain man would be right beside me.
Epilogue
Hudson
SixWeeksLater
“So you spent your first date on a cross country road trip?” The older woman’s eyes bugged out, looking between me and Lucas.
“Our first official date,” I corrected. Technically, the road trip itself served as one big mega date. Talk about total immersion. “We’d known each other for a few weeks by then. We lived at the same camp together.”
