Page 30 of All Autumn
“I don’t remember if I thanked you, but Beau was the best present ever.” I loved that dog like nobody’s business. I’m not sure what I would have done without him this past year.
Connor glanced up, giving me a smile that curled my toes. “You’re welcome.” His gaze returned to my dog. “Ready to go for a ride, Beauregard?”
Beau barked as he scrambled to his feet and raced for the door. We loaded him and my backpack into Connor’s Jeep. It was a gorgeous day, and he had the canvas top and the side doors off. It had been our tradition when going hiking to tune the radio to a country station—because those were the best songs to sing along with—and turn up the volume. Connor hadn’t forgotten that, and I smiled at him. He smiled back, making my stomach fluttery.
Between the music we had blaring and the wind, it was impossible to talk. Like we had in the past, we sang along with the songs at the top of our lungs. Neither one of us could carry a tune, but we’d never cared about that. Whenever we hit a high note, Beau would howl, singing right along with us. And each time he did that, Connor and I would look at each other and laugh.
Something warm and contented settled in my soul, something I’d been missing lately. The past year had been hard, and I needed a day like this. One straight out of a country song—the warm sun on my face, a hot-as-hell man I was having fantasies about, and my dog. It didn’t get better than that.
I hadn’t asked where we were going, but as we turned onto Highway 64, heading toward Cashiers, I knew he was going to Silver Run Falls, one of my favorite hikes. I smiled, realizing Connor hadn’t forgotten that. The bottom of the falls was an easy hike with a calm, cold pool to swim in. Getting to the upper falls was a steep and hard hike, and we always enjoyed a refreshing swim in the pool when we came back down.
Connor parked the Jeep, and we hefted our backpacks. “Ready for some fun, Beauregard?” He hooked Beau’s leash onto his collar.
Beau jumped out of the Jeep, barking his excitement. We easily reached the bottom falls, and Connor let Beau wade into the water. It wasn’t summer yet, and there were only a few tourists taking selfies in front of the falls. When the weather turned hot and school was out, the pool would be crowded with kids.
Like most Labradors my dog loved water and was happily splashing and playing. “A dog’s life,” Connor said, a smile on his face as he watched Beau.
“Yeah, it’s a tough one,” I answered, watching Connor. The first time I’d met him and Adam, they both had been missing their two front teeth. I could even remember the cowlicks that caused their black hair to stick straight up. It was kind of funny to find myself attracted to a man I’d known as a boy who liked to throw spit wads at me because he knew it would make me giggle.
His front teeth had grown in, his cowlick had been tamed, and instead of getting spit wads from the boy, I was getting toe-curling kisses from the man. Who would’ve thought it? He glanced at me, caught me staring at him, and winked. Well, just melt me into a puddle at his feet.
Before I tackled Connor to the ground and had my way with him, I elbowed him in the ribs, getting an, “Oof.”
“Last one up is a rotten egg.” I took off, leaving him to get Beau out of the water.
“Not fair,” he called after me.
I laughed, feeling freer than I had in a long time.
16
~ Connor ~
“Come on, Beau, my man. We can’t let a girl beat us to the top.” The dog looked up at me as if to say,But, dude, water.Dumb dog. I tugged on his leash, and he grudgingly trotted up to me. He came to a halt at my feet and then shook his body hard, spraying me with icy water.
“Not cool, Beauregard,” I muttered. He grinned back at me.
I headed up the mountain behind Autumn. Actually, being behind her wasn’t such a bad thing after all. It allowed me a spectacular view of her ass and her legs as she climbed ahead of me. Who knew the skinny, gap-toothed girl I’d known for what seemed like forever would grow up to make me want to grab ahold of her ankles and drop her right here on the trail and kiss her senseless, among other things? She’d worn braces in the tenth grade that had vanished the little gap between her front teeth, and that was too bad. I’d liked that little imperfection.
The trail up grew steeper and more slippery as we neared the top, and I concentrated on not tumbling down and cracking my head open. Beau had no problem climbing up, and although it might mean turning in my man card, I let him pull me up with him. Autumn, meanwhile, was scampering ahead like a freaking monkey.
BB—Before Brian—we used to go hiking two or three times a month, Autumn and me. I’d stopped going when Autumn wouldn’t come with me because Brian objected. I’d missed it and her. I just hadn’t realized how much until now.
We reached the top, and at least Autumn was breathing as hard as me, so I didn’t feel like a total wuss. But it was the light in her eyes and the big grin on her face that drew me to her.
“Having fun?”
She nodded. “I’ve missed this.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” We were alone at the top of Silver Run Falls, so I took advantage of that to kiss her. I could become addicted to kissing Autumn. She let out a sigh when our tongues met, and that little sound went straight to my groin. But we were on a trail where anyone could walk up, so before I did what I wanted and took her right here under a blue sky, I pulled away.
I looked around us. “I’d forgotten how beautiful it was up here.”
“Huh?”
