Page 42 of Love on the Run

“You can take me back to Dr. Murphy if it does.”

“He’d have my head,” Jake muttered.

Callie was determined to brave the trail and not to show any pain if it got bad. The path was narrow, cutting through a short, scrubby forest of trees, always climbing higher. She managed pretty well for the first part, but her leg did start to ache when the trail steepened. In fact, even if she were perfectly healthy, this high mountain air would have worn her out. Still, she thought she was hiding the effect the hike was having on her, until she stumbled on a loose root, and gasped in pain.

Jake, who was slightly ahead of her on the trail, turned around and instantly helped her up. Callie grasped his hands, and was surprised again by how strong he was.

“Are you alright? I shouldn’t have taken you here,” he berated himself.

“No, it’s okay, really.” Callie took a step on her weak leg and winced a little.

“We’ll go back,” Jake said, seeing her reaction. He put his arm around her waist to guide her back down.

“No, I want to keep going. Is it much further?”

“We’re almost there,” he admitted.

At Callie’s insistence, they continued up the path. Jake kept his arm around her, though, unwilling to let her go.

Callie found his proximity distracting, a sort of pleasant buzz she couldn’t shake. But then, all of a sudden, the stunted trees gave way to a broad rocky shelf, and she gaped at the view. “Oh, wow.”

“Nice, huh?” Jake was looking at her, however, not the view itself. He wanted to see her reaction to the panorama.

The trail had led up the side of a mountain on the edge of a small range, and this spot looked out over a river valley and beyond to yet another range of hills to the west. The sun illuminated everything below them, even catching the faint glint of the river far below.

“This was totally worth it,” Callie breathed. “You call this nice?”

“It’s one of my favorite spots around here.”

“I can see why. It’s so beautiful.”

He pointed to a far, far distant object. “That’s the house.”

“Where?” Callie tried to follow his gesture. “I can’t see it.” She had to step practically into his arms to match the angle of his gaze, and the rush of dizziness she suddenly experienced didn’t have anything to do with the height.

“Should have brought the binoculars, I guess. It is there, and there’s Hazelton.” If he had a similar reaction, he hid it well.

“Okay, I see that. But it’s mostly wild.”

“Just the way it should be.”

Callie lowered herself to the ground, letting her right leg lay straight out. Jake joined her, looking at her in concern.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course. I just need to catch my breath.”

Jake handed her a water bottle from the backpack he’d been carrying, and Callie took a big gulp. When she handed it back, their fingers touched briefly, and she got a little shock.

Jake swallowed. He’d felt it too, but he covered it by taking a drink. “So you like the view?”

“I can’t understand why you left.”

“It’s a long story. Well, that’s not true. It’s not a long story. I just don’t like telling it.”

“I didn’t mean to pry,” Callie said quickly.

“No, it’s okay. You told me your story. It’s only fair you hear mine.”

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