Charming Hannah (Big Sky #1)(14)

He’s not wearing sleeves. So, his muscles are just hanging out all over the place. And dear God, the muscles! He could probably just lift me over his head.

It’s almost ridiculous.

“Hi,” he says with a grin and holds a to-go cup from Sips out for me. “This is for you.”

“Oh, thanks.” I take a sip and feel my eyes go wide. “This is exactly the drink I always order.”

“I know,” he says with a grin. “I asked them to make your usual.”

“Are you real?”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, you have the sweetest dog ever, you bring me coffee, and have you seen you?”

He laughs now and leans in to kiss my forehead. “You look tired.”

“I didn’t sleep much.”

“We don’t have to go.”

“Oh yes we do,” I reply and back away from him before I humiliate myself and jump him here in my living room. “I have to go.”

“Why?”

I just shake my head and grab my backpack. I have fresh water in the bladder, a few packs of jerky and nuts, and my bear spray, which I check twice.

“You probably won’t need the spray.”

“We have the highest concentration of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states,” I inform him and feel my heart already pick up speed at the thought. “I need the spray.”

“I just mean that I’m always carrying, so if something happens, we’ll be safe.”

I stop and glance at him. “You always carry a gun?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Why?”

“I’m the police chief. You never know what might happen.”

“Huh.” I shrug, but keep the bear spray where it is, reach for my coffee, and lead Brad out of my house. “You brought her!”

I hurry to the truck, toss my bag in the back seat, and hug the beautiful Sadie.

“She got a warmer hello than I did,” he says when he gets into the truck and starts the engine.

“We’re friends,” I inform him and kiss Sadie’s cheek. She’s grinning.

“You and I aren’t friends?”

“Are you really jealous of your dog?”

“Never thought I would be,” he mumbles and pulls away from my house, making me smile.

“Thank you for the coffee.” I reach out and touch his thigh, feeling the way his muscles tighten up at my touch. I’m relieved that it’s not just me. That I’m not the only one who tenses up when we’re together.

The things this man does to my body are ridiculous, considering we’ve never been naked together.

“When was the last time you did this hike?” he asks me.

“Last fall,” I reply. “You?”

“Oh geez, it’s been a long time. I was probably in high school.”

“Cool.” I grin at him and sip my coffee. “It’ll be new for you then.”

We’re soon parked near the bottom of the chair lift. There’s a whole village up here of uber-expensive homes, condos, and the ski village itself with a lodge and small convenience store. Almost everything has begun to open up again for the summer tourist season, when people will come up here to hike, bike, zip line, and a whole bunch of other outdoor activities. But it’s still early in the season.

That doesn’t mean the trail isn’t busy. The locals love the outdoors, too, so we won’t be alone on the trail, which makes me feel better.

The more people there are, the fewer the bears.

Once we have our backpacks on and Sadie is on her leash, we set off to the trail head, which is just about a hundred yards from the chair lift. It’s not an easy climb. Four miles of walking steadily uphill is strenuous, but it’s also incredibly beautiful.

We climb out of some trees and onto one of the ski runs, currently covered in grass and flowers, and take a moment to look down onto the valley below.

“Holy shit,” Brad murmurs. We stand side by side and take it all in. We can see about fifty miles south, over three different towns. And to the west is Glacier National Park, which we’ll be able to see even better from the top.

“It’s stunning, isn’t it?”

“That’s a good word for it,” he replies, looking down at me. “How did I forget about this?”

“I think we often take what’s in our backyard for granted,” I reply as we begin to walk on the trail again. We walk over a log bridge that covers a rushing creek, the water high with snow run-off.

My heart is beating at a ludicrous pace. It’s dumb, I’m not going to die on this mountain, but I can’t help it. I’m terrified.

“How are you doing?” Brad asks.

“I’m fine,” I reply. The hike isn’t taxing me at all. I reach down and feel the bear spray on my hip, which makes me feel a bit better.

“That’s the fourth time you’ve reached for that bear spray, and we’re not even a mile up yet.”

“It’s habit,” I say. “You know, you don’t have to follow me. I can walk behind you.”

“Not a chance,” he says and I roll my eyes so he can’t see.

“Are you trying to be chivalrous?”

“I’m learning you,” he replies. “Tell me about this bear phobia.”