This time she led, with Frank following closely behind. They talked a bit and enjoyed silence the rest of the time. By the end of their second leg, she was definitely feeling the hike in her thighs.
Frank gestured to a thick log. “Let’s sit and we can have our lunch here,” he said.
She wiggled her wildflowers at him. “But what about my friends here?”
He took them from her and slid them through the loop on his water bottle lid. “There.”
“Nicely done.”
The lunch was thick sandwiches, still cool from the included ice packs. Ham, cheese, tomato, and lettuce. There were also apples and a brownie for each of them, so she gave her second sandwich half to Frank. “You might need this more than me.”
He pulled a knife from the side of his bag and carefully cut it in half. “How about we share it?”
She beamed at him. “Hiking with you is fun.”
They took their time eating. She finished first, and Frank handed her the map so she could decide how much further they would go before turning around.
It looked like the trail opened up not that much further, and when she looked ahead, she thought she could see it through the trees. She pointed to a detail line on the map. “What’s that?”
“A ridge. There’s a plateau…” Frank leaned against her as he pointed.
She thought about burying her face in the warm skin of his neck, but they hadn’t been that physical today. She settled for relaxing into his side. “How much further is it?”
“Probably another ten minutes of climbing.”
“Then let’s do it!” She jostled him, and he chuckled. “We can race.”
“You got it.”
* * *
Frank hungback as Grace picked up the pace. He let her pull ahead. He liked to watch her move, and it wouldn’t take long for her to slow down again. She hadn’t been trained to keep a steady pace. Hadn’t had the fun trained out of her. And that was just it—hiking with her was fun, just as she’d said. But it was her doing, not his. And just when he thought he might ask if she was tired, she’d speed up again. Bursts of speed, bursts of energy, always keeping him wondering.
It was her youthful energy that made it fun. Same as she had with kayaking, too.
They reached the plateau almost at the same time, and in front of them stretched a meadow full of the same flowers she’d picked in the small clearing.
This time, he did the picking, gathering her a big bouquet to add to the small bundle she’d carried up with her.
“I love them,” she said as she turned in a slow circle. When she stopped in front of him again, he took her in his arms.
She pushed up on her toes and they kissed. Not just once, but over and over again, until every muscle in his body was tense and ready to do more than just kiss.
He moved his mouth to her neck, then up to discover the soft spot behind her ear. Finally, he brushed a loose strand of hair off her cheek, tucking it behind her hair. “You’re a bit of a wildflower yourself, aren’t you?”
“How do you figure?”
“Beautiful, untamed, unexpected.”
“Often mistaken for a weed?” Her eyes danced, but he heard the silent caution.Don’t try to be sweet. I don’t like sweet.
“And only romantic from a distance,” he retorted drily. She laughed out loud at that, and he kissed her neck again, this time noisily. Not romantic. Just fun.
He could stick to fun for her. That wouldn’t be any kind of hardship.
“Ah,” she sighed, then gasped. “Oh. Frank.”
Suddenly, she sounded alarmed, and he pulled back. “What is it?”
