“It’s really good so far.”
“Terrific. What’s your name?”
“Corrie.”
“Fabulous. I’ll see you at the first meeting, Corrie, and I can’t wait to hear your recs.”
“’Bye,” Corrie yelled after us, but Murphy was on a mission to get to the car.
“Did you hear that?” she asked with a huge smile.
I nodded. “Told you it was a great idea.”
Holding her hands together as if praying, she said, “Finally, something is going my way.”
“It’s only up from here,” I told her, and she gave me a doubtful look. “Really.”
“Fingers crossed and toes,” she added.
After a sip of my Americano, we were off to grab her shoes.
“This way I can use the bathroom too,” she said.
“But no makeup or any of that. We’re going on a hike, and you look beautiful naturally.”
“Deal, and thank you.”
* * *
Once Murphy had her running shoes on, we got back into the Jeep.
“Hungry?” I asked her.
“For the snacks?”
“No. How about a sandwich? The snacks are for later.”
“I’m actually not hungry. I had a scone at work.”
With a quick nod, I pulled away from her place. “I picked a relatively easy trail, probably around moderate in difficulty.”
“That’s good since I have zero experience hiking other than walking on an incline on the treadmill.” As she scraped her hair back into a ponytail, the long red strands cascading down her back, she laughed at her own joke.
“Well, you live in Vermont now. It’s about time,” I told her.
“Agreed. I see you’ve selected something from the king for the ride.” She pointed at the stereo, where Elvis crooned “Love Me Tender” through the speakers. “You know, I think you may be a softie, Ben Rooney.”
I wanted to open up to her, to tell her about the apps, the extra income, and other recent developments, but my phone rang.
“Shit,” I said, glancing at the caller ID. “That’s Branson. Do you mind if I pick it up?”
“Of course not,” she said quickly, and I hit thetake callbutton.
“Hey,” I said into the Bluetooth.
“Ben? It’s me. I’m sorry to bother you, but ... but I—”
“What’s up, Brans? You okay?” We were only about ten minutes outside of Colebury when he called. We still had twenty or thirty minutes to the trailhead, so I kept driving.
