I nearly stumbled but managed to keep pace with him. Managed to slide into the passenger’s seat as he hefted my pack to sit right next to his in the truck bed. Managed, even, to put on my seat belt and engage in menial conversation as we drove toward Havenbrook Ridge.
But through it all, I couldn’t stop replaying what he’d said. It was only three words, three tiny words—and not even the three words I’d ached to hear from him for so long—but they still sent a rush of warmth flooding my system.
For most of my life, I’d been trying to prove something to everyone. As clichéd as it was, I was the stereotypical middle child—the one easily forgotten because I didn’t overshadow any of my siblings.
I couldn’t touch Rory—the straight A student and all-around perfect child. I wasn’t a troublemaker like Nat, always stealing the focus from everyone else and placing it squarely on herself. And though I was closest to Will, even she was a magnet for attention—her mix of book smarts paired with her affinity for making bad choices a recipe for drawing all eyes to her.
But I had always just sort of…coasted by. I was a solid B student who hadn’t strived for more. And while I’d been an excellent athlete, that alone hadn’t been enough to drag anyone’s attention away from the other three.
Then I’d flunked out of college, and I’d gotten the attention I hadn’t even realized I’d been craving, but it’d been all wrong. People had started looking at me, all right. Looking at me like I was a failure and couldn’t be trusted to do…well…anything. And my daddy led the charge.
It was a huge part of the reason I loved the outreach program so much. There, I wasn’t Mackenna Haven, mediocre middle child of theHavenbrookHavens, flunker of college, and all-around lost cause. There, I was Kenna—Hudson’s Kenna—the girl who was strong and capable and knowledgeable. Who was brave and bold and did things no one expected of her—things no one thought her capable of.
“You ready for this?” he asked, squeezing my thigh and pulling me out of my thoughts.
I glanced over at him, his left hand draped loosely over the steering wheel, his right resting on my leg. Hudson had never seen me as anything less than my potential. He’d never seen me as a lousy stand-in for my sisters. Once upon a time, he’d beenmy person—my encourager, my supporter, and the single soul who always saw only me in a crowded room.
And now I was about to spend a weekend alone with him, out of reach of everyone, and somehow, I had to remain calm and collected. Remain completely detached.
No, I wasn’t ready for this at all.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
HUDSON
I tried notto get distracted as I watched Kenna navigate the path in front of me. The last thing I needed was to trip over a protruding root or lose my footing on loose rock. But the truth was, seeing her so confident and capable had me hard as fucking steel from the second we’d stepped foot on the trail.
I’d seen this side of her before—back when we’d been younger. When we’d been cocky as hell but too stupid to realize how incompetent we actually were. But back then, it’d been different. She’d still been coming into her own, still finding out what she was capable of, still learning about her strength. Since I’d been gone, it was clear she’d grown into herself.
And I found this new version of her sexy as hell.
I held Kenna’s hand as she climbed over a fallen tree trunk at least two feet in diameter. “You ever come hikin’ up here?”
What I didn’t ask was whether or not she’d come when we’d originally planned to and who she’d done so with if she had. Kenna and I had wanted to climb the Ridge for years, but my momma had forbade us from doing so, the terrain too unpredictable and difficult, given our lack of experience.
Instead of sneaking like we were prone to do, we’d used our brains and had worked up to it. We’d hiked dozens of locationsin the area that were on par with our skill set—challenging enough to keep us growing but not so much to get us hurt, or worse. We’d planned to take wilderness training the summer after Kenna’s first year in college so we’d be prepared for the hike when the time came. Had she done that without me?
She shook her head, and it took me a moment to realize she was answering the question I’d spoken aloud and not the one niggling my brain.
Pulling her hand from mine the second we’d cleared the tree, she moved her fingers to grip the straps of her pack instead. “No one really enjoys this like I do. When you left, I lost my hiking partner.”
She said the words without heat, as if they were fact. And they were. I’d left her with little notice—hardly any time at all to discuss it, let alone for her to become acclimated to the change—and then I’d been gone.
It’d been the two of us for so long, neither of us cultivating many friendships beyond the one we’d shared with each other, so it was no wonder she hadn’t kept this up with someone else.
I cleared my throat as if I could so easily clear the thoughts from my head. “It’s a good thing I made this bet with you then, isn’t it?”
She glanced at me over her shoulder, a smile lifting one side of her mouth. “I don’t know. I really could’ve used some help with my gutters. You’ve seen how many trees I’ve got out there. It’s a nightmare.”
I laughed. “Remember the bet we made on my first day home? When I told you I’d’ve made you the pies anyway?” I waited for her nod before I continued, “I’ll do this for you too.”
Kenna bit her lip, staring at me for a long moment, before she turned around and continued hiking up the trail. “Speakin’ of pies, I still haven’t gotten mine.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got them chillin’ in the freezer for you. Ready to finish off as soon as I get a chance.”
“Mhmm…you sure you’re not just flakin’ on our bet? I know you like to weasel your way to winnin’, but I never took you for a flat-out cheater.”
“Hey now… You know better than to call me that. You don’t think I’ve changed that much since I’ve been gone, do you?”
