When they stepped onto the path, a small shudder rolled down her spine.
“Cold? Need my sweatshirt?”
“No, thanks. But I’m glad you told me to grab mine.”
“Yeah, the trees shade a lot of the sun, but trust me, the walk’s so beautiful it’s worth it.”
“I do…trust you.”
Something about her words twisted his gut. For some reason, hewantedthis beautiful, intriguing woman to trust him.
Over the next hour, Cody led Harper down the trail, pointing out different trees and plants. Telling stories about the area. Something that really got him was that when he talked, she truly listened. He hadn’t dated Vanessa very long, but she’d always seemed distracted when he spoke, either with her phoneor something else around her, and she rarely asked follow-up questions.
When he spoke to Harper, she asked intelligent questions and looked at him like he was the only person she heard. And damn, but that did something to him.
He loved these mountains. The fresh air. The smell of nature. Even the sound of running water from the stream and the low hum of the wind.
“It must have been amazing, growing up with this as your backyard,” she said quietly.
He nodded. “We were pretty lucky.”
“Do you see your mom often?”
He stepped over a log. “My mom passed away when I was eight. Breast cancer.”
She stopped. “Oh…I’m so sorry. You mentioned you lost your dad, but I didn’t know about your mom.”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” They continued walking but at a slower pace. “It rocked the family, but we created a new normal after that.”
“Still, I’m sorry.” She took his outstretched hand to step over the log. “Losing both your parents must have been so hard.”
“When Dad was diagnosed with lymphoma, I was in the military. I wanted to come home, and so did my brothers, but both he and Nylah insisted we stay. She took care of him, and Kayden and I returned shortly before he died.”
“Nylah being your sister?”
“Twin sister.”
Her brows shot up. “You’re a twin?”
“I am. Although, if you ask her, it’s not that fun. I’m both overbearing and overprotective.”
Something he couldn’t identify crossed her face. “As much as sisters say they don’t like that, I’m not sure it’s true. Even themost independent woman at some point wants a protector in her corner.”
He guessed this woman had never had a protector. “I always suspected she secretly loved it. So…you know all about my family. What about yours? Parents? Siblings?”
Immediately, her expression shuttered, the easy expression on her face disappearing. She looked off into the path in front of them as she answered. “An older brother and mother, but we’re not close. My father’s alive but I haven’t seen him in about eight years.”
He frowned. There was so much more to that story, and he wanted to push. To learn everything there was to know about this woman. But she wasn’t ready to share. Was it her family she’d run from? And if so, why? What had they done to make leaving her only option? Was it one of them who’d given her the black eye? He’d assumed an ex because in his family, no one would ever do that to one of the others, but not everyone had a family like his.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Harper. I’m not sorry you landed here in Misty Peak, though. Was leaving home to come here difficult?”
A bitter smile flitted over her face. “No. It’s funny really, how we carefully construct a life for ourselves, but given the right motivation, we can leave it so easily.”
He had so many questions. And every time Harper spoke, he thought of a dozen more. He opened his mouth to ask one of them—but a couple of men rounded a bend, coming toward them.
His back teeth ground together at the sight of his high school best friend, Miles.
“Cody,” Miles said, as he and his friend stopped in front of him and Harper. “It’s good to see you.”
