What if I stay up here for a while? I could offer to watch Ellie, which would give me a chance to watch Felix with her for a few weeks. That could help me figure out what to do, right?
At least it might help me know what to expect when I finally tell Felix about our baby. Will he be angry? Freak out? Will he throw money at me like this pregnancy is a problem to solve? Or will he surprise me the way he did this morning, looking at that little girl like she was a real-life unicorn?
The trail levels out at a spot that overlooks Vail Village below, and I stop to catch my breath. Skylark sits at about 6,000 feet, but the cabin is at closer to 9,000 feet. Enough of a difference to make me dizzy when I push too hard, which apparently, I just did. I bend forward, hands on my knees, waiting for my racing pulse to slow.
A branch cracks behind me.
My head snaps, and then I go completely still. I’m alone in the middle of the woods, about a quarter mile from the cabin. It could be a bear or a mountain lion. Please not a mountain lion. First a possible murderer last night, now a potential mauling by a wild animal? The universe really has it out for me at the moment.
“You okay, Hart?”
I spin around so fast, the world tilts sideways. Felix appearsaround a bend in the trail, Ellie bouncing happily in a hiking backpack on his shoulders, her chubby hands gripping his hair like reins.
“Jesus, Felix.” Relief floods through me, followed by a wave of dizziness that makes the trees blur together, the ground shift, and?—
The next thing I know, I’m cradled against something warm and solid, moving through dappled sunlight. Felix’s soap—which I guarantee has a name like One-Eyed Snake Swagger or Hot Boy Summer—fills my lungs with each breath.
“Did I just?—”
“Scare the living sh—sugar out of me again by fainting? Yeah.” His voice rumbles through his chest where my cheek is pressed. “I give you an eight out of ten for wilderness drama.”
“Put me down.” I try to sound commanding, but it comes out breathy.
“Not a chance.”
“I can walk, Felix.”
“Clearly you can’t, since you just face-planted into the dirt.”
“Pretty sure it was more of a graceful swoon.”
“You dropped like a sack of potatoes. Lucky for you, I’ve got good hands.”
I’m acutely aware of those hands right now. One is under my knees while the other supports my back. “What about Ellie?”
“She’s loving life.”
A delighted giggle from behind his head confirms this. I crane my neck to see her grinning at me, those honey-hued curls bouncing with each step.
“This is ridiculous. You can’t carry us both when?—”
“Shut it, Hart. You weigh about as much as my gym bag.” He adjusts his grip, pulling me closer to his chest. “Less, probably.”
“Your gym bag wouldn’t appreciate being manhandled down a mountain either.”
“Youfainted.”
The concern in his deep voice makes my chest tight. “I’m fine,” I whisper against his shirt. “The altitude got me for a minute.”
He makes a rumbly sound low in his throat. “What did you have for breakfast?”
“Blueberries.” And only a few. My stomach can’t handle a big breakfast these days.
That elicits a snort. “The perfect fuel for a mountain hike at nine thousand feet.”
He’s moving fast, although oddly I don’t feel jostled. Just…safe and held. I close my eyes and sink into the feeling because it’s kind of nice. More than kind of if I’m being honest. We’re approaching the cabin now, a quarter mile covered in what feels like seconds in his arms. For a guy who thinks he needs to work on getting in shape for training camp, he’s not even breathing hard.
“I can walk from here,” I protest as he navigates the porch steps.
