“I’d like to see that happen.” Zac helped himself to a piece of fudge. “You’d be a tasty treat for a grizzly bear.”
She moved the ice cream container away from him. “That’s not very gentlemanly.”
“I was only joking.”
Willow forced herself to scowl. “You’ll have to eat the other pieces of fudge when you reach the summit. If there are any big, hairy animals in the caves, you can be the bait. There’s more meat on your bones.”
“I’m shocked. Would you really feed the man you love to a grizzly bear?”
“Only if he beats me to the summit.” Willow threw her backpack over her shoulders and took off up the trail.”
Zac was only a few steps behind her. “That’s cheating,” he yelled.
“Shh. You’ll disturb the wildlife.” Willow ducked under a branch, hoping it didn’t spring back and hit Zac.
“Ow!”
“Oops. Sorry.”
Zac muttered something before grabbing her hand and bringing her to a standstill. “I believe you owe me three pieces of fudge.”
Willow dragged deep breaths into her oxygen-starved lungs. “We’re not at the summit.”
Zac opened his backpack and handed her his water bottle. “It depends on what you call the summit.”
She took a sip of water and studied the dirt trail. Sunlight filtered through the overhanging trees, casting pretty shadows on the ground. In the distance, the pale blue sky peeked through the canopy. “I suppose you could say we’re on the outer edge of the summit.”
With a raised eyebrow, Zac stared intently at the ice cream container.
“Oh, all right.” She handed him the fudge. “Don’t take the extra piece of caramel fudge. It’s my favorite.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Nowyou have manners.”
“I gave you my water bottle.”
Willow grinned. “That’s true. There might be hope for you yet.”
Zac returned her smile. “Thank goodness for that.”
They kept moving, walking under the trees in an easy silence.
“Have you been on this trail before?” Willow asked.
“Years ago. When I was little, Granddad used to bring me here at night. We would lie in the grass and stare up at the sky. I used to think that if I tried really hard, I’d be able to touch the stars.”
“That’s a great memory.”
Zac nodded. “Granddad showed me the different constellations and told me about the missions to the moon. By the time I was seven, I knew all the names of the Apollo 11 astronauts.”
“I bet that impressed your friends.”
“They didn’t care. But it came in handy when we did a space project at school. Mrs. McIntosh thought I was some kind of science genius.”
Willow smiled as she imagined his teacher’s amazement. “My one claim to fame was being able to tell my classmates how solar panels work. Mom and Dad lived off the grid until a couple of years ago.”
“That must have been hard, especially in the middle of winter.”
