“Three days.”
Tyler didn’t want to give her another second. He needed to go right away, draw her into his arms, and kiss her all night if that’s what it took to convince her they were right for each other.
He paced several steps forward then back. He took off his hat and jammed his fingers into his hair. Where was the balance between giving her the chance to think about things and letting her know how much he cared about her?
He planned to fight hard to have her—harder than he’d fought for anything else in his life. The problem was, he’d already pushed her away once. How in the world could he keep from pushing her away again?
23
Kinsey considered herself a fit person, but she’d never done anything as hard as climb a fourteener. Her legs ached, her breathing was choppy, and her head pounded.
Had she made a mistake in attempting to scale one of Colorado’s highest peaks?
Ahead, Mitch led their small group of hikers. She wanted to call out to him to stop, to give them another break so she could tell him she was quitting and going back.
She paused and grabbed on to the rocky ledge beside her.
The person behind her halted too.
Kinsey gasped for breath and flexed a cramping leg. What had she been thinking?
On the switchback above her, Mitch glanced down, then paused. “Hold up, everyone.”
Thankfully, the camp director was a patient man and hadn’t gotten upset at any of them during the past few hours ascending Mount Elbert. He’d been amazing, actually. So had his wife Anna, although she hadn’t joined them on the hike.
Kinsey wiped her arm across the perspiration on her forehead. She should have stayed back like Anna. She could have lounged around her cabin like she’d done yesterday after arriving. The ten-by-ten-foot room was very different from the luxurious cabins at Healing Springs Ranch. With a single bunk bed, kitchenette, and tiny bathroom, the cabin was rustic and simple with a small porch that overlooked the river.
Kade had made arrangements with Mitch and Anna to stock her cabin with food and other essentials, so she was comfortable and well taken care of. The two had also assured her she could participate in as few or as many of the guided activities the camp offered as she liked.
She’d considered just sitting in one of the wooden rockers on the porch for the whole visit, reading or taking in the view. But last night, as she’d been rocking and watching several deer grazing along the riverbank, her heart had ached with a longing for Tyler that she hadn’t been able to dampen. She’d been gone from him less than twelve hours and already it felt like an eternity.
Her night had been full of dreams of him, the keen longing for him only growing. Missing him had brought back the memories of missing Madison, so that the tightness of fear around her chest had grown too.
By morning, she’d been restless and ready to do something to distract herself. So she’d decided that if she could climb a real mountain, maybe she could climb the metaphorical mountain Kade had mentioned.
She’d been wrong. She couldn’t do either.
“How we doing?” Mitch called down to her. Outfitted in the best hiking gear, he was a pro compared to the rest of them, especially her in a baseball cap, running shoes, leggings, and the gopher-face T-shirt.
She waved up at him. “I’ll wait right here while you guys finish.”
“You sure?” His breathing was as even and calm as if he’d been out taking a leisurely stroll.
She tried for a smile. “I’m tuckered out.” That was an understatement.
Mitch studied her as if seeing right through all her excuses. “The end is just ahead, less than thirty minutes.”
She shielded the brim of her hat against the late-morning sunshine and attempted to view the trail ahead. It was an endless and steep mountainside full of big rocks, with no view of the top in sight. From her perspective, the climb went on forever.
Mitch followed her gaze. “I know you can’t see the pinnacle yet, but it really is coming.”
“I believe you. I just don’t have the energy to go any farther.” Or the desire. She just wanted to go back down.
Mitch pinned her with an intense look. “You have to decide whether you’ll hurt yourself more by pushing forward or by holding back.”
The statement was profound, and it resonated deep within. What he was saying didn’t just apply to the hike but also to everything in life. The truth was that some difficult things might need to be abandoned because of the harm they caused. But other difficult things needed to be endured because giving up would only make a person weak.
Which was it for her?
