Piper jumped off first, tugging her helmet free. Her cheeks were flushed pink, eyes bright. “That was amazing!”
“Pretty great, right? You weren’t too cold?”
“Nope. I loved every second of it.” She bounced on her toes. “What’s next? Where are we?”
“Thought we’d have an early dinner. I packed a picnic.”
“Wow, this reallyisa date.”
“I’m not fooling around,” I deadpanned.
I’d tucked our food carefully into one of the saddle bags. There was a thermos of coffee, of course. I handed that to Piper and grabbed the tote bag I’d packed.
“Want to sit at the picnic table?” she asked.
“That would be far too predictable. Follow me, please.”
“So mysterious.”
“I’ve heard that’s what people say about me. Don’t want to disappoint.” I shot her a glance and was rewarded with Piper’s dazzling smile.
I led her away from the parking area. As I’d expected, this spot was deserted. There was snow on the ground and dusted over the trees, but the sky was pure blue with warm sun shining down in places.
We walked along the creek bank until we came to a large, flat rock. “Here. This should work.”
From my tote bag, I pulled out a picnic blanket and spread itout. So our butts wouldn’t freeze against the cold rock through our jeans.
“You thought of everything.”
I winked. “Tried.”
“Didn’t know you could be so charming, O’Neal.” Piper took a seat on the blanket. But when I unwrapped our dinner, she made a face. “Did you seriously bring us gas station hot dogs?”
“Okay, hear me out.”
She nearly fell off the rock from laughing, and I grabbed her coat, suppressing my own grin.
“These aren’t from the gas station. I bought the fancy all-beef dogs from Main Street Market. And the nice buns.”
“You do always bring nice buns,” she said with an innocent expression.
Fuck, she made me happy. Every minute I got to spend with Piper made me realize how empty my life had been. Reconnecting with Grace and Callum meant everything to me of course, but in a different way.
Piper made me feel like, for the first time in maybe ever, I was actually living.
“Take a bite before you judge,” I said.
The hot dogs were still a little warm from the foil I’d wrapped them in. I’d also added whole-grain mustard, fancy sauerkraut, and hot sauce. Since I knew now that Piper liked some spice.
“You know what?” she said, still chewing. “These are killer. I’m a believer.”
I opened a container of homemade potato salad flecked with dill, and we shared it with plastic forks. Same with the cup-lid on the thermos. Piper took a sip of coffee, eyes not leaving mine, and held the cup out to me.
Beside us, the water of the creek rushed along beneath the top layer of ice. Out of sight, but still there. Waiting for spring.
If I’d ever had a better meal, I couldn’t remember it.
“What’re Ollie and Callum up to today?” I asked.
