“Fine.” She grins. “And you should ask Stevie out. Okay, bye!” she spits out, ending the call before I can protest.
I roll my eyes, shoving my phone into my back pocket. I finish removing the SD card and slip it into my pocket with the others. When I turn away from the camera, Stevie is on the trail behind me barely ten feet away. I installed these things in inconspicuous spots away from the trail, and it’s obvious that she doesn’t see me. I step into the open quietly, trying not to scare her.
She sucks in a deep gasp, spinning toward me and throwing her hands up into another imitation ofThe Karate Kid. When she sees that it’s me, she drops her hands with a long sigh.
But then she pounces. She reaches me in less than three steps, smacking my shoulder with no force behind it. “What are you doing sneaking around like that?”
I clear my throat.Do not laugh, Adam, I remind myself.Yes, she is adorable when she does karate, but she has more than a few screws loose. “Um, my job. Pulling memory cards from trail cameras.”
She shakes her head at herself. “I thought you were—”
“Butterballsy?” I have to clench my jaw to fight a smile over everything about this situation.
“Something like that.”
“What are you doing out here?” Alone, I don’t add.
Her devious grin says everything. She wags her eyebrows, moving ahead of me on the trail. I’m not allowing myself tonotice her long legs or the way her backside looks in those shorts. I’m not looking. Averting my gaze, I’m only distracted by the rest of her retreating figure. I wish she didn’t look like ... all of that. She’s as delicate and sweet as a Carrot Cake should be, but she’s all alone out here.
I hold back a growl. “Stevie.” I catch up quickly, walking beside her the wrong direction. There are still a few cameras I haven’t gotten to, but I can’t seem to let her walk away. I can’t command her not to hike by herself in the woods. She isn’t breaking any rules. I just wish—
“Nice shirt,” she says with a smirk, her messy red ponytail swinging behind her.
“Thanks.” I shake my head. “An infuriating woman gave it to me.”
“You’re welcome.” She makes a soft clicking sound with her tongue. “It’s good to see you fully dressed.” A lovely pink washes over her cheeks at the words. “I only mean, because usually—”
“I know, I know. I’m working on my Mowgli ways.”
She laughs, and the sound of it makes my stomach tighten. “It’s not that it bothers me—the no-shirt thing. You just look good in a T-shirt.”
I remind myself that she’s delusional. The blush on her cheeks is convincing me of things I don’t want to believe, though. Then her voice is in my head again:Being a believer looks sexy on you. Maybe I’m the one who’s lost my mind.
She lets me walk quietly beside her until we reach a break in the trees.
“Oh!” she says with a soft gasp, holding her hand over her heart.
Out of pure instinct, I step between her and whatever it is, but it’s just a grassy glade in the middle of the forest. “What? What is it?”
“Theflowers.” She holds her hands in the praying position in front of her chest. “They’re so good this year.”
“The lupines?”
“Yeah.” She positions her phone horizontally, taking a few pictures. “I die over them every year, but this year Mother Nature is outdoing herself.”
I watch her photography session for a minute before I think of a way to help her understand. I get the sense that if I come right out and tell her she’s wrong for loving these invasive wildflowers, she’ll dig in her heels on principle. My plan might not work, but it’s worth a shot.
“Do you like monarch butterflies?” I ask.
She looks up from her phone, confused. “Of course.”
“Did you know that this species of lupine is invasive? It crowds out native plant species like milkweed, which are the only plant adult monarchs will lay their eggs on.”
Her frown deepens.
“It can form a dangerous monoculture that will totally mess with an ecosystem. They disrupt pollination, alter soil acidity—so many things. It’s sorta crazy how much damage they can do.”
Her frown turns into a full, disappointed scowl. She doesn’t like being wrong. “But they’re sobeautiful.”
