I don't think I will ever forget these past few mornings waking up next to Kennedy. Today took the cake because of the temperature drop last night. Trying to get warm, she curled up into my arms. I was up most of the night holding her and thinking of that amazing kiss last night. I'm praying she won't regret it because I sure as hell want to kiss her again.
Looking at her lying peacefully beside me, I'm once again struck by how perfect she is. She hasn't complained about her ankle and the way she insisted on helping out last night had me fighting a hard-on all night.
While I love holding her close and carrying her, I like that she wants to help too. The way she questioned everything yesterday after the rockslide, while frustrating, was the right thing to do. The more time we spend together, the more she will come to understand I have her best interests at heart and there won't be as many questions.
I don't want to get up and leave her, but the sun is rising, and we still have a lot of ground to cover. We are going much slower than I expected with her injured so I want to get going but I can let her sleep a little longer.
Stepping outside the tent, I find Hades sleeping, so I take a minute to give him a good rubdown.
"Stay here with her while I go find us some food," I tell him. He rests his head back down like he understands me. Sometimes I'm pretty sure this wolf understands everything we say.
I head down to the spring and refill our water canteens. On the way back, I spot an apple tree. There are many of them scattered around the mountain that all of us mountain men planted. They are great for late winter hikes or when needed, like today. I find six apples, pick them, and go back to the tent.
When I get there, Kennedy is up and sitting in the same spot we were in last night. Her hair is a slight mess, and she is rubbing her ankle. Seeing her in pain makes my heart hurt. Yet, not once has she complained about it.
When she looks up and sees me, she smiles. But there is a bit more behind the smile. Relief maybe? No wonder. I don't think I could blame her for not wanting to be alone out here.
"I found some apples. They’ll make a good breakfast." I hand her one and she takes it and starts eating it.
"Thank you. This is really good. I wouldn't expect to find apples this late in the season," she says.
"There are a few varieties that bloom late depending on the summer we have. The mountain men around here like to keep them scattered around for situations like this if they are needed." I shrug because to me it's not a big deal.
The way her eyes light up as she is eating tells me it's more than she expected. I'm glad the tree is there, and I send up a silent thank you to whoever thought of planting it years ago.
As she continues eating, I take a look at her ankle. It's still swollen, but she's able to move it, so I re-wrap it for her. A rush of protectiveness washes over me as I do so.
"I think you are more worried about my ankle than I am," she teases. But her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes like it had when we were at the lake.
"Well, I want to make sure it's taken care of. When we get back to town, you will need to ice and rest it." I finish wrapping up the bandage.
"It doesn't hurt nearly as much today. I bet I could limp along on it," she says, finishing her apple.
"Nope, that will just make it worse by the end of the day."
Sitting next to her, I grab an apple while offering her another one. She takes it and we slip into an easy talk about anything not involving being stuck here and her ankle being hurt.
"So, tell me about the Mustang Mountain Riders." She points to my patch she noticed the other day.
"We are some of the good guys. Our focus is on helping people around town and where it might be needed. They took me in when I had no one and became my family. I’m not alone in that. They did the same for many of the other guys as well," I tell her.
She seems very intentional of keeping space between us and the conversation flowing. It makes me wonder if she has regrets over that kiss last night, and that's the last thing I want. I don't regret anything about that kiss other than I had to stop it because of where we were.
I need to be aware of everything around us to keep her out of danger. And I will keep her safe at all costs.
After we finish eating, we pack everything and get ready to head out. Hades joins us from the woods, where it looks like he had fun chasing some food down.
"My ankle really does feel better. I want to walk. I can't exhaust you all day," she says.
"Okay, just don't push it too hard." I agree, since there is something in her tone that tells me she means what she says.
She nods and after a few minutes down the trail, she almost stumbles and grips on to my arm for balance. After taking a deep breath, she continues on. But she doesn't let go of my arm. Even though it's slow going, neither of us complains.
Hades runs ahead like he is investigating the trail, then runs back to check on us. Every now and then, he runs off the trail after some small animal but comes back and joins us.
By the time we stop for lunch, I can tell her ankle is really bothering her. After we eat, she tries to walk again, but this time I don't give her the option, I just pick her up.
"Hey, I can walk, you know," she says when I scoop her up into my arms.
"I know, but I can also tell your ankle is bothering you more since you have been on it. If you keep it up, you will hurt it more. Now stop fighting it and let's get moving."
She seems to resign herself to the fact that I'm going to help her, even if she doesn't want it. It's a bit slower going than I'm used to, but it's faster than it was when she was on foot.
To fill the silence, she talks about people I don't know and TV shows I've never heard of and movies I have no intention of seeing. But I like hearing her talk and it helps pass the time.
We take a few water and bathroom breaks before the sun starts going down. Stopping in a meadow that I know isn't far from my house, I set up once again for the night.
"Hades will stay with you. I'm going to go climb this trail here and get a bird's-eye view of the area. Even though I know where we are, I want to make sure the last part of the path isn't blocked and that there won't be any problems tomorrow."
She nods and puts her foot up. Hades seems to know he is to stay with her and lies down beside her.
Not wanting to waste any time, I head up the trail. I'm also keeping my eye out for dinner. Though I have to go off the path to get to the area where I can see all over the route. I've been here several times as this clearing backs up to my property line.
Breaking through the trees, nothing looks out of place and it seems the rockslide was isolated to the area by the lake. We should have no problems getting to my cabin tomorrow.
When I go back to Kennedy, I don't grab anything for dinner. As soon as Hades sees me enter the camp area, he heads into the woods. My guess is to get his dinner. As I talk to Kennedy, I set up the tent.
"It looks like the landslide was just by the lake. Tomorrow we will be mostly on my land, so I know this area like the back of my hand. We will make it to my cabin before dinner tomorrow, and then you can properly put your foot up."
Just as I finish talking, Hades walks out of the woods with a rabbit in his mouth and sets it near Kennedy. She covers her mouth but gives him praise.
"Thank you, Hades." I say and pet the wolf before picking up the rabbit.
"Yes, thanks Hades," she says, but doesn't remove her hand from her mouth.
"We’ll have a better selection of food tomorrow than rabbit. I have stuff at home to make pizza, which sounds really good right now," I say as I gather some sticks to get a fire going.
"Pizza would be amazing, but rabbit is better than starving," she says, arranging the wood and starting the fire. While she’s doing that, I go back and finish setting up the tent and then start on the rabbit.
I divide the meat into thirds. While there isn't much of it, Hades caught it, so I think it's only fair to make sure he gets something to eat too. I put the meat on sticks and Kennedy holds them over the fire. Since she’s working on the dinner, I finish setting up camp. Just like every night, dinner seems to fly by as we talk like we have known each other forever.
The awkward silences aren't there, and she is open about everything. She actually listens when I talk and seems fascinated by my way of living, which is mostly off the grid in the mountains.
Before I know it, we are crawling into the tent to go to bed. Deciding to push my luck, I go in for a goodnight kiss. Once she is all settled, I sit up and look down at her. Her eyes lock on mine and the connection is so powerful I don't quite understand it.
Slowly, I lean down, making my intent that I plan to kiss her known. But she shocks the hell out of me by reaching up and placing a hand on the back of my neck and pulling me in for a kiss.
When our lips touch, it's as if the world feels right again. Her lips mold perfectly to mine, and her soft moans make me want to do so much more than just kiss her, but I don't want to scare her off, either.
"Goodnight, sweetheart," I whisper when I finally pull myself away.
"Goodnight, Owen," she says, snuggling into me.
I know without a shadow of a doubt this woman is mine. The problem I face is getting her to settle in Mustang Mountain and her wanting to stay with me.
When we reach my cabin tomorrow, I will have roughly forty-eight hours to show her she belongs with me on the mountain before she heads back to her life, away from here.