Page 51 of Forget Me Not

And while they waited, he would try to sort out his confused thoughts and indecisive mind. He had told Kes he meant to attempt to recapture his and Julia’s one-time friendship. But he couldn’t ignore the twinge of doubt in the back of his mind now—not that it was impossible but that it might not actually be what he wanted.

Chapter Eighteen

This had been, thus far,quite possibly the best day Julia had passed in years. The mountain was even more beautiful than she’d imagined. Lucas was attentive and kind and enthusiastic. She’d even admitted to him one of her deep-seated heartaches where he was concerned, and far from dismissing or mocking the poorly healed wound, he had vowed not to cause that same heartache again.

There was hope.

Even the bite of wind and the heavy hint of rain in the air didn’t dampen her spirits as she followed Lucas back down the mountain trail. He moved faster than he had when they’d been ascending but was still very careful of her.

“We have to wander a bit off the trail here,” he said, reaching for her hand. “The little hut is tucked away around the bend.”

She nodded, fully trusting he knew where he was going.

A moment later, their destination appeared behind a bend and below an outcropping of rock.

“It is a very steep drop.” She knew she wasn’t equal to navigating that descent.

He grinned. “While I have climbed up and down the face of that particular façade, it isn’t necessary. The trail winds around it.”

She eyed the rock face as they walked around it and down a much more welcoming trail. “You’ve climbed this?” Heavens, it looked treacherous.

“I’ve had a lot of practice.” He stopped at the door of the tiny hut—it really did look precisely as one would expect a shepherd’s mountainside hut to look—and fished a key from his pocket. “I’m likely a little paranoid locking this old place. Hardly anyone is ever on this mountain. But I do keep things here that would need to be replaced, and I am doing my utmost to keep Brier Hill well within the budget set by Father’s estate.” He opened the door and motioned for her to step inside.

“Is it safe?”

He tipped his head to the side, watching her dryly. “One of these days, my dear, you are going to start trusting me.”

“Not likely.” She inched closer, eyeing the dark interior. “I still remember the time you pushed me out of a tree.”

“I didn’t push you; you fell.”

She looked up at him. “You didn’t try very hard to catch me.”

He smiled a little. “That was James’s fault, as you well know.”

She shrugged a shoulder. “Yes, but you are the one suffering for it.”

“Typical,” he muttered. Lucas gave her a little nudge. “Go on in. I’ll get the fire started, and it’ll be warm in no time.”

“That would be welcome. The air is growing quite cold.”

The hut was not brightly lit, the leaden skies providing naught but dim light through the window. It was decidedly small but not unpleasant. She had fully expected a rundown hovel of a shack. Instead, it had an inviting presence about it.

Lucas pulled the door closed behind them, blessedly blocking the wind. He lit a lantern, then crossed to the fireplace. “Without a lot of wood hereabout, I have to burn sod in here. The smell is smokier than you’d probably prefer.”

“I don’t mind, especially if it’ll be warm.”

He looked to her. “Are you cold?”

“My feet got a little wet stepping over that tiny stream. I’m not certain why wet feet make the rest of me so cold.”

“The box on the floor behind you has odd bits of clothing inside.” He pointed to a rough-hewn slatted box. “I know there are stockings. That’ll warm you up.”

“Perfect.”

She bent over the box, and Lucas hunched in front of the fireplace. A number of thick woolen stockings sat at the very top of the clothes pile inside. She picked two and nearly laughed out loud when she eyed them closer.

“These are going to be enormous on me,” she said.

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