Page 17 of Trail to Trouble
When she pulled her gaze from him, he felt empty. He willed her eyes back to him, but instead, she headed away from him, toward the bridge.
With her friends in tow, Hannah crossed the narrow wooden bridge first. He followed.
Standing at the center of the rock, he watched as Hannah slowly circled for the full effect of the three hundred sixty-degree view of the water rushing around the dome-shaped boulder. She stopped and stared at the spot where the two streams of water came together and became one, then flowed over the edge. The drop was only about sixteen feet, but the water made quite the splash when it hit the pool below.
Alyssa snapped photo after photo. Bianca leaned against the circular cedar railing and posed as she asked Alyssa to take a few shots of her. As much as the woman loved getting photos of herself, he couldn’t imagine how much cloud storage her portfolio took up. He chuckled to himself.
He stepped toward Alyssa. “You want me to take a few photos of the three of you?”
“That’d be great,” she said as she stretched her arm to hand him the expensive-looking camera.
The camera looked expensive, so snapping a nice photo didn’t worry him any since it probably auto-focused.
“Just point it in the right direction and press this button,” Alyssa said.
“Got it.”
The ladies lined up at the rail. Bianca was between the two others with her long, slim arms draped over their shoulders. Alyssa turned slightly toward her and placed a hand on her hip. Hannah stood stick straight on the opposite side of Bianca. Almost like a third grader’s rigid stance during a class photo. She looked uncomfortable, and he didn’t understand that because she was the most beautiful of the three.
“Okay. On three. One, two, three,” he counted as he snapped.
He handed the camera back to Alyssa, then stood silently and soaked up the sunshine and warm breeze. Inhaling deeply, he took in the earthy scent. Nothing beat this. Nothing. Sadness crept through him as he realized he’d have to give this up soon. Leave for his new job. Put his degree to use. God, he was going to miss this wilderness.
Shaking the depressing thoughts from his head, he looked at the ladies who oohed and aahed over the spectacular views. Bianca moved toward the railing, leaned back against it, and crossed her arms over her well-endowed chest. Yep, she was done. Alyssa still snapped photos. Hannah lifted her chin into the air, elongating her throat, exposing that milky white skin of hers to the sun. His fingers itched to touch her. His lips tingled at the thought of kissing her tempting reddish-maroon lips, then easing his mouth to her jawline, then to that earlobe of hers to nibble on it before running light kisses down the side of that long, slim neck of hers. No doubt his lips would enjoy touching her. His hands, too.
“Ahem,” Bianca sounded.
His gaze sprang from Hannah’s beautiful profile to Bianca.
The smirk on her face, coupled with her arched brow, let him know he’d been busted. Bianca knew he had developed a thing for her friend. So what? Yet, her knowledge of his romantic feelings for Hannah made him uncomfortable. Bianca’s full lips turned into a thin, straight line, and she shrugged slightly. He interpreted that message to be pity. Either the woman thought her friend didn’t feel the same for him, or she wouldn’t allow herself to feel the same for him or any other man. From what little he knew of her, he still suspected she wouldn’t allow herself to feel for any man, and it wasn’t just him. He didn’t like that such a beautiful creature had been harmed in some way that she’d not allow herself the pleasure of love.
“What’s next?” Bianca asked.
“I thought we’d go back down the hill and view the falls from underneath. There’s a narrow trail that snakes behind it, and a small cave.”
“Awesome!” Hannah exclaimed.
Her face lit up again. This environment was her thing. He could feed her this type of stuff all day to make her happy.
He led the way back down the steep hill, moving slowly and stepping with a slight side angle to keep his footing solid. With a glance over his shoulder, he observed the ladies doing the same as he’d suggested. He refocused ahead before taking another step. Only another couple of steps and they’d be at the bottom.
“Whoa!” Bianca screamed.
Her body crashed into his, and with flailing hands, he fell forward. Every stabilizing branch, just beyond his reach. Landing hard on the ground knocked the wind out of him. He gasped, then realized the woman on his back was doing the same, only worse, even though she’d been lucky he’d cushioned her fall.
He slid out from under her and pulled her up with him, but she doubled over with her hands planted on her knees and worked to catch her breath.
Alyssa and Hannah flanked Bianca.
“Are you going to be okay?” Hannah asked.
Bianca gasped and shook her head. “I...” gasp, “don’t...” gasp, “know.”
“You’ll be fine. You just knocked the wind out of yourself,” Hannah assured.
Hunter’s racing heart stilled, and his gaze landed on the woman’s designer tennis shoes. He should never have let her hike in those. Well, it was her own damn fault for not adhering to the packing list.
“I told you to pack hiking boots,” Hannah scolded.
