Page 74 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas
Was it my pacing? I didn’t feel like I was going slow, and we were following the markers on the trail, so it didn’t make sense that it was taking so long.
“Are you okay back there?” Remy asked. Either I was being a lot more obvious than I thought, or he was doing that thing again where he knew exactly how I was feeling.
“I’m fine,” I said, my cheeks coloring a bit at how breathless I sounded. We were justwalking, so I really shouldn’t be having so much trouble. Too much time at my desk all day, that was for certain.
“Sorry this is taking a bit,” he said, and now it was my turn to pick up on the fact that he sounded a bit troubled. “For some reason, I don’t recognize this path at all. We should have been there already. Honestly, we probably should have been on our waybackby now.”
Oh, so I wasn’t the only one sensing something was off.
“Did we somehow get onto a different path?”
“I suppose it’s possible, but you saw the same markers I did. They did feel kind of off... but if you look at the ground, we’re definitely not the only ones who have been here.”
I glanced down. Even though we were on a trail, I didn’t really notice anything unusual. If I didn’t have Remy leading me and showing me the markers, I would be hopelessly lost.
“The snow’s been trampled in a few spots, and you can see how there’s a sort of leveling off on the ground between trees, marking both desired paths and an actual trail.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I said, pulling my coat tighter. I wasn’t outright cold, but it was definitely chilly. All the walking had made me sweat enough to become clammy, which didn’t help.
“Should we turn back?”
I thought of Max’s broken-hearted pleading, and how horrified I had been when he blamed himself for making me miss out on things. I shook my head vehemently, determined more than ever to get him those photos to prove that he only added to my life, never subtracted.
“Are you sure? It’s getting close to dark.”
“I’m at the point where if you turn back, I’ll keep going on my own.” I knew that sounded crazy, but I didn’t care. There was no rock I wouldn’t move for my son. “Besides, our phones have flashlights, and I do have a tiny emergency one on my keychain.”
One of the many things I appreciated about Remy was that he didn’t think I was insane for the lengths I would go through tobe a good mother. He knew exactly how hard it was to be a single parent, and that sometimes we pushed ourselves to extremes. I also trusted him to tell me if it was too dangerous. If there was an actual possibility of death, he would pick me up if he had to and haul me all the way back to our cabins.
But perhaps it would be prudent not to think about him lifting me and throwing me over his shoulder. Because,yum,that was an utterly delicious thought. Although I was on the shorter side, I was built quite densely, so there weren’t a lot of people who could manhandle me. But I knew, without a doubt, that Remy could.
Oh boy.
He looked back over his shoulder at me, and for a moment, I was horrified that he could read my thirsty thoughts, but he shot me a reassuring grin, then kept walking.
And walking.
And walking.
The sun was beginning to sink below the tree line in a truly ostentatious display of gold, coral, and orange, dissolving into the slowly descending curtain of cobalt, then a deep eggplant. It wouldn’t be long before the pitch of a winter night set in, and Ireallydidn’t want to be out in that.
“There!” Remy said suddenly, nearly startling me out of the breathing pattern I’d sunken into so I didn’t sound like a panting dog.
“Huh?”
“There’s the circle of trees with the fire pit where people sometimes take a break at. The cabin’s gotta be like ten or fifteen minutes down the path.” He shook his head, his expression full of chagrin. “There had to have been some storm, or maybe a teenager who messed with the markers, because we basically walked all over this area for no reason before being dumped out here.”
Honestly, that wasn’t the craziest prank I’d heard of a teenager pulling. “At least I’ve gotten my steps in. But now I’m pretty sureI’mthe one who’s gonna need to rest tomorrow instead of Max.”
Secretly, I was incredibly relieved that I was going to get those photos for my son. Max asked for so little, and the idea that I couldn’t even complete a hike for him had been tearing me up inside.
“You and me both,” Remy joked even though he seemed completely fine. He was a big guy, both in height and muscle, but he acted like he’d taken a casual stroll around his yard. It was really attractive.
We trudged along, the crunch of snow underneath our feet a constant echo of our steps. If I loosened my focus, it almost sounded like applause. Nature was giving me my own little cheering squad despite the ache in my calves and the burn in my chest.
Finally,we stepped into the clearing, and I nearly crashed into Remy’s back as he came to a sudden stop.
“Are we there?” I asked, looking around his impressive frame. I frowned. “I thought this place was supposed to be abandoned?”
