Page 26 of All I Want Is Love
“How do you usually celebrate Christmas?”
“I… I don’t think I have a real tradition,” he says evasively.
Okay, better not to touch on this topic.
Fortunately, we have arrived at our destination. I park the jeep at the side of the road, right next to where our path starts. “Look,” I say. “We’ll take this path. It will lead partly up the mountain ahead of us.”
“But not all of it?”
“No, it’s too dangerous to walk there in winter. We will try to reach the first observation deck, but as I said, no pressure. Wecan stop and return any time. As for the mountain summit, we can do that in summer,ifyou enjoy our little hiking adventure.”
We both exit the car, stretching slightly. Leo takes a deep breath. “The air is so fresh here,” he tells me. “I feel it in town too, but here it’s even fresher. Like there is nothing pressing on my chest.”
We make sure we are equipped with everything we need and slip into our waterproof boots before leaving the jeep behind and approaching the path that will take us through the forest. We take Barkley off the leash so he can run around freely, which he does by running next to us off the path where the snow is the thickest and keeps burying his head in the fluffy snow.
“He is so funny,” Leo smiles. “I don’t get sick of watching him.” He pauses. “You set me up with him, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I say honestly. “Aspen approached me and asked if I had an idea how to make sure you wouldn’t feel out of place. Around that time, Barkley’s former owners dropped him on me.” I look at him thoughtfully. “I am sorry, we were probably pretty overbearing.”
“I don’t mind,” he glances at me, “much.”
I chuckle. “I promise, I won’t do it again.”
“Soren, I am not sure if I’ll be able to let go of Barkley when you find his forever home.”
“Then don’t,” I say.
“Huh?”
“Obviously, you can keep him. He is happy with you. I think he has already adopted you.”
Leo’s face lights up. “Can I really keep him?”
“Of course. I wanted a forever home for him, and the fact that he found it with you is the best outcome.”
Leo smiles brightly, looking so happy that it makes my heart flutter. I didn’t know he was able to look like that. He has suchan expressive face, and it warms my heart that he can also look so openly joyful.
We fall into a comfortable silence the further we walk. I make sure to take a couple of breaks so that Leo won’t feel pressured to keep up with my pace. He is struggling at first, his breathing going faster, so I make sure to set a slow but steady pace. Eventually, he gets accustomed to it, his breath evening out.
It takes us two and a half hours to reach the observation deck. It’s a beautiful place, a cliff that opens up the view of West Sunhaven, and right behind it, we can also spot East Sunhaven. The sun is shining now and lighting up the area, making the snow crystals glitter.
“This is amazing!” Leo blurts out, dropping his backpack on the bench in the small pavilion that provides hikers with a bit of shelter from the weather, and walks around to look at everything. Barkley, meanwhile, is rolling around in the thick snow, clearly having the time of his life.
Leo looks at the mountain ahead of us wistfully. “So, if we continued, we would reach the summit?”
“Yes. We can walk the whole path in late spring,” I offer. “Does that mean you didn’t hate our hike?”
“I hated the first thirty minutes of it,” he admits. “But once I got into it, it felt so empowering. And standing here and looking down at West Sunhaven, it just makes me feel so free and like I can accomplish anything. I can’t even imagine how it would feel to stand at the summit.”
“Do you want to join me on a couple more hikes?” I ask, trying not to sound too pushy or hopeful. I have mostly hiked alone, because neither Aspen nor Robin is into it, and none of my ex-boyfriends was either.
“Yes, absolutely! Barkley seems to love it too.”
Indeed, he is currently buried in snow and looking like the silliest, cutest pup ever. “How about next weekend? Are you and Barkley free?”
“We are available,” Leo says.
“Then I will plan something fun for next Saturday,” I promise.
