“You’re really deep in thought.”
Seth sits next to me, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Just waking up.”
“I figure coming face-to-face with a grizzly will do that.”
I chuckle and then shiver at the memory of seeing that huge animal come walking around the building.
“I’m lucky I didn’t pee my pants,” I reply. “What did you figure out?”
“My boss is going to send a few guys up to help us down since we don’t know where the snow starts. Or how deep it is in places. They’ll have shovels. Probably take them a couple of hours to get here.”
“But the bear—” I stop when he grins down at me. “What?”
“You don’t have to worry. We’re all trained to handle bears.”
“Right.” I finish my tea and set the mug aside. “We need to clean up our mess in here and put stuff away.”
“We will. The linens will go in the plastic, and we’ll put them in the laundry. I’ll haul the mattress back up.”
I nod, and we get to work, righting everything. When we’re done, we sit on the two chairs by the fire.
“Do you have plans for tonight?” he asks, surprising me.
“I plan to burn these clothes and find a hotel to take a long, hot shower.”
He raises a brow. “No shower in your van?”
“It’s small and not always hot. I want hot.”
“You don’t need to find a hotel. You can use my shower out at the ranch.”
I blink at him. “Is this your way of getting me to go home with you?”
The grin he flashes is quick and confident. “No. I’m offering you my shower. And a meal. That’s all.”
“That’s all.” I cross my legs and nod. “Okay. I’ll take you up on the offer. Do you cook?”
“I was raised by two women who cook quite well,” he replies. “They taught me everything I need to know. So, yes. I can cook.”
“Do you have a favorite dish?”
“You’ll find out tonight.”
I grin, very much looking forward to seeing Seth’s house and spending more time with him. And, most of all, a normal, hot shower. I wasn’t lying. These clothes won’t see another hiking day. I can’t get out of them fast enough.
Even though our cells don’t work well up here, we exchange phone numbers, and I take down his address in my notes. Just as we’re finishing our plans, the door opens, and three men file in.
“You guys were fast,” Seth says and stands to shake their hands. “How’s the trail?”
“The first four miles up were fine,” the tallest one says. “Then we hit snow. We’re going to have a hell of a time for about a mile on the way down, then it lightens up.”
“Thank you,” I say as Seth and I load our packs onto our backs. “And I’m sorry for this.”
“Just glad you’re safe,” another one says. “We’ll be down in no time.”
It took us just under two hours to make our way down. I was paranoid of bears, but having four strong men trained in what to do, helped me relax. They were also armed, so that helped.
My van started without a problem, and now I’m back at my campsite near Cunningham Falls.
Seth had some work to see to, so we agreed that I’d meet him at his place at around six this evening.
Which means I have a couple of hours to kill, and I’m hoping that Little Deli is still open so I can grab some baked goods for dessert tonight.
I quickly change clothes, grab my bike, and set off into town.
It’s a comfortable sixty degrees today. You’d never know that the mountains are already dealing with winter-like weather. It’s mind-boggling.
I can see that the deli is still open, so I park my bike and walk inside, noticing the nice woman behind the counter doing a little dance.
“Hi,” she says with an embarrassed smile. “I’m so glad someone is here. Can you please, please stand here and keep an eye on things for five minutes while I run to the bathroom really quick?”
“Oh, of course,” I assure her. “Go ahead.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” She hurries off down the hall to the restroom, and I browse through the baked items in the glass case.
Someone rushes into the deli and then comes to a halt. “Where’s Annie?”
I blink, realizing that Annie must be the woman who just went to the bathroom.
“She stepped away.”
“I just need a cookie.”
I eye the cookies, shrug, and walk behind the counter. Using tongs, I put the cookie in a little white sleeve and pass it over.
“That’s two bucks.”
He passes me the cash and walks back out, just as Annie returns.
“A guy just bought a cookie. He didn’t want to wait,” I inform her and hand her the money.
“Oh, that’s Curt. He always comes at this time of the day for a cookie. Thank you.”
“I’m Remi,” I reply as I wander back to the customer side of the counter. “And you must be Annie.”