“I thought there were two tents.”
“Just the one. Is that a problem?”
“I prefer my own space.”
“You can have your own space. The left-hand side of the tent is yours. Right-hand side is mine.” The corner of his mouth flickered into a smile. “Relax. We’re not moving in together. This is strictly a temporary arrangement.”
And there was nothing she could do about it, was there? To make a fuss would give the situation too much weight and importance, so she forced herself to shrug and carry on up the trail.
The forest grew dense, the light dimmed and then finally the trail opened out, revealing incredible views of the Green Mountains.
“C’est incroyable.” Élise stopped dead, drinking in the view, feeling the cooler air on her heated skin. “It’s truly beautiful.”
“Yeah, it really is.” Sean eased the pack off her shoulders and put it down next to a rock. “Let’s take a break and cook up some of that food you brought with you. What’s for lunch? Langoustines à la greque? Coquilles Saint Jacques?”
“You are in the mountains.”
“Nothing in the Green Mountain code book tells me I have to compromise my standards of eating just because I’m in the wild. Look—” he pointed as a bird soared above them “—red-tailed hawk.”
She stared up at the sky. “You know this, how?”
“Gramps. He knows everything there is to know about the birds and wildlife around here. You want to know which mushrooms are safe to eat? He’s the one to ask. And talking of eating, I’m starving.” He reached into his pocket and removed a pair of sunglasses.
With the sunglasses catching the light, she could no longer see his eyes.
“I don’t have mushrooms.” Élise opened her backpack and removed the first pack from the cool bag. “Lunch is a picnic. Local Green Mountain ham served with my sourdough bread and fresh olives.”
“If I found you mushrooms you could make some of those delicious pastries we ate the night of the party.”
“And how would I cook it? You think I am carrying around an oven? A simple life calls for simple food. But ‘simple’ does not mean poor quality.” She handed him a neatly wrapped pack and he picked out a spot on a rock and sat down.
“When we did these trips as kids, Gramps didn’t let us carry food. We had to eat what the forest provided.” He tucked ham inside thick chunks of fresh bread. “We knew which berries were safe to pick and which ones would poison us. We knew how to catch fish from the river and how to light a fire to cook it that didn’t burn the forest down. Jackson and Tyler used to do the foraging for food while I found the wood for the fire. In reality I found a quiet spot in the forest and sat down to read the book I’d sneaked into my backpack. The ham is good. Is there any more?”
She wondered if he realized how much he talked about his grandfather.
“Did your father go, too?” Élise handed him another slab of bread and slice of ham.
“He was usually working.”
“You were very close to your father.”
“Yes.” He tore off a chunk of the bread. “I was.”
She wondered if that had something to do with the row he’d had with his grandfather, but she didn’t pursue it. If he wanted to talk about it, he’d talk and if he didn’t—well, she understood more than most the need to keep some things close.
When they’d both finished eating they carried on up the trail, walking along the ridge with views of Lake Champlain.
“It is the prettiest view I’ve ever seen. Why haven’t I been up here before?”
“Because my brother works you to the bone.” He shielded his eyes. “We’re lucky it’s a clear day. Often the visibility is poor up here. See the lake? That was discovered by your countryman, Samuel de Champlain. He was a French explorer and he sailed inland from the Atlantic Ocean and found this large freshwater lake.”
“It is the most beautiful place. Where are we supposed to camp?”
“Walter’s Ridge. We camped there all the time as kids. If you drop down the other side you can follow the river back home. It’s the reason we never got lost.”
They walked a little farther and then reached an open area with boulders and a spectacular view.
Sean eased the pack off his back and glanced around him. “This is good.”