“He’s probably told you about my incredible riding skills on Porky.”
Ranch chuckles. “They’ve all told me about that.”
“Well, Ranch,” I say with a grin, “I guess you’ll just have to come and see for yourself.”
“Lookin’ forward to it, darlin’.”
He releases my hand and I finish up my breakfast before going back to the cabin and getting changed for our big hike. We all meet at the base of the mountain, just past the river, and when I look up at the thick trees and steep climb, my tummy does a little flip flop.
“This is a very bad idea,” I mutter to myself, staring over at the group of men who have a big stack of bags, one each for us, ready to go.
Kara already has hers on, Grace is pretending she can’t get it on and is receiving help from Lake, and Maria is already bouncing around, ready for the climb. Emily isn’t here, she decided to give it a miss stating she was too old to climb mountains. I wish I could agree and use the same excuse, but alas, I can’t. They already think I’m a joke, imagine not being able to climb this damn mountain on top of that.
Rhett walks over to me with a pack in his hand, the pack looks heavier than me and really uncomfortable.
“Here, put this on. It’ll balance you out and it has everything you’ll need.”
“Balance me out?” I scoff. “I look like I’ll fall down the damned mountain with that thing on.”
He grins. “You won’t, I’ll be right behind you.”
I mutter something under my breath and then let him put the pack on. It’s not as heavy as it looks, and it sits well on my shoulders. He’s right, it does feel like it’s actually balancing me out a little. I look up at the path again and ask, “How long is this hike exactly?”
“Four hours, give or take.”
I spin around, the pack moving too quickly and taking me off guard. I trip and fall backward, landing with a thump in the dirt, thankfully the pack catches my fall. I then proceed to lie on the ground, arms and legs flailing around everywhere like a turtle as I try very hard to get back up, but the pack is throwing me off and I can’t get my body to do what I want.
Rhett, trying very hard not to laugh, leans down and takes my hand, pulling me up to my feet once more. I dust myself off and then, in an exasperated tone, I ask, “Four hours?”
“Yep, but it’s mostly an easy climb. It’s long, but it’s steady. You’ll be fine, we’ll stop a lot and the view from the top is fuckin’ perfect. We’ve got everything we need to stay up there, if everyone wants to, otherwise we’ll come back down.”
I blink, shaking my head. “Stay ... up there?”
“Trust me, when you see the river up there, and how beautiful it is, you’ll never want to leave.”
I doubt that, but I don’t argue with him. After all, he knows this land better than I do.
“Let’s go,” Enzo calls. “Single file, one man, one woman where possible. You need to stop you yell out.”
“Are there snakes up there?” Grace asks.
“Plenty. Stay close.”
Snakes?
Snakes?
I want to cry, but instead I suck it up. I take a deep breath, and I get hiking because I promised myself when I came on this little adventure that I’d not let anything get in the way of me enjoying it one hundred percent and I don’t plan on letting that stop now. So, if it means I have to hike up a snake infested mountain, then so be it.
So be it.
The first hour of the hike is surprisingly easy. I am shocked by how much fitter I am than I thought. We stop for a drink and a snack at a beautiful lookout, and I find myself a spot on a rock overlooking it and stare out at the land that stretches on for miles and miles. Nobody around. Nothing to be seen. It’s pure perfection.
Just the way you want it.
“You like this view, the one at the top will be even better,” Rhett tells me, sitting down beside me.
“I can only imagine.”
I take a long deep breath in, and then exhale slowly. This really is good for the soul.
“No snakes yet,” Rhett tells me, and I give him a sideways glare.
“Don’t say that word and ruin my peace.”
“You scared of snakes?”
“Deathly terrified, yes. I actually pass out, which wouldn’t be a good look on a hill.”
“Pass out?” he asks, shocked, his brows raised, his eyes wide.
“Yes,” I admit, sheepishly. “When I was a kid, I found one in my toybox at my grandpa’s house, he always left it out on the porch for us. I will never forget when I found it, I was so afraid that I had nightmares for months. Ever since then, if I see one and I feel like I can’t get away from it, I just faint like a true damsel in distress.”