She enjoys the freedom the mountains bring, the sound of birds and running water nearby, the scent of fresh dirt and pines. You can breathe differently up here, deeper, every inhale crisp and refreshing. It wakes you up, brings you clarity you didn’t know you needed.
Before Piglet, I spent so much time here by myself, wandering aimlessly through the woods, sitting with my feet in the creek, contemplating life. Sometimes I’d wish life were different, but I knew I’d never ever give up what I had now, despite the loneliness that creeps in.
Here with this girl, I don’t feel so alone. It’s not the life I imagined as a child, but it’s what I’ve been given. I love it for everything it is and everything it’s given me.
Even if I’ll forever grieve the parts it’s taken away.
Piglet and I carry on, weaving through towering pines and cedars, my eyes roaming the trunk of every pine, searching the bark for a heart and three initials I know lives somewhere in this forest. I’ve been looking for years, every single Saturday since I moved here, but each time I leave here with a hole in my heart that seems to, somehow, grow just a teensy bit bigger.
An hour in, my stomach starts to grumble, and Piglet slows, looking pointedly between me and my backpack.
I roll my eyes. “You give the best puppy eyes in the history of ever, you know that, Pig, don’t you?” I scratch her head as she licks my knee. “We’re almost to the bridge now. Five more minutes and we’ll break for lunch, ’kay, girl?”
She barks and jogs ahead, stopping at the trunk of a tree to sniff. A branch snaps in the distance, followed by the rustle of leaves, and a deep voice calls a word nobody ever wants to hear when they’re hiking alone.
“Bear !”
Piglet’s head snaps and she stops in her tracks. I plaster myself against the rough bark of a wide trunk, trembling as footsteps thunder. Something ginormous and black bursts through the trees, stealing the breath from my lungs when it sets its sights on me.
My entire life flashes before my eyes, because I’m 99 percent sure that’s a bear hurdling toward me.
“Save yourself, Pig !” I shriek, chucking her leash and shoving her behind a bush. I cover my face and brace for impact. “I’m too young to die !”
Something solid and fluffy collides with my body, taking me to the ground. A wet nose shoves itself in my face, sniffling rather aggressively, and before he makes me his next meal, he opens his mouth and…licks me.
Runs his big, wet tongue from my jaw right up the side of my face, before moving to the other side and repeating the action. It’s rather odd, but not the worst way to go, I suppose.
I crack one lid, every ounce of fear draining from my body at the happy face panting above me.
“Oh my gosh, I am going to die. Yes, I am!” The burly black dog peers down at me with ginormous chocolate eyes, and I bury my hands in his soft, long fur and close my eyes, leaning into the bath he’s giving me with his tongue. “You are the handsomest, sweetest doggy ever, aren’t you, big boy? Yes, you are.” I hug him close as his nose makes a home in the crook of my neck, tail whipping back and forth with his happy dance. “Have I died and gone to heaven? If this is heaven, I’ll stay forever.”
Footsteps pound through fallen leaves, cracking twigs, and a deep voice calls out that same terrifying word again.
“Bear !”
The burly dog turns around, sitting his exceptionally large butt in my lap as if he’s a lapdog, not a Tibetan Mastiff nearly the same size as me. He pokes his tongue into my ear and rests his chin on my shoulder as a mountain of a man breaks through the thicket, blue eyes bouncing wildly. When he spots us, he sighs, body deflating as he grips his hips and drops his face.
“Jesus Christ,” he grumbles, rubbing his eyes. He spread his arms wide, disbelieving yet amused gaze set on the dog who may or may not have claimed me as his. “You scared the shit outta me, bud!”
I giggle as the dog tucks his big head into my neck, and the man’s gaze flicks to mine. His cheeks pink as he looks me over. Mine do, too, as I do the same.
“You’re really tall,” I blurt. “Oh my gosh, that was so rude. I just mean, like, you’re…” I swallow. “Super tall.”
His mouth cracks in a grin. It’s so genuine and friendly, so wide, and I’m taken back by the sheer beauty of it. When a hearty chuckle tumbles out of his mouth, I nuzzle a little further into the dog at my side, hiding my blush as I study his dog dad.
He’s…exceptional. His electric blue eyes are a stark contrast against the golden kiss of his skin, the dark stubble lining his jaw, and when he takes off his baseball hat and lets his dark curls spring free, long fingers running through them, I swallow.
His gray T-shirt clings to his broad body, showcasing muscular biceps, mouth-watering corded forearms, and a trim waist. My gaze follows the line of his fitted black shorts to his thick thighs, and I spy a tattoo peeking from the hem of his right leg, nearly grazing his kneecap. If you’ve ever wondered if thigh tattoos are hot, the answer is yes. So. Fucking. Hot .
Another swallow from me, and he lifts the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, revealing—oh my shit, is that a fucking ten-pack? Do those exist?
My throat closes at the sight of his immaculate abs. In desperate need of water and fresh out of the kind I really require—holy— I reach for the backpack still attached to my back. In the process, I lose my grip on the dog, and maybe sanity, tumbling forward with a squeal, face-planting in the dirt. The dog at my side leaps to his feet with a woof , Piglet whimpers from the bush she’s still hiding behind, and the man I’ve just embarrassed myself in front of rushes to my aid.
Large hands grip my waist, lifting me clear off the ground.
“I got you,” he murmurs, striding across the dirt with me in his arms.
“I’m too heavy—”
“I know you’re not arguing with me right now,” he teases, setting me down on a boulder. Warm hands cover my knees, parting my legs as he kneels between them and peers up at me with pools of blue a girl could drown in. He brushes the dirt from my cheeks before reclaiming my knees. “I think that’s the second time my dog’s taken you out.”
I grin, another giggle slipping free. His eyes fall to my mouth, and my heart slams against my rib cage.
“To be fair, it was your dog the first time, but this time, I just got…distracted.”
“Distracted?”
“Yeah, you did that thing with your shirt, and your abs.” I clear my throat into my fist. “Hot guys do it in the movies all the time.”
Amusement dances in his eyes. “Ah. So we both have some apologizing to do then, huh?”
“I accept apologies in the form of ice cream or iced lattes; I’m not picky.”
He chuckles as his dog licks his neck. “We’ll keep that in mind when we get your apology basket together.” His eyes drop, his thumb grazing a fresh scrape on my knee. “I’m really sorry he knocked you down. He never runs off like that. It’s like he got a whiff of you and took off.”
“Honestly, it was more my fault than anything. I saw him running toward me and I freaked out. I, um…thought he was a bear.”
The man laughs and ruffles his dog’s ear. “Hear that, buddy? She thought you were a big, ferocious bear. He’ll be bragging about that all night.” His gaze coasts over me. “You’re sure you’re okay? You’re not hurt?”