Page 68 of Defender
Friends who had shared a couple of passionate kisses, but only friends nonetheless. Certainly nothing to get so worked up over.
Not when every time he started to bring up said kisses with Dani, she quickly changed the subject. Obviously she didn’t want anything more.
Eventually he needed to get it through his thick skull and stop replaying certain memories over and over again. Dani didn’t want to stay in Renegade.
Then again, maybe they could make something work. It wasn’t completely unheard of, right? Finn had encouraged the idea of a relationship with her.
Because really, when was he going to meet another woman like Dani Kim? She’d woken something inside him, and he couldn’t lull it back to dormancy.
If nothing else, he could at least ask her about that last kiss when he’d rescued her. He’d get some closure, and it would stop keeping him awake at night.
If he had a chance to get her alone, he would ask.
With the plan in place, he finished organizing the gear and water bottles in his pack and some energy bars in a cooler that would stay in the car for afterward. Finn would probably say he was going overboard with the ropes and a harness, but he didn’t want to be caught in a situation where he needed them and didn’t have them.
“Michael, they’re here! You coming?” Eliza’s voice called from downstairs.
“Be right there!” He checked his watch. Impressive. Dani was notoriously late for everything, and here she was a full ten minutes early.
He went downstairs and followed the voices to the kitchen. Finn and Liza were standing way too close to each other while Dani raided the fridge.
It was still weird to see his partner and his sister flirting with each other. He tried to ignore them as he reached over Dani’s head and snagged a yogurt cup from the refrigerator.
“You’re early.” He couldn’t quite bring himself to tug on her silky dark hair, swinging from a ponytail, like he would’ve done at one time. “You feeling okay?”
“Are you implying that I’m habitually late?” She gave him a mock glare, standing there in her fitted athletic shirt, running shorts, and hiking boots.
“I’m not implying anything. I’m saying it out loud. You’re habitually late.” He opened the drawer for a spoon.
“He’s not wrong,” Eliza chimed in. She snagged an apple from the bowl on the counter. “She’s only here now because I told her the wrong time on purpose. It was Maria’s idea. She told me you were late to your first-hour class every day your senior year.”
Dani laughed. “All right, obviously you guys know me well. But I’ll have you know I’ve grown up a bit since high school, and I’m much more punctual now.”
“Sure you are.” Eliza smirked.
“Well, hopefully you know me well enough to also have packed me a sandwich or something for lunch, ’cause my only options at Josh and Lily’s were applesauce packets and frozen chicken nuggets.”
“We have you covered.” Michael winked.
“I figured.” Dani grinned.
“Am I that predictable?” Michael looked to Finn and took a big bite of yogurt.
“Completely predictable.” Finn chuckled.
“But it’s not all bad.” Dani grabbed one of the hard-boiled eggs out of the fridge and reached around Michael for the saltshaker on the counter.
“Right. I’m sure he has a first aid kit, satellite phone, and fire extinguisher next to the emergency flares in his pack.” His sister raised an eyebrow.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing, but as soon as things go south, who will you look to for flares and a fire blanket?” Michael stared them all down.
“Since he’s willing to carry the extra gear, I, for one, will not complain.” Dani polished off the egg in two bites. “So, let’s hit the trail.”
As soon as they drove west out of Renegade, the road quickly climbed in elevation. There was a reason Bagg Trail was one of his favorites. The mountain views were spectacular. It followed a river part of the way too, with impressive waterfalls and alpine meadows along the trail. They parked at the trailhead just outside one of the state forest campgrounds.
Michael passed a can of bug spray to his sister. “I know you’ll want this.”
Eliza looked at the famous Renegade peak in the distance as she doused herself in DEET. “How far up that thing are we going?”
