Page 27 of Risk Everything

But either way, Tanner would be ready in case danger came.

BEING OUT HERE in the woods was so much better than wedding planning, but it didn’t take Bree long to recognize tension in both Noah and Tanner the next day.

It wasn’t overt—they were both still teaching and smiling, at least as much as Noah ever smiled, and they seemed to be having a good time. But there was a tension in Tanner—an awareness—that hadn’t been there yesterday when they’d started their trip.

“What’s going on?” she asked when they stopped for water. She’d been watching him all morning and all through their lunch break. Watching him watch the area around them, looking for threats.

“Nothing’s going on. Why do you ask?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t know. Maybe because I’ve seen you around enough dangerous situations to recognize the I’m-about-to-turn-into-supercop look? What aren’t you telling me?”

He pulled her against him and kissed her temple. “Nothing. I promise. Nothing concrete. Noah just got a little spooked—although it ended up being nothing—and both of us just want to be diligent.”

“But nothing happened besides Noah’s Spidey senses tingling?”

He smiled and kissed her. “Nothing. I promise I’ll tell you if I think you need to be concerned.”

“Really? You have been known to keep things from me before. Important things—because you wanted to handle it all by yourself.”

“Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to keeping things from you. We are a team.”

Bree kissed him and turned back to the group. She watched as Noah took a sip of his water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand afterward. Sam, sitting right beside him, mimicked the motion almost exactly a couple seconds later.

They spent the next two hours making steady progress through the wilderness. Tanner and Noah took multiple opportunities to indicate different plants and animals along the way. They showed some edible berries, but then were quick to point out the poisonous berries that looked very similar.

They identified poison oak and other plants to avoid, as well as specifying the multiple different trees and flowers that made up the beauty of this part of Colorado. Their respect for the wilderness around them was evident in every sentence. It was nearly impossible not to get caught up in their passion for the land.

The running theme was obvious: respect nature. Nature wasn’t always gentle, but even in its harshness there was beauty.

They came across all sorts of animals. The racer snake they saw along one rocky ridge was Sam’s personal favorite, even though it had everybody else squealing in fear.

Noah pointed out the tracks from deer and elk, and even the signs that a bear had passed through at some point. When Eva’s eyes grew wide, Tanner took the time to explain the best way to defend yourself against a bear was actually to avoid it in the first place. Talking out loud and letting a bear know you were nearby was the best way to get it to move along in the opposite direction. Most bears weren’t looking for a confrontation.

Sam wanted to press about what should be done if the bear didn’t move along and charged instead, but that topic of conversation was obviously a little upsetting for Eva, who was soon near tears. A look and nod passed between Tanner and Noah, before Tanner grabbed Eva’s hand to show her a caterpillar that was climbing up a tree. Noah placed a light hand on Sam’s shoulder and led him a few steps over to the side.

Concern clouded Marilyn’s face.

“Don’t worry,” Bree whispered to her. “Noah won’t let the details get too out of hand. Although the way Sam got excited about that snake, I think he could probably handle details about a bear attack.”

“Oh.” Marilyn relaxed. “A bear attack. Right. Yeah, Sam can handle that.”

Marilyn hadn’t been worried about the topic, Bree realized.

“You know Noah would never hurt Sam, right?” she whispered.

Marilyn gave a shaky laugh. “I know that. Of course, I know that.”

“Oh, my gosh, really? That’s awesome!” Sam’s excited voice called out from next to Noah, who was obviously imparting some vast wilderness secret to the boy. “It’s so gross! Mom would never do it.” Sam belly-laughed.

They watched as Noah leaned his head closer to tell Sam something else.

“I don’t want him to live his life scared,” Marilyn whispered. “I already hate myself enough for what I let them witness happen to me. I don’t want to spend their whole childhood hovering over them and making them afraid to try new things and befriend new people.”

Bree ran a hand along her friend’s back, the gesture coming so much more naturally now than it would have a year ago, since she now had so many people in her life teaching her how to give and receive love.

“The world isn’t always a safe place. Your kids learned that early, and, yeah, that’s a tragedy of gargantuan proportions. But look at them, Marilyn.” She gestured first at Eva, who was holding Tanner’s hand and pressing her face close to a tree so she could see the critter, giggling every few seconds. Then over to Sam, who was staring at Noah with huge, wide eyes, obviously completely entranced with whatever the man was saying.

“Yeah?” Marilyn asked. “They don’t seem to be doing anything particularly amazing.”