Page 29 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“Today’s your day. The weather is going to change soon so this is one of the last weekends to explore the mountains. I figured you probably haven’t done much of that, city girl. But don’t worry, you’ll like it.”
“Shouldn’t we wait until it gets a bit warmer? It’s barely light out. To me, a hike says ‘afternoon.’ Not predawn.”
“We’ve got things to do first,” he said. “We’re going to breakfast at the café. Then we need to pick up a couple of sandwiches for lunch. After that, we’ll hit the mountain.” I opened my mouth to protest but he talked right over me. “No arguments. You’ve got time to shower and get changed. Make sure you wear something warm. It will be colder up where we’re headed than it is down here.”
“Fine,” I grumbled.
After refilling my coffee mug, I walked up the stairs. Just as I was stepping off the top step, Nick’s rich laughter filled the floor below me. My heart stuttered and I smiled at the sound. He must have seen the bottom of his cup.
I really liked that mug.
My future ex-husband was evil.
The bastard had probably used this hiking ploy as a way to get women into bed countless times over the years. Because at this very moment, I was so turned on I couldn’t do much more than put one foot in front of the other.
I had been trudging after Nick on the mountain trail for over an hour. Every time I looked up, my eyes immediately landed on his sculpted behind.
For years, I had thought that no man’s ass could look as good as Logan’s did in his tailored suits.
Well, I had been quite wrong.
Nick’s ass kicked Logan’s ass.
The Carhartt pants he was wearing weren’t tight, but their cut highlighted all of the rounded and muscled contours of his butt. Who knew tan canvas pants could be so sexy?
Just staring at his ass had my whole body buzzing. All I wanted to do was reach out and grab a handful. But what I needed to do was stop thinking about Nick’s ass.
I hated that I was still insanely attracted to him.
“You doing okay back there?” Nick called over his shoulder.
“Great!” I lied, looking up into his smirking face. He had totally just caught me checking him out.
Shit.
“How much farther?” I asked, trying not to appear guilty.
“We’re just about there. Ten minutes, maybe?”
“Is this place a favorite of yours?”
“Yeah. It’s got a great view of the Jamison Valley. And the hike itself is fairly easy. Didn’t want to take you on anything too difficult this first time.”
“Easy. Right.” I had been huffing and puffing for twenty minutes. My thighs were burning and my calves were balled tight. My body hadn’t worked this hard in years.
I was lucky to have a petite frame and fast metabolism, which meant that I hadn’t stepped into a gym since college. And even then, it had been to ogle the football team with Steffie. As long as I didn’t go crazy with junk food, I was able to maintain my figure without much exercise.
True to his word, Nick soon veered off the trail and we maneuvered through the trees to a large opening in front of a rock cliff.
When my eyes took in the sight before me, tingles traveled through my limbs.
Magic.
Jamison Valley was located in southwestern Montana, and from this position we could see forever. Nick even showed me where Yellowstone National Park started in the distance.
Prescott’s brown buildings were tiny from up here. The aerial view allowed me to see how the
town filled the space along the Jamison River. Miles away was another indigo mountain range towering over the golden plains between us. The evergreens around the rock cliff stood tall. Their green color provided a stunning contrast to the cloudless, light blue sky above.
