“Well then, watch, and eat your heart out.” She felt like a dork including the last sentiment. As if he were drooling over her or dying to be close to her. He’d only shown slight indications that he was even attracted to her and he obviously wouldn’t allow himself to fall for an actress. Allison questioned why she wanted him to fall for her. He was attractive—okay she could admit to that. He’d saved her life—okay that had been singularly impressive. He was protecting her—okay that was both appealing and made her fill with gratitude for him. There was also the fact that before he’d figured out she was an actress she’d really enjoyed their banter and thought they were connecting like she’d never connected with a man.
She pushed it all from her mind and hurried away from him as he watched her with slightly narrowed eyes. What could she do to keep him close, and hopefully get more interactions like this morning at the gym? She decided to forget about him and do what she enjoyed. She started the late morning with a mountain bike ride, pedaling hard. Birch kept up, but he stayed back a little bit as if scared to get too close. Whatever.
There was a trail leading off to the side that she hadn’t noticed on her excursions with the Jewel family last summer or with Abe and Rachel the past few days from this trail. She took it, jetting to the side. She heard Birch mutter a mild oath as he sped past the spot and had to retrace and then catch up with her. Allison smiled to herself. She was making him nuts. Good.
She pedaled hard and the trail was almost level and wide enough for two bikes for a while but then it changed into a rocky one-track. She gripped the handle bars hard as she bounced over the trail. It eventually opened into a meadow with lots of stately trees and a gradual cliff to the side with large boulders to scale.
Allison set the bike down where the trail dead-ended in the meadow, unbuckled her helmet and hurried to the rocky cliffside. She loved climbing and hardly got the chance with her busy schedule. Birch approached behind her on his bike as she started ascending the boulders. It was a little sketchy in Rachel’s bike shoes she had borrowed, but she was fine.
Birch approached the base and called up to her, “Come down.”
Allison looked back at him, maybe forty feet below her, annoyed with his command. “Come get me, macho man.”
He simply glared at her. Allison turned away from him and scrambled over several more boulders. She heard him coming up behind her. She tried to ignore him and keep climbing but from the sounds of it he was moving fast. Within minutes he was right next to her.
“You don’t have proper climbing gear on, you need to come down, now.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “This is hardly a cliff that requires climbing gear, it’s just bouldering.”
“Are you determined to hurt yourself?” he asked.
Allison tilted her head to the side and appraised him. “I’m not going to hurt myself. I’m trying to do something fun while I’m on a break from work.” She lowered her voice and muttered, “And without any fun company to make it more enjoyable.”
He must’ve caught her last line as a slight grin slipped through before he got all stern again. “This isn’t some vacation, Allison, you’re in hiding and your life is in danger.” He cleared his throat and said in a tellingly gruff tone, “Please don’t put yourself in more danger.”
Allison looked at him as they both clung to boulders on the mountainside, something warm erupting inside knowing that he did care. He hadn’t admitted that per se but his dark gaze said it was true. She simply said, “Can you please call me Ally?”
Birch’s jaw was tight as if her request were as painful as him watching her ascend this cliff and putting her life in danger. Then something shifted between them and for one moment she saw him relax, and maybe … be interested in her. “Ally,” he murmured softly, his dark eyes searching hers.
Allison’s entire body went into hyperdrive. Her heart beat fast, she couldn’t catch a breath, and her skin prickled with awareness, awareness of one Birch Merrill. She couldn’t think what to say, she could only stare at him with a slightly open mouth as they both leaned into the cliff side.
“Can you please not risk your life … Ally?”
Allison gave him a tremulous smile but gestured up. “We’re halfway to the top. What do you say we keep going, then we’ll take the gradual way down?”
He finally nodded. “Lead the way. I’ll stay slightly behind you, catch you when you fall.”
“IfI fall,” she corrected, but she couldn’t help adding, “You really are quite the hero, Birch Merrill.”
He only grunted in response and she wondered if she’d upset him again. She remembered how he’d fired back at her on the beach when she’d called him her hero and he told her to stop the theatrics. That was probably what he thought she was doing now. That created an ugly tight knot in her gut, replacing the warmth he’d put there earlier. How could she show him she was genuine and not like his mom or sister? She doubted she had much hope of that. Ignoring the need to show him how sincere she was, she kept climbing.
They reached the top a few minutes later and paused to look over the meadow below. They weren’t high enough to see over the forest of trees and into the valley where the Jewels’ house was, but it was still a pretty view with all the trees and more mountains in the distance. Some of the leaves were starting to turn brilliant orange, red, and yellows but they were still mostly green this early in the fall. Allison liked standing by Birch’s side and staring at the scenery. She liked that he could be quiet and appreciate the beauty of nature.
She was the first one to tilt her head to the side and say, “Shall we?”
He nodded and gave her what seemed to be a genuine smile. “We shall.”
She laughed. They walked along the ridge and down a steep goat’s trail back toward where they’d left their bikes. Allison wanted to talk to him but her usual chatty nature disappeared and she couldn’t think of one conversation starter. She kept trying to remind herself that he hated actresses, but at the same time she couldn’t resist wanting to get to know him better.
“When did you learn to mountain bike on vicious inclines like this?” he asked. “There aren’t many mountains to bike on near Dana Point.”
She smiled over at him, appreciating the attempt at normal conversation. “I grew up in Rochester, New York. We had a lot of great trails and Abe and I loved to mountain bike with each other and with friends.” She pointed toward the trail they were descending. “Though I have to admit the Rocky Mountains slaughter anything I’ve ever done elevation wise. It’s very pretty here, isn’t it?”
He lifted a branch out of the way and she thanked him and scurried through. They hit semi-level ground and the meadow. “Very pretty,” he said. “It’s so different from California or Florida, where I’m stationed now, but I love it. I could see myself settling down someplace like this.”
“Really?” They walked toward their mountain bikes. “So you could see yourself settling down someday? What does that mean to you exactly?”
He glanced askance at her. “A house, a wife, children.” He paused for a breath then asked quietly, “What does it mean to you?”