Billy's Baby - Annie J. Rose Page 0,26

my boots and had a drink of water, I nodded to him that I was ready to go.

I followed him back along the trail, stopping to make more audio notes and take more photos. I focused on my work, on trying to memorize how strange and beautiful this forest was, how brilliant and loud the birds were, how big and bright the lizards were that slid across the rocks with lightning speed. I wanted to capture all of it so I could describe it perfectly in my article. I pushed aside the unsatisfied desire for Billy’s kiss and his touch. We chatted a little and had fun, but it was subdued. The weight of that almost-kiss was between us, my reaching for it, his shying away. I wasn’t going to waste my time analyzing his motives. I was in a beautiful spot on a fabulous trip, and nothing was going to ruin that.

When we reached the trailhead, I thanked him.

“It was a great experience, very unique. I appreciate the solo tour.”

He took my hand and squeezed it for a second, then picked it up and kissed it.

“I’ve never enjoyed a hike more,” he said, “and I’ve taken thousands of them.”

Surprised and flattered, I just nodded. He helped me back into the Jeep and drove us down to where I was dropped off.

“I’m giving you a ride back to your hotel, unless you need to stop somewhere.”

“I can call a car,” I offered. He shook his head, and I really did prefer to ride with him, kiss or no kiss, so I agreed.

“Do you want to get some lunch?”

“Not looking like this,” I said. “I think I’m about two hours past too sweaty to go in anyplace.”

“What if we just stop by a food truck?” he asked. “I’m starving. I know you have to be.”

“Yeah,” I admitted.

In a few minutes, he’d stopped and led me out onto the sidewalk in a neighborhood that looked like any other town—a business district with attorneys, accountants, advertising—all professional storefronts. We walked to a bright green food truck and waited in line. When we got to the window, Billy ordered pulled pork sandwiches with jicama and pineapple slaw and sweet potato fries. He paid and we took our meals back to the Jeep. I unwrapped my huge sandwich and took a bite.

“Oh, this is good!” I said. The meat was shredded and peppery with a Caribbean jerk seasoning, and the slaw was sweet and crunchy on top. I wolfed down half my sandwich before I reached for my soda and guzzled some of it, slurping through the straw. “I had no idea I was this hungry.”

“You say things like that a lot. You didn’t know you were tired or thirsty or hungry. One thing I learned pretty fast in the Navy was you have to listen to your body. It gives you cues. If you ignore that and go past the limit of what you can tolerate, you’re in trouble. If you don’t eat and drink and rest every time you get the chance, you can end up in some serious danger.”

“I think I’ll survive,” I said wryly.

“Take better care of yourself,” he said a little gruffly. I looked at him in surprise.

“Are you worried about me?” I asked slyly.

“No. Of course not. You can take care of yourself. That much is obvious.”

“Good. Because I can. So you don’t have to concern yourself.”

“Maybe I want to. Maybe I wanted to speak up in case you’re so used to looking out for yourself that you aren’t used to anyone else giving you a thought.”

“I have food. I’m fine. Thanks for lunch and….” I trailed off

“And the lecture?” he asked, “because that’s what you were going to say, isn’t it?”

I shrugged, “Yeah.”

“Do you like the sandwich?”

“It’s great.”

“My sister-in-law Elise has an ad agency down this street. She introduced the whole family to it. You should see my niece Lilly go after these sweet potato fries. They’d be smeared in her hair and she’d gobble up the rest.”

He smiled, and his grin was adorable. He obviously doted on his little niece. I felt a pang in my chest that was probably just heartburn from the sandwich and nothing to do with the thought this breathtaking giant of a man holding a tiny baby.

We finished up and he drove me back to my resort. I thanked him again, but I didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t kissed me. He’d kissed my hand. He was attracted to me, but