were flush from the exercise.
“Come on.” He grabbed my hand and led me towards the back of my property.
“Where are we going?”
“For a walk. I think we both could use some time out of the cabin and the weather is nice.” He kept his hand in mine and led me towards one of the trails that lead into the preserve. There were hundreds and hundreds of miles of trails all around the town. It was part of Jensen’s job to maintain them and I bet he knew them as well as my brother did.
“Where does this trail go?” I asked when we were under the shade of the massive pines edging my yard. I was already feeling better the further away from the house we got. Less caged in and the tightness in my chest started to ease. Was this the reason Jensen wanted to walk? I wasn’t sure I wanted to ask him.
“Never taken it?”
“I come to walk out here sometimes, but usually I’m reading and slow. I don’t get far.”
“I’m imagining you tripping and breaking yourself on this trail while reading and no one finding you for a month.”
“I’d crawl back before that,” I said with a huff.
“Before or after you’re eaten by a mountain lion?” he asked.
“I’m all skin and bones. They want someone meaty like you.”
“They always go after the weak ones. You should know that.” Jensen’s laugh accompanied his words and it echoed through the trees.
The air around him was as infectious as it always had been. It took me back to high school, and riding with the windows down. How intoxicating it was to be in his vicinity. I grabbed the moment with both hands like it could slip through my grasp and float away with the breeze blowing through the trees.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“The past.” There were too many emotions and thoughts to put into words without admitting I wanted us to work. There was a weight of impossibility there, hanging on my heart.
“Very informative. Riveting.” He side-eyed me.
“Not everything needs to be said out loud.” I scoffed. “What do I owe you anyway?”
“Not a thing, apparently.” He released my hand, bringing his together and blowing in them.
There was weight in the emptiness. I tucked my hands in my pockets, focusing on each step I took. Every time I thought I’d accepted things another pebble fell off, snatched away, leaving my heart emptier than it had been before.
Quick movement caught my eye and I turned towards the snapping of a branch, ice running through my veins, freezing me in place. “What was that?” I whispered under my breath.
“Could be the mountain lion den I’m leading you towards so I can toss you inside.”
“Funny, I was leading you there for the same reason. Yeet you right into it.” I stared him down.
“As if you could toss me into a lion's den. You have no chance of winning a fight with me.” Jensen laughed again, lightening the mood. “And yeet isn’t a word.”
“Is so and I’m obviously going to kill you first. Why do you think I lured you away from my house, so I don’t have blood in there?” It was impossible to keep a straight face, but I did my best to school my features.
“You couldn’t lift one of my thighs and you’re too squeamish of blood to hack me to pieces. I’ve clearly won this breakup. Ha!”
I was sure he hadn’t meant anything by the breakup comment, but it was a cut to my heart. We fell silent, taking in the landscape crested with snow.
“I’ve been thinking about the past a lot as well.”
“Oh?” I wasn’t sure why he was back on this train of thought.
“Do you remember running into me Christmas two years ago? You were here visiting Adam.”
“Of course I do. You were there drinking with him before my parents came up the next day.” He’d stayed long after everyone else left.
“I thought about you every day last year. And then when you moved back, I knew it was my time. I was going to ask you out the day I got home and then I saw you eating at Sally’s with your boyfriend. I didn’t think I could compete with a city boy.”
Travis hadn’t come to visit often. He made me go to him, always telling me he had homework or a party to go to. I ran through the couple of times he’d been here, trying to figure out which time it had been. “I