the little things, even my annoyance with Pierce and the accounts he still had not turned over to me.
In retrospect, I should have focused more on that. If only I had known the horrible plan my ex was hatching…
But the guys were distracting me. Not just with sexy bedroom activities, either.
“We’ve got a proposal for you,” Riley said one evening while we were eating pizza at my dining room table.
“We want you to consider it, too,” Harper added. “Don’t dismiss it outright.”
Butterflies flew in my stomach. What could they be referring to? My imagination ran wild with sexy possibilities…
But then Riley said, “We want you to hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with us.”
22
Riley
“Have you given it any more thought?” I asked.
It had been a day since we suggested it to Christie. She was flabbergasted at the time, and I couldn’t get a good read on her. But now, wrapping presents with her in Macy’s, I could see her reluctance.
“I looked it up last night. It’s like thirteen miles!”
Technically, it was fifteen miles to the campground we wanted to go to. But I didn’t want to dissuade her any more.
“We’ll go slow,” I said while handing her a piece of tape. “It’ll be fine.”
“I’ve never been hiking. Well, that’s not true. I went on one hike with a friend when I was a teenager. And I hated it.”
“We can do a week of practice hikes,” I replied. “To let you get a feel for it. This is the perfect time, Christie! We haven’t had any snow for the past two weeks, and the weather is clear until Christmas. Trust me, this is an experience you won’t want to miss.”
“Why don’t we go when the weather is better?” she asked.
“This is good hiking weather. Colder means retaining more water, and not risking heat stroke. Besides, there are too many tourists in the spring and fall. It’s much more fun when you have most of the canyon to yourself.”
She finished wrapping her gift and handed it to the little old lady who was waiting. She slid a donation into the money jar and left. When she was gone, Christie crossed her arms and turned to look at me.
“You aren’t going to give up unless I say yes, are you?”
“Nope!” I said cheerfully.
She tossed her hair—a motion I knew meant she was conflicted—and sighed. “I’ll try a few practice hikes. If I think I can do it, then I’ll agree.”
I grabbed her head with both of my hands and kissed her on the forehead. “Perfect! We can go shopping for clothes at lunch.”
She arched an eyebrow and gazed up at me with her round, innocent eyes. “I’m always up for shopping with you.”
“Not that kind of shopping,” I said. “Real shopping. For hiking gear.”
“Aww.”
At lunch we walked across the mall to the sporting goods store. I led the way to the hiking section and began listing things.
“You’ll need a good pair of winter hiking boots. That’s the most important thing. I have an extra pair of hiking poles you can use, so you don’t need to buy some. Let’s see. Warm socks, obviously. A small hiking backpack…”
“Small?” she asked. “You said we would have to carry all our gear down. Tent, sleeping bag, pillow…”
“I’ll carry everything for you,” I replied with a grin. “I’ll be your Grand Canyon Sherpa. Your job will be to hike and enjoy the views.”
I was so excited for her. Seeing the canyon from the rim was one thing, but you really had to experience it from the inside. That was the only way to truly grasp how wide and deep it was. I knew it would be one of the best experiences of her life.
But as Christie gazed around at all the equipment on the shelves surrounding us, she looked nervous.
“I don’t know. This seems like a lot. Maybe I should start practicing for a year. We could do it next winter, when I have more hiking experience…”
I held her arms and gazed down into her eyes. “Christie, you can do this. I know you can. Especially with the three of us guiding you. Do you trust me?”
“I do trust you,” she replied. “Okay. I’ll spend the next week going on practice hikes.”
I gave her a kiss on the forehead. “That’s all we ask. Okay, let’s get you into some boots.”
That evening I was hanging out in the Park Ranger barracks on the canyon rim. I relayed everything that had happened that day to Harper