Sarah hopped out of the car as soon as Max stopped the engine. Being so close to him in the small space was overwhelming. She’d felt the heat pouring off him, smelled the minty undertone of his shampoo.

She gulped in the fresh air and tried to keep herself calm and focused.

She was just another investor, visiting her property. No big deal.

The air in the woods was cool, and smelled damp and rich, like the blueberry patch at her parents’ house.

Max shut his door, grabbed a pack out of the back, and went to her without locking the car.

She almost piped up to remind him, then she put two and two together.

No one was coming miles out into the trees to break into an SUV.

Asheville was so different from Glacier City.

“Ready?” Max asked.

“Yes,” she smiled.

“It’s easy going for the first half a mile, do you remember?” he asked.

Sarah was pretty sure it was easy going almost the whole way, but she didn’t want to sound like a show-off, so she just nodded again.

They walked on, leaves crunching underfoot, into the undergrowth.

Rustling in the bushes ahead indicated wildlife.

“Rabbits,” Max said, as if he had read her mind.

“Very cool,” she replied.

They went on in companionable silence for a while.

The land began to slope down a bit and the trees leaned forward as if they were craning their necks to look at something.

Sarah figured they must be approaching a body of water.

Sure enough, a moment later they were on the grassy bank of a shallow creek.

Max looked down at it thoughtfully.

“What is it?” Sarah asked.

“Do you feel like an adventure?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said.

“If we cross the creek we can make our way up the hillside,” he said. “You can see most of your property from the ridge.”

“Awesome,” she said, wondering why they hadn’t gone up to the ridge the last time.

“When you were here last year we were coming out of a lot of wet weather,” Max said, anticipating her thoughts again as he scrambled down the bank and turned to offer her a hand. “The creek was overflowing, so we couldn’t cross here.”

That made sense.

She took his hand, though she didn’t really need it.

A tingle of electricity flew up her arm as he wrapped his big hand around hers.

She let go quickly when she reached the rocks.

They leapfrogged from rock to rock and then clambered up the bank on the other side.

A grove of scarlet trees was ahead, with bark so smooth and swirled it looked like elephant skin.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Max asked, his voice gentle.

“I feel like I’m in a fairy tale,” Sarah replied.

He smiled, a genuine smile, and she noticed the dimple above his right cheek.

Sarah’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of Orson’s dimple on his father’s face.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “Do you want to take a break?”

“No,” she said, walking on quickly. “Let’s keep going. I’m heading back today, but I really want to see the land.”

“You’re going back today?” he echoed.

“Yes,” she said. “I really only wanted to check on things here.”

He nodded but didn’t reply, and they hiked on in silence for a while.

They were scaling a hillside, but on such a looping route it didn’t feel like a steep climb. Max moved with confidence, always seeming to know where to find a break in the overgrowth.

“We should rest here,” he said when they reached a low expanse of granite jutting out of the hill.

“I’m fine,” she told him.

“Humor me,” he said. “You’re not out here every day.”

Sarah flopped herself down on the rock, feeling frustrated. She was an experienced hiker, not just some soft office worker.

He sat down next to her and pulled a water bottle out of the pack, handed it to her.

She took it and drank. The water was icy cold and delicious.

“That’s spring water,” he told her.

“It’s so good,” she said, handing it back to him. She noticed the bottle had the logo of a local Little League team on it.

“Are you a coach?” she asked.

“No,” he replied. “But I have a policy of donating to every community organization that asks. These guys always send a couple of the kids to the office to bring me a t-shirt or a water bottle or something afterward. It’s really nice but I wish they’d just spend the money on the team. Course I can’t say no when they’re jumping up and down to give me my present.”

Sarah smiled, loving the idea of Max greeting the kids on his porch.

Tell him, her heart cried.

She opened her mouth and closed it again.

She couldn’t do it. She just couldn’t.

“We can go again whenever you’re ready,” he offered. “It’s a little tougher going for about another half an hour and then it opens up. I can’t wait for you to see it.”

“You really know your way around up here,” she said.

Max got a strange look on his face and his cheeks reddened.

“Have you been up here often?” she asked.

She wondered why a man running his own business would take the time to hike this forest, her forest, when it wouldn’t be ready to harvest for decades.

“I wanted to get the lay of the land,” he told her gruffly as he got to his feet.

“Thank you,” she told him. “I’m glad you care. I know you’ll do a great job when the time comes.”

He didn’t answer, but he offered her his hand.

She took it and was better prepared this time for the inevitable sizzle between them.

He pulled her up but didn’t let go of her hand.

For a moment they stood, inches apart, the heat burgeoning between them.

She felt drawn to him, as if gravity had momentarily lost its pull on her. Time seemed to slow and she gazed up into his beautiful brown eyes, willing him to close the gap, wrap his arms around her…

“Sarah,” Max groaned.

The sound of her name in his mouth sent shivers down her spine.

A bird shot out of the underbrush a few feet away with a searing cry.

Sarah startled and stepped back, the spell broken.

God, what had she been doing?

Was she trying to go home pregnant a second time?

The woods were suddenly alive with wildlife as birds, squirrels and even a family of rabbits scrambled down the hillside. The air filled with their cries.

“Max, what’s happening?” she asked.