Just as the sun dipped behind a cloud, Hannah soared down the narrow trail, the breeze whipping through her ponytail. When the trail headed back uphill again, she braced herself for a fight. Running uphill was hard enough, but doing so after she’d run twenty miles at over 10,000 feet elevation was a whole different thing. Every step felt like she carried a weight that pulled her back downhill, although over the weeks and months that weight had begun to feel lighter.

She heard heavy breathing behind her. Cain, pulling his muscular body up the same hill, keeping up with her. One of the ways Cain had coped with his long deployment was by running, sometimes for hours. According to him, there were no mountains where he’d been, no forests or much of anything but a base to run around more times than he cared to count. But he claimed the running cleared his head, and it had kept him in good shape, good enough to keep up with Hannah.

It was the first time she’d ever enjoyed running with a man she was seeing. Other than her occasional long runs with the ultra group, she’d always preferred running alone. It allowed her to get into the zone and find that Zen place, and she didn’t like someone else interrupting her flow with their constant chatter or their taking issue with the pace she kept. But Cain… he rarely said two words on their runs and he let her set the pace, finding his own zone as he enjoyed a quiet escape from the modern world and all its annoyances.

For the first time, Hannah saw the benefit of running with a partner, once she found the right partner. She not only felt safer, but there was something about knowing that Cain was enjoying it alongside her, and somehow their combined joy made it more worthwhile.

When they crested the big hill and entered the dark forest again, the air felt cool and damp suddenly. Like rain was coming. Soon, Hannah saw a flash of light, then heard a crack of thunder that was so loud Hannah cried out in surprise. A few drops of rain landed on her face. Cain grabbed her hand and yanked her off trail and into the forest, where they took shelter under a thick grove of spruce trees.

Cain got a half smile on his face as he turned her around and pushed her against the bark, pressing himself against the back of her as the rain began to fall harder. His hand reached into her running shorts and began stroking her.

Hannah gasped a little. “You know, there’s a perfectly good bed at my place… with a much lower chance of getting spruce needles where we don’t want them…”

“And?” he said in a gruff voice, his lips buried in her neck as he yanked down her shorts.

Hannah said nothing else as she braced her hands on the thick tree trunk, no longer able to reason.

He’d done this before—pulled her off the trail and to some secret place to do naughty things—and she never knew when it was coming. She’d gotten pine needles in her hair, dirt stains on her knees, and abrasions on her hands and back from their various adventures. She’d never known that interrupting her run for a quick forest adventure could be so worthwhile, but Cain had convinced her of that too. It seemed he’d convinced her of a lot of things.

She’d wondered if the Grizzly Adams in him was turned on by the scent of conifer trees. But a bigger part of her suspected that he also did it to get her to quit focusing on her goal and relish the moment. Whatever his reasons, Hannah went along with it. It worked, better than she ever could have imagined.

When finished with their quickie, Hannah cleaned herself up and yanked her shorts on again.

“Pig,” she teased.

Cain tugged on one of her braids, a gleam in his eye.

The rain still fell hard, so they waited in their semi-protected area, getting only damp, Hannah stretching her tired legs.

“Have you picked your crew for the race yet?” Cain asked her, running his hand through his damp dark hair, longer now that he’d been home a while.

“I have. Teagan can’t come this year because High Peaks conflicts with Denver Comic Con, but Summer will be there, and I think Diana and Ash will come up for the weekend. They’ll have the baby with them, so they’ll probably have to alternate who’s crewing and who’s on baby duty…”

“Where are they staying? Your house?”

“I offered, but they’re camping. They take that kid anywhere. They even took him out of the country in January.”

Cain nodded, impressed. “Good for them. I look forward to meeting them.”

Hannah smiled. “They’re looking forward to meeting you too. They know all about Grizzly.”

He arched an eyebrow. “How much?”

“Everything. I even told them all about the time I sucked you off on the Gold Rush Trail a couple weekends ago…”

He stared at her. “You did not.”

Hannah laughed. “Of course I didn’t. They just know the basics.”

“Including my past?”

Hannah nodded, her smile fading. “I told them that part after you left. I didn’t share anything beyond what happened and that you took some leave to deal with it.” She paused. “You aren’t upset, are you?”

He shook his head. “It’s probably better that they know. Then they won’t think I’m just some moody asshole who ditched you.”

She kissed his cheek. “They don’t think that. Even though it’s true.”

Cain chuckled. “What about a pacer? To keep you on track during the second half of the race?”

“I’m still torn on that—”

“Do it.”

She sighed. “I probably should. I can ask a couple of the girls in the ultra group… it’s still more than a month away, and it’s good training…”

“I want to do it,” Cain said.

Hannah stared at Cain in surprise. “You do?”

He nodded.

“Which leg?”

“Sixty on. I’d do the full fifty, but I want to make sure I’m not tired at the end, because that’s when you’ll need my help the most.”

“Assuming I make it to the end…”

“You’ll make it.”

“That’s too much. That’s forty miles.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been running. I can do it. The question is, do you want me there, bossing you around when you get cranky and delirious?”

Hannah grinned, throwing her arms around him. “Yes! I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have pace me.”

“I’m going to be an asshole,” he warned. “I’ll be Sergeant Grizzly, busting your chops whenever you get all stubborn and difficult.”

“I can put up with Sergeant Grizzly if you can put up with Grace Kelly’s utter self-absorption and whining.”

“Done.”

Hannah gave him a big kiss, realizing then that the rain had let up a little. And they took off down the trail together.

The last weeks before High Peaks went by quickly. Hannah did nothing but work, run, eat, and sleep. When he wasn’t on duty at the V.A. or taking time for himself, Cain joined her for some of the runs and for some of the eating and sleeping. They fell into a comfortable rhythm of togetherness that lived up to Cain’s promise and even went beyond Hannah’s expectations. They’d somehow surpassed what they’d had before he’d gotten deployed, and Cain seemed less burdened than he had.

Hannah felt herself grow more and more fatigued as the race drew near. She’d gotten to the point in her training where she was tired of training runs, tired of having to wash her running clothes so often, tired of blowing through running shoes, tired of the grind of it all.

Yet, her running buddies reassured her that was normal after training hard for well over five months. And while she felt tired, she didn’t feel burned out, and any bodily pains she suffered were manageable. Cain kept a close eye on her, questioning any aches she had, monitoring her hydration levels and her attitude, making sure she wasn’t pushing herself too hard and offering her a not-so-gentle reminder when she started to lapse back into old habits.

When the taper came, the period just before the race when she could wind down her mileage and begin stockpiling the energy she would need for that thirty-hour day, Hannah felt grateful for it. And despite how lazy—even refreshed—she felt after backing off, she reined in any instinct to push herself harder, trusting that her body needed that respite before she would push it to its ultimate limit.

Hannah coordinated with Summer and Diana, sending them her usual notes, estimated times, maps, and everything else they would need to survive a long-ass day and night in the Colorado high country. She bought food and supplies for herself, as well as food and drinks for her crew. Between the snacks, their sleeping bags and pillows, and their electronic devices, her crew would have enough to keep themselves occupied during the countless hours spent waiting for her.

When the night before the race finally arrived, Hannah relaxed in their hotel room, saying little to Cain as she took her bath. After that, she laid out everything she would need for the race, obsessed over every detail, and checked her list over and over again until Cain finally snatched it away and ordered her to lie down and rest.

And, knowing Cain was right and that she was more than ready, she sat down on the bed. She was still sick with nervousness. So much so that she’d had to force herself to eat her pre-race dinner that evening.

Was she really going to do this again?

Was she really going to put herself through the agony of it all and risk that after six months of training she might have to pull out again?

Hannah took a deep breath and closed her eyes. And she reminded herself of all that was important.

She’d done her best.

She’d diligently trained.

She’d listened to her body and showed it respect.

That was all she could do. The rest was in fate’s hands.

Even more importantly, she would relish the experience—the good, the bad, and the ugly—regardless of how far she got. And she would do so along with the people who mattered most to her, including the one who’d begun to mean the world to her.

And with that thought, Hannah got into bed and snuggled up against Cain. He kissed her on the forehead, and she closed her eyes.