It’s been a long day. If I’m honest, it was a long weekend too. After my disastrous date with Colby, my mood never came out of the black hole. I ended up skipping the Suarez family dinner this week, not wanting to see the plethora of happy couples in the house or answer questions Javier might have for me about my date with Colby.

Since Carol died, there haven’t been many women who’ve caught my eye. Sure, I see beautiful women all the time, but none have really intrigued me other than Valerie, who is currently living with Javier, and now Colby, who came out of nowhere, it seems. I wish that date would’ve gone better. I probably should have taken her somewhere different, but I wanted to impress her.

Instead of working on the case I have pulled up on my computer, I’m staring out the window of my office at the mountains when my assistant buzzes me, pulling me out of my zone.

“Mr. Martinez, there’s a woman here to see you.”

“A woman?”

“Yes, she won’t give me her name and she doesn’t have an appointment, but she says she needs to speak with you.”

Oh, hell. Why not? “That’s fine, Nina. I can’t concentrate on what I’m supposed to be doing anyway. Please show her in.”

I stand and straighten my tie. Before I can come out from behind my desk to greet my visitor, Nina opens the door and leads Colby in. My jaw hits the floor. She’s the last person I expected to show up here and she looks amazing in black pants and her monster truck team polo shirt. Her hair’s down and swept over one shoulder.

“Colby,” I breathe, still surprised. Nina gives me a funny smile and pulls the door closed as she leaves us alone.

“Hey, Vic. I hope it’s okay that I came by. I thought about calling, but that didn’t feel right so I decided on the drop-in option.”

I clear my throat and try to gain a little composure. “Of course it’s okay. I’m just surprised is all. Is everything alright?”

She moves across the room until she’s standing in front of me and I’m forced to look down at her. Her smile is bright, but I can tell by the fact that she’s twisting a lock of hair around her finger that she’s a little nervous.

“Well, I…” she pauses and glances down.

“What is it, Colby? Is it your sister? Is she okay?”

She sighs and smiles up at me, resolve moving over her features. “A group of us are going hiking on Saturday and I wondered if you want to go.”

“After our disaster of a date, I figured you were done.”

“It was pretty bad, but that wasn’t our fault so I don’t think in our case one date should decide if we have a second. Do you want to go or not?” Her voice has turned playful, her grin sweet. It’s a no-brainer.

“Yes, I’d like to go.” And just like that my day is saved, my mood no longer melancholy. The fact that she wants to see me again makes me happy. When did I turn into such a pussy that my mood depends on a random woman? She’s not just any woman though. She’s a cussing, monster truck driving, mechanic who’s as beautiful as she is sweet. She’s also bold, as evidenced by her next move. She rises on her tiptoes and plants a closed-mouth kiss right on my lips. Then she turns and struts to the door with her hips rocking in the perfect motion to attract my attention. Right before she passes through the door she turns back and blasts me with a radiant smile.

“Meet me at the shop on Saturday at 10 in the morning. We’ll hike to a lake, swim and have lunch.” She blows me a kiss and is gone.

I run my hand through my hair and shake my head. I doubt I’ll lose the smile she gave me—at least for the rest of the day. As I sit back down, Nina knocks lightly and pushes the door open, peeking inside cautiously.

“Mr. Martinez, are you okay?”

“Yes, Nina, I’m good.”

“Is she the reason for your sour mood?”

“What?” Has it been that bad that Nina’s noticed?

“Well when she got here you looked really sad and you’ve been very quiet today. Now it looks like your smile is back.”

I nod and say with a grin. “I guess she is.”

“Good.” She pulls the door shut behind her and just before it closes she peeks back in and says, “Carol would’ve liked her.”

I have no response. The mere mention of my dead wife makes my chest hurt a little.

“She’s pretty and she’s sweet. Maybe she’ll keep the barracudas around here at bay.”

I’m unable to contain my laughter. She has no idea. You’d think after all these years the women in this office would’ve gotten the message that I’m not interested, but it seems like my disinterest makes me a bigger challenge. I’ve never been attracted to predatory women and this office is full of them. I like strong women, just not pushy ones.

At the Christmas party last year one woman followed me into the men’s room and suggested we slip into a stall. The encounter was so uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to say without being a dick, but there was no way I was going into that stall with her. Everything about that scenario screamed hell no!

Colby comes across as strong, but it’s a different kind of strong. I can’t explain it.

“We can only hope,” I mutter as Nina closes the door.

* * *

Saturday morning, I show up at five minutes before ten in shorts, a T-shirt, hiking boots, and with a backpack holding my usual hiking supplies. Colby’s sitting on the tailgate of her pick-up truck wearing shorts, swinging her bare legs and wearing a sleeveless button-up shirt that’s tied above her waist. Her blond ponytail bounces as she hops down to greet me. The four guys standing around the truck all turn to follow her with their eyes and I fight the urge to tell them to get their eyes back in their sockets.

“Hey,” she says softly.

“Hi. Am I the last one here?”

“No, we’re waiting for Dana. She’s always late. My brother threatens to leave her every time, but she shows up eventually.”

I grab my bag from the passenger seat and slip it over one shoulder.

“You came prepared.” She sounds surprised.

“Of course. I had no idea how far you planned for us to go.”

“Your boots don’t look new.”

“Why would they?” What is that supposed to mean?

“I wasn’t sure this was going to be your thing.”

“Really?” I wonder what she thinks of me exactly. “I love hiking. How can you live in Colorado and not? The last few times I went was with my friend Diego, his son and some of our other friends. I work a lot but try to get out every couple of weeks when the weather is nice.”

“What other surprises do you have up your sleeve?” she asks, the corner of her mouth raised a little.

“None that I know of.”

“I have a feeling that’s not true, but I look forward to them. Come on, meet the guys.”

When I reach the truck, she makes introductions. Marshall is first, then Pete, who also works at the shop, and Marshall’s friends, Charlie and Bobby. None of them are particularly friendly, but they at least shake hands and say hello. They’re all talking about auto racing, which I don’t follow, so I stay quiet until Dana arrives with another woman in the car.

The brunette, whom I’m now assuming is Dana, jumps out of the car and runs over, yelling, “I’m sorry! It wasn’t my fault this time; Emma was running late.” Marshall grumbles until she kisses his cheek and says, “You know you love me, Marsh.” He rolls his eyes but it’s obvious he’d wait another hour for her if she needed him to.

Colby looks at Dana and Emma and says, “You’re with Marshall.” Then she turns to me. “You’re in my truck.”

Everyone else loads up into various trucks and we exit the parking lot in a convoy. The windows are down and I alternate between watching the road while she’s driving and studying her. The wind tickles the ends of her hair, lifting and twisting them wildly, and I have the sudden urge to run my fingers through her hair before I wrap the soft strands around my hand and pull her to me.

She breaks my train of thought when she leans forward and presses a few buttons on the radio. In less than a second, the music of Chris Stapleton blares from the speakers. She adjusts the volume and begins to sing along. Her voice isn’t the prettiest I’ve ever heard and it’s not the ugliest. It’s confident though and full of passion and I find myself enjoying her little show.

“What?” she asks on a grin at the end of the second chorus.

“Just enjoying the performance.”

“Don’t be mean. I have to sing when I hear a song I love and I love anything by Chris Stapleton.”

“I’m not being mean. I’m really enjoying it. You’re happy and it’s obvious when you sing. It’s nice.”

She goes back to her singing and I continue enjoying it until she pulls off the road and down a dirt path into the woods.

“This is Pete’s family’s property. It’s beautiful here; you’ll love it,” she tells me.

We unload and begin our trek, with me and Colby in the middle of the pack. I stay quiet as we hike and listen as some of the others carry on conversation. It’s not that I’m trying to be rude. It’s just that I’m listening and learning the dynamics of the group. I’m an observer by nature and I like to study a situation before I engage, whenever possible. That’s working great for me until Marshall decides it’s time for the big brother inquisition.

“So, Victor, you’re an ambulance chaser?”

I detest that reference because what I do is the farthest thing from that.

“I’m a lawyer, if that’s what you’re asking.” I do my best to hide my irritation. I can already tell he doesn’t like me and I know it’s going to get uncomfortable quick.

“I knew it was something like that with the fancy-ass ride you’ve got. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a sweet car, but you don’t own one of those unless you’re the corporate type. You know, doctor or lawyer. It fits.”

Before I can respond, Colby stops walking and turns back to look at him. “Marshall, I’m warning you. Don’t be a dick.”

“Hey, if the guy can’t take a little friendly messing around then maybe—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” she hisses at him.

To prevent a sibling war, I wade in. “It’s okay, Colby.” I turn to Marshall. “I can take some friendly messing around. I drive a kick-ass car because I worked hard to earn it. I spend sometimes upward of 60 hours a week at the office. I’m not turning wrenches, but I’m making a living. I’m an estate lawyer not a courtroom litigator. Big difference.”

I grab her hand and change the subject. “Come on, keep going. I’m getting hungry. How long till we reach our lunch stop?”

“We will be at the lake in about half an hour. Just ignore him,” she says and stomps ahead.

Now I can concentrate on her muscular thighs as our incline steepens, and just like that I’m back in my happy place. We wind our way through the wooded hillside until we finally reach a huge grassy clearing with a lake right in the middle. I’ve worked up a good sweat and am thinking the lake looks like an inviting place to be when Pete and Marshall let out a loud hoot and take off running past us toward the water, stripping their packs on the way there. Near the water’s edge Pete stops to pull off his socks and boots, hopping around on one foot to do it quickly. Marshall already dove in and Bobby is strolling up behind them slowly. Emma and Dana run past us and join the strip fest, getting all the way down to bikinis before entering the water.

“I didn’t even ask you if you swim. Do you?” she looks over to me, concerned.

“Of course. I love it.”

She smiles, grabs my hand and tugs me faster. “Come on then. We’re swimming.”

I jog behind her until we reach the spot where the majority of everyone’s stuff is piled and tug off our shirts, boots and socks. She’s got a skimpy triangle bikini top on under the shirt and I’m struck stupid for a second. I knew she was curvy. Her clothes hint at such, but her breasts are much fuller than I expected and seem to be exploding out of her bikini top. Shit! This is a serious test of my control.

“Come on.” She tugs on my arm impatiently.

“Okay, hold on.” I laugh as I lean down and pull my hearing aid storage case out of my bag and begin to remove them.

“I can’t hear without them, so keep that in mind,” I tell her before I pull the second one out.

She places her hand on my wrist to stop me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you wore them. We don’t have to get in.”

“It’s hot and the water looks cool. I’m fine, just be aware that I don’t hear hardly anything without them. I can read lips if you’re looking right at me, though.”

“You can?”

“Yeah, I’ve learned that along the way.”

“Are you sure you want to get in?” I should have explained this before. I forget that the new hearing aids are so small that most people don’t realize I wear them. I’m used to them so it doesn’t faze me, but it always seems to freak people out.

“Absolutely. Give me just a second to put them away.”

“Okay.” She waits for me to finish and holds up her hand for me to follow. She wades out a little, then dives in, swimming out farther and then turns toward me. It’s so damn cold. My body is hot and sweaty but I didn’t think about the water being this cool.

She’s treading water and I can read her lips when she says, “Come on, chicken, it’s not that cold.” I glance around at the others in the water. They are all laughing and I can tell she’s full of shit, but I dive in anyway. It’s cold as hell, just as I suspected. My junk has crawled back up inside me to hide, it’s so damn frigid. When I swim close enough, she wraps her arms around me and I thank God that I’m such a strong swimmer because I’d hate to make her move. Her little legs wrap around my waist and I tread water, loving the feel of her so close.

I swim us a little closer to shore so I can touch bottom. Once we’re stable she makes sure she has my full attention before saying, “You’re so quiet.”

“I’m just trying to get the feel of everyone. I’m an observer until I’m comfortable.”

“I’m sorry my brother is being a dick. I don’t understand why, but I’ll talk to him.”

I shake my head. I already know that a guy like her brother won’t respect me if she fights my battles. “He’ll get over it. If not, I can handle myself.”

“I bet you can,” she says before she kisses my cheek. “You’re hungry. Let’s get out and eat.”

I’d love to stay like this, with her wrapped around me all day, but she is correct that I’m hungry, and let’s be honest, even though the cool water is refreshing for a short time, there is such a thing as too cold and this might be it. We get out and she pulls a towel from her pack and dries off a little before passing me one to dry off with too. Then she pulls out two sandwiches. I put my hearing aids back in before I turn to her.

“I should have asked what you like, but I didn’t think of it until it was too late. I hope you eat ham,” she says.

“I’m Hindu. We don’t eat pork,” I tell her with a straight face. Everyone else who just followed us out of the water stops to stare at me, and her eyes widen. I can see her trying to formulate the proper response and I can’t help but laugh.

“I’m kidding. I love any kind of meat you want to throw my way. Thank you. I grabbed a couple of granola bars, but didn’t have much else in my cupboard.”

“I’m used to packing sandwiches for everyone so it was no big deal.”

We eat and relax in the sun for a while and everyone around me talks and jokes and I listen, happy to be away from work and to be sitting next to the most beautiful woman in Colorado.

* * *

We’re on our hike back and come across a tricky spot in the area that includes a fallen pine tree and some jagged boulders when it happens. Everyone has cleared the rough terrain except Emma and Dana. Marshall is attempting to help, but Dana loses her balance and falls to the side. When she tries to catch herself she makes it worse, tumbling at a weird angle away from Marshall and causing a crack loud enough that those of us close to her can hear it. I know that stomach-roiling sound. Bone breaking. Shit. She howls in misery and Marshall does his best to help her up, causing her crying to grow louder. Emma’s freaking out because she’s still on the other side and the guys in the front of our group rush back to help.

My medic training kicks in. “Colby, you and Marshall help Emma climb over. I’m going to look at Dana.”

Marshall glares at me. “Don’t tell me—”

I stop him by holding up a hand before he can piss me off. “Get Emma before she tries to come across by herself. I heard Dana’s bone crack, so this is going to take more than a few minutes.”

“They teach you that in lawyer school?” he sneers.

“No, asshole. The Army. Now help Emma while I look at Dana.”

I don’t wait for more lip; I move to the other side of Dana and say, “Okay, honey. Calm down. I know it hurts. I need you to lie back, breathe deep and slow. Try to relax so I can see what’s going on. I promise to be careful.” I help her to gently lie down, she’s whimpering continuously and I can see right away that it’s her tibia, her shin bone. It didn’t break the skin but it’s bulging and black and blue already. Probably a compound fracture. Those are painful as hell and Fuck! We’re several miles from the trucks.

I pull my first aid kit from my bag. “Take this, please, it will help with the pain,” I tell her as I give her water and Tylenol. Then I explain, “Dana, I’m pretty sure your shin bone is broken. I’m going to find a couple of branches and make a splint.” I turn to Colby who is now squatting beside Dana, trying to comfort her. “Stay with her while I find something to splint her leg.” She nods and rotates around to face Dana. I turn to Marshall and the other guys, “Look around for two branches about the length of her lower leg and I’ll create a makeshift splint so we can get her back to the truck without making this worse.”

The guys all scatter to look and come back a few minutes later with a few small branches to try. I’ve found one ACE bandage in my bag and ripped pieces of my shirt off to wrap the splint in place. Dana cries the whole time I’m tying it in place and my stomach rolls over because I know that what I’m doing is hurting her. Once she’s set, I hoist my backpack over my shoulders and say, “There is no way in hell you can walk on this. I’m going to carry you. Tell me if it gets to be too much for you and we’ll rest. Okay?”

“I’m too heavy. You won’t be able to carry me that far.” She cries harder and the fear in her eyes steels my resolve.

“Dana, I carried a guy twice your size in full gear almost five miles. I can handle it. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’ll carry her,” Marshall says, sounding a little put out that he wasn’t expected to do it.

“No offense, man, but I’ve got experience doing this. Let me do it. If I need a break, you can take over.” He glares at me and I can tell by the look on his face that his pride is telling him to argue, but his sense of reason knows he can’t really carry her that far.

“Fine, when you get tired I’ll take over. We can share the duty.”

I nod, knowing there’s no way in hell I’ll need him to take over for me. “Works for me.”

I turn back to her, squat down and scoop her up as gently as I can. She gives a little yelp when I adjust her in my arms.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try not to do that anymore.”

Her bottom lip quivers and I can tell she’s doing her best not to cry more. Marshall grabs her bag and we all begin the trek back. Pete, Charlie and Bobby are up front, followed by me. Colby, Emma and Marshall pull up the rear. About a mile in, the sweat is running down my face, neck and back. My muscles are straining and memories are flowing through my mind of a time when I wore fatigues and sweat my ass off every hour of every day. I don’t miss it, but it feels good to know I’m doing something that makes a difference, even if it’s only making a difference to Dana. She’s not heavy, but the terrain is a little more difficult to navigate in certain spots and a few times I jostle her and she cries out.

“I can take her, man,” Marshall insists, but I grunt a negative reply at him and continue. When he offers two more times, she declines for me, which seems to piss him off further. I’m not straining to carry her so I don’t mind continuing the task. When we pause to climb through a narrow area, Colby gives me water, but otherwise she stays quiet the rest of the way.

The group breathes a collective sigh of relief as we finally see the trucks in the clearing.

“Take her to my truck and I’ll drop you off to get your car and then take her to the ER,” Colby says to me.

“No way,” Marshall overrides his sister. “I’m taking her to the ER. I’ll call you and let you know when she’s okay.”

“Marshall, she’s my best friend—I can take her,” Colby protests as I stand waiting.

“I’ve got it,” he growls. “Vic has done enough today and could probably use a meal after that workout. I can take care of her.”

Dana speaks up finally and says, “He’s right. Marsh can drop me off. No one needs to stay with me. I can call my mom to get me once they see me. You guys go on. Marshall has it handled. Emma can drop my car off at home.”

My eyebrows lift and I’ve got my suspicions about Marshall and Dana being more than friends, but I keep my mouth shut and let them work it out. After a few seconds, Colby relents but stays with Dana, whispering to her after I set her in Marshall’s truck. When she returns to me, she has a sour expression on her face.

Once we’ve climbed into Colby’s truck and closed the doors, she fires it up and says, “I don’t understand why they’re being so stubborn, but I can’t win so I’ll check on her later.”

“You can drop me off and meet them at the ER.”

“No, she was adamant. I’m such a bitch. I was so worried about getting her to the ER that I never thanked you for carrying my best friend for miles without a break. I didn’t even know that was possible. Thank you.”

“She thanked me when I placed her in Marshall’s truck and that was enough. It’s no big deal, but I need to pull on a clean shirt so give me a second.”

As I’m tugging it on she asks, “What’s the tattoo on your shoulder? I was trying to figure it out on the way back, but I couldn’t. The words look like Latin.”

“Army. Green Beret insignia. The Latin words are our motto. De oppresso liber. In English it means, To liberate the oppressed.”

“I can’t believe you carried her all the way back. There’s more to you than I originally thought.”

“What did you think?” My eyebrows draw down low as I study her.

“I pegged you for a pretty boy. I mean…you are pretty.” She shrugs. “I guess it’s the lawyer thing.”

I laugh a little. “You haven’t a clue. Why did you ask me here today if you thought I was a pretty-boy lawyer? That’s obviously not something you like.” I’m doing my best to ignore the irritation I feel at her judgement.

“I’m not trying to be mean, but if you look at the other guys in your profession, they don’t exactly scream manly-man. You know?”

Does she realize that the other women in her profession don’t scream feminine?

“Again, why did you ask me out today if that’s how you feel?”

“There’s something about you. It’s different.”

That doesn’t sound any better to me so I ask to get clarification. “Different?”

“You’re a lawyer, but honesty shines from your eyes at all times. You’re pretty in your suit and tie, but you wear gym shorts and hiking boots better than my brother. You spend your days behind a desk, but you have callouses on your hands and can carry my best friend for miles without a break. I feel like I’m looking at Clark Kent and Superman.”

“I’m no one special.” If I were Superman, I’d have known something was wrong with Carol and would have come home early from Afghanistan to at least be with her through more of her cancer battle. I could have found a way to save her. Instead I was halfway around the world in the middle of a fight that didn’t make a damn bit of difference. I don’t say anything else; instead I look out the window and do my best to block out the old feelings that keep me awake more often than not.