“Hop on.” I nod to the small seat behind me and she grabs onto my shoulder as she climbs on and sets her feet on the pegs.

“A few rules,” I say, turning towards her. “I don’t want you falling off so keep your hands on me.”

“That won’t be a problem.” She replies with a playful tone, wrapping her arms around my waist.

I stifle a laugh. “Behave yourself. Being on the bike is serious. This isn’t a big two wheeled vibrator. Pay attention and move your body with mine, okay?”

Her arms tighten around my waist. “Seriously Tor, you just said vibrator and told me to move my body with yours while I’ve got my legs and arms wrapped all up around your amazing bod. I’ll do my best to behave given all those circumstances.”

I lean back against her and lay my hand on hers clasped over my stomach. Having her so close, with her perfume enveloping me and feeling the warmth of her thighs pressed against my legs, is making my blood rush through my veins like liquid fire. I thought a ride in the mountains would be safe territory but now it’s turned into a subtle act of foreplay.

Am I complaining? Hell, no.

“Well, when you put it like that, Angel, enjoy the ride.” I tease back, starting up the bike before she can throw more fuel onto the flames. I’m not used to riding with a woman or feeling anything but the rush of air in my face. It figures she would be the first to turn this all around for me.

And again, I’m not complaining one bit.

I’ve ridden these roads for almost my entire life. First, on the back of my old man’s bike when I was a little kid, and then on my own when I was old enough to ride alone. Today I take it slower than I normally do, and Kenzi keeps her arms around me, loosening up her embrace just a little as she starts to feel more comfortable. I’m not sure when the last time she was on the back of Asher’s bike, but I’m guessing it’s probably been over two years.

When we get further up the mountains, I pull over onto a small area for parking and kill the engine, motioning for her to hop off before I put the kickstand down. She gives me a squeeze before she gets off and takes her helmet off while I take a bottle of water out of my saddle bag.

“You having fun?” I ask her, taking the helmet from her hand and resting it on the back of my bike.

She nods, her eyes dancing with the same happiness I’m feeling. “I really am. It’s beautiful up here.”

“It is.” I reach for her hand and she immediately slides hers into mine like we’ve been together forever.

And maybe we have.

We walk a ways into the woods, following the beaten trail to where there are groups of small waterfalls running down the mountain. The air is cooler up here than it was down in our town, and it makes me want to pull her closer to me and put my arm around her. As if reading my mind, she looks up at me and leans her head against my arm.

“I’m glad you asked me to come.” She says softly.

“Me, too. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.”

When we reach the first waterfall that pours over the cliff, we sit next to each other on a huge rock nestled into the side of the mountain with large tree roots twisting around it. I’m glad no one else is here today. Most times when I come up here there’s other riders or couples here, and sometimes kids running around making a lot of noise.

“You glad to be back home?” I ask.

“Yeah, I always get a little homesick, even though I love being with Aunt Katherine. She asked me to come back and stay there. Like permanently…to live there and work with her.”

A flash of hot pain seers through my gut and up into my chest. “Is that what you want to do?” I ask, trying to keep my voice even.

She runs her finger along a soft patch of moss on the rock. “It’s tempting. I like being there and meeting the new guests is always pretty cool. And she would teach me how to cook more meals so I can be more helpful,” she raises her eyes to mine. “But I also was looking forward to working with you at the shop like we talked about and volunteering with your mom at the shelter and helping you with the rescues.”

“I’m sure there’s an animal shelter near Katherine’s where you could volunteer.”

“Yeah…that’s true but you and your mom are like family, so it means more to me. Before I left for Maine, your mom and I were talking about things we could do to raise more awareness about the shelter and rescue, and how we can help people more who have lost their pets like printing lost posters for them. If we had a high speed laser printer we could print off a few hundred lost notices in just a few minutes and start hanging them around town right away. For most people, it takes them days to print those things and they only print like twenty. I wanted to buy the printer and donate it,” her thin shoulders shrug shyly. “I don’t know, I was just thinking of ways to help. It makes me feel good.”