Chapter 7
Destiny
Destiny woke to the smell of bacon cooking. She sat up, pulling the blanket with her. Walker had stroked the fire throughout the night and a nice blaze burned in the hearth.
She glanced toward the kitchen, immediately regretting the move when the muscles in her neck protested. “Ow.” She groaned, arching her back to try and relieve the pain.
“Breakfast will be ready soon, and coffee is brewing.” Walker appeared next to the bed, holding out a bottle of water and some pain reliever. “Drink that and down a couple pills. You can thank me later.”
“How did you sleep?” she asked, doing as he’d asked and saying a silent prayer of thanks for the drugs.
“I got enough,” he answered, returning to the kitchen.
She slid from beneath the blankets and rose, taking the sheet with her. Walker glanced over his shoulder. His gaze lowered down her body. “I moved your clothes to the chair to warm them for you and make sure they’re dry.”
“You’re going to make someone a great wife one day.” The words flew out of her mouth before she caught herself. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
Cheeks flaming, she grabbed the clothes. Trying to not lose the privacy of the sheet, she awkwardly slipped on her jeans. The last thing she needed to do was piss off the mountain man. He might leave her stranded, and then whose fault would all this be? She took off his shirt and tossed it onto the bed before slipping on her bra and shirt. She dropped the neatly folded blankets onto the chair.
Walker’s steady gaze held hers as he set plates on the table.
“We’ve got a long day ahead of us, so you’re going to need your strength. Come eat,” he said.
“In a second.” She put the couch back together again then joined him at the table.
He poured them both a cup of coffee then took a seat next to hers.
“Thank you,” she said, picking up her fork. She took a bite of bacon and moaned. “This is good. I didn’t realize how starved I was.”
“I made plenty,” he said, forking up a bite of scrambled eggs.
“You had eggs here?”
“Powdered. Just add water or milk. The milk is powdered as well. But the bacon was stored in a spring house, so it’s real. I refueled the camp stove last time I was here a couple months ago. We try to keep nonperishables stocked, just in case a hiker gets lost or stranded by weather.”
“Those hikers probably don’t know how good they have it. Seriously, outside of the uncomfortable sleeper sofa, this place is a regular resort.” She chuckled then asked, “What time is it?”
“Six. We need to leave in the next two hours to get there and get back before nightfall.”
“I should have listened to my mother and come more prepared.” Heat rose to her cheeks. “I don’t suppose you’ve got extra socks or something.”
“Are you close to your mom?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Her more than my dad. He’s always busy, but she was always around when she wasn’t at her tea parties or charity events.”
He nodded. “I surveyed what we have on hand, and it looks like my sister left a spare pair of boots last time she was up here with me stocking food,” he said, rising from his seat and going to the coat closet. He grabbed a pair of boots that were made for snow and hiking. “I’m betting they’re your size.”
“That’s convenient,” she said.
A look of annoyance crossed Walker’s face as he mumbled something beneath his breath. “My sister tries to prepare for everything.”
“Remind me to thank her. They look like they’ll fit perfectly.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t run into her at the inn. She’d been there when I went to get cleaned up after painting Mrs. Weller’s sign.”
“I didn’t see anyone when I came down from my room.”
Walker paused, fork halfway to his mouth and met her eyes before taking his bite. He slowly chewed as if thinking over her words. “So, you’d been staying at the inn?”
