The woods were dense, which was making for a frustrating hike. We were constantly stepping over rocks or tree limbs, or dodging leaves on branches. Add in the constant searching for animals and any sign of familiarity, it was sure to be a long day.

I heard the crinkle from a wrapper next to me, and saw Grace breaking apart a granola bar. She smiled up at me and handed me a piece. I gladly took it.

"Actually sharing with me today?" I quirked my eyebrow and smirked.

"Well I figured if I didn't, you would take another unoffered bite anyway." She teased.

"How absolutely correct you are... Ma'am." Winking, I shoved the granola in my mouth. I chuckled at her eye roll and we kept moving.

"So, what about you? What's a secret that you have?"

I turned my head in her direction to see her eyeing me with curiosity.

"A secret?"

"Yeah, I told you one of mine. Now it's your turn."

"So what, this is like a, 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours', kind of thing?" I chuckled. "Do you wanna see mine Grace?"

She scoffed, but the blush that quickly formed gave her away.

"Come on. Tell me something. I need to keep my mind off our current predicament."

I stopped walking and she stumbled into me. My hands reached out to catch her fall. I held her arms as she placed her palms on my chest to steady herself. She looked up at me with those startled doe eyes of hers, searching my face.

"You were right."

She narrowed her eyes and pulled back slightly but her hands still rested on my chest. "About what?"

"I haven't been in a real relationship in years. I don't date. Not anymore."

Her eyes widened in surprise and a look of shock and then perhaps embarrassment flashed through them. She shook her head. "I shouldn't have said that Colt. I'm sorry."

"Yes, you should have. Don't ever apologize for sticking up for yourself."

She stared at me in disbelief. Her eyes darted back and forth across my face in a type of curious scrutiny. She looked as though she was at war with herself before she spoke again.

"Why? Why don't you date?"

I released my grip on her, my fingertips lightly trailing her skin as I did, and backed up. Shaking my head, I motioned for us to keep walking. "That's a secret for another time."

About an hour in, we came to a clearing. Grace stepped out into the open field of wild flowers and faced me with a look powerful enough to knock me on my ass. Her eyes had a childlike glint inside of them as she threw her arms up and spun around.

"It's gorgeous out here! Can't you feel it Colt?" She asked, as she let her hair down to fall around her shoulders.

"Feel what?"

"Freedom!" She yelled, as she took off running.

"Grace! Grace, you can't just run off alone in the middle of the wilderness!" I yelled after her.

"Then you better hurry and catch up to me!" She called back, giggling as she twirled through the tall grass.

I looked around to survey our surroundings. The field was wide open with the woods encircling it. In the background, you could see part of the mountain rising up toward the sky as if its' only goal in life was to kiss the clouds. God, was it beautiful. There seemed to be no sign of wildlife, at least the threatening kind. I looked back to the stubborn woman dancing in the sea of flowers that painted the grass with the most colorful hues. God, was she beautiful too.

Ah, screw it.

I took off at full speed toward her. She shrieked when she saw my charge and took off again. She was quick, but I was quicker. She looked over her shoulder as she ran and her playful smile about stopped me in my tracks. As soon as my heart picked back up, so did my speed. I caught up to her and wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her in to me and twisting her body to face mine. The force of the pull made us lose our balance, and we fell backwards. I landed on the ground, and she landed on top of me.

We both were laughing, slowly stopping to catch our breaths. My smile fell as the position we were in fully hit me. Her expression turned from playful to serious, and something unrecognizable flashed in her golden, emerald eyes. Her long hair framed her face, falling like an angelic halo around her. Our hard breathing matched each other's rhythm, and I raised my hand to place it against her chest, feeling her racing heart.

Slowly, she lowered her face, keeping her electric gaze locked on mine. My eyes darted to her parted lips, and locked in a trance, I reached my hand out, wrapping it behind her neck, and began to pull her closer.

A low groal sounded around us, breaking the daze we were in. She jolted up, but I placed my hand firmly on her back to keep her locked in place. I lifted my finger to my lips, signaling her to stay quiet. Her eyes went wide, but she nodded.

Another louder grunt was heard along with some huffing. I turned my head and lifted slightly to see a black bear on its hind legs, about twenty feet away and its side to us, sniffing the air. I quickly shot back down, thankful for the tall grass around us.

I squeezed my eyes shut momentarily, trying to think of what to do. It hadn't spotted us, but I am sure it could smell us. I knew to appear larger than life if it saw us, in an attempt to scare it. But, I didn't want to go that route if it wasn't necessary. It was risky. It hadn't seen us yet, so there was a chance we wouldn't have to face it.

I gestured and mouthed to Grace to start crawling. We needed to get some distance. She slowly slid off me, and we started to army crawl upwind from the bear. Another loud growl stopped us in our tracks. We locked gazes; fear was clear in her eyes. I reached over and grabbed her hand for comfort, and she gave me a small smile. I nodded, and we started our crawl again.

We made it to the edge of the wooded area, and I whispered for her to slowly get up and walk. Quickly. She did as I said, and I followed. When I turned toward the field, the bear was nowhere in sight. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I grabbed Grace's hand, and we briskly walked the heck out of there. When we got far enough, she let go of my hand, and placed it over her heart, breathing deeply in. She looked up to me and tears started sliding down her cheeks. I engulfed her in a hug, pulling her tightly to my chest. She allowed me to hold her as her tears came harder and faster, and she cried into my chest. I rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. Abruptly, she pulled away.

"We almost...we almost..."

"Grace, it's okay. We're fine. It's going to be okay." I tried reassuring her. I reached out to grab her again, and she pulled away from me.

"No, it's not okay! Nothing is okay! I have a boyfriend Colt."

I jerked my head back in confusion until I realized she had been referring to our almost kiss. It wasn't something I had planned or even realized was happening, but I was positive that if the bear didn't show up, a kiss would have transpired between us.

"I'm very well aware you have a boyfriend Grace." I paused. "I just wonder if he's aware of it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She glared.

"Well, where is he, huh?" I threw my arms up in frustration. "Look around Grace, cause it's just you and me right now, and if he had cared, he would have been here with us! But work came first, and I have a feeling that's the usual."

"That's not fair. He works hard for us Colt! You wouldn't understand!"

I pointed to my chest, the anger building. "I wouldn't understand? Yeah okay. You know what I don't understand? Ditching your girl on a fucking couple's ride you planned for! I don't understand leaving your girl alone when it's clear the only thing she wants to do is to dance! I don't understand not knowing something as simple as what kind of massage she would like." I shook my head and scoffed at the memory. "And I sure as hell don't understand complaining about every single thing she planned while ordering her around!" I ran my hands through my hair and turned away from her, completely on edge.

When she didn't say anything, I turned back to face her. The broken expression on her face killed me. I took a step forward, hovering over her. I lifted my hand to touch her cheek, and she closed her eyes to lean into it, but I stopped mid air. She opened her eyes at the lack of contact and stared motionless at me as I dropped my hand.

"You're right, maybe I don't understand. Maybe I don't know shit. Especially why you keep defending him. But, I do know that if...if it were my girl, I sure as hell would be the one standing here with her."

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I took a step back and held my hands up in surrender.

"Come on, we don't need to lose anymore daylight."

With that, I turned and walked away from her. For some reason, it felt like that action seemed more than what it was, and it was a lot harder than it should have been.

I loved writing this chapter! It's one of my favorites❤ Here, we see Grace letting go and trying to catch that freeing feeling shes always after. She has a moment of innocence and even opens up a bit, only to get scared and shut down. Why do you think she's scared? Do you think the Grace with Mark and the Grace with Colt are two different people, and if so, which do you feel is the real Grace;the one she's truly herself with?

What about Colt, his secret, and how he can be so guarded and blunt, yet so in tune and sweet...is he still a puzzle you're trying to unravel?

As always, stay kind, stay safe, and stay authentically you 💕