Chapter 56

Finally, Danny took pity on his fiancé and stood up. “Martha, that was a wonderful breakfast. But we have to get moving, or we won’t make it back before dark.”

Martha stood as well. “Of course. And here I am jawing away. Well, I packed a picnic lunch for you two—it’s sitting on the front desk. You have a good time.” With that she gathered their plates and bustled back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, jackets stowed in the trunk with the picnic lunch, they were on their way.

The morning sun glittered through the trees, making the pale green of new leaves glow. As the road ascended sharply to wind up the mountainside, the trees soon changed over to mostly evergreens with a few oaks scattered between.

The weather was warm enough to roll down the windows, and Evan breathed deeply of the pine scent.

“This is wonderful. I haven’t been away from civilization for quite a while. Tell me about where we’ll be hiking to.”