Riley stretched her legs, hearing the snap and creak of her bones and tendons complaining about years of neglect. She jumpedup and down a few times, then hit the road, settling on a slow, steady pace. Before long she found herself on the runningtrail in Maple Falls Park. It was small but had a decent-size pond with a sidewalk surrounding the water where people couldrun or walk. It was hardly a trail, but it would do.
She was halfway around the pond when she heard someone call her name. She muttered a curse, glad Melody wasn’t there to hearher. Naturally, of all the mornings people could run in Maple Falls Park, she had chosen the same time as him.
Embarrassment filled her. The last person she wanted to witness her lumbering gait, sweaty face and back, and overall lackof stamina and athleticism was Hayden Price. She didn’t want to be a complete witch and ignore him, either, so she peekedover her shoulder and gave him a quick nod of acknowledgment. When she realized he was gaining on her, she picked up her pace.Hopefully he would let her plod along in peace.
No such luck. Letting him know she saw him was a mistake. He didn’t slow down. Instead, he was closing the gap between them.She sped up, and within seconds her heart rate had spiked, she struggled to breathe, and the muscles in her leg burned withevery stride. She knew she couldn’t keep running at that speed, and she certainly couldn’t outrun him. Against her will sheslowed, then finally stopped, bending at the waist and placing her hands on her knees. Even her knees were sweaty.
“Hey.” Hayden stopped beside her, not sounding the least bit exerted. “Are you okay?”
With effort she lifted her head, still gasping for air. She managed a nod. “F-fine.”
His brow furrowed. “You don’t look fine. Why don’t you sit down for a minute?” He gestured to one of the weathered benchesa few paces ahead that seemed to be one weak breeze away from keeling over.
She started to shake her head, hoping he would just leave her alone to catch her breath so she could eventually resume herrun. Her breathing wasn’t slowing as fast as she wanted it to, and then her legs started to feel like Jell-O in an earthquake,and she knew she had to relent. She made her way over to the bench and plopped down on it, hoping she wouldn’t end up withsplinters in her butt. Don’t sit next to me, don’t sit next to me, don’t . . .
He sat next to her, leaning forward and peering at her sweat-covered face. “Did you bring any water with you?”
Of course she didn’t. She was so unused to exercising, she hadn’t even thought about it. “No. I was just going for a quickrun.”
“Did you run here from Erma’s?” he asked. When she nodded, he said, “That’s not a quick run.”
She eyed him, annoyed. “Where’s your water?”
“Uh, at home,” he said with a sheepish expression. “I’m just doing five miles this morning, so I didn’t think I needed it.Now I wish I’d brought some so I could share it with you.”
Riley sat back against the bench, staring at him. Was he even real? The ends of his hair were damp with perspiration, so atleast he was human. But how could he be so attractive, so athletic, and so nice? He must have a girlfriend stashed somewhere. Maybe even a fiancée. She glanced at his left hand. No ring, so she knew hewasn’t married. He was the type to wear a wedding ring.
She squeezed her eyes shut. The last thing her brain needed was to ponder about Hayden’s romantic life. Hadn’t she done enoughof that in high school?
“Riley?”
Opening her eyes, she finally lifted her gaze. “Yes?”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Her legs still felt weak, but if she sat here long enough, she could at least walk back to Mimi’s. Running was out of thequestion, although if she had the strength, she would book it out of here immediately. The next best thing was to encouragehim to leave.
“Yes. I’m okay.” She tried to hide the fact that she was still slightly breathless. She wasn’t sure if it was from the exerciseor because Hayden was sitting so close to her. “Don’t let me keep you from your run,” she said, waving him off.
“You’re not. I was almost done.” He leaned back against the bench, his shoulder almost touching Riley’s. If he noticed, hedidn’t act like it.
She thought about scooting away, but she was nearly at the edge of the bench and there wasn’t any room—unless she wanted toland on the concrete sidewalk. Why were these benches so small?
“Can I ask you something?” Hayden said.
This time when she cast him a quick look, he was staring at the pond in front of them. A group of brown-and-gold-spotted duckswas paddling around the water, and three of them dipped their heads beneath the surface in search of a fish or two for breakfast.She needed to answer his question.
“Um, sure.”
“Have I offended you somehow?”
Stunned, she turned to him. That was the last thing she expected him to ask. “No. Why would you think that?”
“You seem eager to get away from me right now. I got the same impression yesterday when you came into the store.” He tappedthe rubber heel of his athletic shoe against the walkway. “I guess I just wondered if I’d done something to annoy you whenI picked you up from the airport the other night.”
She gripped the edge of the bench. Might as well add splinters to her fingers too. “We haven’t seen each other in over a decade,Hayden,” she said, her tone turning soft. “What could you possibly have done to upset me?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking if I’ve done something wrong.”
Riley let out a bitter laugh. “As if that would
