"Hi, Lacy! Come on in. Is Ben here?"
"I see you've managed to find one of the best tourist guides in town," Lacy teased. Kara snickered as she sat down on the bed and laced up her hiking boots.
"Am I wrong, or is he all kinds of fantastic?"
"You're not wrong. Rosemary and Eddie Shotbrook raised those boys right."
"I'm going on a picnic with him today. This is nothing more than us spending time together over the weekend."
"I know, honey. You're not from around here, and he has responsibilities. But I think the two of you will have fun. That's what's really important." Kara bounded off the bed and gave the woman a quick hug. She went down the hall to the head of the stairs and saw Ben staring up at her from the landing below. She couldn't stop the big silly grin on her face. She walked down to meet him. They held hands all the way to his truck, where he opened the door for her. When he got her settled in, he stole a small kiss and she was glad that he did.
* * * *
After breakfast, he asked her if she was used to hiking and she assured him that she was. He was prepared to stop at many of the places along Indian Trail River walk, instead of going all the way up to the falls, but she made the five-mile hike, her stride just eating up the miles. He enjoyed seeing those long legs in cargo shorts. She had a cute, tight ass that swayed slightly as she walked, and it made him more than a little uncomfortable as he had to follow her.
The only thing that really slowed them down was her propensity for stopping to examine any little thing that captured her artist's eye. She would see beauty in things that he had been ignoring for years. A type of fern, a jut of granite, the way the bark was peeling off a tree. Anything could capture her eye, and then she would have to touch it. Actually, when he thought about it, they had really made remarkable time.
"So, is that tree talking to you?" he asked as she stopped at yet another evergreen tree.
"Yes, actually, it is," she said as she threw a smile at him over her shoulder. "It's asking what's in that backpack of yours and how much longer until we get to the waterfall."
"Listen."
He watched as Kara cocked her head and then gave him a delighted grin. "Oh, I hear it." He shouldn't have been surprised that she hadn't heard it. She was obviously more of a visual person.
"It's around the next bend, and there are plenty of places to have a picnic. As for what's in the backpack, I don't know. Florence packed it, so we're both going to be surprised. She promised me that there would be enough even for you," he teased.
She walked over to him and hit him in the arm … hard.
"Hey, that almost hurt," he said as he pulled her in for a hug.
"It was supposed to hurt. I have three brothers. I don't believe in pulling my punches, especially when somebody is calling me a pig."
"I wasn't calling you a pig. I was merely admiring your healthy appetite." He looked down at her diamond-blue eyes. She was absolutely beautiful, and she felt wonderful in his arms. He was careful not to let their lower bodies touch. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable with his body's reaction. He slowly bent down and brushed a soft kiss against her lips, enjoying the delicate texture. Her lips slowly parted and he melded their mouths deeper, luxuriating in the taste of Kara. Finally he lifted his head, satisfied to see her lift her lashes, her eyes dazed.
"You sure are a good kisser, Ben Shotbrook."
"You're wrong, it's all you. Come on, let's get to the falls so we can spread out a blanket and enjoy our lunch. I think that lying under the evergreens with you sounds like my idea of heaven."
They held hands the rest of the way to the falls. Ben wasn't surprised that his presence took a backseat as Kara marveled at the beauty of the waterfall. He surprised her with a sketchpad that he had purchased, as well as some charcoal pencils.
"Oh, Ben, this is our date. I want to pay attention to you."
"I know, sweetheart, but I knew you would want to sketch the falls. Why don't you just take an hour or so to do that? I'll just rest and watch you."
"But you don't understand, when I get into the zone, I block out everything else. I won't remember you're even here," she said with a sad expression. Ben couldn't help but grin.
"I already thought of that. Why do you think I gave you the sketchpad before lunch? If I've learned one thing about you, it's that your appetite will get the better of you." He was delighted by her deep-throated laughter. He could spend days just making this woman smile and laugh.
He left the food in the containers and watched Kara sketch. He enjoyed seeing her get so immersed in what she was doing. It was almost exactly one hour into her sketching that she turned to him and asked, "Where's the food?"
"I've been waiting for you to unpack it and serve it to me. That's women's work, after all." They unpacked the containers and found fried chicken, potato and macaroni salad, green beans, biscuits, corn on the cob, and apple cobbler for dessert. There were two thermoses of lemonade.
"Is Florence single?" Kara asked. "I think I'm going to propose marriage."
"Sorry, she's married. What about me? I'm the one who hauled all this up the trail. What's my reward?" Ben asked as he bit into his fourth piece of chicken.
"You, I'm considering making out with. Florence is marriage material."
"I don't make out with girls unless they consider me the marrying kind."
Kara threw back her head and laughed, and he couldn't take his eyes off her. Her hair glinted in the sunlight as it streamed down her back.
"What's so damn funny?"
"The idea that any guy would pass up a make-out session. I think the quote is, ‘Women need a reason to have sex, men just need a place.'"
"I don't know whether to be offended or just laugh."
"Which route do you think will lead to the make out session?" Kara queried as Ben laughed. They started putting away all of the remaining food and cleaning up the area, making sure they left it as clean as when they arrived. After they were done, the atmosphere changed. They were suddenly a man and a woman kneeling alone on a blanket staring at one another in the middle of a majestic forest.
"I know we've been teasing about a make out session. But Kara, I think I'm going to die if you don't let me kiss you again," Ben said as he tentatively trailed his hands up and down her arms.
He was so relieved when she lifted her hands and reached behind his head and tugged at the leather strip that held his hair back at his nape, freeing his hair. "I've wanted to do that all day," she said as she ran her fingers through his hair. He loved it when she pulled his head toward hers, bringing him down so their lips could meet. He couldn't help but groan as their lips met in a fiery kiss, her fingers pulling his hair. He reached up and tangled his fingers through strands of white-gold silk, and tugged, eliciting a moan against his lips. Oh, she liked that. He moved his hand closer to her scalp and pulled again, and she arched against him. With his other arm, he clasped her to him, needing her body close to his.
He loved it when she pulled one hand out of his hair and wrapped it around his waist, bringing them even closer together. He slowly lowered them down onto the blanket so that she was lying beneath him. She looked up at him, her eyes a languid blue.
"I like this, Ben. I like this a lot."
"This isn't just a place for me, Kara," he said seriously. "It's you. And we're not going to do anything more than share a few kisses and maybe share a few touches." He watched her carefully, gauging her reactions.
"It's been a long time for me," she admitted.
"How long?"
"I've only ever had one boyfriend, and that was almost five years ago." She looked away from him. That didn't add up to the outgoing, beautiful, and passionate woman in his arms.
"Did he hurt you, Kara?"
"No, nothing like that." She rushed to assure him. "I'm just … I just haven't found anyone who seems to like the artist-me, and the me-me. You know? And I'm not real good at the boyfriend-girlfriend stuff." Ben tried to assimilate what she was telling him.
"How long were the two of you together?"
"All through college. He was an artist too, but he didn't get the part of me that wasn't an artist, the part that liked to hike and be with my family. He didn't even understand how much I liked food," she said in a sad voice.
Ben finally understood the "me-me" comment. He was lucky. Here in Sitka, people really took the time to understand and appreciate all aspects of everyone. His family was fully supportive of all that he tried to accomplish. As for the comment of her not being good at the girlfriend-boyfriend part of life, boy, was she in for a surprise. He saw a small strand of wheat-colored hair that was stuck to her moist lower lip, and he tucked it back behind her ear as he smiled down at her.