He grinned at her in much the same way that he had earlier and, in spite of the rigid resistance she’d been trying to hold onto, she felt herself drawn to the man.
He said, “Except that you’ll walk down the mountain with me.”
His offhand invitation took her by surprise. Even though that flirty smile of his was aimed straight at her, she wasn’t expecting him to take this meeting between them a step further. And though her first instinct was to withdraw and tell him she preferred her privacy, the feminine side of her was intrigued and flattered by his overture.
“That is,” he added, “if you are ready to leave the mountain. I wouldn’t want to rush you away from this spot. Not after the laboring hike it took to get up here.”
The idea that he appreciated her physical effort to climb to this particular shelf of the mountain warmed her even more and she found herself smiling back at him.
“It was quite a trek for me to make it this far,” she admitted. Twisting around, she bent down and picked up a small backpack lying at the base of the boulder. As she shouldered it on, she said, “But I am ready to go. The sun is beginning to dip.”
“Great,” he said with a smile. “Just let me get my things and we’ll head down the trail together.”
Mia followed him over to the rock ledge and waited while he shoved his climbing equipment into a vary large backpack. After he’d secured the straps over his shoulders, he gestured toward the direction of the trail.
“Shall we go?”
Nodding, Mia fell in step with him and was immediately staggered by his nearness. Since less than a foot separated their shoulders, she was close enough to pick up the faint spicy scent of cologne mingled with sweat, an odor that was extremely masculine, even erotic. And for the first time in ages, Mia found her senses distracted by a man.
“I guess getting outdoors is a nice break from working in an office,” she commented as they picked their way down the rocky trail.
“I’d go crazy if I couldn’t get out and do something physical,” he told her. “But I do enjoy being a doctor.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Looking at his lean body, Mia could plainly see he got plenty of strenuous exercise. His arms and legs were roped with hard muscles.
“Are you a general practitioner?”
A hint of amusement grooved his cheeks and Mia couldn’t help but wonder about his odd reaction to her question. Did he think being a general practitioner was a joke? She hated to think he was one of those specialists that went around with their nose up in the air.
“No. There’s not much need for one of those at the resort. I specialize in sports medicine. Twisted ankles, broken bones, strained muscles and pulled tendons. We have lots of skiers and hikers here.”
For some reason, she could easily imagine him examining a blond ski bunny’s strained leg. She’d bet a pile of money that the majority of his patients were female. But she wasn’t about to suggest such a thing to Dr. Cates. She’d already stuck one foot in her mouth this afternoon. Mia wasn’t about to try for a second.
“What about sniffles and fever? Can you treat those, too?”
He tossed her a wide grin. “Sure I can. Why? You’re not feeling ill, are you?”
Her nostrils flared at his suggestive question. “I feel very well, thank you. I was just wondering about those guests that might get colds or tummy aches.”
He chuckled and Mia realized she liked the warm husky sound that rolled easily past his lips. It said he was happy with himself and his life. She was envious. Desperately envious.
“Well, wonder no more, Ms. Smith. I can do what any general practitioner can do, plus a little more.”
The teeny thread of arrogance in his voice was just enough to give him an air of confidence rather than conceit. And she realized she liked that about him, liked the self-assurance he possessed. If only she could be that sure of her own abilities and decisions, she thought wistfully. Maybe then she could step out and begin to live again, instead of hiding herself here in Thunder Canyon.
“If that’s the case, the resort must be getting a lot for their money.”
He chuckled again. “I like to think so.”
The trail suddenly turned a bit steep and treacherous, forcing them to focus on their steps rather than their conversation. But despite her best effort, Mia’s boots slipped on the loose gravel.
Her arms were flailing about, snatching for any sort of bush to help her regain her balance, when she felt the doctor’s arm wrap around her waist and his strong hand grip the side of her waist.
“Careful now,” he said in a steadying voice. “I’ve got you.”
Breathing deeply from the physical scramble to stay upright, she tucked her long hair behind her ears and darted a grateful glance at his face.
“Thanks,” she murmured between quick breaths. “I…almost went over head first.”
Their gazes collided and Mia felt as though everything around them were slowing to a crawl. Except for her heart, which suddenly seemed to be going at breakneck speed, pumping hot blood straight to her face.
“It would be a steep tumble from here,” he said, his voice husky. “I’m glad that didn’t happen.”
His brown eyes left hers and began to glide over her face as though they were fingers reverently touching a beautiful flower. The idea so unsettled Mia that she nervously swallowed and looked away from him.
Tall, pungent spruce along with white-barked aspen grew right to the edge of the hiking trail. The branches blocked out the sun, making it appear later in the evening than it really was and leaving Mia feeling as though the two of them were cocooned in their own little world. She wasn’t ready for that much togetherness with a man who took her breath away each time she looked at him.
“Uh, we should be going,” she quickly suggested. “The shadows are getting longer.”
“Let me go first so I can help you down this rough patch,” he told her.
To her relief he released his hold on her waist and carefully eased down the path a few feet in front of her. Once he found solid footing, he reached a hand up to her.
“Take my hand. I don’t want you to fall.”
She could have sat on her rump and scooted down the washed out part of the trail, but that would have been a little humiliating to do in front of a man who climbed mountains. Besides, he was only watching out for her safety, not merely trying to find an excuse to touch her, she told herself.
Leaning forward, she latched her fingers around his and with a firm grip he steadied her as she maneuvered over the last few treacherous steps.
“Thanks,” she told him. “I’ve got to admit I was dreading going over this area again. I had to practically crawl on my way up.”
He nodded. “I think this washout needs to be reported. The resort has maintenance people for repairing just this sort of thing. It might save a guest from a bad injury.”
Mia suddenly realized he was still holding her hand and she was letting him.
Feeling like a naive teenager, she disengaged her fingers from his and carefully stepped around him. To her relief, he didn’t try to delay her. Instead, he followed a few steps behind her.
She was trying hard to focus on the trail and the birds flittering among the limbs of the aspens, rather than the man behind her, when his voice suddenly sounded again.
“Are you a Montana native?”
His