Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries Book 4) by Susan Stoker

Author:Susan Stoker [Stoker, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-03T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Harlow looked at the stairs in front of her and crossed her arms. “No,” she said emphatically.

Lowell had picked her up right at eight, and they’d driven west of the city to Manitou Springs. It was an adorable little tourist town with cute, kitschy stores and a chocolate shop that made her mouth water . . . even at eight thirty in the morning.

But Lowell had turned, bypassing the shops and heading south for a bit before pulling into a crowded parking area. She couldn’t believe how many cars there were this early in the morning.

When she got out and saw exactly what the Manitou Incline was, she refused to take another step.

“It’ll be fun,” Lowell cajoled.

“Seriously?” she asked, glaring at him. “What part of ‘I’m not athletic’ did you not understand?”

“We don’t have to go fast. Look, there are kids and dogs doing it.”

Harlow kept her arms crossed and scowled. Then she shook her head and said under her breath, “I could be sitting in my apartment in my fat pants or pajamas, drinking coffee. Instead, I thought I was doing you a favor. And I didn’t bother to look up what this incline thing was.” She sighed, then looked at Lowell and said louder, “I’ll stay in the car. You go on and”—she waved her hand at the steps—“do your thing.”

“It’s only a mile, Harl. You can do that.”

“How many steps?” she snapped, knowing better than to trust him.

“Two thousand, seven hundred and forty-four.”

“Jeez,” she muttered. “Lowell, I get winded going up two flights to get to my apartment.”

“But they’re made out of railroad ties. And the view from the top is so cool.”

Harlow looked up. And up and up and up.

“There’s a two-thousand-foot elevation gain. It averages a forty-one percent incline, with the steepest part being sixty-eight percent. It’s so neat. You’re going to love it.”

She looked from the excitement on Lowell’s face back to the stairs. They looked like they were literally going straight up. She didn’t really understand the percentages that he’d given her, but she wasn’t an idiot. She could see that at certain places, the stairs were almost vertical.

Without a word, she turned away from the stairs and headed back to his Mazda in the parking lot.

“Harl . . .” he said, jogging to catch up to her.

“Go for it, Lowell. I’ll hang out down here. I’m sure you can run up and down that thing in, like, twenty minutes.”

“Harl,” he said again, grabbing her elbow and forcing her to stop.

She turned to him. “This was a joke, right?”

He stared at her for a second, and her stomach got tight. She’d been so sure he was pulling her leg. After their conversation before biking down Pikes Peak, he couldn’t actually think this was a good idea . . . could he?

Then his lips twitched—and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“You jerk!” she said, laughing as she punched him in the arm.

“Ow!” he said as he feigned an injury, holding his biceps. “You should’ve seen your face,” he said with a grin.

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