“You’ll see.” He put on his helmet and took off the back seat cover, patting it with his hand. “Let’s go, babe.”
Before I could get on, my phone rang. “Hold on a sec.” It was my sister. “Maddie, what’s up?”
“Nothing much. Just wanted to let you know I’m coming into town tonight. I finished up with work early, so I thought I’d spend some more time out there.”
That was some of the best news I’d heard all day. “I can’t wait to see you. Feels like it’s been forever.”
She sighed. “I know. I’ll see you tomorrow and we can catch up.”
“How’s Madison?” Logan asked as I hung up.
“Good. You’ll get to see her tomorrow.” I strapped on my helmet and hopped on the bike behind Logan, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“Ready?”
My heart raced. “Yep. Let’s go!”
His bike roared to life and he took off down the street. I hadn’t ridden with anyone since I’d learned to ride on my own. You had to have a certain level of trust to put your life in someone else’s hands. I trusted Logan with my life, even more so now.
We rode through East Franklin until we got to Highway 68. I couldn’t help but smile; I knew where we were going. Our first date was like this, me holding onto him as we rode through the curvy, mountain roads to the beautiful waterfalls just a few miles away. His riding was always so smooth and perfect. I was never afraid of riding with him, even when we leaned into the tight curves. All I did was hold him tight and enjoy the ride.
We came up on Cullasaja Falls and he pulled off to the side of the road. It was the same spot we stopped at on our first date. He hadn’t wanted to take me out to eat and to the movies like everyone else did at our age. We’d been more adventurous and carefree.
Logan held onto my hand as I hopped off his bike. The view of the falls was breathtaking. I’d ridden past them numerous times over the years, but I never cared to stop and actually look at them, not after all the memories Logan and I shared there. I took off my helmet and so did Logan.
“Remember when we used to come up here all the time?” he asked, putting his arm around my waist.
I smiled up at him. “How could I forget?”
Taking my hand, he helped me over the guardrail and we climbed down the rocky slope toward the water’s edge. The sound of rushing water grew louder the closer we got. We were right at the top of the falls, where the water cascaded over. There were large boulders in the water and we hopped across them until we got to the one we used to always sit on. Just one minor slip and we’d be in the water, tumbling over the falls. It was an exhilarating feeling to be close to something so powerful. Sprays of refreshing cold water misted across my skin.
Logan wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. “I’ve missed this place. Don’t get me wrong, Charlotte has its perks, but there’s nothing as amazing as this.”
“What are you going to do when you go back?” I asked, knowing the inevitable was going to happen. He had a house and a life he’d just up and left. Plus, he knew I couldn’t leave Bennett Racing behind. My home was here, in the mountains.
He stared over at me, obviously hearing the trepidation in my tone by the way his brows furrowed. “Are you asking if I’m going to forget about you?”
I shrugged. “You have a life over there. I don’t know what you left behind.” Or who, but I didn’t want to say that.
Sighing, he leaned in and kissed me. “To be honest, I don’t consider Charlotte my home. I was never there much to begin with. I threw myself into work for the most part. I could be working on a case for months.”
I didn’t like the thought of him leaving town for months without seeing him, but I knew it was his job. Sooner or later, he’d have to go back to it. “Is that how it’ll always be?” I asked.
A small smile spread across his face. “You worried about me?”
“Of course, I am. When I knew you were in school to be an agent, I never thought about all the danger you’d be in. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
He leaned over and kissed me, his hands firm against my cheeks. “Don’t worry about that, Kassie. I’m good at what I do. No matter what I have to do, or where I have to go, I’ll always come back to you. I don’t want to lose you again.” The wind blew a strand of hair into my face and he brushed it away. “What about you? You’re about to fully take over Bennett Racing. How does that feel?”
I chuckled. “Scary as hell. I think one of the reasons my dad hired Sean was so that I’d have back up. We’ve had some riders tryout who blatantly have no respect for women. When my dad’s around, people fear him, and in return, fear me. I just don’t know how it’ll be when he steps down.”
“You’ll do fine,” he murmured. “Besides, if anyone tries to fuck around with you, I’ll kick their ass. That is, if Sean doesn’t beat me to it.”