Once Bishop returned in a shirt and jeans, Beth asked Rev to say grace. When he finished, I happily dug in. Beth had made pancakes, which were a favorite of mine. I had to wonder if Rev had somehow managed to tell her.

As I sat around the table with them, listening to their conversation and laughter, I tried to imagine myself a part of their world. While everything felt comfortable and familiar between them, I couldn’t help wondering how they handled the danger that came with being a part of the biker world. As unsure as I was about my future, I didn’t know how I could ever fit in here. After all, I’d experienced enough danger and violence in the last two months to last a lifetime. I craved peace and safety more than anything in the world.

When I was so full I thought I might pop, I placed my napkin on the table. “Did you get enough to eat, Annabel?” Beth asked.

“Oh yes. More than enough. Everything was delicious.”

Beth beamed at my compliment. “I’m so glad you enjoyed it.”

“Do you feel up for a walk?” Rev asked.

“Sure. What did you have in mind?”

“There’s somewhere I’d really like to show you,” he replied, with a shy smile.

I returned his smile. “Okay.”

Like the true gentleman he was, Rev held out his hand for me. I slipped mine into his and let him pull me up from my chair. “Wait, shouldn’t we help clean up?” I asked.

Beth shook her head. “You two go on. The fresh air will be good for you, and there’s a storm supposed to move in later today.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m positive,” Beth replied with a smile.

With a nod to his brothers and mother, Rev and I walked out the back door. We headed down the porch steps and then into the thick woods.

Rev pushed slightly ahead me, and a rush of warmth flooded my chest when I realized it was so he could keep branches from hitting me. I fought the urge to reach out and pinch him to see if he was real. He was certainly unlike any man I had ever known, and that included the ones in my family.

“Where is this place you want to show me?” I asked, breaking the silence between us.

Glancing at me over his shoulder, he replied, “About a mile into the woods. Give or take.”

“We’re going hiking?” Since I was supposed to be taking it easy and Rev was still healing from his gunshot wound, I certainly hoped we weren’t about to do anything intense.

“No. Not really.”

“Then what is it that’s hidden away a mile into these woods?”

He cut his gaze over to mine. “It’s a surprise.”

I cocked my brows at him. “Seriously?”

“What? Don’t you like surprises?”

With a shrug, I replied, “I guess so. It’s just . . .”

“Just what?” he implored.

“You don’t impress me as the kind of guy who does surprises.”

He teasingly swept a hand to his chest. “I take offense to that.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“In my line of work, it doesn’t pay to be impulsive and carefree. I guess that bleeds over to my personal life.”

“You shouldn’t be anyone other than who you are.”

“Obviously I should, since I’m being categorized as boring.”

“That is not what I said.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I countered, “If that’s the truth, then you should call me boring, too, because there’s no one I would rather be with than you.”

The look that flashed in Rev’s eyes almost made me regret my words. It was a mixture of both acknowledgment and longing. My chest rose and fell with harsh breaths as I rode the waves of my inner turmoil. Did I want Rev to feel something deep for me? Did I want to feel something deep for him? He was so very different from any man I’d ever known, least of all dated. But regardless of the differences, I was attracted to him—both physically and emotionally. With his good looks, gentle soul, and protective streak, who wouldn’t be?

But surely I was jumping to conclusions and letting my imagination get the best of me. Both in and out of his world, Rev was a catch. He couldn’t want someone like me. It was impossible for me to forget how the experience with Mendoza had tarnished me. And even if he did feel like I did, he deserved better.

In an effort to change the subject, Rev motioned around us. “Two hundred years ago, all this land belonged to the Cherokees. Within the acres and acres of land, there was a sought-after place where tribe members from all over the Southeast often made a pilgrimage.”

“What was so special about it?” I asked as we ducked under some low tree limbs.

“It was said to be a place of healing waters.”

My brows shot up in surprise. “There’s a lake out here?”

He opened his mouth and then closed it. Then with a sheepish grin, he replied, “You’ll have to wait and see.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m pretty terrible at surprises. I’ve practically given it all away.” With a teasing wink, he added, “Of course, you do seem to be a very gifted manipulator.”

“Hey now,” I said before playfully jabbing him in the ribs. As we started up a slight hill, Rev reached out and took my arm to help guide me. “How do you know so much about the Cherokees?” I asked him.

“My great-grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee. She and her parents hid out in the mountains to escape removal by the government. She passed her knowledge on to my grandmother.”