Come Home To Me (Wild Creek Ranch Book 1)

Chapter Eleven - Getting To Know One Another More

Adelaide served Rhett the shredded beef tacos that she and Rihanna had made for breakfast. The memories of their first kiss were still fresh in her mind, causing her cheeks to flush under his scrutiny. She had dreamt of Rhett the entire night and it had felt so real that when she woke up in the morning; she felt quite dazed and shaken up.

"Thanks," he said, checking her out shamelessly despite Rihanna's presence. The kiss was all he had been thinking about and now, after seeing her, he was dying for a repeat. He didn't want to return home today but stay here with Adelaide forever. If only that could be possible!

"This is good," said Rhett, sitting at the table and taking a bite while Rex grinned, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Kiss the hands of the lady who made it, bro." Adelaide rushed out of the room with embarrassment at his suggestion and they both chuckled after her.

Sawyer walked in quietly and served himself, sitting down to eat. "What's wrong with you now?" asked Rex.

"Nothing important. So where are we heading to after this?"

"We'll go hiking on the Continental Divide Scenic Trail right away and then, after lunch, we can go boating on the Coyote Creek," said Rhett. The others, too, liked the idea, and all were ready in twenty minutes. They locked the cabin and drove towards their destination. Adelaide was excited to see herds of elk crossing their path. Rhett pointed out a mule deer and a family of white-tailed deer, too. There were lots of bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and antelopes everywhere, but thankfully she didn't find any bears anywhere.

Rhett showed her the Antelope Basin teeming with wildlife and an abundance of wildflowers, beautifully hued aspen and willow thickets, and lush grasslands. "It's beautiful Rhett," said Adelaide, clicking pictures with her phone.

"We need to go hiking from here," said Rhett. They all parked their trucks and started the hiking trail and following the beautiful and picturesque Antelope Basin Road, crossing other trails, passing through grasslands, open stands of Douglas fir, and aspen. In places, grass has grown over the constructed tread, so they had to be careful not to lose track of the trail. This route closely followed the actual Continental Divide, dipping in and out of the Montana/Idaho border.

Terrific vistas of the Madison and Centennial Ranges come into view as they followed the relatively easy hike. "Look at that cave on the other side. There's a black bear sunbathing." Ryan pointed it out, and they all checked it out, especially Adelaide. Living at Fordsville, they had all seen bears except Adelaide and Anastasia, of course.

"What if a grizzly blocks our path?" asked Rihanna and Adelaide looked at her with horror, going towards Rhett and clutching his arm.

"They usually avoid the trails," explained Rhett, clasping her hand in his. "You can stay by me."

"Rhett's ready to fight a thousand grizzlies now," said Rex with a grin.

At the end of the trail portion of the route, they followed a winding road through the Henry's Lake Mountains, to Red Rock, and then to the Centennial Mountains. Throughout their hike, they saw elks, badgers, deer, and antelopes, a few black bears while they saw wolves and antelopes at the Basin. Adelaide took pictures of Raptors and songbirds, while Rhett watched her with awe. It was past lunchtime when they returned to the cabin.

Adelaide and Rihanna cooked the fish they had caught in the morning. After a hearty lunch, they went towards Coyote Creek for a lazy boat tour.

"I don't feel like leaving this place. It's the most memorable trip of my life," said Adelaide.

"Mine too," said Rhett.

"You might have gone to many such places, haven't you?" asked Adelaide.

"Yes, but they weren't so special. This is the best since I'm with you." Adelaide smiled at him warmly, overwhelmed at his admission.