The truck rumbled to life beneath them, and Boone pulled out onto the dark street with one hand on the wheel and the other reaching for Ivy's. She laced her fingers through his, feeling the calluses on his palm, the warmth of his skin.
The town fell away quickly, the streetlights giving way to darkness. The road climbed steadily upward, winding through dense forest that seemed to close in on either side of them. Ivy could hear the forest at night—the rustle of leaves, the distant call of an owl, the sound of something larger moving through the underbrush.
"You scared?" Boone asked quietly.
"No." And she meant it. "I'm not scared."
His thumb brushed across her knuckles. "Good girl."
The truck's headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the winding mountain road. The engine humm
