Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Six adults and a little one kept moving up the mountain trail.

Half an hour in...

Molly flopped down on a stone step, dramatically moaning, "Chad, I swear, I never learn. My legs haven't even recovered from the last hike and here I am, falling for your sweet talk again. I should have known better!"

Officer Chad just laughed, crouching behind her. "Five more minutes, I promise. This time, I'm telling the truth."noveldrama

Mia leaned on her hiking stick, glaring at her husband. "Don't even try to tell me our son isn't tired. He's been in your arms the whole way! His shoes are cleaner than his face—how would he even get tired?"

Before Andre could say a word, Mia cut him off. "Fine, maybe I'm just out of shape. I don't want to climb anymore."

But Chad wouldn't let up. "Come on, we've been at this for forty minutes. The summit's right in front of us. Are we really giving up with just five minutes left?"

Andre chimed in too. "Even if we're out of practice, think of this as a workout. We hardly ever get a chance like this—are you really okay with letting it go?"

Leo just looked at his girl; he didn't need to say anything. Within a moment, the two women exchanged determined looks and said through gritted teeth, "Let's keep going!"

Leo gently took little Anya's hand and they continued up.

For Henry, this was all just play. Energized, he ran ahead, but soon enough tired out and clung to his mom's leg, whining, “Mommy, carry me!"

Mia's legs were like jelly. "Go find your dad, sweetheart. Mommy needs someone to carry her, too."

Henry quickly found himself scooped up by his dad, riding along happily and not tired at all.

As they walked, the leaves overhead brushed past Henry's hair. He reached up, trying to grab a bright green leaf with his tiny hand.

Then, tucked away in a bush, they spotted wild strawberries-bright red and perfectly ripe. Anya's face lit up. "Auntie, look! Wild strawberries!"

Mia stopped in her tracks. Henry stared in awe. Anya wanted to go pick some, and Jade immediately grabbed her phone to snap pictures for her private account. Andre set Henry down, Chad grabbed a hat, and Leo stepped forward. The three men went into the thicket together-it was hot, and they didn't want the women risking bug bites or worse.

When they came back with handfuls of wild strawberries, Andre tasted one first just to be safe, then handed the berries to his wife and son. Mià and Henry each took one from` Andre's big hand, popping them into their mouths. Mia even fed one to her husband, and Henry, not to be outdone, tiptoed up to feed one to his dad, too.

Jade was known for her love of pretty pictures. She'd brought a hat for her hiking photos, but soon tossed it to Chad when it got in the way. Chad used it as a basket, filling it with strawberries.

While everyone else went straight to eating, Jade whipped out her phone, snapped a photo, and posted it one her secret account: "Sly used my hat to pickstrawberries for me. Now that he's found my secret account, I can't even scold him. Guess I'll just act like I'm touched."

Officer Chad looked pretty pleased with himself.

Over with Leo, Anya popped a strawberry in her mouth and grinned. "Chad, these

are amazing! Pick some more—I'll make you some jam when we get home."

All in all, it took them an hour to reach the top.

At the summit, they gazed out at the endless blue sea on the horizon. The breeze up there was fresh and cool. Henry tugged on his dad's finger,

standing on tiptoe, but he still

couldn't see over the edge.

Andre bent down, grabbed Henry under his arms, and lifted him up high. "Sit on Daddy's shoulders."

From his perch, higher than anyone else, Henry looked out at the world and gasped, "Wow!"

Mia took a video and sent it to their family chat.

Hansen glanced at his phone, chuckling. "Well, would you look at that! Mia, my

girl Anya, and all the ladies actually made it to the top without a single complaint. Didn't see that coming."