Where had she got herself into?

With a groan, Eve drifted over the assortment of things she had to stuff into a rucksack for the hike. Only through years of practice in packing countless bags, would she have perfected an art that would surely have earned her the title of world champion at Tetris.

Her own rucksack was plain red and grey. The well-worn dinosaur had been her faithful companion at high school, through everything from heavy books to hastily stuffed clothes. It was much bigger than Liam's, packed full of snacks, drinks, and all the stuff a mum with a messy kid like her son should always have with her—especially plasters and bandages.

Meanwhile, Liam's rucksack - in the wretched camouflage pattern she had come to hate - was overflowing with all the things her whirlwind thought he needed: string (in case he got lost) and a stale loaf of bread (maybe she shouldn't have read him, Hansel and Gretel, after all), the red toy bone for Chief (she died just thinking about the annoying squeak), an old Polaroid camera (in case he met goblins in the forest) and the action figure of his current favorite hero ... Black Lantern or something like that, she couldn't remember, much to Liam's annoyance.

After Liam had grumbled long enough and Ryker had kindly pointed out with that far too-hot grin that a walk in the fresh air would undoubtedly help with the hangover from the previous evening, Eve finally had to admit defeat. While Liam said goodbye to Edana, as it was tradition for him to bring her home-squeezed orange juice upstairs, Eve packed up the rest of her things.

Secretly, she wondered whether Ryker was perhaps a sadist. After all, not only was he dragging her on a hike with her hangover, but also with her lack of sleep and weak legs, both of which were his fault.

Hrm.

The terrible thing was that no matter how much she wanted to groan and crawl away inside, this other part of her ran around invisibly like Chief in the first snow, tail wagging wildly. And it was only because she was happy that Ryker wanted to spend the day with her and Liam.

But what if he was talking about tonight?

'Heavens.'

How could anyone be so out of sorts?

'Damn it, girl, pull yourself together! This doesn't mean anything! He'll be gone soon, and you don't need anything complicated right now! This night was nice, but that's it,' she said to herself and secretly might as well have built a wall out of cardboard, knowing full well that it wouldn't stand up to the first rain. 'Complicated' had always been a big part of her life ... and that would never change.

"This has to come too!" the former Indian chief announced, handing her the homemade slingshot made of wood and a rubber band that he had chosen as his weapon today to defend her against the bears in the forest during their adventure.

Eve decided not to get involved in a discussion. She was too exhausted for that today, so she attached the slingshot to Liam's rucksack, loaded hers onto her shoulders, and went downstairs with him. Ray was already waiting for them there.

"Are you ready?"

He looked the same as the first day they'd met, yet something seemed to have changed. Eve had to look twice to realize it. Without thinking twice, she reached out and stroked his freshly trimmed beard, which today elegantly emphasized his jawline.

"Have you trimmed your beard?" she asked and couldn't help but smile as warm as a small drop of sunlight in the corners of her mouth. Had he dressed up like that for her? Admittedly ... She had also spent a little longer in front of the mirror today and, with her rosy cheeks, had perhaps invested a little more time in her make-up and hairstyle.

"Maybe?" Ray replied cheekily and grinned far too smugly.

"Does it look good?"

Oh, it looked much too good on him!

Ray was about to reach for her hand when she playfully took it from him and hurried to the front door.

"Maybe?" Eve returned just as cheekily, winking at him over her shoulder before chuckling behind Liam and stepping through the door into the fresh morning air.

Chief was already jumping impatiently around her legs and into freedom as soon as the door opened. Liam immediately followed him, bouncing down the stairs excitedly and full of energy.

"Where's Riona anyway?" Ray asked meanwhile, nodding towards the empty car park.

"From what I could decipher from her text message, she spent the night with her date. He's going to take her home later ... On his Harley," Eve replied, wiggling her eyebrows meaningfully. Eve had just put the jingling bunch of keys in the lock and was about to lock the door - if her eyes hadn't fallen on the two chairs and the small table on the veranda.

More precisely, on the small parcel wrapped in beige-colored paper lying innocently on the faded wooden surface.

"Huh?" Eve's astonished humming seemed to catch Ray's attention. "Since when has it been lying there?" the young woman thought aloud, reaching for the square thing.

"You've got to be kidding me!" it growled behind her. Suddenly, a hand shot past her grabbed the box, and snatched it from her fingers before they could grasp the strange parcel.

"This is for me!" Ryker snatched the parcel from under her nose. His fingers clutched it so tightly that the packaging crumpled underneath, and his smile hung oddly... crooked?

"Um, okay?" Eve watched, slightly irritated, as Ryker turned his back to her and opened his rucksack.

"I meant to open it yesterday, but I must have forgotten it outside," Ray explained casually without looking at her.

Instead, Eve watched as he almost hurriedly stuffed the parcel into his rucksack and jerked the zip closed. Somehow, his gaze seemed a little colder, and the expression around his lips suddenly much harder than before. It was ... strange. The sight and the situation planted a peculiar feeling in her stomach.

"Wouldn't you rather take him to the cabin instead of on the hike?" she asked, hoping to lighten her mood and relieve the strange lump in her stomach.

Ray's gaze flew to her; then he heaved his rucksack onto his shoulders.

"Oh, it doesn't weigh much. It'll be fine. We'd better go; we don't want to return too late."

"I see," she said, although a quiet voice in her head whispered to her that Ray was behaving strangely. Almost as if he had something to hide from her.

Almost startled by her thoughts, Eve shook her head imaginatively and forced another smile onto her lips as she turned the key in the lock.

'What are you doing? Have you gone mad now? Why would he lie to you? You're getting paranoid,' her inner voice hissed.

Besides, it was none of her business. After all, she didn't want him to get too deeply involved in her business ...

So she took a deep breath and put her keys in the pocket of her black parka.

"So, shall we get going?"