When they arrived, Hannah could hear the men chatting out on Cain’s deck. Hannah trailed behind her friends, following them through the cabin and out to the deck. The guys were gathered, all in shorts and short-sleeved button-down shirts, chatting animatedly with their bourbons and a couple puffing on cigars. Hannah immediately recognized Asher’s wild hair, then Aaron’s military cut and perfect posture. She spotted Flynn, another military man, one Cain had served with, and James, the psychologist who’d worked with Cain. She’d met both men days ago, before their pre-wedding dinner and festivities, before the girls headed off to Hannah’s and the guys to Cain’s the night before the wedding.
The men began quieting down, and Hannah spotted Cain in shorts and a crisp white button-down, a bourbon in his hand and a smile on his face. When he spotted her, he went silent, raising his eyebrows as he gave her a onceover.
“Damn, girl,” he said.
Hannah giggled in embarrassment, her face reddening again as he and everyone else stared at her. “Stop looking at me.”
The others laughed as Cain slipped an arm around her.
“Sorry, sweetie,” Diana said, a big smile on her face. “You’re the beautiful bride. Everyone’s going to stare at you all day.”
Hannah smiled. “Well, enjoy it. This is the only time you’ll ever see me in a dress.” More laughter.
It was a beautiful afternoon, sunny and warm but not hot, the mountain view from Cain’s place as amazing as ever. Soon, it was time, and everybody filtered through the cabin and out to Cain’s porch. James stood at Cain’s front door, Hannah and Cain stood facing each other, and everyone else gathered around. The Grace-Grizzly movie poster sat on an easel nearby.
Cain whispered a couple words to James, and James nodded.
Cain addressed the others. “This is going to be short and sweet, people. Hannah and I are private types, and we’ve already said all the personal stuff to each other. But there is one thing I wanted to say first.” He paused, glancing at Hannah. “This porch, right here, is where Hannah and I first met. You all know the story by now—her GPS busted on one of her long training runs, she ended up lost, and my place was the first she stumbled upon. When I heard the knock at the door, I was still serving my self-imposed prison sentence and wasn’t in the mood for socializing. So I was ready to tell whoever stood behind this door to kindly fuck off.” A few snickers. “But when I opened the door and saw her standing there, her knees and elbow all skinned up, her body slumped and tired, I thought, damn, who is this chick and what’s it going to take to get her into my bed?”
Laughter spread through their friends, especially the guys, and Hannah shook her head, laughing along with them.
Cain went on. “She asked me where she was, and I, of course, gave her a smartass answer. I’m a physician and a former endurance runner, and I could tell right away she was in bad shape. I offered to let her come in, I offered her a ride home… and then I realized that a big angry bearded guy might not be someone she’d want to trust. So I offered to call her a car or do something to help her. Did she accept my help? Fuck no. She told me in no uncertain terms that she only wanted directions so she could run back to town, and she would find her own way, damn it.” He smiled as the others laughed at that. “She was so damned stubborn and so determined and so tough… and so fucking beautiful… and that night will remain in my memory forever. Because it’s the night that changed both our lives.” He paused again and his eyes met hers. “It took me a while to accept that I could have her, that I could be happy again. But a wise man told me that her coming into my life was a gift from God. I figured, who am I to question the big guy upstairs?”
He blinked once, his eyes glistening for just a moment as everything grew quiet. Hannah took Cain’s hand, feeling her own eyes moisten.
“So even though the deck’s got the better view,” Cain went on, “I wanted to do this thing right here. Right where it all started.” He motioned to James. “You’re on, man.”
And there, as Hannah stood facing the man she loved, their friends gathered close, James said a few words, Flynn produced two simple gold wedding bands, and Hannah and Cain exchanged vows. Before she knew it, James was telling Cain he could kiss the bride.
Cain pulled her close and kissed her. For a moment, Hannah forgot everyone but him as she felt his lips on hers. Then he pulled away and rested his forehead on hers. “We made it.”
Hannah smiled, blinking away a tear. “We made it.”
Afterward, everyone spread out on Cain’s deck or just inside, and the glass doors remained open all afternoon as everyone came in and out to get another drink or make preparations for dinner. They’d loaded up on steaks and alcohol and everything else, and later, the guys traded off grilling. Finally, they all sat down and ate.
James clinked his fork against his beer bottle. “A toast to Hannah and Cain. May everyone find their match like you two did.”
Everyone raised their glasses and drank to that.
Asher turned to Diana. “What do you think? We could do something like this at the house…”
Diana smiled. “Who said I wanted to marry you?”
Hannah snorted at that and the others giggled. Diana winked at Asher.
Asher’s eyes gleamed. “I’m just trying to make an honest woman out of you, plus there’s that other thing.” He glanced down at her belly.
Hannah picked up on it before anyone else did. “Oh my God! Are you?”
Diana nodded, unable to contain her grin. “He knocked me up again. I was going to wait until after the wedding to tell you…”
Hannah put one hand to her heart and held up her glass with the other. “To you guys, and to the beautiful family you’ve both always wanted.”
More cheers.
“What about you two?” Flynn said to Teagan and Aaron. “Any rug rats?”
Teagan shook her pink head.
“Yeah, that ship’s sailed, dude,” Aaron said. “I got snipped a while ago.”
“What about you, Flynn?” Cain said. “You looking to settle down yet?”
“Yeah, when?” Flynn said. “Between deployments?”
“Work’s no excuse,” Summer quipped, tossing her hair back.
Flynn laughed. “Then what’s your excuse?”
“Oh, me?” Summer said. “I’m a clueless fool who’s probably going to be single forever.”
Flynn scoffed. “Horse shit. You’re too hot to be single forever. And athletic. Guys dig that shit.” Pretty much everyone else nodded.
“Well,” Summer said, “these ladies here have been a real inspiration to me. From what I’ve heard, you all had a journey to take before you got here.”
Hannah, Teagan, and Diana nodded, as did their partners.
“When the journey calls,” Cain said, eyeing Summer, “take it. It’s worth it when it’s the right person.”
More nods.
“Hey,” Cain said to Aaron and Teagan. “I hear you guys are in the market for a mountain cabin in Colorado. I’ve got an offer you can’t refuse…”
Teagan’s eyes lit up. “You’re selling your cabin?”
“No,” Cain said. “Hannah’s A-frame. Apparently, I have to give up my bachelor ways and let a woman live here,” he added, pretending to be put out. “Let us know if you’re interested. You get first dibs, and the friendship price…”
“We’re definitely interested,” Aaron said. “We’ll talk later.”
The conversation moved on to other topics as Hannah sat next to Cain, eating and listening to her friends banter. She watched Summer talking to Diana, recalling their brunch conversations about men and their own haplessness when it came to relationships. But Hannah’s friends had been right about her—the right guy was out there for her. But never would she have expected that journey to challenge her like it did. It was like running the High Peaks 100—filled with ups and downs, unexpected challenges, twists, obstacles, and things you didn’t want to face. But in the end, she reached a place that was
beyond what she ever could have hoped for.
Which meant Summer could, too. Hannah wanted that for Summer, and she would do her best to stand by Summer and help her quit settling for the wrong men and begin realizing what she was really worth.
Hannah looked over at Cain. He felt her gaze and turned to her, his soulful brown eyes looking into hers. He put his hand on her leg and leaned over, putting his lips close to her ear.
“When do we get rid of these people so I can fuck my wife senseless?” he said, quietly so only she could hear.
Hannah stifled a laugh, or tried to, knowing Cain was joking, but also not joking. “I’m someone’s wife,” she said, giggling at how funny that sounded.
“You’re my wife,” he said. “And you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Hannah felt her heart swell. She gave Cain a soft kiss. “I love you, Grizzly.”
“I love you too, Grace.”
Thank You
Thank you so much for reading Going the Distance. If you want to find out how Teagan, Diana, and Hannah became such good friends, you can get a FREE copy of Colorado Girls, a fun little prequel story, by joining my email list. Colorado Girls isn’t for sale anywhere and is only available for members of the Artemis world. It’s my little thank you for supporting my work.
We romance authors can’t survive without reviews. If you’re up for leaving an honest review (it can be as simple as “Hannah’s book is my favorite so far!”), I’d be eternally grateful!
Going the Distance was a really interesting one in many ways. For starters, the tone is a little darker than the first two books in the series. The story deals with grief and loss, which are weighty topics. Somehow, something more lighthearted just didn’t fit for Hannah. Hannah is the most “blocked” of the three friends when it comes to love, and I felt like she needed a man with more serious issues to help her break down her wall and let herself really love. This story is also less classically “romantic,” and the characters have some pretty crude ways of expressing desire and affection for one another. But it worked for them. When Cain says he “missed that pussy,” he’s really saying he missed Hannah. He knows it, she knows it, but neither will say it.
When I sat down to write Going the Distance, I already had an outline and the familiar premise: Hannah would attempt the High Peaks 100, fail, be told by the cute doctor at Mile 80 that she overtrained, and they’d fall in love when he begins to show her a better way. In the original setup, I had her going to get her foot fixed after the race and, surprise, Cain from Mile 80 is her doctor. But almost right away, I wasn’t feeling it. Even if you ignore the ethical issues of a doc getting involved with a patient, I hated the idea of Cain as a regular doctor seeing regular patients at a regular office. So… normal. So boring. He needed to be edgier, struggling, reclusive. He needed to have a dark side, to be even more emotionally unavailable than she was (but still redeemable). He needed to challenge her, but still be there for her, so she could have the love she wanted deep down.
Anyway, thanks again! Happy reading and adventures…
Love,
Artemis
About the Author
Artemis Anders is the author of the Four Corners romance book series. She loves writing stories about smart, independent women and men who love adventure and appreciate the great outdoors. To her, there is no greater setting for love than being outside. Artemis digs the outdoors and has done pretty much every outdoor sport there is, from trail running to rock climbing to skate skiing. She’s also a closet love junkie, always imagining the perfect pairing of two people, and the journey they must take to get there. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her artist husband.
Contents
Also by Artemis Anders
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Thank You
About the Author
Going The Distance Page 22
