Once she’d heard about his nightmare nanny, Daff had been eager to help Forrest take his mind off things. Sure, he now had an extra helping hand when it came to taking care of Robin, but she was firmly in the same camp as Blair right now. Everything they knew about Candy – which, as far as she could discern, wasn’t even a real name, though Daff was hardly in a place to judge – told her that Robin was being left at home with a raving lunatic, but the last thing her friend needed right now was another person giving him cause for concern. Blair was doing enough to worry him without Daff adding to the pile. So, she’d kept schtum and offered to take him out on a hike.
Admittedly, she had selfish reasons for wanting to spend the day with Forrest, too. Namely, the fact that he was one of her favourite people to spend time with. Not that she’d be too eager to admit that around Heath, Blair, Mac or Aspen, god forbid one of them take it upon themselves to start teasing her about something as juvenile as a crush. But Forrest was a calming presence in her life, and something about him always made her feel like she could just be herself. It had been years since she’d felt comfortable enough in her own skin to just relax and laugh and be free, and Daff could easily count her days with Forrest and his baby girl as some of the best she’d ever had.
The sun was shining and there was only a light breeze carrying through the trees, so by the time they’d reached the peak of their climb, Daff decided it was a good spot to sit themselves down for a break. Dropping her rucksack onto the grassy hilltop, she shimmied her jacket off from where it was tied around her waist and dropped it onto the ground as a makeshift blanket. Shifting on the spot, she moved to lower herself down only to feel the heel of her hiking boots slip on the mud. Instinctively, Daff reached out and let her hand close around the fabric of Forrest’s jacket, fingers clumsily circling his wrist as she braced herself.
“Shoot, sorry,” Daff blushed, glancing up at him as she tore her hand away, cheeks ablaze.
She’d gotten into the habit of not swearing around Forrest, on account of wanting to be on her best behaviour near Robin, and it came naturally to her now. Around others, she could fire out expletives like she was being paid, but the man next to her brought out a softer side to her that she wasn’t sure she was ready to unpack.
“Alright. Sit your butt down here,” Daff grumbled as she shuffled over on the jacket, patting the tight space left over for him. Maybe if she stared out at the setting sun, he’d follow suit and miss the fact that she’d gone redder than Robin after a particularly impressive screaming match.
Forrest had never been much of a hiker. It wasn’t that Cape Neddick hadn’t offered much by way of hiking, but he’d always preferred its coastal strolls over its woodland trails, and he rarely ever strayed far from the lighthouse anyway. After he’d graduated high school, that had been a full time job for him, one he sorely missed now. The bustle of New York was too overwhelming sometimes, and he often daydreamed about what it might be like to scoop Robin up into his arms and spirit her back to the solitude of Maine.
Then, he would look at his daughter, bright-eyed and smiling and a stage-five clinger, always needing to be holding onto someone, and he realised there was no way he could raise her in such a lonely, solitary life, just because it was what he preferred. Look at what that lifestyle had done to him. It had made him awkward and unsociable. He didn’t want to raise his daughter in his mirror image just because living as a lighthouse keeper was more palatable for him.
All that being said, he’d readily agreed to going on a hike with Daff, if only so he could swap the city smog for fresher air. There’d be little in the way of sea brine and the familiar crash of waves, but the smell of fresh pine was already far better than letting his lungs get choked up by car fumes.
He was a little breathless as they made the climb, not as used to rambling up hills as she was, so he was grateful when she eventually came to a halt - only for his eyebrows to fly upwards in worry when she slipped.
“Whoa, you good?” he asked, placing a steadying hand on her hip. He let it linger there for a few seconds once he was sure that she wasn’t going to lose her fight with gravity. Then, he slowly retracted it, eyes worriedly flitting over her face.
She seemed eager to not look at him, so he didn’t press and ask if she was alright again. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her.
Instead, he lowered himself down onto her jacket, their legs pressed together as they stretched them outwards. Forrest couldn’t help but smile at how comically long his legs were compared to hers and tipped his boots from side to side.
“This is nice,” he said eventually, bracing his hands behind him so he could lean back and appreciate the view. It was no Maine, but it was something. Something a lot prettier than Manhattan.
“It feels good to get away even just for a few hours,” he admitted, before biting his bottom lip. He felt guilty for even saying that.
