“And these pigeons are going to carry a notebook full of financials and emails to me?”
“They’re going to carry a microchip with all that on it. We’ll set up a solar-powered office for you here. You can bring up all the spread sheets and data that you want to review, and you can send a microchip back with your responses. Remember when we were both working at your kitchen table, me on my books, you on your business? We can do all that here, just like that.”
Molly turned to look at him. He had a mischievous smile on his face. He’d been thinking about this. Had he been proposing to suggest the idea when she made her trip to Dark Hollow?
“You’ve thought about this. Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
She had to say it. “I’m not going to live at Dark Hollow full time for the rest of my days.”
There. She said it. A little abruptly, but it needed to be said.
He wasn’t fazed. “Maybe we could live both places.”
Molly felt the third bolt of lightning. Itwasa negotiation. He was starting with full time at Dark Hollow but was signaling a willingness to live both places.
“Ginger is a big factor for me. She’s like a best friend.”
“I’ve thought about Ginger. Seems like Becky could ride and take care of her when you’re not at Summer’s End. She loves Ginger in the same way you do. When you’re at Summer’s End, you could ride her every day.”
Molly was stunned. He was serious. He’d thought about everything, including Ginger.
“And you could bring Ginger up here in the summer. The meadow would be nice for riding and grazing. We’d make a different route in so she wouldn’t have to come along the ridge. It’d be a little work, but it could be done. We could bring two horses and ride together.”
Molly was speechless. He’d thought of everything. But living in Dark Hollow? It was too much to process.
“Are you proposing that we negotiate a living arrangement where we divide our time between Summer’s End and Dark Hollow?”
“Yes.”
They moved the mat and bedding from Bart’s bed to the floor, and Molly set her mat next to it. She unzipped her sleeping bag and converted it to a blanket. Bart curled on his mat and Molly spooned in behind him. She fell asleep happy, her arms around the man who’d just proposed they live together forever.
She got up first, built a fire, and put oatmeal on to simmer. She took a quick cold shower and dressed. The cold water was a jolt, but it actually felt good after about ten seconds. She liked it. She was alive and awake and in the middle of a negotiation with a man she wanted in her future. She remembered Bart’s description of his negotiation with Kitty over Bear. In his family, everyone negotiated with everyone over everything. It was the culture he’d grown up with.
They settled in their chairs in front of the stove eating oatmeal. The cabin was warm and cozy. Bart was stronger. He’d walked slowly from the bed to the chair without assistance. The morning light on the natural wood interior created a lovely glow. The smells were oatmeal and fresh burning pine. Molly was clean and alive from her cold shower. Her all night snuggle with Bart had her libido talking to her, but Bart’s body needed moretime, so she just let that simmer like the oatmeal. Every time she looked at Bart, she wanted him more, but that would happen in due time.
He had her thinking about carrier pigeons. Carrier pigeons? Really? She already had an image of a carrier pigeon flying into the stables to Becky’s tech center, Becky downloading the chip into her computer and launching Molly’s emails an hour after she’d written them. Then Becky would put a tiny chip of new data in the pigeon’s pouch as she shooed the bird out the window. Really? Molly wasn’t ready to admit that could work. But she liked the idea of the two of them sitting quietly at a table in Bart’s cozy cabin working on their own projects. He’d be writing an adventure novel. She’d be reviewing financials and planning Summer’s End improvements. Dark Hollow was getting into her head. But she wasn’t going to admit any of this to Bart. She was in a negotiation. Not time yet to show her cards.
“How were you thinking of dividing our time between Dark Hollow and Summer’s End?”
“Most of our time here. The occasional visit to Summer’s End. How about you?”
“Most of our time at Summer’s End. The occasional visit here.”
Both were keeping straight faces, but the negotiation was on.
She continued, “So, are you thinking about a test plan to see how it goes?”
“Whatever works for you.”
“Like six months?”
“Sure.”
“Part of the time here, part of the time at Summer’s End?”
“Something like that.”
