The final scene is the birds on their own makeshift sled made out of an adorable curved leaf, sliding down the hill at breakneck speed.
I can’t tell why, but when I reach the end of the book, my eyes are filled with tears. “Am I the other bird?”
“Aye, you are lass. I think this makes for a finer ending, don’t you?”
“It really does.” I lean into him. “It’s perfect just the way it is.”
Rhys madea roast turkey for dinner with rolls and green beans, and Mom made a number of other sides. I worried we wouldn’t have enough food after Mom invited Rhona, Douglas, Patty, Katie, Jack, and Rory and his parents, but we all ate plenty and had leftovers.
Katie and Rhona brought pies, and everyone else brought sides and a ham, so the food multiplied.
I pinch a corner of Gavin’s pie crust when he sits at the table and pop it in my mouth. “Heaven.”
“You can have your own,” he says.
“I can’t eat anything else.”
His eyebrows hike up. “Except maybe a Curly Wurly bar?”
“You don’t need to attack me.” I pinch another piece of crust and lie through my teeth. “There’s always room for chocolate and caramel.”
“I don’t believe you.” His phone buzzes on the table, and he picks it up. “Hm.”
“Everything okay?”
“It’s my dad. He’s in Grasmere.” Gavin turns the phone to show me a poorly taken photo out of a campervan window. The scene looks as though it’s probably beautiful. But it’s a little blurry, so it’s kind of hard to tell.
“Where’s Grasmere?”
“Lake District,” he says around a bite of pie.
“Close to Mr. Darcy?”
“No, actually.” He glances at me with amusement. “A couple hours north of there. Are we going to forever speak geography in terms of relation to Pemberley?”
“Possibly. It’s something I understand.”
“Then I’ll grow used to it.”
“It was nice of him to message you.”
Gavin nods, looking at the photo again. “He’s trying. It means a lot to me.”
Rory takes the seat across from us and Katie sits beside him. “You two are adorable,” he says.
“I predicted this.” Katie takes a bite of pie. “Didn’t I?”
“She did,” Jack says from down the table. “I had to hear it so many times.”
Katie nods with satisfaction. “I like it. You should stick around, Callie.”
“Douglas likes it too,” Rory says, chuckling. “Did you all get a sight of Callie’s socks?”
My cheeks warm with pleasure, and I rotate my ankles on impulse. Douglas handed them to me himself when he arrived, and I think it means I’ve been officially accepted. “I will never remove these.”
“I thought Americans had a habit of good hygiene?” Katie muses.
I ignore her. “Unfortunately, I have to head home for school.” Also, I’m not insane enough to move across the world two weeks after meeting someone, even if I want to.
