Page 44 of 6 Clues Your Nemesis Loves You

“All of it.” I suck in a big breath, inhaling the loamy scents permeating the fresh air. “How old and real these lands are. Remembering that I’m a guest in this world. That if I’m kind to Mother Nature, she will provide.”

“Yeah.” Maggie takes in the stretch of trees above us again. “I’m really glad we did this.”

“Me too. And if you never explore Windfall’s natural playground, what do you do in your free time? What is Maggie Edelstein’s favorite hobby?”

“Reading.”

“Stephen King and all things horror?”

She shakes her head. “As much as I love cheesy horror flicks, I don’t do gore in my books. Suspense is good, though. Dark romances and romantic comedies. Oh, and I love sweeping historical novels and young adult fantasies.”

“Variety is the spice of life.”

“Variety is great, but…” She walks more slowly, as though she’s thinking too hard to focus on her steps. “Reading is also an escape for me. The characters are my avatars. I get to explore the world, be wild, make daring escapes, battle beasts, solve crimes, fall madly in love. I get to live extravagant lives in far-flung places whenever I want. Reading a good book is like being reincarnated in whatever body I choose.”

“When you describe it like that, makes me want to set up camp in a library.”

“Or bring a pile of books out here.” She drags her hand along the gnarled trunk of an old tree. “The best of both worlds—reading while surrounded by nature.”

“I’m sold,” I say, picturing just that. Maggie and me, cuddled in a tent, reading through a storm. Emerging later to sweet, post-rain smells and the humbling sweep of a mountain range.

We hike another half hour, chatting periodically, letting nature speak at other times. Companionable quiet. I’m so used to doing hikes alone or with a gaggle of kids. Being out here with Maggie is different. I love learning more about her and sharing a vital piece of myself with someone. In all my years hiking in Houston, I never once took a woman into the wilderness with me. Maybe because this is my place to be real and honest. Feel the weight of my thoughts. Lying about my name and my life while accepting nature’s gifts made me tense.

We hear the waterfall before we see it. Maggie stops suddenly and cocks her head. “Is that what I think it is?”

I shrug a shoulder. “Quit walking so slowly and you’ll find out.”

She squints at me, like she’s annoyed. Her dancing eyes tell another story. I follow close behind her, my heart picking up speed. Not from exertion. I can’t wait to see Maggie’s expression when we break through the trees.

She hikes faster, boots crunching over more fallen leaves. She hops over a branch, practically running to the forest edge.

One step onto the rocks she gasps. “It’s stunning.”

“It is,” I say, coming to her side. My eyes are locked on her mesmerized profile, the wonder in her slightly opened mouth.

She glances at me, catches my meaning, and blushes. “Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“You know.”

“Just enjoying the view.”

The irritated noise she makes suggests she knows what game I’m playing, but I didn’t create the romance of Elder Falls. I haven’t magically made the water spill over 120 feet of rock into a sparkling pond. I didn’t blanket the surrounding stone in a tapestry of fall leaves or turn the sky a gorgeous shade of picture-perfect blue.

Maggie tucks her arm through mine, pulling me closer. “Thanks for bringing me out here.”

“Thanks for suggesting it.”

The water crashes in front of us, powerful and invigorating. A hawk rides a current high in the sky. We breathe in tandem, like we’re human versions of the bird, thriving on each other’s air.

“If you ever need to talk,” she says softly, “about your father or anything. I’m here for you.”

I nod and latch my hand over hers. I don’t want to talk about my father right now. The moment’s too perfect to let him in. Being out here with Maggie feels too good. I don’t want to do much besides revel in nature’s beauty and Maggie’s companionship. The way her proximity makes my ribs cinch and pull, like they’re belaying ropes tightening as my heart trips into a free fall.

chapter sixteen

Aside from my looming Life Wrecker meeting, the past two weeks have been the best two weeks I can remember. My continued notes to Maggie have been a blast to write. We’ve been on a couple more hikes. She and I have finished painting the cabin’s interior, including the map accent wall. If we run into each other in town, she actually grins when she sees me. Lights up like a Chanukah menorah, making time to linger and chat, even sharing a tea with me if we’re at Sugar and Sips.