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Well, we have the rest of our lives to figure that out.
Epilogue
Munro
Two Weeks Later
I wander down the trail carved out by wildlife, heading to the river, where I will find no other human beings. That's exactly how I like it. People are…troublesome. I love my family, but they've all gone barmy over the past six years, since the last time I saw any of them. Well, except for the trip through the Grand Canyon with Errol and Ashley. Aye, that had been exciting. But I prefer my solitude.
Once I reach the river, I strip off my clothes and wade into the water until it's knee deep. Then I throw my body backward into the river. Ah, this is the life. No one to harass me. No one to complain about how I behave. Just me, the cool water, and the wildlife. I kneel in the river to wash myself and gaze up at the blue sky. The wide watercourse flows toward the mountains in the distance, while more peaks pierce the heavens on either side and trees populate the valley that hugs the river. This landscape always imbues me with a sense of serenity that I've never experienced anywhere else on earth. Wyoming has become my home, or maybe my self-created prison.
No, I love the solitude.
I've just finished washing my beard, so I swim toward the riverbank. My morning routine isn't over yet. I approach a large, flat boulder that hunkers a dozen yards from the shore and set my palms on it, then hoist myself onto the rock. I lie atop it, still completely nude, and let the sun warm my body and dry me off. Aye, drying my hair this way takes a while, but I donnae care. I have all the time I want.
A scream echoes through the forest.
That was not the cry of an eagle or a deer.
I leap to my feet, still perched on the boulder, and scan the surroundings for any sign of what might have produced that scream. I tilt my head slightly to the side and listen.
"Help!" someone shouts. "Please, help! I'm trapped!"
What the bloody hell?
I dive into the river and swim as fast as I can, rounding the gentle bend in the river. There, I pause to search the vicinity.
A kayak rests half on the shore. Nearby, a figure lies prone on the ground, trapped beneath a fallen branch.
"I'm coming!" I shout.
Then I swim to the shore and surge up out of the river. Water sluices off my body as I stalk toward the person—the woman. A bonnie brunette lies crushed under the tree branch, though I doubt it was heavy enough to break any bones. I lift the branch and toss it away.
"Oh God, thank you," the American woman says. "You saved my life."
"Are you injured?"
"Don't think so." She starts to sit up, and I offer her my hands to help. Once she's sitting up, she palpates her legs and abdomen. "Everything feels okay."
"Good. What were ye doing here?"
"Kayaking. This looked like a pretty spot to take a break."
I rise to my feet. "Since you're all right, I'll be on my way."
The lass gawps at me. At my body. My cock, actually. Her eyes widen, and she veers her gaze away. But she keeps glancing at myslatlike she cannae stop herself. At last, she clambers to her feet and dusts herself off. Without looking at me, she asks, "Um, why are you…naked?"
"Does it matter? My lifestyle choices are my business."
"Uh-huh." She bites her lip as she studiously avoids looking at my body. The lass has beautiful green eyes and the sort of figure any man would love to see naked. "Well, thank you. For helping me. Think I'd better get going."
She starts to walk away but trips over a small rock on her way to the kayak. Hissing a curse under her breath, she tries to climb into the kayak. But she slips again, her foot kicking the thing. It slides off the shore, gets picked up by the current, and swiftly floats away.
"No, no, no!" she cries.
Then the lass tries to reach for the ruddy kayak, which makes her slip yet again, about to tumble into the river.
I catch the lass and hug her to me. Her breasts are crushed to my chest.
