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She put her head in the pillow and groaned. A moment later she lifted her head. “I don’t think so. Is that enough? I mean…” She gestured to the two of them. “Don’t you think?”
He laughed and reached for her. “And that, my dear madam, deserves a major tickle for being a smart ass.”
It took less than a minute for him to have her shrieking surrender, but in that time, she caught sight of a tattoo on the right side of his abdomen.
“Wait, wait,” she said, catching her breath. She held up her hand and pointed, grinning. “You have a tattoo. You. Ethan Peterson. Have a tattoo.”
He glanced down at it and shrugged, his eyes darkening. “Yes. You, Katherine Wilson, are very observant. I have a tattoo.”
She leaned down to examine it, though it was easily visible, taking up at least a quarter of the right side of his abdomen. An eagle, wings spread, beak open, was splayed across his skin. The detail was exquisite and done by an obvious master ink artist.
“Wow, Ethan, that’s amazing,” Kate said, shaking her head. It was a tattoo to admire, but for some reason it seemed out of place on Ethan. Part of him, yet not part of him. Maybe because it wasn’t the Ethan she pictured. She cocked a head at him, trying to understand. “An eagle, though.”
He nodded slowly. “Yes, an eagle.”
She studied it longer. There was something to it, she knew. And she could tell he wasn’t going to enlighten her now, at least not yet. An eagle. On the right side of his abdomen. Something tugged at the back of her mind.
Thirty-Three
The snowflakes drifted around them, aimless and looking for adventure, Kate thought. The wind had a bite to it as she trudged through the hard packed earth, Tom leading the way, Max making his way carefully at her side, and Ethan following close behind her. The woods felt refreshing at first, but now, an hour later, she wondered if it had been a good idea to come here with a Thanksgiving picnic in order to do something different on this day that was meant for families. Kate had been surprised when Ethan had said he wasn’t going anywhere. She’d decided not to probe, knowing enough that his relationship with his family was a painful topic. This picnic seemed at least an indication of their severity.
Given all those thoughts, she’d readily agreed to a picnic in the car after a loop walk in the woods. Now, as the snow began to fall, she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. But at least Tom seemed in good spirits. She’d noticed he’d been a bit morose lately. She’d made a point of calling him every day and even dropped by the store a few days ago. He’d been deep in discussion with Fred, but broke it off when he caught sight of Kate, even managing a grin. They’d gone to lunch, and he’d teased her a bit over Ethan. She’d brushed it off with her usual “haha, Tom,” and told him there was nothing serious going on. Because that’s how it should be. The only possible way it could be. In the week since they were together, she’d only seen him once, when he stopped by. She’d been working madly in the attic on her art, and she’d been distracted, but glad to see him. He hadn’t stayed long, just enough time to share a mug of coffee and to kiss her quietly for a brief moment. It was only after he’d gone that she felt his absence and all her concentration and focus had vanished for the day.
On the walk now, he’d held her hand for the short while the trail had made it possible, Max dropping obligingly behind, but once it had narrowed, Ethan had moved behind her, and she could only fathom the thoughts going through his head as they walked. The trail they were taking wasn’t the most conducive to conversation, something that left her uneasy and, along with the increasing chill, gave her more impetus to finish the walk quickly. She had too many thoughts crowding her mind and very few were welcome.
Maybe Ethan had sensed her growing unease, because a moment later she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, halting her a moment. He turned her to face him and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply. She let it happen, let herself fall into the moment, because she couldn’t help herself, because it felt so intense and wonderful. And because it was their song, and she would do anything to hear it.
“There,” he said when they broke apart, the faces flushed, her lips tingling. “I couldn’t go any farther without stealing at least one kiss from you.”
She shook her head slowly. “No theft involved. Not at all.”
Max, now ahead, turned and gave a little bark at them, as if to tell them to hurry up. They laughed. Ethan leaned his forehead against hers. “God, I just wish we could go back to the cabin and slip under the covers.”
She smiled. “Ah now, I’m not a foursome person. Especially not with my brother and my dog.”
He chuckled. “Not at all. You and me. That’s it. That’s all it will ever be.”
The words echoed inside her, both thrilling and scaring her. “Tomorrow is tomorrow,” she said. “Now is where we are.”
He whispered into her hair, and she strained to catch the words, but a moment later he kissed her forehead and let her go.
“Come on, we don’t want Tom to think we couldn’t do the Thanksgiving walking challenge.”
He gave her a little push down the trail and she allowed her legs to move forward, puzzling his words. After a few moments, she gave up.
* * *
The meal was a combination of anything that their respective fridges could cough up and was mildly picnic-like. The three of them sat in the back of Tom’s empty van, a plaid blanket on the metal floor, perched on cushions gathered hastily from the sofa and armchairs from home. Max had found his place near Kate. They kept their jackets on, and for a time Kate had tried to keep on her gloves, but gave it up as impossible a few moments later.
Arrayed in the center was cold ham, sliced provolone, a wedge of Brie, some loose cherry tomatoes, bagels and cream cheese, potato chips and Fritos with a tub of guacamole. Kate had even brought some leftover meatballs she’d had, thinking that they might be able to eat them with their fingers, but when Ethan tried to take one from his plastic plate to his mouth it shot out of Ethan’s hold across the van, and they all dissolved into laughter.
“Yes, well,” said Kate, when her laughter had subsided. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Tom pointed his finger at Kate, while he munched on a bagel filled with a pile of ham, cheese, and a squashed cherry tomato. “I’ve always said there is definitely nothing boring about your cooking, Kate.”
“Sorry, Kate,” said Ethan, wiping his hands with a paper napkin. “I really did want to eat that, honest.”
“Oh, shut up, both of you,” said Kate, grinning. She reached for her mug of coffee, newly poured from the large thermos they brought, and took a sip.
