AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No! They aredeadlyanimals!”
He sighed. “Just spill it already.”
“Oh, fine.” She blew a curl out of her eyes. “It’s no big deal. When I was a little girl, my dad and I went camping in Yellowstone. The rangers were always giving lectures about bears. Stay away from them. Don’t get out of your vehicles to look. Keep your food in bear-proof containers and don’t store food in your tent. Frankly, it was scary. On our third day there, we drove the northern part of the park and finally saw some grizzlies. And everyone—everyone—was getting out of their cars to take pictures. I was sure the bears would start eating them at any moment. I got really upset. Terrified. There may have been a few nightmares involved.
“Then a few weeks after we got home, I went to take the trash out, and there it was. A bear, digging through our garbage. I thought it was the end of me. I don’t know how long I stood there, shaking, but the bear finally stood up, looked at me, and left. The end.”
Quinn crossed his arms and tried to look serious.
“Shut up.”
“I’m sorry.” He coughed to hide a laugh. “It’s not funny. But I think we’re safe here. I don’t think bears like cliffs.”
She could tell he was making that up, but Lori tried her best not to worry. Beyond him, the picnic awaited, and she could see real china and wineglasses, along with a sweating bottle of wine sticking out of a tub of ice. Quinn had put a lot of effort into this.
Lori walked determinedly over to the blanket and sat down. Quinn joined her, and once her anxiety receded, she realized she could hear running water. For a brief moment, she thought of the river before she shoved those thoughts away and slammed a mental door. This wasn’t the river. It was just a tiny waterfall trickling down the rock face to her right.
“It’s beautiful here.” She sighed.
“This is my favorite spot. I’m going to put in some rough steps, but otherwise I won’t change it at all.”
“Good. It’s wonderful the way it is.”
Silence reigned over their meal as Quinn served up fruit and sandwiches and cucumber salad, all of it still in containers from the fancy Aspen market. They faced the view as they ate, each comfortable with their own thoughts.
Once she’d polished off her frosted brownie, Lori groaned and lay back on the quilt. “Thank you for bringing me here. It feels good to get out.”
“I thought maybe we could talk,” he said, and Lori’s muscles tensed despite the hot sun and perfect breeze.
Talking. That was never good. Never. She stayed as still as a deer frozen at the sound of a snapping twig.
“I’ve been thinking…” he started. Another bad sign. “You know I don’t want to end this, Lori. I’ve already made that clear.”
“Mmm.”
“I want you to come live with me.”
“What?”She’d worried he was about to make a grand declaration of love that she’d have to wiggle away from. Butthis?This was crazy. “I can’t come live with you!”
“Sure you can.”
“I live in Tumble Creek.”
“Come on, Lori. There’s nothing left for you in Tumble Creek. You don’t belong there.”
Lori’s jaw fell open. He’d said it so casually, as if it weren’t her whole life he’d just tossed aside. “It’s my home,” she forced past her tight throat.
“It’s where you live, sure.”
“It’s my life.”’
When he sighed, he sounded exactly as if he were dealing with a recalcitrant child. “You don’thavea life.”
Wow.Lori squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them and looked up, she saw a tiny puff of cloud drifting across the never-ending sky. “Did you really just say that?”
“Somebody needs to say it. You’re dying there, Lori. You already said you were going to sell your dad’s land. It’s the perfect time for you to move on. And I thought…Well, I thought I’d love it if you came to live with me.”
The cloud slowly tore in two. “You thought I could just move in with you, no problem.”
