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“Come on, kids,” Bill bellows from about a quarter mile away. “We’re almost to the top and then we can take some pictures.”
“Wait till you see the view!” Cathy shouts after him.
We slowly continue up the mountain. Avery is at my side and I decide to let her set our pace.
“I can see myself owning a house up here,” I admit. “This really is the perfect place to get away from work and the city for a little bit.”
“You’re practically off the grid up here. I don’t think I’ve had cell service all weekend.”
“I haven't either.”
She takes a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm her rapid breathing from exerting so much energy. “But, you’re right. This really would be a perfect place. It reminds me of home.”
“Have you talked to your mom lately?”
She nods. “I have.”
“That’s good.”
“You don’t happen to know anything about a check that was sent her way?” She stops dead in her tracks, squaring herself in my direction to make sure I’m listening to her. “A check large enough to cover almost three months of mortgage for her.”
I grin. “Not a clue.”
“Marcus!”
I laugh at her. I can’t help it. “You’re cute when you scream my name.”
“Why did you do that?” she asks, softening her voice.
“When are you going to learn that I care about you, Ave? I care about the people you care about. When your mom and I spoke on the phone about her trip for Fourth of July—”
“You two spoke on the phone? She never told me this? I can’t believe she—”
“Stop.” She tenses under my palm as I grab her upper arms and level myself down until we’re eye to eye with each other. “Do I need to remind you of everything you’ve been doing for me this entire summer?” Her shoulders relax under my touch. “And you didn’t ask for a single thing in return other than to go to real estate school. Which is nothing to me compared to what you’ve done.”
“I didn’t…I don’t want anything more.”
“I know you don't.” I press a kiss to her forehead and wrap her body in my arms, embracing her in the middle of the bunny slopes while the rest of the group waits for us. “You mentioned your mom a few times to me. I thought helping her out would be something I can do.”
She pulls her head back to look up at me, glassy eyes as she blinks away the tears. “You’re something else.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, words threatening to spill out of my mouth and tell her how I really feel about her, admitting to the fact thatI love heris sitting in my chest.
“I—”
“Marc,” Todd yells down at us, cutting off the words I want to say. “What are you two slow pokes doing?”
“We’re plotting your demise,” Avery mutters under her breath. She takes a step out of my hold and I laugh at her response that he most definitely didn’t hear.
We move on from the conversation and make our way up to the top of the mountain about ten minutes later. Avery is out of breath. “That wasn’t so bad,” she huffs while laughing.
“Riiight.” I laugh with her.
“Can you take a picture of us, Bill?” Todd asks.
“Sure can.”
Todd and Vivian walk to the edge of the mountain where the beautiful scenic backdrop makes for the most perfect picture. I watch closely as Todd puts his arm around her the way a friend would. Vivian looks like she tenses up and hesitantly wraps her arm around his midsection, forcing the smile on her face as they snap some photos together.
