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“They’re just that—dreams.”
“But the camp? Is it one of your dreams?”
“I love the camp—more than I ever dreamed I would.” The thought lifted her soul. She let her gaze sweep across his features, the firelight accentuating his strong jawline. “I like the horses too. It is one of my dreams.”
“The horses are hard not to like.” He used his free hand to snap apart his graham cracker and set it on a paper plate. “What stops you from living out the rest of those dreams?” He added a square of chocolate.
He’d called her on it while they were on the lake. Asked her why she didn’t take her own advice. Focus on each next decision.
“You want this one?” He offered her the s’more.
She waved him off. “Oh, I’ve almost got this marshmallow toasted to perfection.”
He laughed. “You seem like someone who thrives when you take on new things, but it also seems like you don’t pursue everything you might want to.” He took a bite of his s’more, and they sat in silence. “I know you do a lot for your dad. It just feels like it’s at the expense of…you.”
“Says the man who wants to be sacrificial.” She paused, testing the marshmallow on the end of her stick before pushing it back into the fire.
“Okay, true.” He chewed another bite. “There’s a balance somewhere, isn’t there?”
“Maybe. I’ll let you know if I find it.”
He sandwiched another toasted marshmallow between graham crackers and chocolate and took a bite.
Beth’s marshmallow caught fire, and she pulled it from the fire and blew out the flame.
They sat in the easy comfort of the campfire.
“You don’t have this in Oregon,” Beth said, chafed that Grayson had kept the truth from her.
“We do have marshmallows, chocolate bars, and grahams,” He said as he set down his plate.
She swallowed, her mouth sticky and dry. “I meant this—the whole greater experience.”
He studied her in the firelight. “No.” He smiled, something soft and warm that just might break her heart. “I don’t have this in Oregon.”
“Anne said you had a call with a real estate agent.” She closed her eyes. “I thought you were finalizing plans.”
He slipped his hand around hers, weaving their fingers together. “It wasn’t the agent.” His thumb rubbed across the back of her hand. “I…uh…I’ve been avoiding Vincent’s calls.”
“The owner of the ranch you want? Why?”
He shook his head. “I came here for the summer. I didn’t really want to come, but Noah needed me and I needed the money—and then…you. You in that silly costume.” He squeezed her hand. “You on Rex. You with the kids. The lake today.” A deep husk thickened his voice. “It’s kind of thrown my plans into chaos.”
She tried not to dive straight into his words like the last cinnamon roll at Fox Bakery. “Have your plans changed? What did you tell him?”
“I told him the truth. That I don’t yet have the money for the down payment to secure the loan. I can’t sign for the loan or purchase contract yet.” His fingers traced the line of her jaw. “That I’ve got things here to take care of.” He lifted his shoulder. “I mean, I don’t even have horses to run a camp. It’s a bit of a long haul to get things running.”
Beth shivered in the breeze. He hadn’t committed to Oregon.
He leaned back to shrug out of his flannel, then wrapped it around her.
“Won’t you be cold?”
“I’m okay.”
They sat in quiet, the chorus of crickets interrupted only by the occasional owl hoot from the nearby forest.
He drew her close.
