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Our simmering chemistry is undeniable. It crackles to life every time we’re together. And even when we’re not, she’s the only thing on my mind. Resisting her and letting her be the one to make the next move is getting harder by the day.
Waking up to the sight of her beautiful, peacefully slumbering face this morning was heaven and hell all at once. I had to get up and work out, so I wouldn’t succumb to the temptation of snuggling up next to her and pulling her into my arms.
That day will come… soon. I feel it in my gut.
Until then I need to be patient and hold on tight to the self-control she tests so effortlessly by just being herself.
I watch her as she climbs over a fallen tree, sitting down on it for a minute. Her cheeks are rosy from the exercise, her eyes bright and clear. She loves being out here as much as I do.
She smiles up at me when I join her on the log.
My heart picks up speed. That’s what a single smile of hers does to me.
God, please let it snow! Soon!
I know it’s the push she needs to give us a chance and put her reservations aside.
And then I need Claudette to move out of our cabin and into one of the empty ones so I can have Ella all to myself.
“Do they really carry everything up to the lodge on foot? What about those heavy sacks of flour and rice? And how did they get the sofas and mattresses up there?” Ella asks, wiping sweat off her forehead.
“Remember, Ian is into hardship,” Claudette replies. “Though he frames it as resilience training.”
Looking at me, she raises an eyebrow. “You’d probably agree, given your background.”
I grin at her. Neither of them has any clue about the resilience training we had to endure to join the Green Berets. It was grueling. Carrying things up a mountain is child’s play by comparison.
“It builds character,” I reply, amused.
Ella shakes her head. “Resilience training be damned. I’d refuse to carry things that weigh a ton up the mountain just for the sake of it. And I don’t believe for a second they lugged those heavy sofas all the way up there.”
Claudette takes pity on her and admits, “Ian gets bulk orders of food and furniture airlifted in. Due to cost, it only happens once a year.”
“Ah! Now that makes sense,” Ella exclaims, relief flickering over her features.
Did she think Ian would make her carry sacks of potatoes? Especially in her condition? As if I would ever allow that.
We joke and tease each other the rest of the way. There is a light-heartedness in our interactions that hasn’t been there before.
The three of us have always gotten along, but since Ian agreed to let us stay this morning, Ella especially seems more at ease.
When we reach‘Mountain Breath’, Ian is already waiting for us.
Addressing Ella, he asks, “Do you know how to shoot?”
He’s carrying a couple of rifles over his shoulder, and she eyes them suspiciously.
She puts down her bag and shakes her head. “No. I always lived in the city. There was no need.”
Ian chuckles. “City life can be more dangerous than living out here. Anyway, Aiden can teach you. It’s a requirement of living here. There are too many dangerous animals around for you not to be prepared. If you are out in the woods, you must carry a gun with you at all times.”
I’ve already had that conversation with Ian this morning, and Miriam and I were both armed when we left the lodge earlier.
Ella wrinkles her nose. I’m sure she can see the sense behind it, but she doesn’t like it. That much is obvious.
But given the mob is after her, she needs to learn.
“Okay,” she agrees with a hint of reluctance.
