AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Breathtaking” didn’t seem to do it justice. The Gulf stretched out to the golden horizon, where the tip of the sun was starting to peek out above the ocean. Long clouds painted in deep magentas and violets highlighted the sky, and their colors pooled in the glassy water below. It was nothing short of a masterpiece.
“Amazing,” Molly breathed out, trying her best to soak it all in. “This view is totally worth all those stairs.”
“Agreed.”
They stood there in silence for the moment as the sun rose, its rays slowly drenching the world with light. Grant’s shoulder gently grazed hers, allowing some of his strength and confidence to seep in, and Molly let the beauty of the moment wash over her.
She had always liked sunrises, but this one felt different. It was bigger, resonating somewhere deep in her chest, like it wasn’t simply the start of a new day. This sunrise felt like the start of a whole new hope-filled beginning.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” Molly said eventually, well aware that the man beside her was turning out to play a major role in her new beginning. Being here was special, but being here with him conjured up a whole lot of feels that she wasn’t sure she wanted to dive into yet. This morning was too perfect to ruin it with thinking.
“You’re welcome,” Grant said simply.
“I don’t know how many laws we broke…” Molly kept her eyes on the beautiful watercolor that painted the early morning sky. “But this view was worth it.”
Grant chuckled. “I’ll have you know, there were no felonies committed in this morning’s adventure. Your conscience can rest at ease.”
“Good to know. Going to jail might put a damper on my current mood.”
“Tell me about it.” He glanced at his watch. “Although, we should probably start moving, or we really are going to have trouble getting there on time.”
“If we must.” She closed her eyes and tried to burn the image into her memory, letting the golden colors seep into her soul. She considered taking her phone out of her pocket and snapping a picture, but there wasn’t a camera in the world that could fully capture the essence of this view. After one more deep breath of calm, morning air, she blinked her eyes opened. “Okay, I’m ready.”
“Great. So to get down, we’re going to tie a rope to this rail and rappel down the side. Nothing to it.”
Molly could feel the golden color drain out of her toes. “We’re going to what?”
Grant’s grin widened, causing little crinkles around his eyes. “I’m kidding. We’re going down the same way we came up.”
Molly gave him a playful nudge with her shoulder. “I seriously think my heart stopped.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” He pushed the window open and held it for her. “But you have to admit, rappelling off the side would be an adventure.”
“Learning new surgery techniques is an adventure, too. Let’s make scientific lectures be our next adventure.”
“We’ll see.” He winked. “But I make no promises.”
Grant spent the majority of the morning lecture thinking about new adventures for Molly. Naturally, they all had a coastal theme and there was no shortage of ideas, some of them more realistic than others. Kite surfing, for example, qualified for the list, but he felt fairly confident he wouldn’t be able to convince her to strap her feet to a board and be pulled out to sea by a giant kite. At least, not yet.
But standing on the top of the lighthouse had made it clear that this little deal they had was going to be a good thing. Maybe even a great thing. He was excited to get to work with her at the clinic, and he couldn’t wait to take her on more adventures. In fact, he was a little concerned this deal might be a little one-sided, slanted way more in his direction.
To be clear, his eagerness to spend time with her was on a fellow-human level. This was in no way romantic. He had no desire to be tied down in a relationship, especially right now. In fact, that might’ve been one of the reasons he liked the idea of hanging out with Molly. Since her assignment in Emerald Cove only lasted three months, she wouldn’t be around long enough for things to get serious. But she’d be there long enough to have some fun. Plus, he liked the way she smiled when she experienced the joy of something new.
“Please tell me you know someplace close for lunch because I’m starving. But I don’t want to be even a little bit late to the afternoon session.” Molly’s voice broke his trance, and he looked up from the list he was working on to notice that everyone was standing and milling around. He must’ve been so distracted that he’d missed the announcement that they were breaking for lunch.
He snapped his journal shut, trying to focus on the present. “Lucky for you, I have the perfect lunch plans, and I guarantee we won’t get back after the presenter.” A zing shot through him, which was entirely because she was going to love this next surprise and had absolutely nothing to do with any sort of feelings for her. Okay, fine. There was a chance a small portion of it had something to do with his feelings for her. “Follow me.” He stood, but instead of heading for the doors like the rest of the crowd, he fought his way against the flow of traffic to the front of the room with Molly following behind.
“I’d ask you where we’re going, but I’ve decided it’s a useless question that I probably don’t want to know the answer to anyway.”
Grant chuckled. “I promise, our lunch plans don’t involve safety gear.”
“I’m not sure your lack of safety gear gives me any more reassurance.”
When they got to the front, they waited a second for Dr. Simmons to finish up the polite conversation he was having before he walked over to them.
“Grant!” Dr. Simmons, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and a lingering hint of a German accent, held out his hand.
Grant took it and pulled his old friend in for a hug. “It’s good to see you, Oscar. It’s been far too long.”
