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Dakota enjoyed the quiet times as much as he loved the sometimes noisy adventures. He preferred the sounds of birds, leaves rustling, and water lapping against the dock more than any other actual music. The colors around Brenton Lake right now were at their peak and he’d take great pleasure in showing off Maplehaven today and tomorrow as tourists took mini vacations over the holiday weekend. The rest of October would be busy, but things tapered off once the leaves lost their splendor. When snow came, however, tourists flooded back into Maplehaven to enjoy all the winter fun.
He took the first few boards and hoisted them up onto his shoulder. As he carried them down to the end of the dock where the most worn boards were, a blue heron soared over the lake and landed on the shore not far from where the canoes were secured.
“Morning, my friend.” Dakota set the boards down as the large bird preened its feathers by the water. “Looking good. Do you have a lady heron around here somewhere you’re trying to impress?”
Hadn’t he done the same thing Friday night before meeting Leah at Mountain View Pizza? He didn’t own a ton of clothes and his wardrobe collection would never be deemed creative, but he probably tried each piece on, searching for the right look. Another thing he rarely did when dating someone. He was usually a what-you-see-is-what-you-get type of guy, but for a reason he couldn’t explain, Leah deserved more. The fact that he was willing todomore boggled his mind a bit too.
The heron spread its wings out and gave himself an all-over shake.
“Yeah,” Dakota said. “I don’t understand our behavior either.” He’d wait and see how things played out. Nana’s birthday bash was another opportunity to get to know Leah better and Dakota looked forward to it. He wished it wasn’t a week away though. Maybe he could orchestrate a way to run into her before Saturday. Hell, he’d finagled an entire field trip. A little mid-week meet-up should be easy to manage.
Content to believe he’d see Leah before Saturday, Dakota flew through ripping up worn dock boards and securing new ones. His heron friend stayed the whole time, inspecting his work and preening as Ginger basked in the sun on the part of the dock Dakota wasn’t working on. When he was done, he packed up his tools, tossed the worn boards into his truck, and drove over to the back of Birch Peak Adventures main office to park. He let himself in through the door to his private office and did some paperwork before Krista arrived out front.
“Morning!” he hollered.
Krista’s head appeared around his doorway. “My, aren’t we chipper? What’s got you in such a good mood?”
“The smirk on your face tells me you’ve already spoken to that idiot otherwise known as Noah.”
She shook her head. “No, I read the billboard they erected in the town square.” She stepped into his office and held up both of her hands as she announced, “Dakota Likes Leah.”
“How middle school. Couldn’t they come up with better text than that?”
Besides, he possibly more thanlikedher.
Chapter Eight
When the doorbell rang, Leah drew in a deep breath, summoning an inner strength she was only beginning to rebuild. She’d spent all day Saturday and this morning preparing for Carter’s visit and debating whether or not she should call him to cancel. The hopeless sound of his voice on Friday night was the only thing that kept her from picking up the phone.
She and Carter had actually been friends before she met his brother, Chase. Carter had been part of a Reading Week presentation held at the school she’d taught at in New York City. Of course her students thought video game developer was the coolest job around and were surprised reading and writing skills were so intertwined with the career. Their young minds had been enthralled by the awesome graphics and sample games Carter had shown them.
They’d liked his Wolverine T-shirt too.
After the presentation, one of Leah’s students begged him to come see their classroom, and after checking with the principal, Carter had spent the afternoon further dazzling her fourth graders. He had a great way of interacting with the students, was easy to talk to, and they’d become instant friends. Though she’d found him attractive with his chin-length black hair, dark brown eyes behind black-framed glasses, and a tall, lean build, that spark just wasn’t there. He always dressed casually in printed T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers, looking like a perpetual college student and the perfect chilling-out buddy.
They’d set up an informal mentor program where Carter visited her class once a month and did various coding projects with her students. On one occasion he’d brought his brother. Chase. With the same black hair only cut shorter, the same brown eyes only without the glasses, and a slightly stockier body perfect for the firefighting he did, Chase immediately caught Leah’s attention.
She’d apparently caught his as well because after that session, Chase had asked her to go for drinks with him whenever she was free. She’d found herself to be free that night, and so began a wonderful relationship. She’d gained a boyfriend in Chase and held onto Carter as a brother figure and good friend. The best of both worlds.
Until all those worlds crashed down around her.
The doorbell sounded again and she jumped. Right. Carter was here. Time to be strong for him and set an example. They’d both lost so much, but they were still there. Time to get back into the game of life.
If only it were as easy as that little pep talk made it sound.
Leah opened the front door and her chest immediately tightened at the sight of Carter.Shit.She’d never realized how much Carter and Chase resembled each other. The corner of her eyes pricked, but she cleared her throat and forced a smile. A smile that came with a single thought of Dakota.
“Carter.”
He appeared to need a moment to rein in his emotions too. His hands twisted around the strap of the duffel bag slung across his chest. The huge yellow smiley face on the T-shirt peeking out from under a flannel shirt was in stark contrast to the lost expression on his face.
“Come in, Carter.”
“Right.” A small chuckle shook out of him as he stepped across the threshold. “It’s so good to see you, Leah.”
And then his arms were around her, hugging her tighter than she’d been hugged in a long time. Suffocating. After Chase was gone, people had wanted to comfort her, but she hadn’t wanted to be touched. Couldn’t bear it. In fact, the only people she’d let hug her since leaving New York had been Heidi and Kyle.
And Dakota.
