Page 68 of Surprised By Her

The two of us mowed down the cupcakes and then went for another walk, this time on the trail.

“This is really cool out here,” I said, leaning down to gather some flowers.

“It is,” she said. I heard a noise and looked to my left.

“Holy crap,” I whispered as I watched the deer walk in between the trees.

“Wow,” she breathed next to me. The deer’s ears flicked around and then it looked right at us, freezing.

“Don’t move,” I said to Ryan. She held perfectly still, and I did as well. The deer watched us for a little while and then ran off, crashing through the brush.

“I feel like deer should be quieter when they move, but they’re really loud,” I said.

“Not as loud as moose,” Ryan said.

“Have you ever seen a moose?” I asked.

She shook her head and I plucked another flower.

“Not a live one. I’ve seen a taxidermied one,” she said. “It was bigger than you can imagine. Just when you think you’ve realized how big it is, you realize it’s actually bigger.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen video and I don’t think I’d like to meet one in person,” I said.

We walked to the end of the trail and turned around. I handed her the bouquet when we got closer to the house.

“Thank you,” she said, taking it. “No one’s ever given me flowers before.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “You mean no one’s ever just gone out and picked some.”

“No. No one has ever bought me flowers either,” she said.

“Not from a store or for an award or anything?” I asked. It sounded impossible. Not even when she graduated?

Ryan held the front door open for me. “Never.”

“Oh,” I said. “Well, I’ll bring you lots of flowers to make up for it.”

For the first time, Ryan’s face was fully blushing. “You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s not that big a deal,” I said. “There’s lots and lots of flowers around here. If I’m already walking around, it’s not that hard to bend down and grab a few.”

“Still. Thank you.” She fingered the petals of one of the flowers and then checked her phone.

Ryan frowned as she read the text message. “Hm.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Oh, it just looks like the barbecue is going to be bigger than I told you. Sydney and Lark are coming, and so are Joy and Ezra and then Lark’s friend Mia and Layne’s brother and his girlfriend. Oh, and the twins were supposed to be at a friend’s house, but the other kids got sick, so they’ll be there too. Are you good with that?” She looked up to see my reaction.

“Oh,” I said, trying not to let my body react and failing. “That’s a lot of people.”

“It is. But everyone you’ve met before,” she said in a careful voice.

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “You’re right. I can do it.”

“You sure?” she asked.

“I’m sure,” I said, nodding and looking into her eyes. “I’m sure.”

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