Page 19 of Oz Wisdom

“This our home for the night,” Oz announced, opening the hotel room door. "I need to go take care of business. I shouldn't be long.” Oz reached into his bag before tossing it onto the bed. "If you need anything, my number's in here.”

Taylor took the phone. "I'm sure I'll be fine." She smiled. "You always carry an extra phone?"

"Only when I have a pretty woman to stay in touch with.”

She laughed. "I'll let her know when I see her."

"We have a lot of work to do on your confidence.” Oz gave her a wink and walked out.

Taylor dropped her backpack onto the empty bed and walked to the window. The view was gorgeous. When she moved to Louisiana, she had flown and missed the breathtaking mountain views. How she wished she had an extra day to look around. But that wasn't important. Oz had no time to spare. Even if he did, she wouldn't ask him to.

He had been so sweet to her. Something she wasn't used to. It made her feel good and she smiled inside each time he spoke to her. Why couldn't she have found someone like him years ago? She blew out a deep breath. That didn't matter now. It was too late for a happy-ever-after for her. Not that she really expected one. Well, not anymore. She had grown up expecting one. Now she only dreamed of one. That was something she had only read about in books. Her parents hadn't been happy. Oh, they had remained together for appearances. But neither of them appeared happy when not in public.

Her fingers tightened around the phone in her hand. Should she call? Oz had found her parents’ phone number and address when he agreed to take her there. Before she let her mind run through the possibilities, she realized she should let them know she was coming and pulled out the paper with the number and dialed.

"Arison residence."

"Mama, it's Taylor."

"Taylor, how sweet of you to call. How are you baby?"

"I'm fine Mama. I’m not far from you and, well, I’d like to come home.”

"That would be nice. Your daddy and I would love to see you.”

Taylor heard voices in the background but not well enough to distinguish who. "I have to run. We're expected at an event and the car is waiting.”

She opened her mouth to tell her mother that she'd see her the next day, but the line went silent. At least she didn't say don't come home. She didn't agree for Taylor to come there, either. Or at least not to stay. She tossed the phone onto the bed. Maybe she could start over someplace like this if everything fell through.

Taylor didn't know how long she had sat at the window staring at the sun dipping toward the mountaintops when Oz walked through the door.

"I'm all yours the rest of the night."

Taylor turned from the window, mustering a smile. "Did your meeting go well?"

"On point as always." He glanced toward the phone in the center of the bed. "Call your parents?"

She sucked in a breath, answering as she pushed it out. "I did."

"They excited to see you?"

Taylor huffed a laugh and spun back toward the window. "It's really pretty here. I don't believe I've ever been in the mountains before.”

"Then I know the perfect place for dinner. That is, unless you're in a hurry to get home.”

"Dinner sounds great and I'd love to see more of the area,” Taylor confessed.

"It's a little drive, but it's worth it.”

Taylor grabbed her purse and headed toward the door.

"You forgot something."

She spun around to see Oz scoop the phone up and close the space between them and drop it inside her purse. "Thank you."

***

Oz was right. The drive took most of an hour, but the scenery was breathtaking. Mountain tops stretched toward the sky on one side of the road while the other fell away, giving a view of treetops and roof tops. Occasionally a stream of water trickled from cracks in the stone sculpting the mountainside. Soon a wooden tower appeared. It looked as if it had weathered many seasons with its faded structure. She focused on it as it grew larger and larger.

---