Page 19 of Rescued By the Great Grim

“We’ll help,” I say. “This isn’t all on you.”

“As much as we can from here,” Nick interjects. “Well, Hailey can visit you in Sandpoint, but you know I can’t.”

Rae looks at him for a beat, and then her gaze lowers to our clasped hands. It seems we’ve formed a new habit because I didn’t even notice we were holding hands. “I’m not so sure about that any longer,” she says with a cryptic smile. And then she turns to me. “It was great meeting you, Hailey. We’ll do the dirt bike test drive when I see you next.”

With that, she puts on her gloves and helmet and takes off down the mountain on the eerily quiet bike.

“She’s so cool,” I whisper. “I want to be her best friend.”

Nicks laughs. “You’ll have to tell her when she next comes to visit.”

“Do you think she’ll know what to do with the trident?”

“If anyone can, it will be her. I don’t know what kind of creature she is. She’s never shared that with me, but she’s very powerful.”

I nod. I sensed that too. There’s a quiet but strong magic surrounding Rae. “What do we do now?” Suddenly, I’m nervous. What if Nick doesn’t want me to stay with him after I brought all this trouble to his tranquil home and inconvenienced his friend?

He looks down at me and pushes a stray strand of hair behind my ear, turning the gesture into a caress as he cups my cheek with his palm. “We have breakfast.”

“And then?”

He takes my hand and leads me into the cabin. “And then we check on the lake before we do all the other chores I do every day.” He sounds a little sad.

“But now we do them together,” I say.

A slow smile lights up his face. “Now we do them together,” he repeats, squeezing my hand.

EPILOGUE (NICKUR)

Six months later.

In spring, there are still snow on top of the mountains surrounding Washington State’s Lake Chelan. We’re sipping champagne down by the lakeshore and at this altitude, it’s warm enough for shorts. Well, I’m in shorts.

Hailey wears a short red dress that’s making it impossible to focus on anything other than how well it shows off her perfect curves.

“Which is your favorite?” she asks, tilting a narrow flute to her mouth.

“Huh?”

She gestures to the four glasses lined up in a special stand in front of me. “The flight of champagne,” she clarifies. “Which is your favorite?”

They all taste about the same to me. Fizzy and sweet. “You’re my favorite.” I smile at her.

She rolls her eyes, but a faint blush covers her cheeks. I can’t believe how lucky I am that this woman is with me. The day she wandered into the clearing by my cabin is the day my life changed for the better.

Not only do I get to spend every day by her side, but she’s made it possible for me to leave Twin Lakes. She’s the love of my life, my everything.

“You’re impossible,” she says.

“Impossibly in love with you.” That earns me another eye roll, but I can’t help feeding her cheesy lines. My heart is so full of love and I need an outlet for it all when we’re out in public. When we’re alone, I express how much I adore her by worshipping her body.

“What do you want to do next?” We’ve spent the day exploring wineries, tasting their new releases of white and rosé wines. The champagne flight place is our last stop for the afternoon.

“How about a walk before we pick a restaurant for dinner?” Her mind is perfectly in tune with mine. A walk is exactly what I need to counteract the slight buzz I’ve acquired through our tastings and to stretch my legs.

“Let’s do it.”

We stroll down the the Riverwalk Park trail in the tiny town of Chelan. I grab Hailey’s hand and our proximity to water, makes the connection I have through her to the Twin Lakes stronger. My waters are thriving and I relax even more.

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