Page 36 of Wandering Closer

“Planning. Being prepared for anything and everything.” His eyes catch mine when he looks up. “When was the last time you had the chance to sit back and enjoy something?”

I think about it for a moment, “When you took me hiking.”

His grin is downright devious. He pulls out his phone and starts typing out some notes before putting it back down on the table. “Okay, then it’s settled. I am planning everything. You pack your bag and be ready for me Wednesday morning at nine. Oh, and who the hell is Marge?”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

thoren

The day is finally here, and I am beyond ready for it. I dropped Shadow off with my parents, packed my bag, and planned everything for the next two days with Lily. The last ten days sucked, filled with working overtime, a search and rescue case on Thursday, and training on Sunday. Lily was a godsend through it all. She spent most of her days with Shadow in tow, left pre-made meals in my fridge for my late nights, and still was up early to spend a few quiet minutes on her deck with me each morning before work.

We have gotten ourselves into a routine without even realizing it, and I hope it doesn’t stop. Next week, Jake’s replacement is set to start, so hopefully my schedule will calm down and I will have more free time to spend with her. That is a thought for later, though, because I am about to pick up my girl. I stopped in town on my way back from my parents’ place to pick up a coffee and muffin for Lily. I also had a small gift waiting in the passenger seat from my brother.

She must be just as ready for this day as me because she is waiting on her porch with her bag before I can even get the truck in park. I jump out to open the back door, taking her bag and adding it next to mine on the back seat. Moving to the passengerdoor, I open it and hold out my hand to help her in. Her fingers wrap around mine as she steps into the truck when she sees the bag on the seat.

“What’s this?” she asks, moving it to her lap as I lean over, buckling her in. Her warm vanilla scent is subtle today, warming me from the inside out as my thumbs brush over her thighs.

“A gift from my brother for tomorrow. There’s also a coffee for you, pick either one, and a bag of muffins behind you,” I add before closing her door and climbing into the driver’s seat.

She picks up both coffees, reading the labels for a white chocolate latte and a caramel latte. I think she’s going to choose the white chocolate because last week she talked about finding that flavor creamer in the store. If not, though, I got caramel because I know I’ve seen that flavor in her fridge.

Like I figured, she puts down the caramel and hums as she takes a sip of the white chocolate. “Thank you, this is delicious. Can I open the present now?”

“Sure,” I respond, reaching back to move the little brown bag with muffins to the center console in case she wants one later. “He asked if you had one, then sent this the next day.”

She carefully removes the tissue paper from the bag, setting it next to her. In true River fashion, he sent it already wrapped in a nice bag with a card and everything. Lily pulls out a Rainiers jersey with my brother’s number and last name on the back. It’s an authentic one, and he added a sweatshirt with the team logo as well. I guessed her size for him, so I hope they fit.

“These are so cool! You both have done so much for me. I’ll never be able to repay you for all this. It’s too much,” her voice slowly tapers off.

I reach over, giving her knee a squeeze. “Kindness doesn’t have to be repaid. We are doing these things because we want to and because we can. Now drink your coffee and put on some music. We have three hours to kill.”

I’m not going to give her time to argue. If I want to take care of her, then I’m going to, and I am man enough to let my brother spoil her, too. She grabs the cord and attaches her phone, scrolling through her playlist. Her music choice is a mix of pop and indie that she keeps at a low volume so we can easily talk over it. She didn’t drive this way when she came up from Phoenix, so she points out all the new and exciting things she likes.

“I have a few options when we get there,” I tell her as we draw closer to Seattle’s city center. “Your meeting isn’t until two, so we have two hours to spare. We can get an early check in at the hotel to drop off bags, grab a light snack and relax until then. Or we can go grab lunch by the water. I don’t know how you handle nerves, so you’re in charge of what’s best for you here.”

“Lunch on the water, please.” A soft smile plays on her lips. “I’m a nervous eater, and I want to see as much of the city as we can.”

I was hoping she would choose that option. There’s a spot my brother told me about that he claims has the best fish and chips in Seattle. The downtown traffic isn’t too bad for a weekday afternoon, and surprisingly, neither is parking. Duke’s is a smaller place, with benches out front on a pier that the host seats us at. From here, we can see the Space Needle, Mt. Rainier, and watch the ferry traveling back and forth to the islands. I have to admit that although I’m not a big city guy, Seattle is beautiful. Our server brings our food out, checking to see if we need anything else before leaving us to enjoy our lunch.

“The mountain’s out today,” Lily says with the widest smile on her face as she plops a fry in her mouth.

I snort around my bite of fish. “Did you hear someone say that?”

“Nope,” she says proudly, popping the p. “I looked up Seattle slang last night when I couldn’t sleep. Apparently, that’s whatthe locals say whenever it’s clear enough to see the mountain. I guess it’s a rare occurrence.”

God, she is so adorable. “It is. How are you feeling? Did the nerves keep you up all night?”

I struggled to sleep last night, too, half nerves, half excitement. This little getaway with her gives us time alone, time to really get to know each other better. I was also nervous that I would fuck up somehow. That maybe things wouldn’t go well with the lawyer, or that she will think I’m being presumptuous with only one hotel room.

“Yeah. I sent her everything I could think of Monday night after we talked. Every detail of our relationship, my performance review paperwork, email correspondence, all of it. The legal talk went over my head, but she said there was a process to all this and the first step was to send it somewhere for an investigation. I got an email from her yesterday afternoon saying they got back to her and we would review it and our options today. I just want justice.”

“He’ll pay, I promise.”

We finish up our meal and head back to the truck. Lily offered to drive in her car, Marge, but I didn’t want her to have any added stress. We have about fifteen minutes until the meeting and the anxiety is pouring off of her.

“What’s my truck’s name?” I ask, trying to distract her.

“Huh?” she mumbles, squeezing her fingers and looking out the window.

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