Page 60 of Mating With My Grumpy Alphas
"Got it," she breathed, lowering the camera with a huge smile. "That was amazing."
"Ravens are good luck, according to some traditions."
"I believe it." She looked around the ridge, taking in the view with obvious contentment. "This place is magical, Wes. Thank you for bringing me here."
"Thank you for seeing it the way I do."
We spent another hour on the ridge, with her photographing everything from soaring hawks to tiny alpine flowers growing in rock crevices. I found myself sharing stories about the conservation work, the challenges of protecting habitat in an area where development pressure was always present.
"How are you feeling about the development situation?" she asked during a quiet moment, lowering her camera to look at me directly. "I know how much this place means to you."
I was quiet for a moment, surprised by how much I wanted to tell her everything. "Actually, something's happened. Something that could change everything, but I'm not sure what to do about it."
"What do you mean?"
"Cassian gave me documents," I said, gesturing toward the valley below where the proposed resort would have been built. "Internal communications, financial records, proof that the town council was essentially bought off. Evidence that could stop this development completely."
Her eyes widened. "That's incredible. Why aren't you sure what to do?"
"Because if I use them, if I go public with this information, Cassian's life is going to explode." I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the weight of the decision. "His family will cut him off completely. His career, his inheritance, everything he's ever known. And the whole town will know he's the one who provided the evidence."
"But the habitat would be protected."
"Yeah. Fifteen acres of pristine flyway, the watershed, all of it saved. And according to these documents, the resort would have disrupted the town's water supply. We're talking about severe shortages within five years if this thing went through." I looked out over the landscape we were trying to protect. "I'm releasing everything to the newspaper. The public deserves to see what the council tried to do, and this is too important to sit on."
"That will cause quite a mess," she said softly.
"A huge mess. But that's what it takes sometimes." The anger was building in my chest now, hot and righteous. "Cassian's willing to sacrifice everything to do the right thing, and here I am worried about the fallout? That's not fair to him, and it's sure as hell not fair to this place."
She was quiet for a moment, following my gaze across the valley. "What does Cassian say about it?"
"That he wants to stop the development and he's prepared for the consequences. He's made peace with what it'll cost him." I felt my jaw clench. "Which makes me furious, because why should doing the right thing come with such a massive price tag? Why should he have to choose between his family and protecting something that should never have been threatened in the first place?"
"Sounds like he's already made his choice," she said gently. "And it sounds like you have too."
"Yeah," I said, feeling the certainty settle into my bones. "I have. Those documents are going public, and the development stops. Period. I just wish the world was set up so that heroes like Cassian didn't have to lose everything to save what the rest of us should have been protecting all along."
We stood in comfortable silence for a while after that, both of us looking out over the valley that would remain untouched because of one man's courage. The weight of the decision felt lighter now that I'd said it out loud, and I found myself grateful for Willa's quiet presence beside me. She had a way of listening that made the complicated feel manageable, the overwhelming feel possible.
When she finally declared herself satisfied with the morning's work, I realized it was nearly noon and we were both getting hungry.
"Ready for lunch?" I asked.
"Starving, actually. I got so caught up I forgot about food entirely."
"Lucky for you, I came prepared."
I'd been nervous about the picnic all morning, but now, spreading out the blanket I'd brought and unpacking the food,it felt natural. Right. Like something we'd done dozens of times before.
"Wes, this looks amazing," she said as I laid out the sandwiches and fruit. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble."
"Wasn't any trouble."
That was a lie. I'd gotten up early to make sure everything was perfect, had changed my mind about the menu three times, and had probably packed enough food for a week-long expedition. But seeing her face as she took in the spread, the genuine appreciation in her expression, made every minute of overthinking worth it.
"The cider’s still hot," I said, unscrewing the thermos cap.
"You brought real cider on a hike. I think I'm in love."
