Page 131 of Boston
“Miss Silver, this is?—”
“Thank you so much,” she said, and her smile sat better on her face as she closed the door to his surprise.
She quickly unboxed the lunches and put all three bags of fruit and veggies in the bottom of one box, then layered the sandwiches over the top. She didn’t need the pouched drinks or the boxed orange juice, and she threw those in her fridge unceremoniously.
If she didn’t leave in the next five minutes, Cora felt sure she would chicken out, change her clothes, and head over to the office. As it was, she hadn’t even texted anyone yet that she wouldn’t be around for the next three days. Visions of fires in the kitchen, an overflowing pool, and angry guests filled hermind, and Cora told herself that even if those things happened, someone else could take care of them.
She had dozens of capable people here at Silver Sage, and her mother and Jeremy could step in at any time. She needed this break, and she was going to take it.
She threw in the pudding cups and remembered chatting with Boston about being somewhere without silverware, and quickly grabbed the prepackaged utensils that had come with the lunches. She put all three of those in her bag as well and turned in a circle as she tried to think of what else she needed.
Sunscreen, bug spray, hat, first aid kit, extra socks, lightweight jacket.
She was definitely hiking later in the year, and she had no idea what condition that trail would be in. Heck, she hoped she could follow it and not get lost.
“Satellite radio,” she said out loud, and she hurried down the hall to her office.
She praised the babies for the fact that they’d been up in the middle of the night, and Jeremy had answered her text about where she could get this technology. She had keys to every office and room at the lodge, and she’d shown up in the adventure supply room at four-forty-five this morning to get a charged radio. That way, if she did get lost or she fell and hurt herself, she would be able to communicate with someone.
She tossed her phone charger in with the satellite radio, and she zipped up her pack. “You’re not leaving forever,” she told herself. “You have food and water and everything you need. It’s time to go.”
She shouldered her backpack and left her house, and while Cora had once thought that leaving Coral Canyon was the bravest thing she’d ever done, that had been replaced byreturningto Coral Canyon after a decade away. But now, withevery step she took, Cora was definitely on the biggest adventure of her life—and the most terrifying.
What if she showed up and Boston refused to talk to her? Or she arrived at the cabin and hewouldtalk to her, but wasn’t interested in getting back together?
She’d have to stay the night no matter what, because she wasn’t a fast hiker, and though she was leaving at six-twenty in the morning, she did not think she would make it to the cabin until at least three, maybe four.
There was no way she would be able to turn around and come back, and the thought of sleeping outside left a chill in Cora’s stomach that stayed with her as she stepped through the gate marking the edge of the Silver Sage groomed property and onto the trail.
Thankfully there weren’t a lot of detours, and as long as she just kept going along the established route, she felt confident that she was moving in the right direction. She remembered to drink enough water, and she put sunscreen on, and then her hat, once the sun got warm. Before she knew it, she’d reached the meadow, and pride moved through her in a way that Cora had not experienced in a long time.
She’d done a lot of amazing things in her life, from attending college, to graduating, to becoming a manager, to handling all kinds of guest problems, difficult employees, and heartbreaking relationships. But she had never been prouder of herself than she was as she stood panting at the top of the rise with that glorious meadow in front of her.
The trees seemed greener now, though it was later in the year and would be fall soon. Puffy clouds filled the sky, the kind that didn’t threaten and only made her feel like a little child out on a hike with her father.
Cora had been so busy lately that she had not thought of her daddy in a few weeks. Now, as she moved over to the left side ofthe meadow so that she could gaze down at the lake, she allowed more of her memories with her father to seep into her mind. He’d often taken her and Kat horseback riding and hiking. When they escaped to the pool here at the lodge, it was always Daddy who got in with her and threw her and Kat from his shoulders, while Momma watched from the lounge chair.
Her daddy had taught her to mow lawns and tie knots, read the stars and start a fire. Cora hadn’t had to do any of those things in a long time, and certainly not in the city. But as she settled on the hard rock and unzipped her backpack to pull out lunch, she knew that the life she wanted to build was right here in Coral Canyon. She wanted to have tow-headed kids with her dark eyes that she could teach how to fly a kite, and how to saddle a horse, and how to bait a hook.
She wanted Boston at her side as she did it.
The strength of her feelings surprised her, as Kat had been right when she’d said that they wouldn’t be getting engaged right away. Cora still had plenty to learn about Boston, and he about her. But she hadn’t been in a relationship with anyone like him in so long that his differences and goodness stood out and played powerfully through her.
She devoured her sandwich, finished a fun-sized bag of Cheetos, and ate an apple before tucking all of her garbage into the chip bag and putting it back in the box. She dusted her hands along her thighs and took a long drink of water, reluctant to get up and get moving again.
She needed to before her muscles got too cold and her mind played tricks on her and told her that it would be better if she went back the way she’d come, rather than continuing up into the harder, more rugged terrain that led to the cabin.
She stayed seated, though, listening to the trees talk to one another and the distant calling of birds. This was what peacelooked like: blue, green, and white, with a smudge of gray for rocks and the bright pink tank top that Cora wore.
This was what serenity felt like: being capable of doing things on her own, but choosing to be with a partner, being strong, making decisions, and trying to shape her own future instead of just letting life happen to her.
This is what contentment sounded like: wind and the faint trickle of water, the cry of a raptor, and…footsteps.
Cora spun around, her heartbeat flailing through her body and pounding in her ears. She saw a man twenty or thirty yards away, and she jumped to her feet, ready to fight or run.
Through the heightened adrenaline, it took her several moments to drink in the broadness of his shoulders, the black cowboy hat, and the gym shorts.
Cora still didn’t believe her eyes until Boston asked, “Cora? What in the world are you doing here?”
