Page 40 of Boston
“Yeah,” she said, with a small laugh. “You better.”
“Clothes?”
“Yep.”
“Extra socks?”
“I packed double.” She grinned at him.
“Water?”
“A whole gallon.”
Sunscreen, bug spray, hat.Check, check and check.
Cora turned her back on him. “In fact, will you get my hat and sunscreen out right now? I want to get ready before we get too far.”
“Surely you’re used to the sun,” he said, as he unzipped her pack and pulled out the items she’d requested. “Being in Miami and all. I remember when I’d go visit my dad, I thought I’d moved to the surface of the sun.” He laughed, and Cora turned to face him to see that joy on his face.
“Do you miss your dad?” she asked.
“Oh, are we doing a hard question day today too?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, that’s a normal question.” She twisted the cap on her spray sunscreen and started coating her arms.
“I mean, I guess so,” Boston said. “He’s never really been a big part of my life to begin with, and he’s constantly made other things more important than me. So I don’t know. I have a daddy here, you know?”
Cora watched him, understanding that emotions and feelings and situations like this definitely weren’t simple. The complexities of life rarely were. And then add in the enormity of being human and all they could feel and believe, and everything became a mess.
“I miss my dad,” she said. “He’s been gone for about eight years, but he was awesome. He loved this place, and he loved the mountains, and he loved wildlife, and he loved us.” She sprayed sunscreen onto her hands and rubbed it over her neck and ears. She did her face and settled her sunglasses in place, then put her visor on and handed the sunscreen can to Boston.
“You’re not going to do your legs?” he asked.
She looked down where she wore a black pair of capri exercise pants with purple panels down the sides. Her tank top matched the violet, and she shook her head. “I never do my legs. Will you make sure I got my shoulders and neck in the back?”
She shrugged out of her pack and let Boston finish, his hands searing hot against her skin. He wore a light gray T-shirt, a pair of basketball shorts with his hiking boots, and that sexy cowboy hat. He put sunscreen on his forearms, the back of his neck and his face, and handed her the can again.
“I think we’re ready.”
“I don’t have any food,” Cora said.
“Sweetheart, I told you I’d bring the food.”
“Yes, but you also told me you would never call me sweetheart.”
Boston tipped his head back and sent the most delicious laugh into the sky. “All right,” he said. “Come on, let’s go. We’re definitely ready.”
Within a half an hour,Cora could see why Boston had been hired to work with groups. He matched his pace to hers, never once making her feel like she should move faster or that she was causing a problem. He pointed out rough spots in the trail,where to grab on when they made steep ascents, and the best places to step as they came down.
Cora enjoyed being outside in the sunshine and wilderness, seemingly just the two of them left in the world. She liked listening to him talk about his family, the places he’d visited, and a quirky story or two about some guests and parties at the lodge. He detailed Harry’s wedding with Belle, where they’d rented the entire facility at Silver Sage and locked the gate three hours before the ceremony.
She found herself opening up to him more and more, telling him about why she’d gone to Miami. “It was the place the most different from Wyoming,” she said. “And I wanted a completely different experience for my college education.”
She’d enjoyed it so much she’d stayed, having friends that felt like family there. She learned a lot working in the boutique hotel there that she could adapt to the resort and lodge here.
“But you always knew you’d come back to Wyoming,” he said, not truly asking.
“Yeah,” Cora said, a hint of resignation in her voice. “I always knew I’d come back, but it still wasn’t easy.”
