Page 144 of Boston
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
Cora practically vibrated with excitement in the driver’s seat. She’d brought Boston to Little Brown Bear Stream before, but on one of the social media pages, she’d seen that there was a brown bear in the area only ten minutes ago.
“What if we see it?” she asked. “This is so exciting.”
Boston chuckled and shook his head. “Cora, we see wildlife every single day.”
“I know,” she said. “But not bears.”
“There’s been bear sightings at Silver Sage,” he said. “You guys have a whole logbook for it.”
“This is different.” She looked over to him, almost begging him to understand. “And besides, this is Ruby’s inaugural drive to Little Brown Bear Stream, and it would be awesome if we actually saw a little brown bear.”
Boston twisted toward her from the passenger seat, and Cora didn’t mind the dry look on his face. “Ruby?”
“I’m going to name my car Ruby,” she said. “I’ve had her for five months, and besides, it fits, because she’s red.”
“Right.” Boston reached over and took her hand. “And you love sparkly things, and I seem to remember that you have a pair of ruby red boots.”
Cora giggled because everything he’d said was true. Her footwear had definitely gotten more practical in the months she’d been home, but she didn’t mind so much. She still got to wear her sandals and bling when Boston took her out to dinner.
They’d made a personal goal to leave Silver Sage at least once a week and go somewhere else to eat, though the resort had restaurants on-site. Boston still lived on-campus as well, as did she, of course. She needed and looked forward to the time away.
He and Cash had bought the ranch together, and Boston would eventually be moving into the blue two-story farmhouse, but they both wanted to clean the property and get it repaired before either of them moved onto it. Since they both had somewhere to live, the ranch clean-up didn’t carry as much urgency as it might have otherwise.
Boston went over there a few times a week and met uncles and cousins, and they filled a dumpster. They’d emptied both houses so far, and now that winter was coming to Coral Canyon, they’d turn their attention inward to the homes. Boston wanted to gut his and make sure everything was structurally sound and that nothing hid inside the walls—like lead or mold. Then he’d rebuild, repaint, put down new flooring, and basically have a brand new house.
They could do that in the winter, and then once the earth thawed again, Boston wanted to turn his attention to roads. Once the house was redone, and he could get on and off the property without causing more damage to the road or his truck, he’d move into the house.
And then, Cora thought.You’ll be there with him too.
The property only sat twenty minutes from Silver Sage, but it felt like a buffer that Cora really needed. She tended to work too much, she knew, and if she had to arrive at work and leave every day like most normal people, she felt she’d be able to control herschedule better. She and Boston would be able to have a home life in addition to their work environment.
“Well, I like Ruby,” Boston said, and Cora grinned over to him again.
She pulled into the parking lot at Little Brown Bear Stream only a few minutes later and got out. She wore leggings and a sweatshirt with a sturdy pair of sneakers, but Boston just wore short sleeves and jeans. They’d taken a few steps down the path when he said, “You know what? I changed my mind. I want to get my jacket.”
She unlocked the car as he jogged back to it, and then he opened the front passenger door. He rummaged around there for a moment, and then ducked to the back seat, where he emerged with his jacket. He tucked his arms into it as he came back to her, and then took her hand and they continued their walk down to the stream.
Ruby was the only car in the parking lot, which didn’t surprise Cora. November had dawned a few days ago, and Boston had taken her to a spooky Halloween walk at Bryce and Kassie’s ranch, where at least half his family members had asked him when he was going to propose to Cora.
She snuck a glance at him, because she wanted to know the answer to that too.
As the roaring water got louder, Cora’s step slowed. Boston kept pace with her, and he edged over toward the trees on the right side. Cora moved with him because the post had said that the bear was up near the falls, and that would be to their left.
Now that Cora stood out in the open air with nothing between her and a potential bear, seeing it didn’t seem so exciting.
“I don’t know,” she said, and then after two more steps, the river opened up in front of them.
There was no bear, only water.
Relief and disappointment cut through her at the same time, and she realized that she’d boxed tension up in her shoulders. She relaxed those and blew out her breath.
“We still need to be careful, sweetheart,” Boston said. “Because therewasa bear in this area only twenty minutes ago.”
“Yeah,” she said. “True.”
