Page 38 of Boston
It didn’t matter that the calendar sat in the latter half of June. Mountain lakes always ran cold.
An alarm went off, and Cora started rolling and packing everything that she’d gotten out and gone over several times. She had plenty of room in her pack left, and she added the blow-up pillow she’d bought online. Boston said there would be a bed there for her, so she hadn’t planned to bring a sleeping bag or anything else. The blow-up pillow would be more for sitting on something hard while she waited to see the eagles. Tailbone protection.
She moved into the kitchen and opened a few bottles of her preferred spring water from Fiji and filled her water bladder. That added a significant weight to the pack, but nothing that Cora couldn’t handle.
It’s six miles,she reminded herself, trying to remember the last time she’d walked six miles in a single day. Oh, that was right. Never.
“Dear Lord,” she prayed right out loud, having practiced a few times now. “Bless me not to make a fool of myself in front of Boston on this trip. Bless me to be strong and capable and bless us to be safe and have a good time together.”
With that, Cora left the house and headed toward Boston’s apartment, and she found him in the parking lot, putting something in the back of his truck. When she said, “Hey,” he dang near jumped out of his skin.
“Oh, holy Mount Teton.” He clutched both hands to his heart. “You scared me.”
Cora giggled and danced over to him. “Good morning, cowboy.” She tipped up on her toes and swept a kiss across his cheek. They’d been out a couple of times, but a lunch date wasn’t the same as a dinner date, and though Boston had definitely dropped her off at her house, he hadn’t kissed her yet.
In fact, when she settled back on her feet, he looked utterly surprised that she’d kissed him at all. Then he said, “Morning, Cora-Cat,” in a gruff voice that told her he’d definitelyfeltthe kiss.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“I was just loading some equipment that I need to return to the lodge,” he said. “Can we run over there real quick?”
“Of course,” she said. “We’re driving?”
He nodded and moved to open her door for her. Cora had to shrug out of her pack first and then turn awkwardly back to Boston, who took it from her and moved to the tailgate of the truck to put it there.
He joined her in the front seat, and as they rumbled out of the parking lot and down the lane, he said, “We’ll come back to my place and get my stuff before we go.”
“We just take off from here, right?” she asked.
“Yep.” He didn’t seem particularly chatty this morning, and Cora wondered if he’d loosen up once he had a cup of coffee or a bit of time went by. No matter what, the silence made her a bit tense as well.
They arrived at the lodge only a moment later, and he said, “I’ll be right back. Do you take cream and sugar or anything in your coffee?”
“Both,” she said. “And if they have the vanilla creamer out, I’d love that instead of plain.”
He nodded, slammed the door, collected the things from the back that he needed, and headed inside. The lodge had a coffee cart available for employees every morning from six to eight-thirty, and Cora had definitely taken advantage of it. In the past week, she’d learned that almost everyone did and that it was a great place to catch up with others or casually run into those who didn’t answer phone calls and emails.
Boston returned about ten minutes later, two to-go cups of coffee in his hands. “Vanilla and sugar for the goddess,” he said, almost a complete one hundred eighty of the man he’d been a few minutes ago.
Cora smiled and took the coffee while he settled his in the cup holder and got back in the truck. “How do you take your coffee?” she asked.
“Just a lot of sugar.” He lifted it and took a sip. “Yeah, that’s good.”
“You’re a totally different person after a little caffeine, huh?” She grinned at him.
Boston blinked, and it took him a couple of seconds before he softened and chuckled. “I suppose so.”
They drove back to his place, where he passed over her pack and then shouldered his. When they were both ready, cups of coffee steaming into the morning air, he said, “You tell me if you need to go slower, or if there’s something you can’t do, okay?”
“All right,” she said.
“I’m not going to judge you, and it’s not going to be embarrassing,” he said. “This is rugged terrain. I want us to have a good time, and I don’t know how you hike, so this is a learning experience for both of us.”
“All right.” He seemed stern, and yet cordial at the same time. “Is this how you are with your excursion guests?” She put one hand on her hip and grinned at him.
“Yes,” he said simply. “I don’t know how they hike either, and I can tailor things to a party or a person so that they have a good time.”
“Well, I want you to have a good time too,” she said.
