Page 38 of The Marrying Kind
Her face twisted up, partly with a look of pity, and partly devastation. “When I was younger, I found out from my doctor that I’m not able to have kids.”
I wanted to tell her she could have kids, with a surrogate or through adoption, but I bit my tongue. That was the selfish thing to say. The thing that I wanted to hear,dammit. That she was falling as hard for me as I was for her. That she’d think building a family together was an adventure. That she’d want to abandon her trip and do all that here with me.
Damn, I was a prick for thinking all that.
“Thank you for sharing that with me, Ella. I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that. And I’m really happy you’re seeing the world. You are an amazing woman, and I do wish that I could keep you. I’m not going to lie about that.”
The look Ella gave me just about crushed me, but I quickly balled up the pain in my chest and pushed it down deep.
“Before you go, though, can I take you on one more adventure?”
16
ONE LAST HURRAH
Ella
“Ican’t feel my butt,” I said with a groan and wriggled in my seat.
I was all for road trips, that was a big part of my bucket list, but Austen had been barreling down the freeway for an entire day. It was slow going at first because of the snowfall, but Austen was an experienced driver and soon navigated us through the worst of it.
“I’ll pull over and feel it for you right now. Just say the word.” He gave me that crooked smile and rubbed a hand over my thigh. “We’re almost there, princess.”
“You’ve been saying that for an hour, so your credibility is hanging by a thread.”
Austen laughed and turned on the blinker. “That’s the place. Elkins Lodge.”
“You’re not just saying that because I’m complaining?”
We pulled onto a long tree-lined driveway with pines that towered over us, each lighting up briefly as the headlights of the SUV flickered past.
“For real. I even have a reservation. This is the spot that’s going to blow your mind.”
A few small cabins came into view, largely underwhelming, not that I was picky, but he was really selling this place, so I had to tease him. “Thisis going to blow me away?”
He gave me a warning look. “Just be patient. This will be something you will never forget.”
Austen pulled the SUV into a parking spot in front of a tiny little cabin that had a rustyOFFICEsign hanging out front. We climbed out and stretched, my bones protesting from being cooped up all day.
Even though the ride had been a fun one, largely because Austen and I swapped endless stories about our childhoods—first kisses, first times, the locations of all the scars on our bodies and how we got them—that didn’t make my muscles ache any less.
A little bell chimed as Austen pulled open the door to the office and led the way inside. Since it was getting late, I tapped on the bell on the desk, and soon a man appeared from a back room, looking as tired as I felt.
“Good evening.”
“Reservation for Hart,” Austen said.
The man nodded and flipped through an honest-to-goodness paper booklet of reservations. He ran his finger down the page, and I raised a cynical brow at Austen, who wrapped his arm around my hip.
The man looked up then with a frown. “Apologies, but your room in the lodge was double booked. I do have the Bear View Cabin ...”
“Bear View Cabin?” I gasped, shooting a worried look at Austen.
The desk clerk cleared his throat. “Don’t let the name scare you; it’s just more private. It’s usually reserved for honeymoons, that kind of thing.”
Austen cocked an eyebrow at me and frowned. “Is that okay with you? I mean, it’s just a cabin at the end of the day, right?”
“Yeah, sure. Yeah. It’s just ... yeah, that’s fine,” I managed to say.
