by Ginny Baird
“Ah, but it’s peanut butter with apple butter this time. From your uncle’s orchard.”
Perry took his seat with a grin. “Awesome. Where’d you get that?”
“My mom picked it up at Evan’s.” Evan’s was the town grocery store that carried local produce.
“That’s cool,” he said, unwrapping another fabulous lunch.
Claire took a bite of her sandwich, feeling slightly less envious. The apple butter wasn’t just good. It rocked. “So, what time are you picking me up on Saturday?”
“Seven forty-five. Is that all right? The dance starts at seven thirty, but they say it’s lame to show right on time.”
“Sounds perfect.”
She’d been thrilled he’d asked her to the dance, like on a real date and everything. Most of the girls going, who were going with guys at all, were meeting their dates at the door. Then again, most boys in their grade didn’t drive. Claire was just lucky Perry was older. She was also grateful her mom had said yes. She had an inkling her mom had flown it by Nathan and he’d said something like, Why not? It’s only a dance. I’ll bet you went to a dance or two at Claire’s age.
“So, guess where my mom is?”
“Now?”
“Yeah.”
Claire leaned forward on her elbows. “On an outing.”
“With Nathan?”
“Somewhere up there.” Her gaze trailed to the mountains hedging the school’s large ball fields.
“Sweet. Mrs. Jennings, the nature girl.”
“Shut up!” She playfully slapped his arm. “Mom’s never done anything like that before.”
“Never?” Perry appeared amused. “Hope she told Nathan that.”
Elizabeth gazed up at Nathan, who stood at the high end of the rope. He’d used it to shimmy up some kind of boulder that stood maybe fifteen feet tall. Then had secured the end of it around a tree, and now was encouraging her to do the same. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“I thought you told me you’d been climbing before?”
“Hiking. You said hiking! You know, like the dwarves in the forest with their pick axes?”
“It’s not such a big deal, really. You can do it, come on! And the view is astounding from here!”
He shot her an encouraging grin, and her heart fluttered. She wasn’t sure if it was from his smile or from the altitude. Either way, she couldn’t see herself shimmying up that boulder using nothing but this rope. The climb was practically vertical, for heaven’s sake!
She gripped the rope, and her knees quaked. “Um, I’m not so sure…”
“Hang on!” he told her. “Stay right there! I’m coming down.”
In an instant, he’d scaled down the rock like it was nothing, then grabbed her beneath her legs. “Nathan!” she cried with surprise. “What on earth are you doing?”
“Giving you a boost!” he said, heaving her skyward. “Hi-ho, hi-ho… Now grab the rope like a good Snow White.”
“I don’t think Snow White ever did this!”
“I don’t think any of her dwarves had my stamina,” he said, heaving a breath and hoisting her higher. “Now, Elizabeth! Go!”
In a flash of panic, she reached ahead of her and clung to her lifeline. “Keeping moving,” he told her. “It’s the best way to avoid the wasps!”
“Wasps?” she shrieked, wrapping hand over fist, her sneakers scuttling up rocky terrain as Nathan pressed her bottom skyward from below.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think they can hit a moving target!”
“What?”
“Heave ho!” He gave a final push then sent Elizabeth scuttling with all her might. Goodness knew, she hated stinging creatures. Especially when they stung in swarms.
Seconds later, she pulled herself up upon the flat-topped rock by the rope Nathan had secured around a sturdy tree. She was out of breath and in a sweat when Nathan joined her, not the least bit worn from the journey himself. “What about the bees?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“Wasps! Whatever.”
“Oh, that! Just funning with ya on that small stuff.”
“Nathan Thorpe, that wasn’t very funny at all.”
“Got you up here, didn’t I?”
She huffed and set a hand on her hip. “Isn’t it against some code of conduct for an officer of the law to fib?”
He shrugged and passed her some water. “I’m off duty.”
She took a long, cool swig, her heartbeat finally calming down. She’d never thought she’d make it, but once she had, Elizabeth felt exhilarated. It was probably just the adrenaline. That stuff that cranked in when you feared you were on the verge of death.
“Come over here,” Nathan encouraged. “I want you to see this.”
She joined him near the precipice’s edge without standing too close. “Wow! You can see the whole valley. It’s gorgeous.”
“Especially this time of year.”
With the view bathed in fall colors, it was true. “Which way is Blayton?”
“Right down there,” he said, motioning past a broad stand of trees.
“Where? I can’t see it.”
“It’s so small it’s hard to make out.”
“What about the cemetery?”
“It’s on the far side of that forest.”
“Funny how everything looks different from here.”
“In a good way, yeah?”
Elizabeth felt her head swoon and took a step backward away from the edge.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Just a little lightheaded.”
“Maybe you should sit down. Even at this level, the altitude change can get to you if you’re not used to it.”
Although her pulse had slowed, taking a breather seemed like a fine idea. Nathan offered her a hand and helped ease her down until she sat steadily on the rock’s surface. “This is fantastic,” she said, glancing around. “Really fantastic. I didn’t even know I had it in me!”
Nathan smiled. “Rock climbing?”
“Doing something like this!” She motioned to the sweeping panorama. “You don’t get this on pay-per-view.”
“No, you don’t.”
After her nerves had calmed down and her head had cleared, she turned to him. “You know what I feel like?”
“No, what?”
“Like this was one of those once in a lifetime experiences I was meant to have.”
“Is that so?” he asked, his face glowing in the sunshine. Warm breezes blew all around them, rippling through the brittle trees. “Then I’m awfully glad you’re having it with me.”
“Yeah,” she said warmly. “Me too.”
Nathan couldn’t believe what a good sport Elizabeth was being. From their previous conversations, he hadn’t figured her for a very adventuresome outdoorswoman, so he’d thought he’d tailored his activities accordingly. Who knew such a teeny scramble could incite so much panic? He was glad he’d gotten her through it so she could see the other side. Because the other side of fear was truly beautiful. It was a view that spoke of freedom and self-reliance, two of the things Nathan had worked his lifetime to achieve.
When Nathan had been a boy, he’d never thought he’d overcome seeing his father shot in the line of duty. He’d had a gregarious dad, a big, boisterous guy who occasionally took Nathan riding in his cruiser. He’d let him work the siren and turn on the lights. It was all in good fun until the day that playtime turned serious. His dad, a highway patrolman, got called to chase a speeder down on the interstate. There hadn’t been time to request a replacement or drop off the boy. “Just stay put,” his dad had said with a reassuring pat. “Let the old man show you how it’s done.” He’d secured Nathan’s seat belt and taken off with a blast, commandeering the offending vehicle within minutes. Seconds after his dad requested credentials, Nathan witnessed a flash of light streaking from the front seat of that car.
“Is everything okay?” Elizabeth asked from beside him, noting he’d suddenly grown quiet.
“Is it a sad memory?” she asked, reading his expression.
“Yeah, it is.”
“I’m sorry, Nathan.”
“He was a good guy, you know? Everyone should have a dad like that. I was one lucky kid.”
“How old were you when you lost him?”
“Eight.”
“That’s tough.”
“It was, but I pushed past it.”
“How?”
“I followed in his footsteps. Became a cop.”
“So you could be like he was?”
“But only to a point.” He turned to her, emotion clouding in his eyes. “I couldn’t do it, Elizabeth. Have a family. People to leave behind.”
“So, that’s why you’ve never…?”
He shook his head. “I thought that was it. At least, until now.”
He surveyed her as she studied him with kind understanding. This warm, beautiful woman that it had taken him a lifetime to find. “But the real truth is, maybe I was just waiting on the right one.” He smiled softly. “Ones. As the case may be.”
Elizabeth felt her face warm under his perusal. She wondered if he was really hinting at what she thought he was or whether she was just imagining that he was saying she and Claire could become special to him.
“Life is funny that way. We can never quite foresee some twists of fate.”
“Could be we’re not meant to.”
“I once had a fortune teller offer to read my hand.”
“Oh yeah? What did she say?”
Elizabeth shot him a wry smile. “That I didn’t want to know.”
“Ouch.”
“Didn’t sound so good to me either.”
He studied her a beat as the panorama around them opened up under a clear blue sky.
“We still have some time left. Would you like to hike down to the falls?”
“When you say ‘hike down,’ do you mean, like, walk on foot?”
He laughed out loud. “This is straight walking all the way. Though I will warn you, the slope’s a little steep coming back up.”
“Does it require a rope?”
“Not this time.”
“I’m in.”
Nathan climbed down first so he could help her. “Just back down slowly! Right into my arms!”
Elizabeth realized she wasn’t afraid of falling, knowing Nathan would catch her. Besides, the trip went a lot smoother going down than it had going up. Especially without those imaginary wasps to chase her. She had only gone a few feet when she felt his sturdy hands around her waist.
“I’ve got ya!” he said. “Nice and easy now. You’re good.”
He lowered her gently to the ground, and once her feet met solid earth, Elizabeth knew she was better than good. Things were absolutely terrific. She could feel him standing behind her, his hands still around her waist as if he regretted the thought of letting her go. He turned her toward him, still holding her in his arms. “How are you doing?”
“Great,” she said, nearly breathless. “How about you?”
“Elizabeth, I know this sounds crazy, but I…” He tugged her closer, and she didn’t resist. His warmth felt good up against her, tantalizing.
“I know,” she said, gazing up at him. “I feel it too.”
“You know that thing that you said? About a once in a lifetime moment…?”
She nodded as his mouth moved in.
“I think we’re having one of those now.”
He lowered his mouth toward hers, and she sighed into his kiss, his lips meeting hers with a tender passion. Elizabeth wound her arms around him, and he held her close as he deepened his kisses and they became lost in one another. Elizabeth felt like a woman who’d been wandering in the woods forever. In Nathan’s embrace, she was finally finding her way home.
She heard a sharp buzzing sound and snapped her eyes open, the spell suddenly broken.
“What is it?” he asked.
“A wasp!” she cried with alarm. “Buzzing by your shoulder!”
Nathan quickly coiled the rope and packed it away. “We’d better get going. Maybe there is a nest around here!”
Elizabeth nodded her agreement, and he took her hand, leading her into the forest. This was by far the grandest adventure Elizabeth had ever had. And it wasn’t over yet.
The afternoon only turned more special as she and Nathan approached the base of the falls. They’d hiked for over twenty minutes, and, as Nathan had promised, there’d been no ropes involved. Their trip, however, had been straight down, which meant the return trek was bound to be a killer. “Oh my,” Elizabeth proclaimed as dazzling waters cascaded in the sunshine. “It’s incredible!” She looked up the high stretch that reached for the clouds. The falls cascaded over an upper ledge. “How did you find this place?”
“Used to come out here exploring. Back when I was first new to Blayton.”
“But you haven’t been in a while?”
“After a bit, I got busy with the day-to-day. Kind of forgot about it.”
“That’s hard to believe,” she said with an appreciative gasp. “I don’t think I ever will.”
“I’ll never forget it again either,” he said, taking her hand. “Not now that I’ve been here with you.”
“Nathan, you…”
He raised her chin with his hand. “What is it?”
“You make me feel something special. Like I’m in the most magical place in the world.”
He dove into her eyes with a smile. “I know what you mean.”
“Do you think this is going too fast?”
He took her in his arms, then spoke with a husky whisper. “Sometimes I believe it’s better not to think at all.”
“Those don’t sound like the words of a sheriff.”
“They’re not,” he said, bringing his mouth to hers. “They’re mine.”
Nathan couldn’t believe he was letting himself go this way, because he’d simply never experienced it before. But there was something about Elizabeth he found irresistible. Especially as he held her in his arms and the symphony of nature played around them. Birds sang, autumn leaves rustled, and the falls cascaded in glorious rhythm. Pounding again and again, echoing the beat of his heart.
When Perry dropped Claire at home after school, they noticed Elizabeth’s SUV wasn’t in the drive. “Your mom’s not back yet?”
“I thought Nathan was driving, but maybe they met up in town.”
Perry glanced over his steering wheel at the neighboring Victorian. “You going to feel safe being here alone?”
“Yeah. Of course!”
“You never hear anything from that place, do you?”
“Other than a couple of rockers creaking in the wind, not really.”
“I thought you found Phantom over there.”
“We did.” She smiled at the memory. “He’s such a sweetie too.”
“You’ll have to introduce us sometime.”
Claire’s face lit up. “That’s right. You haven’t met him.”
“Some other time, when your mom is home.”
“She wouldn’t like you being in the house when she’s not there,” Claire agreed.
“How about on the front porch?”
Elizabeth was so taken by Nathan’s embrace, she’d lost all track of the hour. “Oh no!” she said, pushing back in his arms. “What time is it?”
He checked his watch with a frown. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. It’s just past four. I don’t know how time got away from me.”
“It got away from both of us.”
“I can get you back in forty minutes. Faster if we turn on the siren.”
“I don’t want to do anything reckless.”
“I don’t either. But if we hustle it up here, we can still make it home safely by five.”
“Oh gosh, I hope Claire won’t worry.”
“I’ll radio Martha from the car and have her phone the house.”
�
�Good plan,” she said, hastening up the hill. “And, Nathan,” she continued as she puffed her way along, “I want to thank you.”
“For what?”
“It’s been so long. I mean, I’ve played so many roles. Mother, protector, provider…”
“Then it’s good for you to take time out for something else.”
She glanced at him, a question in her eyes.
“Being my girl.”
Elizabeth cheeks burned fiery hot.
“You don’t have to say no. Just take some time to think about it.”
“Nathan,” she said, pausing a beat. “There’s nobody’s girl I’d rather be.”
He took her hand with a grin. “Want to run?”
“I think I could fly,” she said, charging ahead beside him.
Claire carted her guitar onto the porch, where Perry sat waiting with Phantom curled up in his lap. “I think he likes you.”
“I think I’m sitting in the sun,” Perry replied with a laugh.
“You’re always sitting in the sun,” Claire said. “You’re like the sun, in a way.”
“No fair. I’m the one who calls you Sunshine.”
“And I’m the one who wrote you a song.”
“You?” Perry was visibly moved, slight color appearing at his temples. “What? When?”
“It’s a little rough,” Claire admitted. “But I’ve been working on it.” She settled down with her guitar and started strumming. “Want to hear it?”
“I’d love to hear it.” Perry stroked the cat. “If I can hear above his purring!”
Claire picked out a couple of chords. “Don’t laugh now.”
“I’d never laugh at you,” Perry told her seriously.
She whisked her fingers across the strings a few more times, gradually finding her beat. “Are you ready?” she asked with a grin.
“Any time you are.”
“When the leaves start to fall…
Begin fall…alling.
And the winds, autumn winds…
Begin call…alling.
