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Laurel
The next day, it had warmed up enough that Luke could make good on his promise to take me hiking. I decided to wear a pair of thicker light-wash jeans with leggings underneath. I didn’t want to risk feeling chilly on the hike, and the leggings didn’t add too much heft to my outfit. I paired it with a nice navy-blue blouse. While it was now reaching the high forties and low fifties, this morning it was a little chillier when I went to the kitchen.
After heating up some leftover muffins for myself , I found that Luke was also awake.
“Make your own breakfast,” I warned him. “I’ve overexerted myself and would like to take a break this morning.”
“As long as we have cereal or something easy, that’s fine,” Luke said.
I pointed to the leftover muffins on the counter.
Luke’s eyes lit up. “Awesome! Those were so good.”
I sat down at one of the tables in the dining room with my muffins. Luke tentatively joined me a short while later. As we ate in silence, there was no animosity today. It was a tenuous situation, but I appreciated that most of our tension had started to go away. Perhaps tasting my cooking and seeing how passionate I was about the craft had helped Luke see why I was so insistent that a few of my favorite simple dishes get on the menu.
Besides, they only looked complicated. They were rather easy to make. For me, at least. I supposed other chefs might have trouble making sure the cheese was melted perfectly for the chicken a la penne or the cheesy, spicy noodles I had made last night.
Eventually Luke cleared his throat. “Um, I’m not sure if you’re still interested, but if you wanted to grab your coat after breakfast, this morning seems like a great time to show you the woods.” He tapped his fingers on the table before continuing. “There’s still a gorgeous dusting of snow out there, and I think the sun is going to make it look really magical.”
I hadn’t expected Luke to be the kind of person to describe something as ‘magical,’ but the plan sounded amazing, and I said so. We kept eating in comfortable silence.
I cleaned up the kitchen a little more thoroughly after breakfast. After everything I had done last night, there was a little bit of sriracha water on the stove and some other splotches that needed cleaning up. The sooner I cleaned them up, the better the kitchen would be. And it didn’t hurt that Luke trusted me to keep the kitchen in order. At least, I hoped he trusted me to do that.
If he couldn’t trust his chef to keep the kitchen intact, then what could he trust his chef with?
He came into the kitchen around ten thirty. A wide smile painted his face. I couldn’t help but smile back. My heart started to race. I would never admit that he had this power over me, especially not after how much Mark had hurt me, but I couldn’t seem to get away from it. Something about Luke’s presence – when he wasn’t being grumpy or fighting with me – was intoxicating.
“Are you ready?”
“Ready.”
“Then, right this way,” he said as he motioned to the exterior kitchen door that I took to get to my room late at night.
I nodded slowly.
We walked out the door, and the brisk air greeted us. I shivered a little. Thankfully, I had a jacket that I could zip up. He offered me his arm as we walked around the pathway. I noticed that extra care had been taken to make sure that the snow wouldn’t cover the walkway in ice as it melted, which was nice. That hadn’t been necessary last night because it hadn’t gotten that cold, but I supposed Luke wouldn’t have known what to expect when he was shoveling yesterday.
We reached the back sheds where Luke kept extra fishing gear that he rented out. Luke showed me the racks of fishing rods and various collections of tackle and lures. I’d never been back here, but it was fascinating. Everything was so organized, and Luke obviously worked hard to keep everything in excellent condition.
We continued on a path that led into the woods. The trees sparkled with their powdered-sugar dusting of snow. I tilted my head as I listened to the dripping sounds of melting snow.
Luke pointed down the path. “This one leads to the best fishing spot. Follow me.”
He led me down the path, stopping every now and then to point out various tracks that wild animals had left in the snow. The sound of our voices was dampened under the trees, but I could hear a rushing stream somewhere through the trees.
“Do you fish in the river?”
Luke raised his eyebrows. “What you hear is actually a small stream. It empties into the lake at the end of this trail.” He pointed to where there was a fork in the path we were following. He brushed snow off of a signpost that I hadn’t noticed under the trees. “See, if you go to the right, you’ll end up at the creek. It’s smaller than it sounds. We’re going left towards the lake.”
The signpost confirmed his directions, and I wondered if he’d made sure I noticed the sign just so that I wouldn’t worry he was just taking me somewhere random in a forest.
I appreciated the thoughtfulness.
We continued walking for a few more minutes before the trees suddenly stopped. I gasped.
In front of us, the blue sky expanded over a glittering lake. White snowy trees reflected around the perimeter of the shimmering water. Luke held out his hand, and I let him make sure I didn’t slip as we climbed two wooden steps up to a small dock that stretched out into the lake’s deeper waters. The end of the dock widened out and benches marked where people would sit and fish for hours on end.
Looking around the lake, I now noticed that multiple dock-like structures dotted the perimeter of the lake.
