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“You know I think I curse more since hanging out with you.”
“Yea?” he drawled, pleased.
“That wasn’t a compliment,” I corrected his attitude.
“Depends on who you ask,” he purred.
I rolled my eyes. The rows of trees began to clear into an opening. My jaw dropped as I tried to gather my labored breath. We’d been walking on an incline for some time now. Yoga I was great at but hiking was not my friend. I clutched at my ribs in exhaustion, but my eyes widened at the view.
Rolling mountains and a deep blue lake stretched for miles. I realized with awe that you could see all of Rosefield from here. A small civilization a dollop in size against the lake. “Wow I didn’t realize how big the lake was.”
Pride seemed to fill his expression and I scanned the view with utter astonishment. It had literally taken my breath away. That or the walk up here.
“When I come back every year, I try to frequent this spot as much as possible. I find it peaceful,” Eric contemplated aloud.
I admired his side profile as he scanned the vastness. At that, I wasn’t surprised, he who chose to isolate himself in a cabin enjoyed to go on hikes to a solitude place such as this. And he wasn’t even the slightest bit out of breath.
“You know you’ll be carrying me back, right?” I said as I considered my already tired legs. No doubt Thomas and Lori had already packed up and left. We’d enjoyed a light lunch together before parting ways. The quiches and sandwiches Lori had made were divine.
Eric smiled. “I think I can manage that.” He guided me over to a fallen tree, dusting it off for me and directing me to sit. I laughed, like he could make a fallen log any cleaner, but I appreciated the humorous gesture.
He sat beside me, throwing a casual arm over my shoulder. We stared out into the view, content.
“I can’t remember the last time I did something like this,” I admitted out loud.
“Go for a hike?” he asked.
“Well that, I mean obviously I’ve gone on one or two in my lifetime,” I laughed. A trail hiker, I was not. “No just… sit in a spot with a beautiful view. I’ve traveled over the world so much and seen some incredible things, but it was always only to grab a photo and post on social media. Half the time I was still partying and drunk or hungover from the night before. And despite that, I’ve loved living in cities my entire life. This is… different and beautiful.” Eric was different but beautiful too.
“I appreciate it more now,” Eric confessed. “Not until I was about your age though.” Reminding me again that we were years apart. I’d momentarily forgotten and a small part of me questioned whether the years in age would ever become a problem. Would he find me too immature? Was I not enough for him? I closed those thoughts down. No, I couldn’t think like that. I wanted to barricade my heart knowing that this—whatever this fling was—could never eventuate into anything. And yet it felt so comfortable, I couldn’t imagine anything else at this point.
Eric continued, eyeing me warily as if he’d caught onto my inner thoughts. “I hated this town so much. When I left for Chicago it was like a breath of fresh air and gave me a purpose. I set my roots but still came back every year to help my mother and father, especially because it was my uncle’s and his tradition to go hunting this time of year. After everything that had happened with Katia, I owed them at least that much. At first, I almost begrudged coming back because it reminded of how badly I’d messed up here. The same pitying faces, the gossip that remained consistent and never forgotten.” Ann and Patrice came to mind. “But besides all of that, the people mean well. It’s quiet and it’s a change of pace working in the café and not crammed in the office.”
“What’s your job like?” I asked curiously, swinging one leg at a time.
“Tiring. Stressful. But enough that I can manage. In the first two years I went from only myself, to four employees to two hundred.”
My jaw dropped. “Wait, so when Lori and Thomas say you run a big IT company, they’re not shitting around?”
He chuckled. “Shitting around, huh?”
“Shut up, I told you I swear more now because of you.”
He again seemed pleased by that. My rigid and classy parents might beg to differ. The thought of them spread a painful guilt through me.
“Yes, I have an effective team. When I’m gone for the month my second in charge takes over. He only calls me in cases of an emergency but since he’s been working with me for the last fifteen years he’s able to de-escalate most issues.”
“Wow, you trust him?” That came as a surprise. Considering how much he’d made a point to not trust anyone after Katia.
“I’ve set the correct things in place with lawyers so that no one can fuck me over again.” I smiled. His own faltered. “What are you smiling at?”
“It’s just hard to picture you as some big CEO in Chicago.”
“Opposed to you being a receptionist at some fancy magazine.” I stared at him. “Actually, I can see that very clearly.”
“And ex-receptionist, remember?”
“Ah that’s right, life change,” he said thoughtfully. Another twinge of guilt ran through me. So not only was I young immature brat, I was also jobless with no direction. And part of me thought he’d already caught on to the fact that I didn’t have a dime to my name. I’d just been grateful I’d paid the rental car upfront before my parents cut my credit card.
