Page 129 of Seale the Deal

She smiles back, and I wish I could freeze time. I want to forget all the questions that don’t have answers and keep feeling like the future is too far away to touch us.

And it’s in that moment that I realize I’m falling in love with her. It makes sense. The moments you end up wanting to keep forever are often never huge ones. They’re the simple things like these silly conversations hand in hand that somehow become everything. If I could choose, I’d hold on to this moment a little longer. I’d stretch it out until the rest of the world disappeared and all that existed was the trail beneath our feet and us.

She turns her attention back to the trail ahead of us, and I do my best not to blurt out how I feel. Partly because I need time to sit with it myself. Mostly because I don’t want her decision to be influenced by me. If she stays, it has to be because staying is right for her. Because this life, this town, and everything that comes with it is what she truly wants. I want her to choose her future freely, not because she feels she needs to placate my feelings.

The trail continues to climb, winding through spruce and pine as conversation between the four of us ebbs and flows. The further we hike, the more the tension of everything ahead fades into the background. It’s replaced with laughter and the simple pleasure of spending time together.

Eventually, trees begin to thin, and golden autumn sunlight spills across the trail.

I squeeze Wrenley’s hand. Almost there.

We step out of the tree line and into the opening.

Mountains rise in every direction, their peaks dusted with early snow. Below us, the valley stretches toward the horizon in a patchwork of gold and green, a river cutting through like silver ribbon. The sky feels impossibly large and completely endless. Even though I’ve done this hike countless times, this view always takes my breath away.

I turn toward Wrenley. What do you think—

The words die in my throat.

She’s staring out across the valley, completely motionless. The breeze catches some of her loose hair and sends it dancing across her cheek, but she doesn’t seem to notice. Her eyes are wide, her lips slightly parted, and for a moment, she looks so completely overwhelmed by the beauty of it all that I don’t even think she heard me speak.

And standing here, watching wonder wash across her face, I realize the view isn’t the most beautiful thing in front of me. I’m starting to think I’ll do anything to keep her.

Chapter 26

Wrenley

DAYS LEFT ON VISA: 43

I can’t believe what I’m looking at. It’s a view that exists on computer wallpaper and tourism websites.

Am I breathing?

I touch my chest to make sure.

Mountains have always been part of my life. So normal that I’ve never really stopped to think about them. They’ve simply always been there, rising behind Vancouver’s skyline like old friends. But as I look out at the valley spread beneath us, an unsettling thought hits. The future I’m working toward will never have this again. Wherever I go, I likely won’t have a skyline anywhere as beautiful as this. While mountains may exist, it won’t be as easy to see them. I don’t like that thought.

But at the same time, I realize that isn’t the only option. In fact, it’s not even the option that feels even fifty percent right.

I experienced a life doing something different than costume design, and I was good at it. There were even moments I genuinely enjoyed it. But since coming here, I’m realizing I’m sparking the passion in me that got me started in sewing in the first place, and it has nothing to do with runways or television credits.

I love watching someone put on a garment and stand a little taller because it finally fits the way they want it to. I love teaching someone a skill they can carry forward the rest of their life. I love taking something damaged and giving it new life. In Alpine Harbor, I can help people who don’t have easy access to tailors or specialty shops. I could teach sewing classes. I could help people alter and repair the clothes they already own instead of replacing them. I could build something meaningful.

The thought settles over me with surprising clarity.

Maybe I’ve spent so long trying to become the person I thought I was supposed to be that I never noticed here in the little end-of-the-road town, I’m becoming the person I wanted to be.

Wrenley? Ruger’s gentle voice makes me turn to him.

I turn to face Ruger, and as I do, another realization settles into place.

This whole time, I’ve been treating Alaska and Ruger as though they are the same choice tangled together so tightly there was no separating them. But they’re not. If Ruger disappeared tomorrow, I’d still love this town and see the potential in it. I realize that if I choose to stay, I won’t be sacrificing my future for a man.

What do you think? he asks.

I know he’s talking about the view, and now isn’t the time to unload everything spinning through my head. The realization is too new and fragile. It feels like something I should sit with for a little while longer before I hand it to someone else.

Besides, when it’s time to tell him, I’d rather do it alone. As it stands, Remi is darting around the overlook, taking pictures of scenery and candid photos of all of us. Brandt sits against a rock with a book open, completely unbothered by the fact that we’re standing in front of one of the most beautiful views on Earth. It’s many things, but it isn’t exactly the setting for a life-changing conversation.