“I want to make a stop at Pictured Rocks,” I said. “It’s been ages since I’ve been up there, so I figured now was a good time to fix that.”
“I’ve never been up there,” she told me. “Isn’t that crazy?”
“Considering you’ve lived in Michigan your whole life? Yes. But also, not really. People tend to forget the Upper Peninsula is there.”
That never made sense to me, that this whole piece of land just…didn’t exist to some people. Arguably, it was the most beautiful and all the best parts of Michigan. From Tahquamenon Falls, Kitch-iti-kipi, Copper Harbor, to Black Rocks and our stop at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, there was so much natural wonder to enjoy. Being there, surrounded by so much undeveloped and protected land—it put a lot of things in perspective. Yoopers enjoyed a slower way of life, a lot like what we had here on Old Mission.
“That just wasn’t the place we went for family vacations, you know?” she said, her delicate pointer finger and its bubblegum-pink tip following the same line of push pins I’d just traced.
I shrugged but didn’t answer. Given her family had money, that wasn’t surprising.
Then she whirled on me. “So what’s the plan, exactly?”
“We’ll leave from here on Wednesday and head straight for the UP,” I started, dragging my finger from Old Mission up to Munising. Then I moved south, over Wisconsin to a spot along the eastern Minnesota border. “Then we’ll head to Rochester forthe night. It’s a pit stop to sleep, basically. I want to avoid night driving as much as possible, so this is a safe place to rest for the night until we proceed to South Dakota.” Again, I moved my finger along the route. “We’ll spend one night camping in the Badlands National Park—”
“I’ve always wanted to visit there!” Ella exclaimed, cutting me off. “Those rock formations look so pretty in pictures.”
“I hear the sunsets are spectacular.”
“If we’re camping, I’ll bring stuff for s’mores.”
“Deal. Now, where was I?” I squinted at the map, looking for the road I wanted. “Ah, here. We’ll travel through the Badlands, taking some backroads until we reach Hermosa, South Dakota. It’s about a half hour south of Rapid City, where Mount Rushmore is. There’s a lot in that area we can do, so other than seeing the monument, we can play it by ear.”
I had a few things I wanted to accomplish, personally—hiking, checking out Custer State Park and the local wildlife, a drive through the Black Hills—but I hadn’t planned on Ella, and I wasn’t going to force her into anything she didn’t want to do.
“All of this sounds amazing so far,” she gushed, dropping down into my desk chair and tucking her feet under her crisscross style. “What’s next?”
I grinned. “The part of the trip I’m most looking forward to: Yellowstone.”
Ella perked up. “Think we’ll meet any of the Dutton family?”
I barked out a laugh. This girl continued to surprise me. “You watch that?”
Shetsked at me. “Of course, I watch that. Haven’t you seen Luke Grimes?” She made awhewsound, tipping her head backand fanning herself and though she was suddenly all hot and bothered.
“He’s not really my type,” I said. “But it’s nice to know what yours is. I’m more of a Rip guy myself.”
Ella flushed deeply, and I chuckled. I loved that I could elicit that sort of reaction from her.
Instead of acknowledging my comment, though she did make a show of looking me up and down, she plowed ahead. “Where to after Yellowstone?”
“Originally, I was going to head right to Portland for the wedding,” I said, drawing a line through Montana and across northern Idaho until my finger came to rest over Portland. “But when we had that community garden meeting and Owen mentioned his hometown, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I’d like to see where he grew up, and I’ve never spent any meaningful time in Idaho, so we’ll be taking a few days in Dusk Valley before ending up in Portland.”
“I love that,” she said. “I mean, he’ll be my brother-in-law one day, so I’d like to meet his family and see how he grew up.”
My brows drew together in confusion. “Haven’t you already met them at the distillery opening?”
Ella’s shoulders slumped. “Alfie and I were in a bad place then, so I wasn’t exactly putting my best foot forward.”
My teeth ground together at the mention of that asshat. I vowed then and there to do everything in my power to return Ella’s happiness—to remind her of the girl she’d been the day we met.
“I’m sure they don’t fault you for that,” I said, reaching out and giving her shoulder a squeeze. Touching her was a horribleidea, but I couldn’t help myself. I needed the physical contact for both our sakes, to remind her she’d be okay, that I was here supporting her on that journey, and to remind myself that she was just…here. With me.
She sniffed and said, “I’m sure you’re right.” Then, like a switch flipping, she straightened and said, “So tell me about sleeping arrangements.”
Sleeping arrangements?Oh hell.
I awkwardly cleared my throat and scratched at the back of my neck, eyes darting around the room, everywhere but in her direction.
