I dropped down onto my back and stared up at the fluffy white clouds floating by. “Do you ever wish you could just drift off on a cloud, go wherever it goes?”
Autumn settled onto her side, facing me, resting on her elbow. “Not even. You’re the one with wanderlust. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground right here in Blue Ridge Valley.” She studied me for a moment. “So you’re really going?”
I turned my head toward her. “Of course I am. I promised.”
She sighed. “I miss her.”
“God, me, too. Every minute of every hour. I feel like half of me is gone.” Which made sense, I guess, since Natalie was my twin. When she died, she’d taken a part of me with her.
Autumn’s eyes misted. “I don’t want you to go.”
“You know I have to. I promised her I’d go to all the places we’d planned to visit together.” And she’d said one other thing, which I’d never told anyone, including Autumn and Savannah, because even they wouldn’t understand. Natalie had made me a promise, too. She swore she would be right there with me, that I’d feel her in my heart. I needed that, craved feeling her being a part of me again.
My plane ticket to Greece was bought and paid for. I’d be leaving right after Autumn’s wedding. That was as far as I’d planned. Once in Europe, I’d hike my way around some, take buses or trains to wherever I felt drawn to go next. Where I went and when would depend on Natalie. If I felt her with me in some particular place, I’d stay longer. If not, I’d move on.
Before we both started bawling, I decided we needed a change of subject. “So, guess who was such a big jerk last night that the cops had to show up?”
She sat up. “No way.”
“Way.” I told her what had happened. She knew I’d been ready to break up with Chad, even warning me that he wasn’t going away easily.
“What an asshat. You should take out a restraining order on him,” she said when I finished.
“Dylan asked me if I wanted to.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Who’s Dylan?”
Oops. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned his name. Autumn could be relentless in satisfying her curiosity, meaning about a thousand questions were coming my way. “Dylan Conrad. He’s our new police chief.”
“And exactly how did it come to be that you’re familiar enough with him to call him by Dylan? Cool name, by the way.”
“Um, he stopped by Vincennes last night for a few minutes.”
“A few minutes and he’s already Dylan. Give over, Jenn. There’s more to this story.”
It was useless to resist. “He calls me Jenny. He refuses to call me Jenn because Chad does.”
“Wow. I like him already. I’d heard a big-city cop got the job. Is he cute?”
“No.” She looked so crestfallen that I couldn’t help grinning. “Cute doesn’t do him justice. He’s gorgeous.”
She clapped her hands. “I knew it. With that name, he had to be. I’m hungry. While we eat, you can tell me all about him.”
“Tennessee whiskey-colored eyes, huh?” she said when I finished describing him. “I need to meet this man, see if I approve of him for you.”
“Autumn, I’m leaving in two months. I’m not looking for a Chad replacement.”
“Who knows, maybe you’ll fall madly in love and stay home. Then I won’t have to miss you.”
I threw an olive at her. “Not gonna fall in love.”
After we finished our sandwiches, we stretched out on the rock. Autumn yawned, and within a few minutes she’d fallen asleep. I watched the clouds float by and thought about Dylan.
Everyone had a story, and I wondered what his was. Why would a man leave a big city to come to a small mountain town? It didn’t make sense to me, a person who wanted out of this place. Not that I didn’t love my hometown, I did, but there was a whole wide world waiting to be explored. He had to be used to a wide choice of restaurants, shops, and all kinds of entertainment.
He probably wouldn’t last long here before he got bored and moved on. It occurred to me that wasn’t such a bad thing where I was concerned. I could date him, neither of us with any expectations. Just have a good time together, nothing more, and then we’d each go our separate ways. Him back to Chicago or some other big city and me off to see the world.
I laughed. Already I was planning our relationship. To divert my mind from the town’s new hot cop, I got out my camera and took some pictures of Autumn sleeping and then some of the landscape. Photography was my hobby. To prepare for my world tour and the photos I’d take, I’d enrolled in classes, learning about such things as light, depth, and the Rule of Thirds, which was the placement of your subject matter.
