Mariah patted her pockets, then made a face. “You had the key.”
Leo exhaled. “Yeah. I had the key.”
“It’s in the cabin?” she asked.
Leo pursed his lips. “Yeah.”
Aelin turned to Ryan, her eyes glittering. He wet his lips and nodded. She grinned and jumped up from her chair. “Hey, Mariah. Do you happen to have a bobby pin?”
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Aelin stoodon the shore of the lake, watching as Amaya and Bailey skipped rocks. The cabin was cleaned out, their luggage was loaded up in the trunk of Ryan’s car. All they had left to do was take the boat out and meet with her family for lunch.
Aelin glanced down at her phone, her body already beginning to tense as it searched for a network. Besides taking pictures, she’d gone radio silent, and it was going to be a rough re-entry.
"Are you sure you two are up for this?" Mariah called from the dock. "Leo and I can take care of it."
Ryan walked down from the cabin and waved a hand. "We're good."
Aelin nodded and trailed him to the boat. She stepped onboard and grabbed a damp cloth and cleaning solution. Ryan helped Leo dry off the exterior of the boat while she and Mariah wiped down the interior.
She glanced back at Amaya and Bailey having some conversation with Mariah’s girls.They were both so happy.Tan and sun-kissed, their hair bleached out by the sun.
"I don't think they're going to be happy when we tell them it's time to go," she said.
Mariah sighed. “None of us are."
It was true. Being on the water, surrounded by friends and family, had been a slice of heaven. But it was the sight of Amaya and Bailey playing together that was the cherry on top. They'd been inseparable since the first night, and seeing them like that made Aelin's heart swell.
Aelin moved to the bow and spotted Ryan below her on the ramp. "Think we could just live out here?" Images of her going incognito with forged documents flashed through her head.
Ryan nodded but didn’t answer.Exactly.
She wanted one more night lying in his arms. One more night cocooned from the reality of her life. It wasn’t that the reality was bad. The reality wasunknown.
It wasn’t in her control, and maybe nothing ever really was. But it felt good to have the illusion of it. She’d been strapped into the passenger seat of her own life, and this week she’d taken the wheel. Or at least jumped out of the car. She could almost feel the scrapes and bruises taking shape because of it.
They finished drying off the boat, then gathered their things. Aelin called the girls over, and they reluctantly trudged back to the dock.
"Do we have to go?" Bailey’s lower lip jutted out.
Aelin smiled and ruffled her hair. "Yep. Sorry, babe.”
The girls got into the backseat making sure they had everything they needed for the drive, and Aelin leaned on the door as her parents walked to their car. “Pocketstone?”
Her dad nodded. “See you over there.”
Main Street in Bigfork was hopping, and the line outside of Pocketstone Café wrapped down the block. Thankfully her dad had called ahead for their large group.
The hostess led them through the country diner to a large table in the middle of the restaurant. Her parents were alreadythere, and Mariah and Leo trickled in with their kids. Her heart ached as she looked around the table.
This was what she’d given up. When she’d married Clark and moved to Canada, she’d left this. It felt like such a tragic waste until she glanced at Bailey picking up her menu. No price was too high for that.
Ryan’s hand found hers under the table, and she clung to it as they placed their orders.
When the server left, their conversation turned to the past week. Mariah and Leo recounted their hike up to Avalanche Lake, while Dave and Molly talked about their morning paddleboarding sessions.
