“Off as in sick? or off as in…off?” he asks.
“It started back in Anchorage before Wy left. Then Mags took me on a hike to distract me from Wy leavin’ and we kind of had a moment—of sorts, anyway.”
I hear a chair creak in my ear, and I know that I’ve got his full attention now. “A moment? What kind of moment?”
I stop by the back of my truck and lean against it, staring at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. “We were talkin’ and we hugged, and then…”
“Did you kiss or somethin’?”
“No,” I sigh. “But it crossed my mind, that’s for sure. I’m sure she was feelin’ it too. It was like there was somethin’ pullin’ us together, I can’t explain it any other way. But ever since, I’ve been noticin’ more and more things.”
“Noticin’her, you mean?”
“Yep.”
The line falls quiet, so much so that I pull the phone away from my ear to check that the call is still connected. “Are you still there, Rhett?”
“Yeah. I am. Sorry,” he replies, not saying anything else straight away. “You said other things have happened?”
“Rod said some things that have me thinkin’ things I haven’t thought about before.”
“About Mags?
“Yep.” I frown, wondering why Rhett’s not saying ‘I told you so’.”
“Let me get this straight. You have an almost moment and since then you’ve been seein’ Mags differently, and thinkin’ things about her–about the two of you together–that you haven’t before? Have I got that right?”
“Pretty much.”
“Red Grayson, stop bein’ an idiot.”
“What?” I splutter.
“You heard me,” he says, his voice laced with humor. “Did you call to check in? Or do you want me to tell you what you already know? Because you’re a smart man. You’ve gotta know that there’s obviously some mystical matchmakin’ goin’ on because from everythin’ you’ve said, the mountain spirit hasdefinitelygot you and Mags in her sights.”
“I know.”
Rhett sighs. “Believe me, there are far worse things in the world than havin’ your best friend chosen as your One.”
“And there’s the problem,” I say quietly.
“Because it’s Mags? She’s fantastic. All of us have been wonderin’ for years if somethin’ was goin’ on between you. Far be it from me to tell younotto follow your heart when—as far as I see it—you’re finally seein’ what the rest of us have been for years.”
“No,” I rush out. “How do I know what to do when I don’t know if she is feelin’ it too.”
“You said she almost kissed you,” he says.
“Yeah, but that was?—”
“The spirit workin’ her magic,” he says matter-of-factly.
“I haven’t had this feelin’ inyears, Rhett. It’s not like I’m an old hand at this. I met my wife young, and after that, there was no one else for me. I didn’t evennoticeother women.”
“And now you are, and it’s OK, Red. Hell, it’sgreat.”
“I just don’t want y’all to think I was lyin’ all those times I told you I wouldn’t hear the Mountain’s Call,” I say. “I didn’t think I’d have another chance at love. Who am I to be blessed with not just one great love, but possibly another?”
“Someone who’s given their all to the mountain, this ranch,andthe rodeo. Someone who’s got the capacity to love again and more importantly, you deserve it.”
