Then, impossibly, another movement at the tree line. The male grouse, the same one from my video, identifiable by the distinctive pattern on his neck, strutted into view. His chest inflated as he began his courtship dance in real time, just yards away from hundreds of star-struck festivalgoers.
“It’s him,” I said, clutching Noah’s arm. “Gary has returned!”
Victoria and Marcus stood transfixed alongside everyone else, corporate strategizing momentarily forgotten as nature delivered its own perfect presentation.
The male grouse bounced and strutted, popping soundsemerging from his air sacs in perfect sync with the recording playing on the speakers.
The female watched with what I could only interpret as avian skepticism, making the male work harder, his movements becoming more elaborate, more desperate for her approval.
Jenn looked like she might faint from the significance of the moment. “This confirms it. This is an active lek. Their ancestral mating ground. They’re still using it.”
For several magical minutes, the entire festival stood witness to a courtship ritual millions of years in the making. Then, with the same mysterious impulse that had brought them, the grouse pair retreated back into the forest, leaving behind a stunned silence.
For a long time, nobody breathed, nobody spoke, nobody moved.
Then …
“Bye, Gary!” Noah waved at the spot where they’d vanished into the trees.
“Bye Mary!” I waved too.
A smile twitched on Noah’s lips. “You named her Mary?”
“Yes. Mary. Seemed like a good fit.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
In addition to his smirk, I couldn’t help but notice the twinkle in Noah’s eye.
Chapter Forty
Excited crowd chatter erupted all around us as Noah pulled me aside. “So, did you see all that male grouse had to go through? All that dancing, all that effort, just to get her attention?”
“I did. Seemed like a lot of work.” My heart was suddenly racing. “Almost as much work as rescuing someone from rapids. Or building a fire with moldy logs in a storm-swept cabin. Or carrying them to their Jeep after a moose attack.”
“Don’t forget baking muffins before dawn,” he added, the smile spreading over his face. Or scraping all the mud off a Jeep that hasn’t been washed in … well, ever. Just to impress someone’s mom.”
“You definitely made an impression, that’s for sure.”
“With your mom? Or with you?”
I considered. “Both.”
Noah’s hand found mine, his fingers intertwining with my own. “We should probably finish that conversation we started by the cliff,” he began. “The one where you were going to tell me how you …”
Ifigured actions were stronger than words. If the sage grouse could put himself out there like that, putting on a public display for all the world to see, risking rejection, looking foolish, dancing his heart out for love, the least I could do was show a little public display of affection myself.
I cut Noah off by rising on tiptoe and pressing my lips against his. The kiss was everything a kiss in front of hundreds of people should be, slightly clumsy, unexpectedly soft, and absolutely electric.
But more than that, it was honest. Here I was choosing love in front of half of Colorado and my parents and a very judgmental-looking wolf-dog.
Noah froze for a heartbeat, then his arms wrapped around me, lifting me slightly off the ground as he deepened the kiss.
Sinking into Noah’s embrace, the noise of the festival faded away, replaced by the thundering of my heart and the certainty that had been building since that first disastrous meeting at the airport. This, us, was authentic in a way no curated content could ever be. Every spilled coffee, every airport abandonment, every eye roll, every grumpy growl, every reluctant compliment had been leading us here, to this moment of perfect clarity.
When we finally broke apart, I laughed at the pure joy bubbling in my chest, the kind of laugh that comes from genuine happiness.
“I am falling in love with you, Noah Barrett,” I admitted, the words tumbling out before I could second-guess them. “Which is completely ridiculous and makes no logical sense and will probably end in disaster.”
