Ellie heard water as they walked through the trees. They had been hiking for almost an hour, but their progress had been slowed because of the snow. She stopped to listen.
Colton urged her on. "Come on. We're almost there."
Her jaw dropped as they cleared the trees and a huge waterfall was on full display in front of them. Half of it was frozen, around the sides, but the water still cascaded down in a sort of icy flume. "This is... beautiful doesn't even cover it."
He grinned at her. "I thought you might like it. It's pretty picturesque."
She snapped a few shots with her camera before she handed it to him. "Get a few of me. I want this moment documented."
She posed in several different positions as he took photo after photo. When he finished, she turned the camera and quite awkwardly took their selfie. "This is much easier to do with a cell phone."
He laughed, and it was a sound that Ellie wanted to always hear. She suspected that his life hadn't been all sunshine and roses, but he hadn't opened up to her yet. Considering they had slept together first, she figured that the normal stuff like swapping life stories would have been easy. Instead, personal conversation was avoided.
She stood and watched the waterfall as she marveled in the sheer strength of Mother Nature. If she had half the strength, she would be able to face anyone about anything. Instead, she was hiding away in the wilderness like a chicken, even though it seemed like the bad guy had found them anyhow.
Bad guy. What is this, an old Western movie?She shook her head.Stalker. That's the right term. Dangerous stalker.She wanted to tell Colton everything, and it seemed like it was going to happen sooner than later, but she didn't want to ruin this moment. The here and now with the waterfall. Besides, the stalker had only let the horses out, not burned down the cabin.
The thought hit her hard. He had blown up her car. Why not burn down the cabin?
She took a few more photos to distract herself. She trusted Colton, and she felt safe with him. Which was another situation altogether. As she stared at the awesome power of the waterfall, another idea suddenly struck her. She set her camera a safe distance away and then gathered some stones.
“What are you doing?” Colton called out to her.
“Hold on a minute.” She found a flat spot near the falls, and she stacked the rocks. When she had them just right, she sat still and meditated for just a moment.
Colton watched her when she stood. “I wanted to start setting my zen right. You know, communing with nature. Zen. Meditation.”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
She giggled. “Trust me on this one.”
"Come on," Colton called out and interrupted her reverie. "You're going to freeze to death, and even if you don't feel it at the moment, there's a lot of moisture in the air that will freeze on the way back."
When they got close to the cabin, Ellie almost ran into Colton’s back when he stopped suddenly. He held her back. “Turn around.”
“Why?”
“Trust me on this one. Just turn around and don’t look.”
As soon as he walked away, she peeked. He stopped at a brown lump in the snow. Curiosity drove her closer, and she gasped as she recognized it as a dead rabbit.
“Aww, the poor little thing. Did a wolf get it?”
He nudged it with his foot. “Maybe.” His face was grim. “Come on. Let’s get inside.”
Colton poured them coffee once they returned to the cabin while she went and changed into warmer, dryer clothes. She hung her things near the fireplace so they could dry. "This living in the snow thing takes some getting used to."
"About the time you figure it out, we'll be headed back."
"And I shall never take hot water for granted again."
Colton settled back on the couch. "So, tell me. Who is Ellie Dampier? And I don't mean the actress."
She knew that it was time to come clean. If it turned out that her stalker had found them, then Colton needed to be informed and prepared. "Well, I live by myself. Up until a week ago, I was employed. Then I turned down one of my co-stars who felt like we were perfect for each other, and his ego was bruised so he went to the media and told them that I sexually harassed him, which is partially why I got fired. I was laying low at home, because you know how the media is. Whatever is shiniest at the moment. I figured it would blow over, and then I could get on with my life."
"And it didn't happen that way?"
She hesitated and then sighed. "I should have told you this before, but I was afraid that you wouldn't help me."
