Davis stopped and stared. “You talk to more people in a single day, while trying to become a recluse, than I do in a month.”
“I’ve given up on becoming a recluse,” I said. “I’m too people oriented, and I like doing things. Anything. All the things. Which means I’m a miserable failure on this particular quest.”
He slowed to turn curious eyes on me. “What about the list?”
I shrugged. “I do a lot of those things every day, and the real point of it all was for me to be happy again. I’m making solid progress on that.”
Davis nodded. “Good.”
“Do you know if Michael has a girlfriend?” I asked, still wondering if he’d been joking earlier, and if he was my admirer.
Davis looked over his shoulder in my direction, pushing the leafy branch of a sapling out of our way. “That’s a question for my aunt for sure.”
I bit my lip, unwilling to ask Grace about Michael. Daisy would get the clarification for me if I couldn’t bring myself to simply ask him.Are you my longtime online friend?
Are you sending me love letters?
In person, he was kind and pleasant, but the chemistry was different. Not like in the banter on IBOOM or in the letters from Forever Yours.
The narrow trail opened ahead, and Davis hung back to let me pass.
My limbs were warm from the hike, my cheeks cool from a hearty fall breeze. I sucked in a surprised breath at the view as I emerged from the trees.
“Welcome to Mount Norwottuck,” Davis said reverently. “The highest peak in the Holyoke Range.”
I stepped onto an outcropping of rocks near the edge, awestruck by the endless beauty. Tingles spilled down my arms and my spine. “Amazing.”
“You can see the entire Pioneer Valley from here,” he explained.
A blanket of treetops in every shade from green to scarlet stretched across the expanse below us, reaching all the way to the horizon. A perfect cloudless blue sky arched above. It was like looking at the ocean. The vast world beyond, the encompassing peace, and sounds of nature made me feel small, but not insignificant.
I stood, unmoving for long moments while Davis and Violet rustled behind me.
“You like it?” he asked, finally joining me on the rocks.
I nodded, unable to pull my eyes away from the view. “I never take the time to do things like this. I’ve missed so much.”
“You’re here now.” The warmth of Davis’s words reached into my chest and turned me to face him. He passed me a bottle of water and an apple, then cracked open a bottle of his own.
I returned my eyes to the scenic view, transfixed by the first radiant shades of sunset and thinking of a similar moment I’d spent on a park bench with Cecily not so long ago. I thought of how many things had changed in a short period of time and how many others never would. Like the fact I wanted moments like this in bulk. A lifetime subscription of memories with my life partner and our dog. Climbing mountains, having picnics, and whatever else the future had in store.
I’d been kidding myself to think that leaving Willow Bend for any amount of time would erase this from me. I wanted a big, epic love, and a loud, full life. But for the first time in years, I was ready to wait for it, however long that took. Because finding the right person would be worth it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Davis’s headlights flashed across Hearthstone as dusk settled over the day. A bouquet of wrapped flowers awaited outside the door. More beautiful, fragrant honeysuckle and daisies.
I climbed out and swept the blooms into my arms, thankful the darn bunny hadn’t beaten me to them. “Do I still get a tour of your work in progress?”
Davis pulled a hard hat from behind his seat and met me at the door with Violet.
We kicked off our shoes in the foyer, then moved into the kitchen. I set a bowl of water out for Violet and arranged my flowers in a new vase beside the others.
“From your sister again?” he asked.
“Yep. I used to say I didn’t see the point in giving or receiving flowers, because they’re expensive and they just die. But now I get it. I look forward to this. I love them.” I leaned forward to give each bouquet a sniff. “Ahhh.”
He shook his head, then grabbed the kettle for tea.
