“Good point. Okay, yeah. I’ll let Scott know, and you can tell your brother.”
“Great. Thanks.” I smack him in the stomach.
“I don’t think he wants to kill me anymore, so I feel like we’re making progress there. But I still think you should handle that one. I’ll hold your hand when you call him though.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Cupcake.”
We stop walking at the Stop sign to cross the street, and he turns to me.
“I can’t wait to tell everyone you’re my wife.” He cups my face in his hands, and the kiss he lays on me makes me forget we’re standing in a busy intersection in the middle of campus.
I pull back from the kiss. “You know, I can’t wait either. I see the way girls look at you, and they need to know you’re off-limits now.”
“Oh, baby. I like that all too much. We need to get home—fast. Turns me on to hear you get all territorial.” He grabs my hand as people around us start to cross. “I’ll put it in my bio that I’m married too.”
“Okay, then I will too.”
He sighs, smiling and looking at me like a man … in love. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
“I think I might because I feel the same.”
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
SILAS
I wasn’t totallysure that hiking in the winter would be a good idea, but I think it’s turning out to be a great fucking day.
Chelsea let us borrow her car for the weekend, and we left early this morning. We grabbed some food on the way here and then got checked into our cabin—which I have to say is pretty amazing—and dropped off our stuff.
It’s a little chilly out, but hiking up some of these trails is keeping the blood flowing, and I can hardly feel it now. Brooke is a little more bundled than I am though. She’s got on a cute little beanie and one of those puffer coats. I can’t wait to take it all off her later.
“You know, I bet there is some kind of connection to your family. I mean, these are the Arbuckle Mountains. And your family is close enough that it could be a possibility.”
“I’m not really sure. I mean, aren’t these, like, one of the most ancient ranges in the United States?”
“I’m glad you asked.” She smiles. “Yes, it is. Obviously, it’s changed over time with land shifts and climate change. It’s still changing today. Our weather patterns have shifted, creatingdrier air in Oklahoma, causing more drought conditions, making this area in particular more susceptible to flash floods. It’s kinda sad when you think about it. Can you imagine what this must have looked like millions of years ago?” She looks up and around.
“I bet it was incredible. I think it still is. I can’t wait to see the waterfalls. I didn’t know there were caves behind them. We’ll have to come back when it warms up and go explore them.”
“Yeah, that would be fun. It’s too cold and icy right now. The water might even be frozen. We went once when we were fairly young—maybe before Beck went into middle school. I loved it, but Beck didn’t. He felt claustrophobic. The stalactites and stalagmites are really cool, from what I remember.”
“I definitely want to see that. That’s really cool. Do you want to go see the castle or just keep following the trails to the falls?”
There are castle remains here on the park grounds.
“Let’s go to the falls first. I think we’re almost there anyway.” She pulls out the map we got when we came into the park. “Yeah, looks like we’re maybe twenty minutes away.”
“Lead the way.”
She already is, and I’m enjoying watching the view from behind.
“So, Silas, tell me more about your life growing up.” She looks over her shoulder and smiles.
“Well, you know I’m the youngest in the family. I love my parents, but I won’t lie and say I’m not a mama’s boy because I love my mama something fierce. My siblings and I are close, but not like you and Beck are.”
