Charlie blinked. “You know that term?”
“Sure.” His mouth quirked. “I'm a metalworker. I know artists. And I've seen enough landscape painters set up at the Faire to know what plein air means.”
Of course he did. Because Ben wasn't just a blacksmith who happened to read fantasy novels. He was someone who paid attention. Who noticed things.
Who remembered her coffee order and her favorite burrito and apparently the colored pens on her desk.
“I'd bring you back,” Ben said quietly. “If you w-wanted. To d-draw it, I mean.”
Charlie listened to him hum “The Lady of Shalott” under his breath. Her chest tightened.
“You would?”
“Yeah.” He held her gaze. “Whenever you wanted. I know this area well. I could show you good spots. Places with the right light, the right angles.”
I should say no. I should keep this professional.
But she didn't want to say no.
“I'd like that,” Charlie said.
Ben's smile was slow, genuine, reaching all the way to his eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
The wind pulled at their hair, cold and sharp and carrying the scent of snow from the peaks above. Flo pressed against Charlie's leg, her warmth grounding.
Viv's voice carried over from where she stood with Rowan and Maddie, something about camera permits and weather windows. The professional part of Charlie's brain noted that they'd probably be here another thirty minutes, maybe forty-five, going over logistics.
But right now, standing at the edge of the Seven Sisters with Ben beside her, Charlie let herself just be here. Just be presentin this moment, in this place, with this man who wanted to bring her back so she could draw mountains.
“Thank you,” she said. “For today. For showing us all this.”
“My pleasure,” Ben said. And from the way he looked at her, she believed him.
Charlie escorted Viv,Rowan, and Maddie through the hotel lobby to the elevators, Flo padding quietly at her side. Her shoulders ached from the drive and her brain was still processing the day—Ben explaining geological formations, avalanches, Colorado history. Ben catching her eye as she imagined capturing the landscape and smiling like she was the view he'd come to see.
Hide what you love.
But it was getting harder.
“I'm exhausted,” Viv said, stretching. “Maddie, can you send me those location photos before you crash?”
“Already queued up,” Maddie said, tapping her tablet. “Should hit your inbox momentarily.”
“You're a miracle worker.”
Maddie beamed back at her. “I work for the best.”
The elevator doors opened and everyone got in.
Viv looked at Charlie. “Are we good for the night?”
“Shane's coming to debrief about the investigation.”
“Oh.” That one syllable said volumes.
“Don’t worry. You don’t need to be there for it. I can check in before you go to sleep and let you know what he’s found, or it can wait until tomorrow.”
