My stomach drops at the thought, but I try to ignore it.That’s what I wanted, after all.
Right?
My stomach clenches, and I know that I have to admit to myself that somewhere over the last few days, my feelings have changed.I don’t want him to leave, but it feels like I can’t admit that to him.
“Our third and final date,” I say as Fisher heads my way.“What do you have planned for us today?”
I don’t miss how he flinches and looks worried when I say final date.I swallow hard, forcing the words that want to come out back down.
“Well, I thought that I would help you out here and then take you out to dinner.Then, if you’re up for it, we can go to the bowling alley or something.”
“Bowling, huh?”
“They’re supposed to have glow-in-the-dark bowling at the alley in town.It looked like it might be fun,” he says, and I smile.
“I can’t remember the last time that I went bowling.I think it was with Cameron and some friends when we were fifteen,” I admit, and he grins.
“Me either.I think maybe it was a birthday party when I was in like the sixth grade or something.”
“So, you’re saying that I might have an edge on you then,” I joke, and he laughs again.
“We’ll see.”
“I was just about to make a sandwich for lunch.Are you hungry?”
“Sure.”
He follows me into the house and then into the kitchen.I start to gather the stuff to make our sandwiches, and Fisher takes a seat at the small table in the corner.
“What have you been doing this morning?”I ask him as I make our food.
“Getting organized with some things,” he says vaguely.
“Work stuff?”I probe, and he nods.
“Yeah, what about you?”He asks.
“Work stuff.”
“And how are the wolves this morning?”
“They’re good.I already did the training sessions.I need to fix the fence on the east side of the property in one spot this afternoon.It shouldn’t take me long.Do you want me to just meet you in town in a bit?”I ask him.
“I can help.I like hanging out here with you and the wolves.”
“Alright,” I relent, passing him his sandwich.
We eat and he asks me questions about how the training session went and what we need to do to fix the fence.We both finish our food quickly, and then I’m leading him outside.
“The supplies are in the barn,” I tell him, and he nods, falling into step beside me.
“If you didn’t have this place, what do you think you would be doing?”He asks me as I grab the replacement wire I prepped before lunch and the tools I’ll need.
“I don’t know.I like to think I would have still found my way here or worked with wolves even if I didn’t grow up around them.What about you?Or was hotels and resorts always the dream?”
“No, I thought about being a police officer when I was a kid.Then I think I wanted to be a pirate,” he says, and I grin.
I can picture a young Fisher running around his yard pretending to catch bad guys or sail a ship.It makes a cute image.
