Dani opens the door, and Jellybean runs inside chasing her tail until she eventually flops back down on her bed.
“You actually wore her out?”
“I promised her I’d throw more later.”
“Ah, well, she does hold a grudge, so you have to keep your promise.”
“Scout’s honor,” Dani swears with the complete wrong fingers up.
Yara laughs. “Okay, well, before you go, I forgot I’m supposed to give this to you when you check in.” She slides a letter across the desk, our names on the front of the envelope.
“Thanks, Yara.”
She salutes us on the way out.
Our rental isn’t far from the main cabin, but it’s too long of a walk with all our bags, so I drive the car up, handing Dani the letter. The moment we get inside the cabin, she tears open the envelope.
Hello, my loves,
Welcome to Ouray!
I’m simply too tired to make another video. I hope you understand.
I admit, there’s no secret house, baby, or family here. There isn’t anything to find or learn about me. This place was mine and George’s dream vacation. We were both used to southern heat, and we wanted to feel snow on our tongues and drink hot chocolate by a fire.
We didn’t get a chance to come here together, but I did come alone. I wanted you to experience the peace this place brought me. Enjoy it, together, for me.
If there’s a place you dream of going, don’t wait. If there’s a place that brings you peace, go there.
Don’t wait for life to pass you by.
Love you deeply,
Tanya
“Wow. I guess this is the end of the road.” Dani sighs.
“I guess so.” I don’t want it to be. I want it to be the start of something real, but that’s up to her.
“I gotta admit, I was skeptical at first. And there were times she ripped the rug out from under us. Most times, really. But I had fun.”
“Me too.” I think the things we learned about Tanya are going to make her gala even more special. I drop Dani’s suitcase on her bed and turn to leave for the second bedroom in the cabin.
Dani grabs my arm. “Micah, wait.”
I stop. Not wanting to face her, afraid that looking her in the eye right now might push her away from where I hope she’s going.
“Are we gonna talk about it?” she continues, dropping my arm.
“Talk about what?” She’s going to have to spell it out for me.
“What happened in Chicago?”
I step toward her, noting the shiver that slides down her spine. “What happened in Chicago that you wanna talk about, Dani?”
She puts her hand on my hips. “You’re so fucking annoying.”
“And you’re so used to not saying what you really want to say.”
