Nate looked at her questioningly. “For what?”
“You just shared that story about your brother, and here I am, going on and on about my sister.”
He smiled. “You didn’t go on and on, Gracie. And I asked, so there’s nothing to be sorry for.” Nate glanced up over her shoulder, only then realizing exactly where they were on the lake. His smile grew. “Speaking of Scott. There’s something I want to show you.”
Nate grabbed the oars again and began to paddle them toward a small sandbank not far from where they were. After rowing them onto shore as far as he could, he stepped into the water and helped Gracie out of the canoe.
“Oh! The water is colder than I thought it would be,” she said as they walked carefully onto the bank.
“I’m just glad we went ahead and decided to buy the water shoes. Definitely don’t want to go barefoot where we’re going.”
That same skepticism flashed behind her beautiful eyes. “Where exactly is that?”
Purposely ignoring the question, Nate grabbed her hand and grinned. “I’ll show you. Come on. It’s this way.”
Five minutes and a couple of stubbed toes later, Nate guided Gracie through the clearing and up to the top of the cliff he’d spotted from the lake.
“Watch your step.”
Gracie cautiously leaned over a bit and looked down. “Um, Nate? You wanna tell me what we’re doing up here?”
Keeping hold of her hand for more his peace of mind than hers, he said, “My brother and I used to come up here.”
Her head swung around, and her eyes widened a bit just before they filled with recognition. “The picture.”
“What picture?”
“On your fireplace. The one with the two boys. That was you and Scott, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah. I’d almost forgotten about that being there.”
“And it was taken here? At this lake?”
“Yeah,” Nate smiled, remembering that summer fondly. “I was eight, and he was eighteen. My parents used to bring us here every summer. We always rented one of the really big cabins that slept like twenty people. It was us and Clint’s family.” For clarification, he added, “Clint and my dad grew up together.”
“Sounds nice.”
“It was. Most of the time, anyway.”
“Only most?”
“I was the youngest, so Clint’s kids had a tendency to pick on me.”
“I bet Scott didn’t let that go on for long.”
Nate smiled. “No. In fact, the last time I ever remember it happening was in this very spot. It was the same year the picture was taken.”
“Really? What happened?”
“We all came up here. Clint’s boys dared Scott and I to jump. It’s only a twenty-five foot drop, so Scott was all for it.”
“But, you were scared.”
Nate laughed at his younger self. “I wasn’t just scared. I was terrified. My knees were shaking, and I remember the roof of my mouth tingling. My palms became sweaty, and I was on the verge of tears just thinking about jumping.”
“I can’t imagine you being scared of anything.”
He glanced up at her, his heart swelling a bit when he realized she was being serious. “Well,” he played it off. “Keep in mind, I was only eight. My fearless bravery didn’t come until a few years later.”
