“Well, we were coming to see him anyway,” he murmured, “so …” And then he stepped forward and shook her father’s hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Greg.”
“Likewise,” Greg said, eyeing Diesel up and down. He looked over his daughter. “Well, I can see why you waited this long.”
She looked at him in confusion.
“To find the right man,” he said. “This is obviously the right man.”
She flushed bright red. “Maybe,” she said, “that remains to be seen.”
He laughed, whispered in Eva’s ear, “That man there took care of your brother, put him in rehab, so he gets points in my book.”
She was stunned into silence, looking from her dad to Diesel.
“Come on then,” Greg said. “I’ve got my truck.” With that, everybody piled into his vehicle, and he drove them back to the cabin on the lake. As she stared out the window, all the images brought back memories, and she smiled. “I forgot … how peaceful it is,” she said.
“Take the men down to the lake,” he said, “then you’ll really see some peacefulness.” As they drove, she pointed out landmarks to the two men.
“How often do you come here?” Jerricho asked her.
“Not enough,” she said, as she feasted her eyes on the small town, as they drove through it. They drove for another couple miles to a turnoff, and she said, “I forgot how much I loved it here.”
“She used to come here when her mother was still alive,” her father said, “when she was just a kid. Her roots are here.”
“Interesting,” he said. “Why didn’t you come back and live here?”
“Well, I had to make a living,” she said with a laugh.
“Do you still though?”
“I don’t know. It’s one of the things that I have to reassess, isn’t it?”
“If you want to stay,” her dad said, “you know you’re welcome.”
“And that would be a welcomed respite from the mess that I’ve just come out of,” she said.
“I’m perfectly capable of keeping you safe,” Greg said.
“Well, I don’t know about that in this instance.” As soon as they got to the cabin, she hopped out and said to her dad, “I’ll walk down to the lake.”
“Take Diesel with you. I hear he likes to fish.”
“I do,” Diesel said, “but I’m not the fisherman you are.”
Greg looked over at Jerricho. “Do you fish?”
Jerricho admitted, “I’ve never had a chance to try.” Her father stopped in shock and stared at him. Jerricho gave him a wide grin. “But I’m happy to try now.”
“Damn right you are,” Greg said. “First lesson is, we have to clean a bunch.” He explained further, “I was out this morning, so we’ll have grilled trout for dinner.”
She laughed at that. “And you’ll have it for breakfast, and you’ll have it for dinner again too,” she said. And she headed down toward the lake. She knew Diesel would be behind her, even if she hadn’t necessarily invited him. And, sure enough, as she got to the dock, he came up right behind her.
“Are you trying to get away?” he asked curiously.
“Nope,” she said, “but I had to trust that you were behind me the whole way.”
He smiled and nodded. “And you’re right.” He looked at the lake and smiled. “Now this is beautiful.”
“I know,” she said. “We’ve had this property … I think it’s been in the family for generations.”
“And it’s worth hanging on to,” he said. “It’s lovely.”
“It’s a great place to come and visit,” she said. “I’m not sure I’m necessarily ready to live here though.”
“I get it.” He nodded. “You could also be closer though.”
“Again, that’s all in that possibility of what do I want to do with my life now,” she said. She held his hand and said, “Let’s walk down to the end of the pier. It’s my favorite place.”
And as they walked to the end of the dock and stepped down one more level, so they were on the dock that floated on the water, they made their way to the very end. She loved listening to the birds and to the water lap up against the shore.
“This,” she said, “is stunning.” She stood here, watching as the sun slowly sank on the hillside across from them. “And I didn’t think I’d actually get here.”
He closed his arms around her, held her tight, and said, “I promised.”
“You did at that,” she said, “and thank you. I’m so grateful to be home.”
They stood here in a moment of quiet contemplation. She turned in his arms, looked up at him, and kissed him gently. “And that’s not out of gratitude. Then she stopped and said, “Okay, so that one’s out of gratitude.” Then she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him long and hard. When she finally broke free, she said, “That one wasn’t.” She smiled when she realized his breathing was unsteady and his gaze had gone dark.
He pulled her back into his arms. “Well, that’s a damn good thing,” he said, “because this is a little bit too passionate for gratitude.”
“Hey, whatever works,” she said, chuckling.
He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her long and deep, until she was a wet noodle clinging to him. “That,” she said, “was lovely.”
“Yeah, well, you’re staying at your dad’s place now,” he said. “It’s hardly private time for us.”
“Actually,” she said, “we’ll be staying in another cabin all on our own. Dad has the main cabin, but I always stay in a little cabin off to the side.” She turned and pointed.
He looked at it, smiled, and said, “Now that is an idea I can get behind.” She laughed, and, with a last look at the lake, they headed back up to the main cabin.
Diesel looked around. His heart loved the scene, but the guard in him said it was too open, and yet there were too many places for somebody else to hide. And, as he studied the cabin off to the side, he
