“No problem,” she said, when he asked for a personal day. In fact, she sounded downright excited about it, and he’d suspected she would. Any excuse to get into that kitchen, cooking up an exotic breakfast confection sure to aggravate her father.
Anxious to surprise Marlene before she headed out for the day, he worked fast, making a picnic out of whatever basics he had on hand. Assembling a fruit salad, deviled eggs, bread, cheeses, juice, a thermos of coffee. Tossing it all in his pack.
On his way out the door, he cast a longing look at his Harley. It might’ve been spring, but a woman like Marlene wasn’t ready for the bike. Yet.
She answered the door, and it took his breath away. She was such an elegant lady, always pulled together, her clothes and hair just-so. But this morning, she wore jeans and a no-frills sweater, in a red that made her cheeks glow.
“Tom. ” She was shocked to see him. “What are you doing here? Is something the matter?”
“Yes, something’s the matter. ” He knew what grief was like. Though Marlene still had her aunts, the routine she’d had with her mom would be hardwired into her. She’d be hopping up throughout the day, thinking it time to dress her mother, or feed her, or help with the bathroom, and maybe she’d make it all the way across the room before remembering that Emerald was no longer there to need her help. Marlene’s days would feel long and empty for some time to come, and he’d help her avoid that emptiness if he could. He held out his hand. “You need to come with me. ”
She touched a hand to her cheek. “I need to finish putting on my face. ”
“Your face sure looks on to me. Prettier than this spring morning. ” He was certain he gaped at the sight—he couldn’t peel his eyes from her, and if she didn’t hear the truth in his words, then she was plum deaf. He repeated earnestly, “Come with me, Marlene. ”
“I’ll get my coat. ” She nodded gravely, grabbing her jacket and purse from a rack by the door and joining him on the porch.
She’d jumped into action, and Tom forced himself to keep a straight face. She really was going with him.
Her hands fumbled with her keys, and he gently took them from her hands, locking the door for her. “Where are Ruby and Pearl?”
She widened her eyes, and it made her appear shell-shocked. “Shopping,” she exclaimed. “They took the old pickup all the way to Silver City. There aren’t even any sales right now. ”
“Good for them. ” He opened the car door for her.
“What’s the emergency?” she asked once he’d gotten in. “It’s not the lodge, is it?”
“Nope. ” He pulled out of her driveway, headed for Route 88.
“Where are you taking me?”
“The falls,” he said.
“There’s an emergency at the falls?”
“No, ma’am. ” He pulled his eyes from the road for long enough to savor her wide-eyed confusion. “There’s a picnic at the falls. ”
“A picnic?”
“Our picnic. ” He gestured to the pack thrown onto the backseat. “It’s supposed to hit midfifties today. I thought we’d take a brisk walk out to the falls. We can sit on the rocks—they get nice and warm in the sun. ”
“We’re hiking out to the falls?” She still sounded flummoxed, and it was endearing. “I don’t have the right shoes for that. ”
“I’ve got snowshoes in the back,” he said with a straight face, “but I don’t think it’ll come to that. ”
“Snowshoes?”
He laughed. “Marlene. I saw your shoes. They’ll do just fine. I was out that way last week. The old fire road is clear, and the trail to the falls is pretty chewed up and dried out by now. Shouldn’t give you any trouble. It’s a short walk anyway. ”
The fire road was a longer walk—about two miles—but the day was glorious. Even though there hadn’t been snow in days, thick blankets of it clung to the pine boughs, shrouding them in heavy silence. Once on the trail and in the trees, glimmering patches of ice and shards of sunlight made the land seem frozen in time.
They caught their first glimpse of the falls, and Marlene’s breath caught. “It’s magnificent. ”
She’d whispered, and the reverence and awe in her voice made his chest swell. He’d brought her here.
Her pace slowed as she took it all in. The water was flowing again after the long winter, but patches of ice still clung in shadows along the edges, an iridescent white blue. “It’s like a fairy tale. ”
He took her hand. “Then come on, princess. Time for your feast. ”