Page 46 of Wild Love

Her face screwed up as if it pained her to say it. "Stay. Teach classes."

"You don't want to?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. I don't know why I thought she'd change her mind. No amount of sight-seeing would influence her.

She was huffing slightly as we hiked the incline. "I travel with a theater group. That's what I do."

"You wouldn't consider making a change? Maybe you could be happy doing something else?" Making connections with people.

Scarlett gave me a look. "It's all I've ever known. I can't change because it's what everyone else wants."

"I suppose not. I just wondered if you'd changed your mind on what you want," I said, remembering my question to her a couple of weeks ago. What did she want?

"I'm happy for now. Eventually, I'll get the urge to go, and I'll need to follow my instincts."

"But what if you don't get that urge?" I asked.

Scarlett laughed. "Don't get your hopes up."

I hefted the bag higher on my shoulders. "It's your brother and your parents that want you to stay. Marigold maybe. But not me."

"Oh, right. Just my family and friends. Not the parents that watched my theater class. The townspeople who think I'm hurting my parents by leaving."

"I guess you have to figure out what you want to do."

"I bet you've known since you were in fifth grade," Scarlett said.

"I knew I'd take over the lodge. That it was there for me if I wanted to run the business. But I could have done something else, and my parents would have been fine with that too."

Her gaze swung to me. "You didn't feel like it was your duty as the oldest?"

"Maybe. I don't know. But it's what I wanted, and I'm happy." Lately, I wasn't so sure about that. I'd fallen into a routine thatused to be comforting but had become stale. I wondered if that's why Scarlett traveled so much.

We reached the bottom of the rock face, and I let my bag drop to the ground.

Scarlett looked up at the rock face. "This is it?"

I nodded, getting the equipment out. "Yup."

"It's straight up," she said apprehensively.

I pulled out the harnesses. "There are places to put your hands and feet. I'll show you."

"Are you sure this is safe? Don't I need to take some kind of course or something?" Her voice actually wavered.

I paused. "Scarlett St. Claire, are you scared to climb a rock?"

She placed her hands on her hips. "Absolutely not."

"Could have fooled me," I chided, hoping the challenge would trigger her courage.

She moved closer to me and pointed at the bag. "Rig me up, or whatever you do. I'm ready to make this rock my bitch."

"That's the Scarlett I remember. She was fearless. She didn't let anyone tell her what to do."

Her lips settled into a stubborn line. "I'm still that person."

"Sure." But a part of her had dimmed, and I wondered if it was the same reason she'd left her last production. Had something happened?

I set up the ropes, carbines, and the belay device before securing her in the harness, careful not to think about where I was touching. I finished as quickly as I could and handed her the helmet. "You just worry about climbing, and when you want to come down, it's an easy glide to the ground. You can't fall."

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