Page 29 of Chocolate Cherry Cabin

Coincidence? Bad luck? Foreshadowing? She didn’t want to consider what might have happened if they’d managed to hang their locks together.

Gazing at the gate now, Hannah shook her head. How innocent and full of hope she’d been.

As she continued down to the shore, skirting the rapids, she spotted someone on the path ahead. Hannah called out an apology when Obi went bounding over, and the figure turned. Louis. Her heart gave a little skip, but she wasn’t sure if it was due to anticipation or dread.

“Hey, Hannah.”

“Hey.”

“You saw your little men off okay?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to trap the sudden welling of emotion so she wouldn’t start blubbering like a fool. She gave a short nod.

France was so far away and the three of them had never been so far apart, or for so long.

Wordlessly, Louis came over and rested a hand on her shoulder. The unexpected empathy made her eyes fill with tears. She was still wearing that crappy mascara and she shifted away, desperate to regain control.

“I guess it’ll give you some peace and quiet so you can apply for college, huh?” There was a twinkle of amusement in Louis’s eyes and she retaliated, giving him a playful shove.

“You’re a brat.”

His feet slipped on the loose stones at the edge of the creek and, horrified, she reached out to catch him before he fell into the cold water. Her hands slid around his waist so she was pressed to him as he continued to wobble. His arms clenched tight around her as they struggled for balance.

Then just as suddenly as he’d tipped and slipped, he righted himself with a chuckle, causing her to realize he’d never been in real danger of falling.

“Seriously?” Hannah angled her head up to glare at him as she dropped her arms. He kept his locked around her as Obi danced about, barking happily.

“It’s been some time since a beautiful woman wrapped her arms around me.” Louis was giving her a lovely, comforting hug, his black Dragons jacket warm from the sun. She loved it. She hated it.

She pushed him away, wriggling from his grip.

“What are you doing out here?” She felt as though she’d given up something by letting him hug her for so long. “Adding a lock to the gate with your invisible girlfriend?”

“Something like that.”

Hannah watched him for a moment, his gold-flecked blue eyes studying hers.

“What?” he asked, that crooked smile fading.

She shrugged, suddenly unsure. He’d looked as though he was going to say something else, then changed his mind.

“What?” she echoed. This was becoming awkward fast. And since things with Louis never got awkward, this was new ground, and she didn’t particularly like it.

“Want to walk with me?” he asked, the awkwardness dissolving as quickly as it had appeared. He held out his hand, offering assistance down a particularly slick, muddy part of the trail. It was sheltered by the large oak trees surrounding the swimming hole and creek, and was frequently splashed with water.

“Okay.” She let her gloved hand slide into his, tempted to fake slipping to see if he’d catch her.

How mixed up was her head if his hug seemed like the best part of her day?

They carried on down the slope, Louis dropping her hand where the trail narrowed between some bushes, this route less traveled as they headed away from the pond. Obi-Wan loped ahead of them, his fringed tail making happy circles in the air.

“Louis?” Hannah ventured.

“Yeah?” He looked at her over his shoulder and she was hit by the directness of his gaze. He was so handsome, and so kind when he wanted to be. And he took the crap she blasted at him.

Unable to summon the courage to say what was on her mind, she replied, “Nothing.”

“What?”

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