Page 54 of Mountain Defender

But. I remember Finn, another member of Blade and Arrow Security, saying how he knew his wife, Hanna, was the one from the first time he met her. Knox admitted the same about Lark, even though they stayed in the friend zone for months.

Kind of like me and Rory.

“Well, we should probably get this one to bed,” Leo says, dragging my attention away from my wandering thoughts. He’s holding a drowsy Lily in one arm and has his other wrapped around Georgia. “If she falls asleep here and we wake her up…”

Georgia makes a littleuh-ohface. “You don’t want to be around for that. She’s usually a sweetheart, but if you wake her up out of a sound sleep, she’s not happy. And doesn’t hesitate to let everyone know about it.”

“No worries,” Enzo says with an easy smile. He glances at Winter, and they exchange a look that makes me wonder if they’re trying for a baby, like so many of our other friends have. “Do you need anything at the cabin?”

“It’s perfect,” Georgia replies. “Thanks so much for letting us stay here. And Knox—” She turns to him. “You did such a wonderful job building them. I can’t get over how cute our cabin is.”

Knox lifts his chin. “Thanks. You ever decide to build a cabin up this way, let me know. I’d be happy to do it at cost.”

“We might take you up on that.” Leo grabs Lily’s travel bag and slings it over his shoulder. “I’ve been talking with Finn about finding a vacation house up this way. Close to hiking and family and?—”

“Beer,” Ronan interjects, chuckling. “There are some great breweries out this way, as you know.”

“Oh, Ronan, that reminds me. I have a case of beer for you,” Rory says. “I had it delivered from this place up in Greensboro Bend. To thank you for watching the dogs.”

Ronan’s eyes light up. “Hill Farmstead? I love their beer.” He pauses. “You didn’t have to get me anything for watching the dogs. But I won’t turn it down, now that you’ve got it.”

Leo nods enthusiastically. “That’s some of the best beer in the Northeast. I’ve tried to get the guys at home to try it, but they have no taste. All they want is corporate?—”

“Yes, Leo.” Georgia pats his arm patiently. “We know. Microbreweries are best.”

Lily makes an irritated noise, and Leo immediately stiffens. “Okay. That’s our cue.” He raises his chin at Enzo. “Thanks for the game night. And Rory.” He looks at her. “It was really nice to meet you.”

Georgia smiles at Rory. “It wasreallynice meeting you. I hope you’ll come down to Sleepy Hollow for a visit sometime.”

Rory’s cheeks turn a faint pink. “I”d like that. Once everything…”

“Of course.” Georgia darts forward to give her a hug. “I understand.”

Fifteen minutes later, as we head back to Rory’s cabin, she says, “I was a little nervous about going. It sounds bad, but I haven’t been to a party—of any size—in at least ten years.”

“It doesn’t sound bad,” I reply, hugging her to my side. “Lots of people don’t like parties.”

Rory tilts her head back to gaze up at the stars. Then she looks back at me, the light from the moon casting a soft glow on her face. “It was nice. I like your team a lot. Winter and Lark are great. Leo’s a little intimidating at first, but once I saw him with Lily, I could tell he’s just a big softie. And Georgia…”

“She’s nice, isn’t she?”

“Yeah.” Rory leans against me as we walk. “She told me about what happened to her. How she got the scar on her face.”

My shoulders tense. I know the story of Georgia’s stalker, and how her career as a model ended after she was intentionally scarred. I should have thought of it earlier, that it might upset Rory?—

“It helped. Hearing her story. It’s not the same, of course, what happened to me, but hearing how she got through it, seeing how confident she is now… I think I’d like to visit Georgia. When it’s safe. If I can find someone to take care of the dogs…”

“I told you I could do it.”

“Gage. Don’t you think I’d want you to come with me?”

Oh. In that case.

“I’m sure we could figure something out. Recruit Ronan and Max again. And I heard Mrs. Adamson—she’s retired, kind of quirky—loves dogs. She might be able to help.”

And now that we’re talking about visits, it reminds me of something I’ve had on my mind. As we come up on my house, I ask, “How would you feel about meeting my mother? She lives down in Florida, but she usually comes here every summer to visit. It wouldn’t be until August, probably, and I know that’s still months away, but would you want to meet her?”

Rory jerks to a stop. Her face lights up. “I’dloveto meet your mom.”

---