Page 43 of Last Summer

Scowling, she gets out of the car and slams the door. “Don’t even try scaring me off. I’m not leaving.”

“I didn’t expect you would.”

The dogs whine at Nathan’s feet. Tails wagging, their eyes lock on her.

Her pulse beats in her throat. She keeps her hand on the door handle, ready to dive back into the car if they charge her again. “Do you have them under control?”

“Yep.”

“Then what’s their problem?” Those dogs need to calm down.

“They’re excited to see you. It’s been a while.”

She presses back against her car. “I’ve met your dogs?”

“You love my dogs. Come inside.” He waves her over. “I have coffee ready.”

Taking a deep breath, she grabs her things from the car and approaches the dogs. She lets them sniff her hand. They look up at her with dopey eyes and toothy smiles. She pats their heads and scratches behind their ears, and that’s it. They’re done with her. She’s old news. Following their noses, they wander off the porch, sniffing a trail on the ground.

“What breed are they?”

“Malamute. The big one over there is Fred and the other guy is Bing.”

“Let me guess, you like big band music.”

He takes offense. “I like the classics, you know that.”

“I don’t remember. Sorry,” she says, and she means it. The next couple of days will be a trial for them both.

Nathan drags his hands over his jaw. “No, I’m sorry. I assume you remember stuff, and...”

“And what?” she prompts when his voice stalls.

He lets his arms fall. “It’s not going to be easy talking about this again.”

“You mean talking about your son?”

He nods. “I didn’t expect to rehash everything. I figured we’d pick up where we left off. Wrap things up. Be patient with me?”

“One condition,” she offers, repeating his words from yesterday. “You’re patient with me. Pretend we just met.”

“That’s two conditions.”

She rolls her eyes. “Okay. Two conditions.”

“I can live with that.”

She shares his smile and he opens the front door, inviting her inside. Fred and Bing follow.

“For the record,” he says when she crosses the threshold, “I do like big band music. And Elvis, and the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Hendrix, Steppenwolf, the Doors. In case you want to make me a playlist or something.”

Ella smiles. He’s funny, though his humor is a tad dry. Letting his dogs loose on her hadn’t been coincidence or an accident.

She takes in Nathan’s house. High above, an open beam ceiling angles upward. The living, dining, and kitchen areas, decorated in natural materials and neutral tones, share one space on the main level. Stairs lead up to an open loft that faces the canyon and next mountainous rise. She can see a desk and computer monitor and feels a little comfort that she’s not completely off the grid. She bets he has Wi-Fi. She’ll have to ask him for the password. Another set of stairs leads down to what Ella assumes are the bedrooms.

The house is well crafted, the design impressive. But the most stunning aspect is the view outside the A-shaped patchwork of windows that bookend a stone fireplace, the flue yawning skyward through the ceiling.

Beyond the windows, a crystal-blue, cloudless sky bathes snow-drenched mountains. White firs and Jeffrey pines freckle the landscape. Being late March, the snowpack has melted in spots, exposing dirt and granite underneath, but for the most part, the mountains are still a winter wonderland.

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