Page 31 of Fake Date with the Mountain Man

“Did you know that Oreos are vegan?” she asks by way of greeting.

“Yes,” I laugh, “but I’m not vegan, and neither are you.”

I give her a quick hug before entering her house.

“I know, but I’m pregnant and it was an excuse to eat Oreos.”

Abby holds the package out to me like a gift as she shows me around the house. It’s a cozy cottage on the inside, just masculine enough to make me think that Hunter had some sayin the décor. There are no mounted elk heads, but there’s plenty of plaid. Black and white nature photography adorns the walls. It’s Pottery Barn meets Bass Pro Shop. She leads me on a short tour that ends with the extra bedroom at the end of the hall.

“This is the nursery,” she says as we walk into the room.

“It’s…empty.”

“Yeah, well it’s still early, but I really want to get started on it. I need something to obsess over that isn’t the nonprofit; otherwise, I’ll drive myself insane.”

“Got it. So, have you picked anything out yet?” I ask.

“Well, I want to do a woodland theme, but I can basically see the taxidermied animal carcasses floating through Hunter’s mind when I say those words. I think he’s envisioning Freddy Krueger’s lakeside murder shack.” She rolls her eyes and extracts another Oreo from the package.

“Is that not what you had in mind?” I laugh.

“I was thinking more like adorable pastel animals with big, fluffy tails.”

“I don’t know…I hear kids really love Freddy Krueger.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, but in the meantime, can you please take a look at these mural designs? Hunter’s sister, Harlie, offered to paint one for us and I can’t decide which one I like best,” Abby says.

She directs me back to the living room and pulls up a few designs. After laughing hysterically over a Freddy Krueger/forest animal mash-up that we doodled on the back of a takeout menu, we settle on one of the designs that Hunter’s sister provided.

Then comes Abby’s serious face.

“So…tell me about the wedding,” she prods.

“It was fine,” I chirp back drawing a circle in the condensation on my glass.

“Seriously? That’s all you’re going to give me? ‘It was fine’?”

I sigh. I knew I wasn’t getting off that easy, but it was worth a shot. It’s not that I don’t want to tell Abby about it. I can tell she’s the type that knows how to keep a secret. It’s just that I still can’t find the words. Ryan and I have such a strange dynamic. It’s impossible to explain it when I don’t even understand it yet.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. And I guess we’re friends now…sort of,” I say.

“You and Ryan arefriends?”

“Yeah, Ryan is my friend.” I repeat my mantra for the week. “Why? Is that weird?”

“Sort of. It just sounds so neutral. I’ve seen you and Ryan together and neutral isn’t the word I’d use to describe it. I thought things might change between you guys over the weekend, but I didn’t think it would be like that.”

She’s dancing around something.

“What did you think would change?” I ask cautiously.

“I sort of thought you two would…you know…bang it out.”

My eyes widen and I nearly choke on the Oreo I just popped into my mouth.

“Well, it did start to go that way,” I admit after a minute. “But I sort of chickened out.”

“Why?”

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