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Sofia stared at her for a long—very long—moment. Then she sighed. “I have. It’s actually pretty fun, and I think you’ll like it. Let’s call the twins and tell them your clothing and shoe size and your plan for tonight. They’ll pull together everything you need so you won’t have to linger in the shop.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Asher looked over his shoulder and checked on Ellie less than ten feet behind him. Despite nothaving snowshoed before, she’d picked it up quickly. He’d been prepared to adjust his pace for her to more of a meander through the woods rather than a walk. But he hadn’t needed to. Hehadshortened his stride by a hair, but they still moved through the forest at a comfortable, steady stroll. Which was fine with him. He hadn’t intended to race through the woods anyway. Tonight’s activity wasn’t about getting a workout in. Tonight’s activity was about having a few hours to appreciate the beauty of nature and the rarity of a clear night, freshly fallen snow, and a full moon.
He paused at a clearing, and she came to a stop beside him. Tall pines cast moon shadows on the pristine field of snow. A small breeze kicked up a fine cloud of ice, sending it into the air. It caught the light and danced like glitter against the dark sky.
“It’s stunning,” Ellie whispered.
“These are some of my favorite times of year here.”
He glanced over to see her smiling. “I can see why. It’s almost magical,” she said.
A six-pronged buck emerged from the forest forty feet to their left. Without a sound, Asher touched Ellie’s hand then nodded in the animal’s direction. They remained still as the buck took a few more steps into the field. Then he paused, raising his head as something caught his attention. A heartbeat later, he snorted, turned, and bounded back into the woods.
“I take that back,” Ellie said. “It’s notalmostmagical. Itismagical.”
He smiled in agreement, then gestured to their right. “We’ll walk along the forest line to the far end of the field. There’s a stream we can follow east for a half mile. It leads to a small waterfall. I haven’t been up there this month, but it wasn’t frozen in January. I think you’ll like it.”
She nodded and even in the moonlight, he could see excitement shining in her eyes. When she’d invited herself on this outing, he wasn’t sure who’d been more surprised—him or her. And when he agreed, he’d done so more out of politeness than for any other reason. Of course, the idea of spending time with Ellie appealed to him—as he was sure it would have to most everyone in America. But he hadn’t known what to expect.
He grinned to himself as they edged along the forest line. Her genuine enthusiasm and curiosity surprised him. She seemed to truly find pleasure in the experience. And her appreciation of the small things—like rabbit tracks in the snow and the call of a horned owl—mirrored his own. Something he really hadn’t expected.
They hiked in silence, the crunch of their snowshoes the only sound in the quiet night. When they reached the creek, Asher paused, but Ellie moved a few feet upstream before stopping. The sound of the babbling brook filled the silence created by their stop.
Ellie gazed down at the water as it gently flowed downstream, ebbing around snow-covered rocks and bumping against the low banks. She smiled at something he couldn’t see, kicking off a dull ache in his chest. Not a heart attack. He knew that. Even though the ache spread across his body and made it hard to breathe.
In fact, he knew exactly what it was. Yearning.
He wanted to know everything there was to know about Ellie Cavanaugh. He wanted to know about her childhood and her favorite book. And what private thought had her smiling moments ago.
She looked up and smiled again. At him, this time. And the air whooshed from his lungs. He’d always thought the expression about taking someone’s breath away to be both cliché and hyperbolic. It might be cliché, but he’d been wrong about the other.
“I did a movie several years ago, early in my career, and it was filmed near Banff. I never thought I’d see anything quite as lovely. But this steals the show.”
Struggling to catch his breath without appearing a fool, he lifted one side of his mouth up in a half smile. “I’m glad you like it,” he managed to say.
“I don’t want to ruin this moment, this night, but when I see something like this”—she gestured around them—“when I experience something like this, it makes me feel better about whatever is going on with me.”
He cocked his head but didn’t speak. Ten thirty at night, beside a stream, and in freezing temperatures was an odd time to talk about why she’d come to Mystery Lake. But if she wanted to talk, he’d listen.
She gave him a rueful smile then turned her attention back to the creek. “I can’t really explain it,” she started. “But being out here puts things—my life—into perspective. Will an outing into nature magically fix what’s happening to me? I think we both know that’s not going to happen. But it reminds me that there’s beauty in the world, and magic, and so many things that are unknown and out of my control.” She paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Does that sound weird?” she asked, looking up at him.
He shook his head. “It’s unknown and out of your control and yet still so beautiful. It stillworks,” he said. “The snow still falls, the seasons still happen, and the water still flows. Like nature, there are aspects of your life that you can’t control. But that doesn’t mean that they’re broken. Or that you might not find beauty in them.”
A huff of air fogged in front of her as she exhaled. “You understand.”
He inclined his head. “In some ways, I suppose I do. It’s not the same, of course, but I experience a lot of things I can’t control in the hospital. People who decided to drink too much and drive. Good men and women struck down by sudden illness. Kids dying of diseases no one should suffer. All those things change lives—and not usually for the better. And it’s not always easy to compartmentalize and forget it at the end of the day. Coming out here helps. In any season. It’s timeless and has a rhythm to it that’s soothing.”
“My prior therapist used to work with first responders and ED docs. She said that people usually forget that those who care for us aren’t invincible. That they don’t have an endless well of emotional strength.” She paused and tipped her head, studying him. Then she added, “She said we forget that they need care, too.”
He shifted, uncomfortable with the way she studied him. As if she’d just discovered somethingnewabout him. Some new facet. And he couldn’t tell from her expression what she thought of it.
“I know you probably don’t want to talk about this much more, but there’s a psychologist who works with us at Mystery Lake General that I think you’d like,” he said. Then seeing her shiver as a breeze blew through the trees, he gestured with his head in the direction he wanted to go. When she nodded in response to his silent question, he stepped around her and took the lead as they made their way to the waterfall.
“It might not be worth it if you aren’t staying long. But if you’re here for more than a few weeks, I’d recommend talking to her. She’s unorthodox but very good,” he said.
“Unorthodox?”
