Page 37 of Wood Riddance
I heaved myself off the rock and sauntered to her side with my face tipped up as I watched the explosions light up the night sky. She was right. The trees muffled the noise up here. The view was spectacular too—the fireworks lighting up over our tiny town, nestled between majestic mountains and endless forest.
“Do you miss it?” she asked softly, never taking her eyes off the show.
“Yes.” I sighed. “Every day, actually.”
Her response was a silent nod.
“I woke up every day with a purpose. My every action was in service of something bigger than me. It’s been a few years, and I still can’t wrap my mind around civilian life.”
She looked up at me, her eyes full of understanding. Beneath the hard exterior, I suspected she had her own set of regrets and frustrations.
I shuffled closer, hoping I wouldn’t spook her, until we were shoulder to shoulder, looking out at our little world.
“My goals and my priorities were clear. Cut and dry. Here? Everything is confusing.”
She turned my way and took a small step back. Behind her, colors exploded in the dark sky. It was ridiculous to spill my guts to a woman who despised me like she did. But in this moment, I wanted her to know me.
“There are no rules here.” I ran my knuckle along her chin.
She let out a tiny gasp, but she didn’t move. Her eyes were steely, but she wasn’t backing away.
“Every day, I wake up trying to make sense of the world.” Tilting her chin up, I dipped forward. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I was helpless to stop it.
“I get it,” she whispered.
And if I didn’t know better, I’d say she leaned in closer.
Our faces were inches apart, the fireworks forgotten as they exploded around us.
This was it. I was going to kiss her. And she wanted me to. A sense of calm washed over me, taking with it the weight on my shoulders and the knot in my stomach. This was right. And I was going for it.
I leaned in, closing my eyes and soaking in her warmth, relishing the euphoria that flooded my veins as her lips ghosted against mine.
Before I could experience the total bliss that was kissing Adele, though, she pulled away.
I opened my eyes and focused on her stricken face. That’s when it hit me. Something was wrong.
She pulled me by the arm to the trail I’d come up as screams from below registered.
Shit.
My instincts kicked in, and I took off, bounding down the steep rocks toward the green, my adrenaline pumping. Merry. I had to get to Merry.
Adele was right behind me as I sprinted with my heart in my throat.
Nothing could have prepared me for the mayhem I encountered on the green.
Handfuls of people were screaming. Others were running. And a few were even snapping photos as an absolutely enormous moose did battle with the volleyball net.
I stopped short, scanning the crowd for Merry, and Adele barely avoided crashing into my back.
Heaving, I snapped my attention to her, then back to the moose. “What the fuck is that?”
“Aw, shit. It’s Clive.”
Across the grass, the moose, with netting literally wrapped around its antlers, slammed into a picnic table, sending it flying.
“Dad.”
