Page 39 of The Mountain Man's Virgin
“Ok. So, we rolled over a few times down a steep embankment.”
“That’s better. You don’t need to sugar-coat things for me. You’re sitting in front of me and I can see that you’re in one piece – I want the truth.”
My mind raced as I tried to figure out which details to omit, but then I decided to tell her the whole truth. I spilled everything about the amazing days Mick and I spent together after he rescued me: cooking together; embracing in his kitchen; learning how to snowshoe and ride a snowmobile; the way it felt when he kissed me…
When I was finished Alanna had tears in her eyes, “That’s love, Lucy.”
“NO,” I shouted, and she flinched. “Sorry, I mean, no, it was situational. Don’t they say that people tend to feel drawn together in times of trauma?”
“Maybe, but that was also a line in the movie Speed.”
I smiled. For being sick, she hadn’t lost any of her feistiness.
“And this mountain man, Mick, he punched Lawrence?” she asked, smiling.
She seemed to be reveling in that particular detail of the story. “Do you know something about Lawrence that I should know?”
“No. Only that you’ve never talked about Lawrence the way you just talked about the hermit.”
“He’s not a hermit, and he didn’t actually punch Lawrence.”
“Too bad about the punch,” Alanna mused. “So, this Mick spends months alone in the woods. I think that might put him in the hermit category. And look at you, defending him.” She slapped at my arm.
She was right, and I felt the redness rise in my cheeks.
“I could never be with him.”
“What? Why the hell not? You should be with someone who makes you feel excited, someone who puts a sparkle in your eye when you talk about him and his big ass beard.”
I smiled at the thought of Mick’s smile, the way his bright white teeth flashed through his dark beard.
“Well, first of all, I’m engaged. And, what would I do, move to the mountains? What would I do there? And if I was with him, I wouldn’t be able to send you for those experimental treatments.”
Alanna jerked her head back like I had slapped her. “Luce. Are you with Lawrence because of his money?”
“No, no, no,” I repeated, trying to find a way to explain myself without sounding like a gold digger. “I mean, we get along, he’s handsome, he’s smart. Why wouldn’t I want to be with him? Every girl on campus wants to be with him. It’s just incidental that his family has money.”
Alanna grabbed both of my hands. Hard. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice became low and serious as she spoke, “You listen to me and you listen to me good. Life is short. Take it from me. I never liked Lawrence for you. I kept my mouth shut, but I can’t let you make a mistake like this: walking away from real love for something bright and shiny on the surface. And if I thought for a second that you were choosing this path because of me, I would never forgive you. EVER. My life might be over, yours doesn’t have to be.”
“You know that I would do anything to help you get better. You are the most important thing in my life.” I pulled my hands away from hers, my voice quivering with a combination of anger and despair.
“You can’t go through with it – marrying Lawrence. If you do I will never speak to you again,” she threatened. I had never seen her so angry and could tell that she was serious.
“But--” I started, then Alanna interrupted.
“No buts. They’re taking good care of me here. I’m strong. I’m a fighter. If I’m meant to live. I will. But we don’t know what’s going to happen, and you can’t throw your life away with some popped-collar douchebag.”
My shoulders slumped. I was torn, I should never have told her any of this.
“Hey, cheer up, Goosey.”
I smiled. I hadn’t heard my childhood nickname for years.
She continued, “You have something very important to do today.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said and turned to face her. “What’s that?”
Alanna face broke into an enormous grin and gripped the end of her silk scarf. “You idiot. Go break up with your fiancé and chase after the love of your life.”
