Page 54 of Someone Like You
“Not for me.” Maddie breathed in through her nose. “I like it. No humidity.” She stared straight ahead. “I like that. Now … I can picture her rushing this way, headed for her business classes.” She paused. “I feel connected to her here.”
“Yes. I mean …” There were so many other places where Maddie was bound to feel a stronger connection. “London … well, she wasn’t very studious.” He laughed. “She got by, but her greatest classroom”—he pointed to the mountains—“was out there. Hiking and sailing. Riding Jet Skis. Working in the shop with her mom. Getting coffee with her dad.”
“And being with you.” Maddie’s voice grew soft. She pulled one knee up on the bench and looked at him. “Is this too hard for you, Dawson? Walking where she walked today? Talking about her?”
“I thought it might be.” His eyes met Maddie’s and held. “But I’m having fun.” He shaded his brow. “And the sun’s out.”
“True.” She laughed, and the sound was music in the cool air. “So take me to her favorite places. How about that?”
They each wore tennis shoes and a jacket warm enough for a short hike. “Ever heard of Multnomah Falls?”
“Yes!” Maddie’s eyes lit up. “It’s on my list of places to see.”
“Well.” Dawson stood. He almost reached for her hand to help her up, but he stopped himself. “Multnomah Falls was one of London’s absolute favorite places.”
An hour later they parked at the lower lot and Dawson cut the engine. “Here we are.”
“It’s beautiful.” Maddie peered out the window and looked up at the distant falls. “This is where you came that day?” She didn’t seem in a hurry to get out. “The day …”
“Yes.” Dawson had wondered how he would feel when he came back here. If he came back. But he wasn’t sad now. Maddie brought too much light to the moment for that. He opened his truck door. “Come on.”
Without thinking, Dawson hurried around to Maddie’s door and opened it. “The walk to the falls isn’t long.”
As they made their way, Dawson noticed something. Maddie had the same skip in her step, something Dawson had loved about London from the beginning. But the pretty blonde was shorter than London, just an inch or two.
Maddie zipped her jacket a little higher. “I can see why she loved it here.”
“Rain or shine.” Dawson slid his hands in his jeans pockets. “You hike much in Indiana?”
“We have Lake Monroe.” Their pace was slow and easy. She told him about the dark blue water and the walking path around the shore. “My family has a boat at the club. I love being on the water.”
Dawson made a mental note. If the weather held up, and if Maddie were still in town, Jet Skis might have to be on the schedule for later that week. They walked to the bridge at the base of the falls and stopped. Mist from the water hit their faces, much as it had done that day a blink ago when he was here with London.
For a long time neither of them said anything. Then Maddie pointed to the path on the other side of the bridge. “You and London walked that trail?”
“All the way to the top.” He grinned. “Like I said, she never stopped.”
“This is far enough for me.” She lifted one foot and pointed to her white Adidas tennis shoe. “Unless I had my hiking boots.”
“Really?” He raised one eyebrow. “You have hiking boots? For Lake Monroe?”
“No.” She laughed and gave his shoulder a slight push. “Indiana is flat. But sometimes I go to Los Angeles to visit my aunt and uncle. We hike the Santa Monica Mountains.”
Dawson nodded. Who was this mysterious girl? Part London and so much more her own self. “Sounds amazing.”
“It is.” She turned her back to the falls and leaned against the railing, her eyes on his. “It starts out desert, but by the time you reach the crest you can see the entire Pacific Ocean. I love it.”
Dawson took in every word. He couldn’t get over the fact—Maddie liked hiking, too. The realization was still making its way through Dawson. Her kindness and polite demeanor had at first made him wonder if she was maybe a less interesting version of London. But that wasn’t true at all.
“So … tell me about you.” Maddie looked at him, her expression open. No walls between them. She grinned. “Other than the whole ‘writing a report on zoo animals’ thing.”
“Don’t forget my sketching ability.” He laughed. “I never showed you my giraffe.”
She tipped her head back and laughed, lighter than before. Then she leveled her gaze at him. “I can see why my sister liked you.”
The moment grew quiet. He still faced her, the two of them a breath away. Dawson had almost forgotten London was the reason they were here. As if Maddie were some amazing girl he’d just met and this was how they were spending the afternoon. Dawson turned his attention to the falls. “I’m a developer.”
“Right. You did say that.” Maddie didn’t break eye contact. He could feel her stare.
