Page 86 of Ember Meadow
He takes a seat, leaning his cane up against the countertop. “You’ve been here for, what, a few months? Have you ever noticed anything out of the ordinary about this place?”The fireplace, sparks of light, visions of fall, stairs moving beneath my feet.“It’s not a coincidence. This place has always been sort of magical. I’ve always thought of it as having its own personality. I may sound like a crazy old man, but I get the feeling you know what I’m talking about.”
I nod, at a loss for words for the second time today. He’s right, it does feel like the cabin has a personality. Not a scary presence, or someone messing with us. Just a little sparkle of something more.
Walter smiles with a far off look in his eyes, as if he’s recounting a memory that’s dear to his heart.
“Back when I first met Isabella, she came to stay in our cabin for the summer. It was her first summer working in the park as a ranger, and I suppose my parents told the ranger service they’d house some of the new rangers that weren’t local on the ranch. We lived in this cabin at the time. My parents always made little comments about the cabin having a mind of its own, but I always figured it was a story to keep me in line as a boy.
“That is, until I saw some of it myself. Isabella didn’t want much to do with me back then. Can’t say I blame her. I was a reckless young cowboy, and she was starting her career at the national park. But all summer, we were thrown together more times than I can count.
“Now, listen,” Walter shakes his head like he’s remembering exactly how it felt. My heart skips a beat thinking about their wonderful love story I’ve heard in bits and pieces. “I can sign off a couple of them to be coincidences, but things started to get more and more unbelievable as time went on. Until both of us didn’t have a choice but to give into it. I’m not saying we wouldn’t have fallen in love without it, but it definitely sped things up between us. We were married a year after we met, haven’t been apart much since.”
“You can try to tell me it’s just fate, but I know fate had some help and I believe it has something to do with this place.” Walter looks out the window, smiling at the blooming marigolds.
My gaze snags on Miles, who like usual, is already looking at me with that same expression he’s had all summer. I used to think it was annoyance, or even anger. But now I know, it’s just Miles.
He winks at me before walking around the table. “I’m not sure I ever told you, Walt, but Katie and I actually met four years ago while I was in Salt Lake City for a cattle auction. Right after the fence broke for the first time.”
“Is that so?” Walter raises his eyebrows.
My stomach does another one of those flips it’s been doing all of the time lately when Miles smiles at me. Maybe it’s because it took so long to get a smile out of him in the first place, or maybe it’s because I know what he’s been through to cause all of those frowns.
Chapter 34
Perfect Days
This time when thebig wooden doors of the Alpine Rose swing open, there’s a firm hand on the small of my back guiding me inside. The now familiar scent of pine and garlic fries puts a smile on my face as Miles leads me inside.
It’s been two weeks of time spent just the two of us on the ranch. Catching up on all of the years we spent apart, riding up to Ember Meadow at sunset, navigating the new bookings at the Old Cabin. Most nights he stays at the guest cabin with me, huddled up by the fireplace as the fall temperatures set in.
One night, we went on a run up the dirt road just after sunset. The sky was red, still on fire, and the air was just chilly enough to give me goosebumps. We ran past fields of golden grass, groves of aspen trees turned yellow and oak trees turned red, cows enjoying the hay harvest of fall, and even a small pumpkin patch that apparently Isabella takes care of all year just to have pumpkins for a few of the kids on the neighboring ranches.
We stopped at the crest of a hill far enough away from the ranch house that it was just a small white spec in the distance, glowing with warm yellow light. The first stars of the night winking at us from above as the twilight settled in around us. I must have started to shiver, because the next thing I knew, Miles’s sherpa lined flannel was around my shoulders. I tried to tell him it’d be too hot for a run, but I suppose he was right about bringing it. I wonder if all along he brought it for me.
Miles and I stood there for a few minutes, with only the sound of our breathing in the air, our tennis shoes caked in dust from the dry dirt road. Until Miles pulled out his phone and clicked play on a song. Patsy Cline’s “Walking After Midnight” played softly through his phone speakers as he pulled me into him, swaying back and forth.
We danced like that for the entire song, staring back at each other. Miles pressing his forehead against mine, and me drowning in those deep brown eyes I can never seem to look away from. It was one of those moments of peace you only feel every once in a while. When you wish you didn’t ever have to leave, no matter how cold the night gets or how long the song is. I would have bottled it up if I could have.
We’ve had more times like that than I ever thought were possible. Perfect days.
“You ready for this?” Miles grumbles under his breath as we make our way to the back of the bar where a few familiar faces stand around a pool table. We’re meeting Parker, Codie, and a few of our other friends here tonight. Only, they don’t know I’m going to be here at all. Or that Miles and I are together.
Selfishly, I wanted to stay in our little bubble as long as we could to make sure that I wouldn’t freak out like usual, even though I knew deep down that I wouldn’t. I’m not perfect yet, but staying here feels right. Now, I’m ready to rip off the band-aid and see my new friends. Codie and I have some catching up to do, for sure.
“I sure am,” I grin up at him, interlacing our fingers behind my back. I have to restrain myself from reaching up and running my hand through Miles’s wavy black hair. This is the first time I’ve seen him without a hat on in a while. The corners of his lips curve upward just enough to form a classic Miles-smile. If you look close enough, you can almost see it.
Parker sees us first, standing up from the stool he’s hunched over in with a grin on his face. Every time I see him, he looks like the happiest man on earth, smiling and excited to see everyone.
“What do we have here? Miss Katie is back in Jackson? I thought you were no longer with us.” Parker booms, catching the attention of everyone else in the area.
“Jesus, Parker, you make it sound like she died,” Miles says, rolling his eyes.
“I’m just surprised is all, didn’t expect to see you tonight, Kate,” Parker winks.
The air is knocked out of my lungs as Codie barrels into me, hugging me so tightly I’m pulled away from Miles. “Oh my god, Katie! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? How long are you here for? Do you need a place to stay? We can have a sleepover! Did Miles tell you we were going to be here?” She takes a breath, looking at me as if I can answer all of her questions at once. “Why didn’t you text me?”
I grin at her, unable to contain my happiness any longer. I’m not used to this whole ‘content’ thing but I love it. “We wanted to surprise you,” I say, looking over to Miles. Like the past few weeks, he’s smiling back at me with a warmth in his eyes that melts my heart.
“Who’s we?” Parker says, looking between Miles and I as if he can’t figure out a complicated math problem.
