Chapter 35
Penelope
Going back up to their room that evening, they didn’t even try to have sex. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to—or at least that Penelope didn’t want to, she couldn’t speak for Rachel—but they’d gone through so much. Talked and talked and talked.
Penny had worked through so much trauma that day, that she simply didn’t have it in her to have Rachel in her.
Instead, the two of them wandered out onto the balcony. The night air was cool and crisp, and the sky was studded with stars as far as the eye could see.
“It’s beautiful,” whispered Penny.
“Mmhmm,” agreed Rachel, wrapping her arms around Penelope and pulling her in close. They stood like that for some time, until Rachel suddenly said, “How would you like to sleep outside tonight?”
“In a tent?” Penelope’s disgust must have shown on her face because Rachel burst out laughing.
“No no, not in a tent. Out here, on the balcony.”
Penny looked around. The wrought-iron balcony was spacious and would probably have space for a double blow-up bed—but where would they get one?!
“I’ll call down,” said Rachel. “You stay here.” She got Penelope a chair, wrapped a blanket around her and disappeared back into the suite.
Penny let herself sink back in the chair and snuggle into the blanket deeper. It was peaceful out here at night. You’d expect to hear more music or laughter, especially after the pool party the day before, but today it was just quiet.
Heaven.
Thick wooded areas surrounded the main building, and this was the case too, by the balconies. Looking out, all she could see were trees, and then further in the distance, mountains.
There wasn’t much like this back home. London was vibrant and bustling, but even in the quieter corners and beautiful parks, there was nothing quite like this.
Awe-inspiring.
That’s what it was.
It made Penelope realize how small and insignificant she really was in the grand scheme of things, and rather than that scaring her, it comforted her. These mountains had been here for centuries before her, and they’d be here centuries after she was long gone.
They’d outlast them all.
Some noise from inside the suite her turning around to see Rachel and a tall man with a brown beard that was going a little salt and pepper, carrying the mattress out toward the balcony.
She jumped up and started moving things back, making space, when the two of them paused at the door, and placed the mattress back down.
“It’s going to be too big,” said Rachel. “Huh.”
“Well, yeah,” said Penelope. “It’s a king-sized bed! There’s no way it’s going to fit out on this balcony. You might just about get a double mattress out here.”
“You’re right,” said the man. “I think we might just about squeeze in a double. Let me call down and see if Dax can give us a hand with one of those. I’m Derek, by the way, Derek Hawkins. I believe you met my wife, Sadie?”
“At the pool party yesterday, yes. She’s delightful,” said Penelope.
“And she said much the same about the two of you. It’s nice to meet you.”
Penny took the hand he offered her and shook it. “And you. This is very kind of you, but we really can just sleep inside.”
“But when you saw the stars,” Rachel interjected, “your entire face lit up. Are you telling me you don’t want to sleep under them—if I find a proper mattress for you?”
“I’m not saying that ,” said Penelope, grinning.
“Well then,” said Rachel. “Our quest is set!”
“Let me go give Dax a call,” said the owner of Rawhide Ranch.
“He’s very nice,” said Penny, whispering to Rachel when Derek headed inside. “He didn’t have to do this himself.”
“I know,” said Rachel, her voice dropping to mirror Penelope’s. “They’re all so nice here.”
Somehow, between Derek and Dax, they managed to find a double mattress that would fit on the balcony, and Dax had also had the forethought to bring a groundsheet and a ton of extra blankets. How he’d managed to get all of it up to their room in one trip, Penny would never know.
But soon they’d managed to set up a romantic bed for two on the balcony and put up privacy screens as well, so it felt as if it were just Penelope and Rachel on their own beneath the big sky of Montana.
The extra blankets were welcome, and both Rachel and Penelope put on more layers than they would have done if they were sleeping in a normal bed, but it was worth it to lie beneath a blanket of stars and fall asleep.