Chapter 35 Miles
THIRTY-FIVE
Miles
I’ve lost Lucy. I went to Mom and Dad’s car to look over the new manufacturing contract they secured for their wall tents. While I was busy talking numbers with them, Lucy disappeared.
And I can’t believe how panicked I feel now that I can’t find her. She’s not by the bathrooms. She’s not hiding in our tent or in my FJ Cruiser.
Maybe she’s on a walk. I take the trail that leads to the lake, and as I turn a sharp corner, I stop abruptly.
Lucy and Grandpa are walking up the trail together, each holding a fishing pole in one hand and a fish in the other. Grandpa has a string of four trout. Lucy has one small one, and she’s grinning ear to ear when she spots me.
“Look what I caught!” She holds the fish up as though it were a record-breaking salmon. It’s maybe enough meat to put on a cracker.
I grin anyway. “Nice work! Did Grandpa share all his fishing secrets with you?”
“Yes! It’s the first fish I’ve ever caught!”
Grandpa is smiling at her like she’s some fishing prodigy.
“Next time, we’ll go to my secret fishing hole,” Grandpa promises.
“Hey, you’ve never taken me to your secret spot,” I complain as I take the fishing pole from Lucy so she doesn’t have to carry it the rest of the trail.
“That’s because you’d scare the fish away. Lucy’s like a good-luck charm. I didn’t get any bites until she came and sat with me.”
“I couldn’t find you, so I went on a walk and found Felix instead,” Lucy explains.
“Sorry about that. I got caught up talking to Mom and Dad.”
“You can’t hog her all the time, you know,” Grandpa interjects.
I grin at him. “I can try.”
He chuckles at that, and we make our way back up the trail, toward camp.
“Are you ready to head into Sisters to meet your friend?” I say.
“Oh, I hadn’t realized it was that time yet! My goodness. What am I going to do with my fish while we’re gone?” she asks forlornly.
“Don’t you worry about that. I’m an expert fish cleaner,” Grandpa assures her as he takes her precious cargo from her. “I’ll have it all ready for you when you get back.”
“Thank you!” She turns back to me. “I’m going to run use the restroom and wash my hands, and then I’ll be ready.”
She hurries off in the direction of the bathrooms, and I turn back to Grandpa. “What are you up to?”
He shrugs. “I like her. You should keep her.”
He struts off in the direction of the fish cleaning station as if those two short sentences explained everything.
Shaking my head, I start the car and pull around to wait for Lucy at the bathroom.
She jogs out of the building and jumps in the car. “Thanks for doing this.”
We start the thirty-minute drive to town and enjoy the views without conversation.
I love that I can be quiet with Lucy. We can ride in the car in complete silence, and it just feels refreshing rather than awkward. I never knew there’d be someone that I didn’t feel like I had to perform with. But with Lucy, I can just be.
When we reach Sisters, Lucy tells me she’ll just wait by the car for her friend, who she texted with a dropped pin location so she doesn’t want to move. I, on the other hand, have my eye on the Sisters Coffee Company right across the street.
“Want me to grab you something?” I say.
Lucy shakes her head. “I drank so much of the coffee that your dad made this morning. I’d better not, or I’ll be shaking.”
“How about a little snacky?”
She purses her lips as she thinks about it. “If they have some yummy baked good, then yes.”
“You’ve got it.”
I walk across the street, taking advantage of the cars stopped for the crosswalk.
By the time I get my coffee and a bagel for Lucy, I see a car parked directly behind mine in the parking lot. A young woman climbs out and greets Lucy with a smile and a hug.
This time, I have to actually wait at the crosswalk for a minute since no one seems inclined to let me pass. I flat-out refuse to carry the giant orange crossing flag. I’d rather die in a road accident than have to wave a flag to let someone know I’m here.
Because of how many tourists Sisters has, and the amount of foot traffic, someone decided that pedestrians should carry a large orange flag so that they don’t get run over by all the through traffic.
I’ll take my chances.
A semitruck that’s probably not supposed to be on this side road slows to a stop. I lift my coffee cup in a slight wave to him and hurry across.
Lucy’s friend is opening the back door of her car, and a blackish-brown blur leaps from the car and straight toward Lucy. Even though she’s braced as if she’s expecting the attack, the large dog knocks her to the hard asphalt.
“Lucy!” I yell as I run toward her.
She’s laughing and clinging to the dog when I reach her.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
“Yes,” she gasps between laughter. “Just dented my butt.”
“What a shame,” I mutter. I offer her an elbow to grab since my hands are full.
Lucy latches onto my arm, and I pull her to her feet.
Her friend is already back in the car, leaning out the window. “Are you okay, Lucy?”
Lucy laughs. “All good! Have a safe drive!”
“I’m so sorry I can’t stay and catch up! I’ll call you when I’m coming back through and we can hang out!”
“It’s a deal! Thank you so much for bringing Alexander!” Lucy calls back.
Her friend waves and pulls out of the parking lot.
The dog licks my hand and sits down, wagging his tail.
“He wants the snacks.” Lucy laughs, then bends down to wrap her arms around him. “Oh, I missed you, baby.”
“Sooo, this is Alexander.” I stare at the gentle giant that Lucy is still wrapped around.
“Yup. Like Alexander the Great.”
“Of course it is.”
“Isn’t he the sweetest baby you’ve ever seen?” Lucy kisses the top of his head.
Baby does not describe his size in any way. Alexander is a brindle English mastiff that, if I had to guess, I would say weighs at least one hundred sixty pounds. He is not a small dog by any means, but he looks like he smiles all the time.
“Krystal’s on a road trip to meet her family at the Redwoods, so it was perfect timing for her to bring him with her. Thank you for this.”
“You said he was big, but you didn’t say we would need a semi to pull him,” I remark.
Alexander stands up and leans against me.
“It’s his version of a hug,” Lucy explains. “But if you’re not expecting it, you can end up landing on your butt.”
I brace my legs and bend down to pat the dog on the head. “Aww, but you’re a good boy, aren’t you?” I ask as I scratch Alexander’s ears.
Lucy steps around the dog to open the back door of my car. “Come on, buddy.”
We climb in and start the drive back to the campground. Alexander climbs over the back seat to sit on the floorboard behind us, breathing heavily between us.
I have to turn the defrost on high since it’s so foggy inside. “Good grief. It’s like fighting against a sauna—he’s breathing so much.”
“Are you regretting saying yes?”
“Not one bit.” I grin at her as I dodge a long tongue trying to give me kisses.
“You’re the best husband I’ve ever had.”
“Gee, thanks. I’m glad I could beat out the competition,” I answer tartly. “Besides, I already changed my contact name in your phone to that.”
She giggles. “That’ll teach me to leave my phone unattended.”
“Here, take this.” I pass her my coffee cup, which I bought at the Sisters Coffee Company. “Don’t let Alexander have it. He’s coveting it.”
I keep the small bag of food in my hand. I’ll give it to her when Alexander is safely in the back of the car.
The dog’s eyes follow the path of the cup. Lucy waves the cup under her nose and sniffs.
“Hey, I see you coveting it too,” I say.
Her eyes narrow on me briefly before she points at the road, reminding me to pay attention.
“I expect that cup to still have something in it when you pass it back. Or else.”
That “or else” sends a tingle down my spine, and I’m not sure why. It’s fun, thinking of ways to get even, and I don’t think my threat does much because she risks taking a quick, small sip.