Chapter Eighteen #2
She went back inside to help him bring everything out, and it was only as she set the salad bowl in the middle of the table and he put the oil and vinegar down beside it that she realized how well they worked together as a team.
She couldn’t say how or when it had started.
They made most meals together now. They didn’t even get in each other’s way.
They just seemed to move around each other naturally, each doing whatever needed to be done without discussing it.
She glanced at him. They simply… worked.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Did I forget something?”
“No, Blane. You didn’t forget a thing.”
He met her gaze and held it for a long moment. “What, darlin’?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Well, it’s just that we work well together, don’t we?”
His jaw worked once as he continued to stare at her. “Yeah, darlin’. We do.”
She forced a bright smile. “We should probably get to work on this lunch. I was thinking after we’ve eaten, we could still go out for our walk. It’s not too hot this afternoon, is it?”
His eyebrows drew together as he studied her, and for a moment she willed him to say something. Not about the weather, or the afternoon, or the walk, but about how well they worked together.
The corner of his mouth twitched, but she knew full well he wasn’t fighting a smile this time. Instead, he straightened his shoulders.
“A walk sounds good to me.”
~ ~ ~
As they set out down the lane, Blane wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
The way time was passing so fast could weigh on him if he let it, but he needed to take a page out of Bea’s book.
She was feeling it too, he could tell. But each time that shadow crossed her eyes, she changed the subject and smiled.
He didn’t believe for a second that she didn’t care—he knew she did.
She was just being realistic, and he had to remind himself to do the same.
He looked down at her, letting himself take in for a moment how much he was enjoying this, how much he enjoyed being with her.
She caught him watching her and smiled. “What’s the matter, Mr. Wilder?”
“Not a damn thing. You good?”
She nodded. “I am; I’m wonderful, thank you.”
They walked on in silence for a little while. He dropped his arm from her shoulders and reached for her hand instead. Just because he loved having her close by his side like that didn’t mean she needed to carry the weight of him.
She’d only been walking with him for a few days, but he’d meant what he said when he told her he’d rather walk with her than run by himself.
He could tell she enjoyed it too. She noticed little things that didn’t register with him.
He was constantly scanning the ground and their surroundings for possible threats.
That had been drilled into him so hard in the military that it was second nature.
Bea had no training or reason to notice things the way she did.
She was observant and smart, no doubt about it, but she was curious about life too. She saw the beauty in things.
He smiled as they approached the highest point on their loop and chuckled when she stopped, just as he’d known she would. She did it every time.
The village sat in a green valley, surrounded by hillsides covered in olive groves, with mountains rising beyond them. But there was one break between the mountains where, from this particular spot, they could see a thin blue line of sea in the distance.
Blane had never noticed it until Bea started walking with him. She’d spotted it the very first time, and her excitement at discovering she could see the sea from here had settled somewhere deep and warm inside his chest.
She looked up at him. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Would I do something like that?”
She slapped his arm. “We both know you would. And come on, Blane, why shouldn’t I stop to look? I know it’s just a little blue line to you, but to me it means I live in a place where I can see the sea.”
He put his arm around her shoulders again. “I know. And I love that. I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because I’m happy, okay?”
She reached up to press a kiss to his lips. “That’s more than okay. That makes me happy.”
They stood there for a little while, taking in the view of the thin blue line.
The sea he’d mistakenly called the Mediterranean until she’d corrected him.
South of Crete, it was known as the Libyan Sea.
Same water as far as he was concerned, but Bea had been pretty pleased with herself as she explained the difference.
After a while they walked on without either of them needing to say anything.
“Oh, look.” She pointed across the field and laughed. “That’s Pericles, isn’t it?”
Blane followed her gaze and nodded. “Yeah. Damn goat.”
She laughed happily. “I’m sure you’ll get the better of him next time you run into him.”
He tried to scowl but wasn’t sure he pulled it off. “Next time I might just do that—run into him.”
“Blane!”
“Teasing, darlin’. I’m teasing.”
They didn’t do the full loop. It was cooler this afternoon, but still too warm after lunch for either of them to want to climb the hill, so they cut back through the village toward home.
Blane spotted a dusty white Fiat parked beside one of the small stone houses.
It took him a moment to place it. Katerina.
The woman who’d brought Bea the keys when they first arrived.
He didn’t need to wonder whether Bea recognized it—Katerina came out of the house, and he frowned. He was pretty sure it was the same place where Pericles and his owner lived.
It pleased him to see the genuine smile that spread across Katerina’s face when she spotted Bea.
He’d been conscious lately of how much of Bea’s time he was taking up, and he didn’t want to be the reason she held back from getting more involved in village life.
These people were going to be part of the life she was building here after he was gone.
“Bea! Good to see you. How are you settling in?” Katerina greeted her with a warm hug before nodding to Blane.
“Everything’s wonderful, thank you,” Bea told her. “We’re settling in just fine.”
Blane shoved his hands into his pockets when Bea seemed to realize what she’d said at the same moment Katerina shot him a curious but not unfriendly look.
“You are settling in?” she asked him.
He knew exactly what she meant, but he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud that he’d be gone in just over a week. “I love the place.”
Katerina looked at Bea before turning back to him. She obviously had questions but apparently wasn’t going to ask them now.
“That’s good,” was all she said. Then she brightened. “Oh, Bea, come to the car. I must give you something. I’ve been driving around with it for a few days, meaning to come and see you, but I haven’t yet.”
She opened the back door of the little Fiat and took out a bag, hugging it briefly to her chest before handing it to Bea.
“This is for you. It belongs to the house.”
Bea frowned as she peered inside. “A tablecloth? It’s lovely. Thank you.”
“It was still on the table when they asked me to manage renting the house out. It seemed too nice to leave for guests to ruin, so I put it away. Now I know you’re living there, I think it should come home.”
She pulled out one corner of the white lace cloth. “Despina, the lady who lived there before, made it by hand. You should hang it out on the line for a while before you use it. It may be dusty.”
Bea hugged the bag to her. “Oh, I will. I’ll take great care of it. Thank you, Katerina. This is so lovely. It’s like having part of the history of the house.”
Katerina nodded. “It is.” She checked her watch. “But I must go. I will see you soon.”
“You will. I’ll give you a call. You should come over for dinner.”
When Katerina glanced at him again, the knowledge sat heavy in Blane’s chest that by the time she came to dinner, he’d be gone.
She’d be part of the life Bea was building here; he wouldn’t.