Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
“Where is it exactly that we’re going?” Austin asked from the bedroom, raising his voice so Cal could hear him from the bathroom.
“It’s a surprise.” Cal’s voice was muffled through the door.
“How the hell did you manage to organize a surprise? We’ve been here two days.”
“I know people.”
Austin snorted a laugh.
“Wear something nice,” Cal said, laughter in his voice as he repeated Austin’s orders from before their failed first date.
Austin tsked. “Something nice,” he muttered under his breath. “I didn’t bring anything nice.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing!”
Austin frowned down at the bed, contemplating the clothes he’d strewn on it. He’d brought travel clothes—a single pair of jeans, a few T-shirts, and a hoodie. He hadn’t expected to need to dress nice, so the fanciest things he had were the jeans and the button-down shirt he’d worn to the school the previous day to impress the professors. He hadn’t expected to need it again, so he’d tossed it back into his suitcase without bothering to fold it, and now it was wrinkled to shit.
He searched around for an ironing board and—score!—found one in the hall closet.
After breakfast with Hedda and her parents, he and Cal had spent the day playing tourist in Trondheim. They’d strolled along cobbled streets and the Old Town Bridge, paddled along the Nidelva, visited Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace, and taken a boat tour of the fjord. Austin had more photos than he’d ever taken while sightseeing, and that was all because of Cal.
He had photos of Cal posing against colorful buildings, selfies of them eating Norwegian pastries, more photos of Cal posing in front of monuments and street signs, and many, many candids of Cal.
Cal navigating the city using a map they’d picked up at the tourism center. Cal taking his own photos with his cell phone. Cal counting out Norwegian coins.
Austin’s favorite was a picture he’d taken on the fjord. Cal had stood on the boat, forearms braced against the railing, hair in disarray thanks to the wind, and he’d gazed out into the distance with a slight smile on his lips that spoke of peace.
He’d looked like he hadn’t had a care in the world. No cows to take care of, no disputes with vendors, no Barbara to make demands. Austin didn’t think he’d ever seen Cal look as relaxed as he had in that moment, with the sun shining and the water so, so blue and tree-covered spits of land jutting into the fjord like snakes.
This was good for him. Not Norway specifically, but a vacation. Getting away. Disconnecting and resetting. Cal loved his job, but it was a lot. As foreman, he had the weight of the whole ranch on his shoulders. Here, there was no weight at all and the only decision he had to make was where to go next.
He had nothing to prove here. He just had to be.
What Austin loved best about the trip so far was that they didn’t talk about work. Aside from Cal telling him about a co-op on the lands east of Windsor Ranch that he was going to be organizing, they talked about things like where to go next, and whether Austin’s parents would enjoy Norwegian pastries as much as they did, and if they’d be able to replicate Norwegian dishes at home.
Austin finished ironing his shirt, then shook it out. Jeans and a deep purple shirt was as nice as he was going to get.
The door to the bathroom opened, and Cal stepped out wearing fitted navy slacks and a matching sports coat over a camel-colored shirt. His hair was coiffed, his beard was trimmed, and if he added a cowboy hat, he’d look like he belonged on the cowboy edition of GQ .
Hell, he could grace the cover even without the hat.
Austin nearly swallowed his tongue. If Cal was dressed like this, he’d clearly planned ahead for whatever they were doing tonight.
Sparing a look for his newly ironed shirt, Austin said, “I should go buy something nice.”
“You already look nice,” Cal said, his voice all rumbly and smoky.
“I’m wearing briefs and a T-shirt.”
“Mm-hmm.” Cal came closer and kissed him lightly. “Like I said. Nice.”
“We could just stay here.” Austin tossed his shirt onto the bed, grabbed the lapels of Cal’s coat, and yanked him closer. “Order in and spend the night doing unspeakable things.”
“We can do the second thing later,” Cal murmured against his mouth. “But we have dinner reservations, so get dressed and let’s go.” He patted Austin on the butt and walked out of the room, leaving Austin with a semi and raging hormones.
“Asshole,” Austin yelled after him.
Cal just laughed.
The restaurant Cal had the taxi drop them off at wasn’t a restaurant—it was a boat. A dinner cruise to be more specific, and the people boarding looked like they were about to hit up a gala.
“I am way, way underdressed,” Austin muttered to no one.
“You look great.” Cal settled a palm on his lower back and guided him to the gangplank, where a distinguished older gentleman was checking tickets. He gave Austin’s jeans a passing glance, but his expression didn’t change, so Austin figured he must’ve passed muster.
“Welcome aboard,” the gentleman said, scanning the tickets on Cal’s phones. “Enjoy your dinner.”
Inside, the boat—ship? Whatever. What did Austin know about sea vehicles? He was from a landlocked state—it was all elegance and class with gleaming crystal goblets and enough cutlery at each place setting to cover several courses. The windows curved upward into a glass ceiling, which would make for spectacular views at other times of the year. In July, however, sunset in this part of the world wasn’t until almost midnight. In fact, he and Cal were heading further north tomorrow to experience the midnight sun—a phenomenon that only happened north of the Article Circle in the summer months where the sun was still visible at midnight.
Austin couldn’t wait to photograph it.
For now, though, he was going to enjoy a fancy dinner with Cal.
They started with a creamy fish soup that was the most decadent thing Austin had ever eaten. That was followed by a meatball dish, the name of which Austin couldn’t pronounce. And dessert was heart-shaped waffles with lingonberry jam. A different wine was paired with each course, and after the waffles, servers walked around offering oat cookies.
“Damn.” Blowing out a breath, Austin sat back and rubbed his full stomach. “That was amazing.”
“Yeah?” Cal touched the back of his hand. “I’m glad. I thought this could be a redo of our first date at Ce Soir.”
Austin’s heart stuttered for a beat. “ Cal . I didn’t need a redo. We got one already anyway. Remember?”
“Yeah, I know, but...” Cal grimaced. “I fucked the first one up real good, and I wanted to make it up to you.”
“You didn’t fuck anything up.” Leaning forward, Austin captured Cal’s hand in his. “That failure was on both of us.”
Cal scoffed. “That’s nice of you to say, but we both know that’s a lie. You tried. You wanted to make it nice for the both of us. Make it special. And I couldn’t get out of my own head to meet you halfway.”
“Places like Ce Soir aren’t your thing. I knew that. Should’ve remembered and planned something else.”
“I might not enjoy getting gussied up, but I don’t mind doing it once in a while. Like tonight. The night you planned should’ve been perfect, and I thought for a while that the reason it wasn’t was because I was uncomfortable. But the truth is that I wasn’t in the right mental state. I was still worrying about us and what changing our relationship might mean for the future. I couldn’t stay in the present that night to save my life. So.” Cal waved his free hand around, indicating their current dining experience. “First date, take two. Or maybe three, I don’t know anymore. Plus, how many chances will we get to fancy it up in Norway?”
Austin trapped one of his feet between his under the table. “Take a trip with me next summer. We’ll fancy it up someplace else.”
To his surprise, Cal didn’t automatically reject the idea. “Maybe. I could join you here after your second semester is over and we could travel on the continent. Since you’ll be here anyway.”
Austin choked on his sip of wine. “What are you talking about? I’m not taking the job.”
The look Cal shot him was very Get real, Aus. “Why not?” he asked, perfectly reasonable. As though he was asking why Austin didn’t want gravy on his chicken fried steak instead of why he didn’t want to take a job 4,369 miles away from home.
Austin had checked.
“Because it’s?—”
“Bad timing,” Cal interrupted. “So you’ve said.” He leaned forward, his eyes incredibly soft. “But what’s the real reason?”
Austin opened his mouth to tell Cal that was the real reason, then thought better of it and blew out a breath. Cal would see right through him anyway. Clearly already had. It was nice to be so well known, but also really annoying. “I’d be gone for almost a year.”
“Not that long in the grand scheme of things.”
Austin glanced away, his gaze catching on the couple seated next to them. They were older, Austin’s parents’ age, and they shared an extra helping of heart-shaped waffles. “Within the span of a year,” Austin began quietly, “Lindsay was diagnosed with cancer and died from cancer. You’re right. It’s not that long in the grand scheme of things.” He looked back at Cal. “But a lot can happen in a year. For some people, the grand scheme of things isn’t very long at all.”
Cal rubbed his thumb on the back of Austin’s hand. He stayed silent for several long seconds before his gaze settled on Austin’s with more seriousness than Austin had ever seen on his face—and that was saying something considering he was very often serious. “If you do take this job,” Cal said softly, “I can’t guarantee that nothing will happen to me or your mom or your dad, or to anyone else you care about back home while you’re away. No one can.”
Austin swallowed hard as the truth of that sank in.
“But life is a risk,” Cal continued. “Ranching is risky, and I risk myself every time I go to work. You risk yourself every time you head out to a remote area for a photograph, where nobody could easily get to you if something happened. This—” He waved a hand between them. “—is a risk.”
“I get what you’re saying. There are no guarantees.” Austin looked away, out the window and across the water. “I know that.”
“I know you do.” Cal shifted sideways until Austin met his eyes. “But do you know what is a guarantee? That me and your parents and everyone else will take care of ourselves as best we can. And when you come home?” Cal gently swiped a thumb over Austin’s lower lip, sending all of Austin’s blood rushing south. “I’ll be there waiting for you. So just think about the job. Okay?”
“Why does it feel like you’re trying to send me away?” Austin asked hoarsely.
Cal’s light chuckle rubbed against Austin’s nerves. “I’m not. The prospect of you going so far away for so long leaves me with an ache in my soul that feels like it’s bleeding.”
Austin’s eyes threatened to water, and his throat went thick.
“But I think you’ll regret not taking the job, Aus. Think of the time you spent with Margaret and Abi yesterday, and imagine doing that for an entire school year.”
Man, it would be so fun to do that for a year. Working with Margaret and Abi had been a little like tutoring his workshop students back home, but at a higher level. And he’d enjoyed getting to know the professors. Rolf especially seemed like he genuinely wanted to be Austin’s friend. Austin wouldn’t be alone here, and he had something he could contribute.
Just... why did it have to be so damn far away?
“Okay,” he said and nabbed an oat cookie when one of the servers made her way to their table. “I’ll think about it.”
Call nodded, and though his eyes were sad, he nevertheless looked satisfied as fuck. “Good.”