Chapter 26
“So what do you remember?”
Molly had given a detailed chapter and verse account of Bear showing up, the rescue team, her hike into Dark Hollow, finding Bart, and her medical research.
He was weak but talking slowly and softly. “I got sick. I don’t know what it was, but it hit me hard. I laid down to sleep it off, and the next thing I remember is being attacked by a naked, soapy woman.”
“We’ll probably never know. But my research indicates it was a tick bite that led to Lyme Disease.
It hit you so hard that your body completely shut down to focus on fighting the infection.
I hope the IV and antibiotic worked. You woke up about eighteen hours after the antibiotic went into effect. How are you feeling now?”
“Weak.”
“You probably haven’t had food or water for at least two days, maybe three.”
“Something smells good.”
“I made a pot of tuna noodles. After the oatmeal settles in, we’ll try some. Not a good idea for you to eat too much right away. We’ll ease into it.”
“Any chance of another kiss or do we have to ease into that, too?”
Molly wiped a tear from her eye, put both hands on his face, leaned down, and gave her man the longest, sweetest, most tender kiss she had.
When it was over, she was wiping tears off both cheeks.
In the afternoon, Molly helped him walk to the outhouse. With his arm around her shoulder, they made the trip slowly.
“This is how we carried our wounded buddies out of harm’s way.”
“This is how I’m carrying my wounded buddy out of harm’s way. Any chance I get a Silver Star?”
They had never spoken about Bart’s military awards. Molly had read about them online.
“You can have them all.”
“Where are they now?”
“Mom wanted them. She has them posted in the family room with clippings from family sports and rodeo events.”
Molly let him do his business in the outhouse and resumed helping him when he came out.
“Blitz brought us a pheasant for dinner.”
“She’s very thoughtful that way.”
“I was going to dress it this afternoon. How do you like your pheasant?”
“On a spit over the fire pit.”
“Yum.”
They brought the outdoor chair from the fire pit inside and set it next to Bart’s comfortable chair. They decided to save the pheasant and eat tuna noodles for dinner in front of the stove. Bart wasn’t moving much, but he settled into his chair for an hour, and ate some noodles.
“I haven’t said thank you. But I really mean it. Thank you for dropping everything you had and risking that trip in. It could have had a very unhappy ending.”
“Please don’t remind me. I was happy to do it. You should be thanking Bear.”
A silence set in. The stove fire was warm, and their feet were cozy on the bear skin rug.
“I was making a bed for us.”
“I saw it. Thank you. Maybe we can set your bedding on the floor and sleep together tonight.”
“I’d like that.”
“You made me a chair for the fire pit and the kitchen table, too.”
“Yes, after the bed, I was going to make a matching chair for right here.”
“Thank you. I like it that you’re making your place welcoming for me.”
“How long can you stay?”
“How long would you like for me to stay?”
He didn’t hesitate or think. He just said it, “Forever.”
Molly felt that like a bolt of lightning. She was too nervous to look at him. She hadn’t pushed him on this, hoping he’d say something first. Now this.
“By my count, we’ve spent about a dozen days together, and you’re ready for forever?”
“Yup.”
Molly didn’t know what to say next. But she wanted to have this conversation. It was the conversation she’d wanted since his second visit. And she’d wanted him to raise the subject.
“Seems pretty early to know something like that.”
“Know everything I need to know.” Bart, the man of few words.
“Forever’s a long time. Does it make sense to ease into it?”
“Whatever works for you.”
“Where do you want to live?”
“Dark Hollow.”
And that hit her like a second bolt of lightning. He wanted her forever, but he wanted her here, in the wilderness.
“I’ve got a business to run.”
“When my family visited and you were spending all your time with us, how’d your business do?”
Molly chuckled. He was pretty clever.
“Best week the resort has ever had.”
“While you were partying with my family?”
“Yes, while I was partying with your family.”
“Seems like the place runs itself with a little guidance now and then from the boss.”
Molly hated to agree that that was true, and she wasn’t going to admit it. They were in a negotiation, and she’d need all the leverage she could muster.
“The business needs more than occasional guidance. It needs an owner CEO with daily oversight.”
“Do you work in the diner, or the store, or the stables?”
“No, but I oversee all that.”
“How do you spend your days?”
“Looking at the financials, sending emails to my staff, and being available.”
“You could do that from here.”
Molly’s head was spinning. He was trying to talk her into living in Dark Hollow and managing her business from there.
“And how am I going to do that?”
“Carrier pigeons.”
Molly burst into laughter, leaning forward, her sides shaking. She hadn’t expected that, and it struck her as really funny.
Finally, “Carrier pigeons?” She was still chuckling at the absurd idea.
“Sure. No problem. From the top of the mountain behind the cabin, you can see Summer Lake. It’s fewer than forty miles as the bird flies. Carrier pigeons fly up to fifty miles an hour. For thousands of years, they’ve been transporting messages longer distances than that.”
That stopped Molly. First, it was a ridiculous idea.
But, second, Bart had been thinking about it.
He’d been thinking about how they could live together.
He was talking about forever. But he wasn’t giving up on Dark Hollow.
He was looking for a way to make Dark Hollow work.
Well, she wasn’t going to live at Dark Hollow for the rest of her days.
But, still, the conversation was interesting. She was viewing it as a negotiation.
“So you know quite a bit about carrier pigeons?”
“I don’t, but one of my army buddies has a business raising, training, and selling them.
I know you establish the homing locations and the birds’ navigational instincts guide them back and forth.
They’ve been trained for centuries to do this.
They were heavily used in World Wars I and II, and during one war in the 1800s, 400 pigeons carried over 40,000 messages. ”
“My, my. You’re quite the expert.”
“My buddy told me that, but it’s impressive.”
“And these pigeons are going to carry a notebook full of financials and emails to me?”
“They’re going to carry a microchip with all that on it.
We’ll set up a solar-powered office for you here.
You can bring up all the spread sheets and data that you want to review, and you can send a microchip back with your responses.
Remember when we were both working at your kitchen table, me on my books, you on your business?
We can do all that here, just like that. ”
Molly turned to look at him. He had a mischievous smile on his face. He’d been thinking about this. Had he been proposing to suggest the idea when she made her trip to Dark Hollow?
“You’ve thought about this. Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
She had to say it. “I’m not going to live at Dark Hollow full time for the rest of my days.”
There. She said it. A little abruptly, but it needed to be said.
He wasn’t fazed. “Maybe we could live both places.”
Molly felt the third bolt of lightning. It was a negotiation. He was starting with full time at Dark Hollow but was signaling a willingness to live both places.
“Ginger is a big factor for me. She’s like a best friend.”
“I’ve thought about Ginger. Seems like Becky could ride and take care of her when you’re not at Summer’s End. She loves Ginger in the same way you do. When you’re at Summer’s End, you could ride her every day.”
Molly was stunned. He was serious. He’d thought about everything, including Ginger.
“And you could bring Ginger up here in the summer. The meadow would be nice for riding and grazing. We’d make a different route in so she wouldn’t have to come along the ridge. It’d be a little work, but it could be done. We could bring two horses and ride together.”
Molly was speechless. He’d thought of everything. But living in Dark Hollow? It was too much to process.
“Are you proposing that we negotiate a living arrangement where we divide our time between Summer’s End and Dark Hollow?”
“Yes.”
They moved the mat and bedding from Bart’s bed to the floor, and Molly set her mat next to it.
She unzipped her sleeping bag and converted it to a blanket.
Bart curled on his mat and Molly spooned in behind him.
She fell asleep happy, her arms around the man who’d just proposed they live together forever.
She got up first, built a fire, and put oatmeal on to simmer.
She took a quick cold shower and dressed.
The cold water was a jolt, but it actually felt good after about ten seconds.
She liked it. She was alive and awake and in the middle of a negotiation with a man she wanted in her future.
She remembered Bart’s description of his negotiation with Kitty over Bear.
In his family, everyone negotiated with everyone over everything. It was the culture he’d grown up with.