You Had Me At Christmas: A Holiday Anthology(75)

“Today.”

“That didn’t sound very confident.”

“You’re talking to me as if I’m a child,” she snapped. “You’re only a couple years older than I am.”

He risked a quick glance at her. Her lips were pursed, and her face was set in the same scowl he remembered from breakfast at the diner. God, that had only been a little over twenty-four hours ago. Had he really only known Selina for such a short amount of time? If he let his mind go blank, he could still remember what she felt like in his arms, as if she had been there before and should be there again. He also remembered that her expression at the diner hadn’t been a bad mood so much as it had been physical and emotional exhaustion. One uncomfortable night’s sleep in the back of a car wasn’t going to change that. He had more empathy than this; he just had to use it.

He took a deep breath and put his hand on her knee. “What would Babe tell you to do?”

That won him another look from her, this time with her brows lifted up to her hairline. “Have you called your parents to tell them where you are and that you picked up a stranger to take with you on your little vacation?”

He could feel the hammer hit the nail with that one, though he said, “Those situations are completely different.”

“How?”

“Well . . .” His mind raced over all the differences, put them in order of importance, numbered them, and weighed which ones he should explain first. Then he stopped himself from lecturing. She was right. Not that their situations were different, but that his parents would want to know that he wasn’t driving alone. And they would be very interested to know he’d picked up a girl.

“You’re right. I should call my parents. A bargain, then. When we stop for dinner, I’ll call my parents and you call yours. Deal?”

She sighed. “Can I think about it?”

“Sure. We’ve got a lot of time before dinner.”

She nodded, either to his comment or in agreement about calling, he wasn’t sure. And he certainly wasn’t going to ask right now. Instead, he took a look at the road signs and tried to guesstimate where they would be in a few more hours of driving.

“So about sights for today,” he started. “I think there’s a birds of prey habitat somewhere along this highway and, if my memory serves me, something called Craters of the Moon.”

When she looked over at him this time, she gave him a slight smile that looked more like relief at his change of topic than anything else. “I don’t know what there is to see at Craters of the Moon in winter, so how about the bird thing?”

“Bird thing it is,” he said with a nod.

He snuck another glance at her. She still looked tired, but there was a resignation on her face that made him think she was glad he had maneuvered her in the right direction when it came to her mom. One squeeze of her knee and a corresponding pat of her hand on his, and he turned his attention back to the drive.

*

The cold Idaho wind was blowing extra hard as they climbed out of the car at the overlook. Selina pulled her coat tighter around her body, grabbing on to the collar and hiking it up to cover as much of her ears as possible.

“Cold?” Marc asked. He was swinging his arms as though he didn’t have a care in the world, but Selina suspected it was partly because he was cold. His face was bright with excitement, though, and his enthusiasm was contagious.

She smiled in response. “A little, but the walk will do me some good.”

“Come on, then,” he said, clapping his hands together. “I’ve been driving around to see stuff, and so far almost everything has been closed. I’m just happy this is open.”

Gravel crunched under her boots as she walked behind him on the trail to the canyon edge. The snowstorm had left only a dusting of snow on the high plateau of the canyon. With the sun bouncing off the white surfaces, all the colors around her seemed more vibrant. The blue of the sky was brighter, the black and gray of the rocks were deeper, and even the tan of the dead grass looked more alive.

Or maybe, Selina thought as she sidled up to Marc who had stopped to read a sign, what she was seeing was a reflection of her own happiness. Her entire body felt lighter. Her soul felt lighter. Light enough that she could take a running start, open up her arms, leap off the canyon, and fly.

Most of her joy was related to the fact that she finally had gotten out of Athol and was pursuing her own dreams, but some of it was the man next to her. Though being prodded in the car about calling her mom had been annoying, she was glad he’d done it. She’d needed the push, but she’d also needed him to back off. He seemed to know instinctively when to do one and when to do the other.

Selina admired the view around them. The landscape seemed to go on forever. Birds cried and chirped in the air, and the wind picked up Marc’s floppy hair, lifting parts of it until it was almost standing straight up.

He smiled, taking one step closer to her until their shoulders were nearly touching. “Have you ever been here before?”

“No.” Though, right now, she couldn’t think of any place she’d rather be.

“Cool, huh?” He held out a hand. “Come on. Let’s finish walking to the overlook.”

She didn’t take his hand, even though she wanted to. And to her relief, he didn’t seem to be offended or disappointed.