Full Tilt (Full Tilt #1)(69)
Dena glanced at me, then back to Holly. “I’m so sorry, Holly. Can I ask why?”
“He’s an *, that’s why,” she said with sudden fire. “He told me he was tired of trying to make something work when it obviously wasn’t. He’s always been kind of…hot and cold with me. But this time it felt…final.” Her eyes filled with tears that she quickly brushed away. “Anyway. I don’t want to spend that long drive back with just him in the truck.”
“No, of course not,” Dena said, putting her arm around her. “You can ride with us. I’ll find out from Oscar what he thinks about this potential storm and we’ll figure it out, okay?”
Holly nodded. “Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. I’m going to go back up. I’m sick of camping.” She looked to me, her voice hardening into petulance. “You got the good brother.”
Dena and I watched her turn and storm back up the trail, then exchanged wide-eyed glances.
“Well, on the one hand,” Dena said as we continued around the path, “it was shitty of Theo to break up with her while she’s stranded, hundreds of miles from home. On the other, I don’t know why he brought her at all. She’s the closest he’s gotten to having a girlfriend, but she never sticks.”
I shrugged. “She’s not the one.”
“Definitely not. He’s isn’t looking for the one. And he shouldn’t.”
“No?”
“Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They are in each other all along,” she recited.
I smiled, a warmth expanding down low in my stomach, along with a sense memory of Jonah sliding into me. “I like that,” I said
“I do too,” Dena said in her gentle voice, the kind of quiet tone that made you feel like she was telling you something only meant for you to hear. “Rumi, again. Never ceases to amaze me how his words still feel so true and potent, hundreds of years after he lived.”
We stopped and watched the guys skip rocks. Even fifty yards away, I could see laughter in Jonah and Oscar’s stance, and glowering sullenness in Theo’s.
“Jonah is one of the best men I’ve ever known,” Dena said. “It’s been hard seeing him shut down the part of him that longs for love and wants to care for someone. When he had that last biopsy… He made a decision not to get involved with anyone again. He used Audrey’s breakup as the cover. But now he’s with you. He un—made the decision. Now he has a chance.”
“A chance of what?”
“Of being happy. He is happy with you.” Dena’s dark eyes met mine intently. “He won’t jump out of planes or visit far-flung places of the earth. He has no bucket list. He only wants to finish his installation. And I worried—we all did—it wasn’t enough. I have no doubt he’ll finish. But I wanted him to share his beautiful art with someone. And now he is.”
She put her hand in mine, gave it a squeeze. “You don’t have to tell me. I’m sure he fought to protect you. To keep you—”
“At a safe distance,” I said.
She sighed, nodded. “He’s pushed so many friends away for the same reason. But he couldn’t keep you away, could he?”
I shook my head, a smile spreading my lips. “No, he couldn’t.”
“Of course not,” Dena said with a laugh, and turned her gaze on Jonah. “You were in each other all along.”
Oscar confirmed a heavy rainstorm was set to drench the Basin. By the look of the dark clouds rolling in, he guessed an hour tops.
“I saw the weather before we left,” Oscar said, “but I hoped it would miss us so I took a chance. Sorry, guys.”
“This sucks,” Kacey said to me. “Turns out I like camping. It’s peaceful here. Away from the city and cars and other people. And I wanted more time here with you.” She looked up at me and traced the line of my jaw, then her eyes flicked toward the others packing up. “Can we stay? I want to see the rain.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist. “Thunderstorms out here are pretty gnarly,” I said. “You sure you want to?”
She nodded. “I’m from San Diego, remember, where a drizzle that lasts more than five minutes is a downpour.” She pressed my body closer to mine, brushed her lips over my mouth. “I want to dance in the real rain.”
I stared, all the blood in my brain draining due south. “Stay it is.”
“Just watch out for mountain lions,” Oscar said. His eyebrows flicked up twice. “You can always tell they’re coming by how loud their roar is.”
She socked his shoulder. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Never.”
Theo strode over, pulled us aside.
“I don’t suppose I can talk you out of this?”
“She wants to feel the rainfall,” I said.
“Real rain,” Kacey said. “I’ve never seen it before. I’m a dork, I know…”
“And I’m a f*cking wreck worried Jonah’s immune system can’t handle cold rain. We all got a job here.”
“I swear, Teddy,” Kacey said. “I want him healthy as much as you do.”
“Jesus, I’m standing right here, guys,” I said.