Kiss and Don't Tell(46)

“Where are you taking me?”

“This is the back way to the garage. You know, where the cars are.”

“Just making sure.” We walk past my bedroom and she stops to poke her head in the door. “This is where you slumber?”

“That’s a way to put it. But, yes, this is my bedroom.”

“Not as tidy as I expected it to be,” she huffs.

“Uh, it’s tidier than your room. My bed is even made.”

“Ooh, look at you, you little Monica Geller.”

I roll my eyes and take her by the hand, pulling her toward the garage. There’s a key hook next to the door and I grab the key fob to my Tesla Model X. When I open the garage door, Winnie lets out a low “whoa” as she takes in the fleet.

“Um, do you all drive the same model car?”

I chuckle. “I want it to be known, I was the first one to get the Model X. Taters followed after me, then Posey. Hornsby plans on trading in shortly, and Holmes—well, I think he still drives his car from college. He carpooled with Posey.”

“Which one is yours?”

“The black in the middle,” I answer. We make our way to my car and my driver’s side door pops open, but I walk over to her side and press the handle to open her door.

“Fancy,” she says as she climbs in.

“Comfortable?” I ask.

“Very. Thanks.”

I shut her door and round the car to get in. I enter my key code into the touchscreen and buckle up.

“This is some sort of futuristic vehicle. There are no buttons. How do you drive it?”

“Like a normal car.” I open the garage door and pull out. “Everything is just on the touchscreen.”

“Fascinating. Still doesn’t give Minnie a run for her money.”

“This car would not have gotten stuck in the mud.”

“Oh, is that right?” she asks. “Does it have rocket engines I’m unaware of?”

“No, because that would defeat the purpose of an all-electric vehicle.”

“I guess you’re right about that.” She chuckles. “Okay, so if you drop me off, I think I’ll only be an hour or so. Hmm, I don’t have your phone number to contact you when I’m done. Not sure you want to hand that out. Maybe if—”

“First of all, you can have my phone number. Secondly, do you plan on ditching me when we get into town?”

I pull out of the driveway and then start heading down the hill.

“Are you planning on staying?”

“You think I’m going to just let you walk around town by yourself?”

“I thought that’s what was happening.”

I shake my head. “No fucking way. Not because you’re not capable—although, you do seem to have problems with directions—but because I want to show you around.”

“Show me around, as in, my own personal tour guide? Don’t you have anything to do today?”

“Other than fuck around? No, not really. Got my workout in, and I’m free for the rest of the day. If you planned on ditching me, you’re going to have a hard time doing that. I have plans for us.”

“Plans?” she asks, surprised.

“Yeah, plans.”

“Do these plans involve window shopping? Because even though I’m not much of a buyer, I really like looking, and I was hoping to find something for the guys. You know, a peace offering.”

I smile to myself. “I have just the thing you can get them.”





“Wow, just . . . wow.” Winnie stands at the edge of town, looking past the strips of shops and straight to the magnificence of Cascade Mountain, the backdrop for downtown. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this. Sure, Mount Rainier is beautiful, but in Seattle, it’s off in the distance. This is . . . this feels as if you’re at the base of something spectacular.”

“It’s a sight I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of. I always feel awe when I come down here. When we’re staying here, Posey and I like to venture into town often.”

“I can see why. It’s so gorgeous.”

Standing at 9,836 feet, Cascade Mountain is a jagged but spectacular snow-covered peak that’s set against a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. It’s hard not to fall in love with the picturesque views when in town. And it’s hard not to just take a moment to stare in awe.

Winnie smiles up at me. “Thank you for bringing me into town. I really appreciate it.”

“No thanks needed.” I look at my watch. “What do you want to do first?”

“Well, what are your plans?”

“I was thinking we could ride the Banff Gondola. It takes you up to a summit house where you can take in a 360-degree view of the Rockies. There are some shops around here I know you’re going to want to look at, and for lunch, I was thinking we could go to the cidery that’s here in town.”

“Sounds amazing. Where is the gondola?”

“We can take a bus to it, or we could save that for last and drive. Up to you.”

“Save that for last. I’m going to be hungry in an hour, I can feel it, so why don’t we look around at some shops, you help me pick some things out for the boys, and then we head to lunch.”