Page 32 of First Bride to Fall
She gulped. “Really, I’d have to ask Misty.”
“Do you sleep in it blindfolded?”
She faked a laugh. “Of course not. But I do wear one of those eye-patchy things. To be honest, I’m usually so exhausted from all our hard camping work that by the time we head to bed I barely notice.”
“O-kay.”
He shook his head and kept going, but she could tell he was thinking about everything she’d said. If this was a test, she was probably getting a D minus right about now. Maybe there were some camping magazines around the cabin? If she could find them, she could sneakily read up. Or check on her phone. Only, the battery was low, so it would be going dead soon. She didn’t have her charger with her, either.
“So. What does Charlotte do, all this time while Misty’s putting up the tent?”
Seriously? She was so sure they’d dropped this.
“She builds the campfire.”
“That’s nice. And you?” He peered back at her, and her heart hammered, because it was kind of sounding like he didn’t believe her. At the same time, he wasn’t challenging her directly. So maybe in some strange way he did.
“I’m gathering kindling,” she said, because who was he to argue with that? Nell wiped her sweaty forehead beneath the rim of her hat. That entire interrogation had been excruciating. She probably could have put up and taken down two or three four-walled standalone tents in the time it took to explain all that.
The roaring of the falls grew louder, threatening to drown out their chitchat, and she wished they would. That way, she could stop talking about camping and screwing things up.
Grant rounded another bend, and they continued their descent, the splashing-water sounds growing closer. The waterfall’s pounding was so loud it had to be just beyond that curtain of trees, and Nell couldn’t wait to get there. She’d love to talk aboutanythingbut tents.
They reached a clearing by a gurgling stream, and Nell gasped.
Cascades tumbled off a high ridge, hitting ledge after rocky ledge as they funneled down, down, down into a swirling eddy. A fine mist kicked off the falling water, dusting her face with icy cold sprinkles that felt like tiny pinpricks. Fall foliage fluttered around them, and holly bushes hugged the mountainside, their deep red berries glistening in the blazing sun.
“It’s amazing.”
“Yeah.” He adjusted his hold on her. “It is.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful.” She caught her breath and paused as a burst of colors lit up the western sky, high above the crest of the waterfall.
They arched through the clouds in a stunning display.
Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Indigo. Violet.
Nell’s heart fluttered. “Grant,” she said breathily. “It’s a rainbow.”
He followed her gaze. “Oh wow.”
She hugged his neck, setting her chin on his shoulder. “Thank you for this.”
His voice rumbled warmly. “You’re welcome.”
They stood there in silence, enjoying the spectacular sight as well as the nature sounds. Though she’d never been much of a nature girl before, Nell was starting to get the appeal of it. It was special to appreciate the gifts the earth gives us. It was extra special to appreciate them with Grant.
“I’m glad that I saw this with you,” he said, his voice husky.
“Yeah.” She sighed. “Me too.”
Her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket, and she remembered.
He had the same thought at the same time. “Want to snap a pic?”
“Yeah.”
He turned them around, jostling her on his back, and she chuckled.
