Page 35 of Capture the Moment
“Emma. Her ... change of heart. Was it really so sudden?”
Before Coop could answer, or maybe before he knew how to answer, the lodge door opened and the woman from the front desk was gently pushing Maisie out the door.
On the drive over to his room near Jackson Lake Lodge, Coop pondered Tim’s parting question. Was Emma’s change of heart so sudden?
His thoughts drifted into memories, of Emma and the dreams they once shared. They had met in college, spent summers working in the parks, and planned their life together—a life “paid in sunsets.” In experiences. Not in a fat 401(k). Not in material wealth.
He knew he sounded bitter. Hewasstill bitter. Coop had thought he found his life partner, but instead, he found himself alone.
So ... was Emma’s change of heart sudden?
Maybe therewerea few things he had overlooked.
Some slight disagreements that might have been more significant than he had thought. His mind wandered back to painful memories with Emma, picking apart moments that now seemed like subtle shifts hinting at the unraveling of their relationship. There’d been some big arguments, like the one about accepting money from her parents for a down payment on a house. He’d resisted, fearing it would tie them down, needlessly complicate their life, while she accused him of avoiding adulthood. Ridiculous! They’d patched things up, only for more cracks to appear later.
Then there was the summer she opted out of their annual park adventure to plan their wedding, or so she’d said. When he returned in August, she dropped the bombshell—there was not going to be a wedding. Emma didn’t want to marry him. Adding salt to the wound, she told him she had been promoted to vice principal, climbing the career ladder without so much as a warning sign. She was now his boss.
It all cast a different light on his recent performance review. She had recommended that he consider shaking things up, maybe teach different classes or think about further education. He had dismissed the idea. Why would he want to change anything when he was content with how things were? It was that long sigh she let out afterward, the one he didn’t think much of at the time, that nagged at him now.
Why hadn’t he connected the dots? Any of them? Because he was a big fat idiot, that’s why.
Tim’s advice echoed in his mind as he parked at the lodge.Forgive Emma. Let go of the past.It was easier said than done, but Coop knew there was truth in it. Maybe it was time to stop dwelling on what could have been and focus on what was.
As Coop gazed out over the darkening land, Emma’s failure to love him the way she had promised, the way he had loved her,weighed heavily on his heart. But in that moment, a realization dawned upon him: he didn’t have to hang on to that hurt anymore. Tim was right. Anger was toxic.
As he stepped out of the car, he caught sight of Kate Cunningham walking up from the overview area behind the lodge, heading to the lodge entrance, camera slung around her neck. The sight of her brought a faint smile to his lips and he felt a flicker of something stir to life within him.
Tim thought he should ask her out. Should he?
His smile faded. What if she had a boyfriend? Or what if she said no?
He could almost hear Tim’s voice saying,What if she said yes?
A slight smile began to return.
Kate’s day ended with a deep exhale as she capped her camera lens, the last slivers of sunlight kissing the Grand Teton peaks. A long day but a satisfying one, filled with moments captured through her lens that she hoped would convey the raw beauty and untamed spirit of the wilderness she had immersed herself in. Her boots crunched on the path back to the lodge. She couldn’t wait to get these waders off and sink into a hot bathtub.
Her room in the lodge felt stuffy after being out in the fresh air all day. Kate set her camera bag down, sat down on the edge of the bed, and slipped out of the waders. She set them in the bathroom, started the water in the tub, then turned it off as she suddenly remembered her phone. She searched for it and found it in the bottom of her camera bag. The device felt almost foreign in her hands after hours of disconnection, a tether she was reluctant to reattach.
Cringing slightly, Kate unlocked her phone, her screen lit up with a barrage of notifications. The thing was on silent, but boy,did it have a lot to say. Her eyes immediately caught a flurry of texts from Maisie, each message adorned with an array of colorful emojis. Kate winced. Why did she think it was a good idea to share her contact information with a thirteen-year-old? After the ranger’s talk, before Kate left the visitor center, Maisie had peppered her with questions about her wildlife photography and Kate offered to show her a few tips sometime this week. But she hadn’t expected Maisie to bombard her with texts.
Ones likeJust had a FABULOUS idea!!!(All caps, lots of exclamation points.)I can be your assistant!!!
Seriously? Kate was here on an assignment, not to run a summer camp.
Scrolling past Maisie’s digital enthusiasm, Kate’s gaze landed on the messages from Oliver. His texts were a mix of concern and mild frustration, wondering about her whereabouts, her safety, if she’d seen the bear and, if so, when was she coming home. The tone of his messages, though laced with care, felt like ... too much. Just too much. Kate sighed, her frustration mounting. Before she could even digest Oliver’s texts, Maisie hit her with another message, this time a meme that made Kate’s head roll back in exasperation.
She flopped backward onto the bed, her phone clutched loosely in her hand. She gazed at the ceiling. Why didn’t anyone think she had serious work to do? No one did! Not the oh-so-charming fellow photographers, who crowned her as “Zoo Girl.” Certainly not Oliver, who thought she should be home, available to him. And now a thirteen-year-old girl had Velcroed herself to her. She could just imagine how the other photographers would feel about having a chatterbox in their midst.
An image of Coop popped into her mind. She’d only known him for a few days, but he seemed to understand why she’d come to the Grand Tetons. And he didn’t patronize her, the way those photographers did. Tonight, when he told her thathe might be able to help her ... well, that was very unexpected. Very touching. It gave her some hope that she might get what she came for. In fact, it might be just the right note to end the day on.
She clicked the switch on her phone back to silent and went in to take a bath.
About an hour before the sun dipped below the horizon, Wade made his way into the national park. Sure, he had topographical maps, but there was something about being right there, feeling the land beneath your feet, taking in the grandeur of the place, breathing the air, that no map could replicate.
Tonight’s drive was a bit of a wildlife parade. Moose sauntered, elk grazed, but alas, no bears made an appearance. He hardly saw any cars. No rangers at all.
The lack of visitors and rangers was a bonus in his book. Early in the season meant fewer crowds, and Wade was never one for crowds.
