It's all so unusual, but I’m choosing to not think too hard about it because, while it’s different, it also feels right. Xander is new here. He needs friends, and I want to be that friend. Why not? Nothing wrong with that.
We ride for a couple of miles before getting to where I want to be. The scenery and the view here are picturesque. It’s one of my favorite places to go when I want to be alone and with nature. I’ve never run into anybody else here. The sounds of the river pattering by down below and the birds chirping in the distance are calming. Relaxing.
“Holy shit,” Xander says as he maneuvers his way to the ground. “This is gorgeous.”
His ice-blue eyes are wide as he takes in our surroundings. Clear skies surround tall mountain ridges as far as the eye can see, and the sun blankets the view, giving everything an early afternoon glow. It’s fifty-five degrees right now, and while we’re both wearing jackets, the warmth from the sun is enough to keep us comfortable.
“I found this place shortly after I bought my house. Isn’t it great?”
We attach the leads to a nearby branch so the horses can relax and graze without risking them getting away from us and potentially lost. I shoulder off the backpack I’m wearing, unzipping it before pulling out the food I have stored in there.
“What’re you doing?” Xander asks quietly, standing a few feet away from me.
“Packed us a lunch,” I reply. “Can you lay the blanket down that I have draped on the back of Blonc?”
When Xander doesn’t respond or move right away, I glance up and find him watching me with an expression I can’t place. He nods when he notices me looking at him. “Sure.”
Once the blanket is on the ground, I kneel down. Ham and cheddar sandwiches wrapped in tin foil get set down as I grab the bags of Doritos and water bottles I placed in the bag. A Tupperware container filled with baby carrots and cucumbers and containers of strawberry yogurt join the bunch. I hand Xander a plastic spoon as he sits down across from me, and he smiles warmly as he takes it.
“You didn’t have to do all this,” he mutters.
“It’s no big deal.” I shrug. “You’ve made lunch for us before.”
“Yeah, but you bring me breakfast nearly every morning,” he replies with a chuckle.
“You could just say thank you,” I tease back. Tossing him a wink, I hand him a sandwich before grabbing one of my own and unwrapping it.
Rolling his eyes, he bites off a large chunk before saying with a very full mouth, “Thank you, kind gentleman.”
Laughter bubbles in my throat, and I nearly choke on the bread. “Now, that’s more like it.”
He waves his hand in front of him in a way you would when greeting royalty. It makes me snort, almost spitting out the drink I just took.
After I nearly hack up a lung coughing, and I’m sure I’m not going to die, I ask, “How’s Larry? He adjusting to the new house?”
Xander glances over, a look crossing his face I can’t place. “You remembered his name,” he mutters with something like disbelief in his voice.
“How could I forget a name like Larry?” I laugh.
He shrugs. “Touché. He’s doing good. He adapts pretty well, I’ll give him that. He’s not too fond of my aunt, but heenjoys watching the animals frolic outside from the window perch, so long as they don’t come up to the porch.” He laughs as if remembering something funny. “A few days ago, he was cleaning himself in the window when Aggie came up the steps and stuck her snoot right against the window. It scared Larry half to death. I was walking through the living room as it happened, and I’ve never seen him jump so high.”
I join Xander in laughing, the image in my mind hysterical. “It’s nice of your aunt to let you bring him when you came here.”
He nods. “She wasn’t crazy about the idea, honestly, but I think she knew it was the only way I would be able to come.”
We fall into a comfortable silence, eating our sandwiches as Xander looks around the area, taking it all in. “This really is beautiful up here. It’s insane that places like this are real.”
“Washington has some beautiful places, too. I’ve seen them online before. The mountains and the crystal-blue lakes. Gorgeous scenery up there.”
“Yeah, but that’s mostly all in western Washington. Where I’m from is a whole lot flatter and browner.” He guzzles down some water before continuing. “Don’t get me wrong, it has its own type of beauty, but it’s nothing like this. This is…stunning.”
Xander takes another large bite of his sandwich, a glob of mayonnaise smearing on the corner of his mouth. I watch him chew and swallow, then once he’s done, the tip of his pink tongue pokes out to lick up the mess, and my mouth goes dry. Like I’ve just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar, I dart my gaze away before he can catch me eyeing him like a lunatic. My heart thumps, the blood roaring in my ears as I work on steadying my rapid breathing.
What the hell was that about?
I’m so stuck in my head that I completely miss when he says something, only catching the tail end of it. Glancing back overat him, he’s watching me with a weird look on his face. Probably waiting for me to respond to whatever it was that he said.
“What’d you say? Sorry, was zoning out.”
