The Mighty Quinns: Eli (19 page)

Buck grinned and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “I hope you're right. Nothing worse than a guy mooning after some girl he'll never have. I've been there and done that.”

“I'll be fine,” Eli reassured him.

“Have you heard from her?”

Eli shook his head. “No, but then, I don't get regular mail delivery up here, the battery on my satellite phone is dead and I don't have an internet connection—but I will once we get power.”

“You know, Trudie would be pitching a fit. She was against electricity for the cabin. Thought it complicated life. Once you let it in, you didn't want to get rid of it. Couldn't talk her into a generator no matter what I said.”

“I think she would have approved of the way I'm doing it,” Eli said. “Solar and wind are both clean and natural sources of energy. She probably would have used both if they'd been affordable and available to her.”

“You may be right,” Buck replied. “Sometimes, I think you knew her better than I did. You spent all those summers up here with her. Trudie and I always seemed to be butting heads over one thing or another.”

“She could be a pretty tough woman,” he said. “Not a lot of room for compromise with her. But I'm sure she always loved you.”

“And I never stopped loving her,” Buck said. “Hopefully, your girl will be a bit more pliable.”

“Hell, I prefer my women built of steel,” Eli said, laughing. “Lucy's a lot like Trudie and Annalise. Steel with a soft side.”

“Did you hear that your mother and Richard Baskill called it quits? Actually, Annalise decided to dump him when he asked her to do his laundry.”

“She'll meet someone else,” Eli said. “You never know who might wander into your life tomorrow. I never expected to fall in love with Lucy and I did. Surprised the hell out of me.”

“Hell, love surprised me, too,” Buck said.

“How was your hike to the cabin?” Eli asked.

“It was a pretty treacherous trail coming up. The melt we had last week made the trail icy in spots. I could use a stiff drink. Whiskey if you've got it.”

They walked up the steps and Eli pulled the door open for his grandfather. As he stepped inside, Riley came trotting over from his spot next to the fireplace. “You still have her dog?”

“It wasn't her dog. They gave it to her for company and she asked if I'd keep him once she had to leave.”

Buck dropped his pack and set it against the wall, then slipped out of his jacket and draped it across the back of the chair. “You have changed. A dog. That's a big commitment.”

Eli grabbed the whiskey bottle from a shelf above the stove and poured a measure into two jelly jars. “I'm going to stick around here for a while and Riley enjoys this place. Now, if I can just afford to keep him fed. Thank God I've got a million dollars.” He set the whiskey in front of Buck.

“You're a lucky man to know what you want,” Buck said.

“It seems like our family is cursed with unrequited love. I hope to break that curse.”

“Now that you're a millionaire, your prospects will improve. I never had much to offer your grandmother. Never had a regular job, didn't come from an important family. And when we were first together, she had no intention of making me a permanent part of her life. Then, after a couple of months, she found out she was pregnant and we were tied together forever. We had a daughter, and then later a grandson. Family.”

Eli could now imagine what it had been like for Buck, in love with Trudie but unable to make her love him—at least not enough to marry him.

“It must have been difficult for you,” he said, sitting down across from his grandfather. “Living in a small town, having a baby out of wedlock. But you did a good job, Buck. You taught my mother to be strong and you taught me how to be a man. I hope, if I'm ever a parent, I'll be able to do half as well as you did.”

Buck smiled and Eli noticed tears swimming in the corners of his eyes. He'd only seen his grandfather cry once, when they'd buried Trudie on the mountain. “What is it?”

“You're talking about a family. I never thought I'd hear that from you. I've always wanted you to be happy but it didn't seem that you were interested in finding love.”

“Well, I'm optimistic about that, but not certain. I could be up here waiting for fifty years.”

“Another crazy Montgomery,” Buck said, laughing through his tears. He held up his whiskey glass. “To love.”

“To love,” Eli said, tipping his glass against Buck's. “May it last forever.”

Buck poured them both another drink. Eli reached out and put his hand over his grandfather's glass. “You're not having another unless you're planning to spend the night.”

“I wasn't going to walk back tonight anyway. My knee may be working just fine, but I'm still a goddamned old man. I'll be sleeping on that nice bed over there in the corner. Where are you planning on sleeping?”

In the end, his grandfather stayed for an entire week. They worked on projects around the cabin, went hunting together, got drunk a few times and talked a lot about women and love.

Though Eli had never had a father, he realized that Buck had been the best father he could have had. He was honest and clever and kind, and he wore his love on his sleeve. But Eli was determined that he would have more than Buck had with Trudie.

He would have a love that was real and a love that lasted forever.

* * *

L
UCY
DREW
A
DEEP
breath of the crisp morning air and smiled. She remembered the smell, as if the scent was etched in her brain. When she'd first come to the mountain, she'd tried to figure out what it was that she smelled, but finally realized it was nothing but fresh, clean mountain air.

“How much farther is it?” she asked.

Annalise glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Not far. About a half mile to the bottom of the meadow. You'll be able to find your way on your own from there.”

“You're not going with me?” Lucy asked.

“I don't want to get in the way of your reunion,” she said. “I only came with you this far because I've got a climbing trip coming up in a few weeks and I need to be able to keep up with the twenty-year-olds. This is training for me.”

“I'm having trouble keeping up with you now,” Lucy said.

“What a lovely thing to say!” Annalise laughed, the sound echoing through the leafless trees. “We can slow down if you'd like.”

“You're sure he'll be there?” Lucy asked.

“He hasn't left the mountain for more than a few days every month. If he isn't there, just wait for him. The cabin is stocked and there's plenty of firewood. You've been alone there before.”

They continued their hike, slowing occasionally to navigate over ice-covered spots in the trail. When Lucy had first arrived at the cabin, she'd been ferried in by helicopter, but this time, she wanted to walk, to get the true mountain experience.

During the four-hour hike, they'd talked about Trudie and about the life that she'd led. But Lucy had been very careful not to bring up Eli. She didn't want to know how he felt about her now. He might be angry. After all, it had taken her four months to make her way back. And all that time without a word.

She wanted to believe that he'd welcome her with open arms and that all would be forgiven the moment they saw each other again. Annalise had said that he'd spent the entire winter on the mountain. That must mean something.

Maybe he was waiting for her, hoping that she'd return sooner rather than later. Or, maybe he was so devastated by her leaving that he couldn't stand to live among other people. There were always two ways to read a situation.

She tried to imagine the scene, what he'd say, how he'd look. Would he drag her into his arms and kiss her, or would it be a more chaste greeting? As she thought over all the possibilities, Lucy began to feel an uneasy sense of vulnerability.

Her mind flashed back to her childhood, to those days when she'd first arrived at a new foster home. Every time, she'd allowed herself to hope, to believe that finally she'd find a home where she belonged, where she'd be loved. And then, three or four months later, she'd be shuffled along to another home.

Over the years, she'd stopped hoping—until now. Lucy's heart began to pound and she found it hard to catch her breath. “Can we stop for a moment?” she called.

Annalise turned and walked back to her. “Are you all right?”

Lucy shook her head. “I'm not sure I can do this. What if he doesn't want me?”

“Then you hold your head up and move on with your life,” Annalise said. “Things don't always work out.”

“I spent so much time worrying about falling in love and now that I am in love, I'm worrying about what I'm going to do if I have to fall
out
of love.”

“I'm afraid that's much harder to do,” Annalise said. “I had to believe that Max loved me, maybe not as much as he'd loved his wife and family. But we had something. After he died, I received a check for two hundred thousand dollars from a life-insurance policy he took out for us. He'd thought about us at the end, so I know he cared.”

They broke through the cover of trees and Lucy saw a familiar sight—her beautiful meadow. The snow had melted and the land was covered with a layer of dry grass that would soon turn green as the weather warmed.

“Will you be all right from here?” Annalise asked. “You have your rifle, you've got bear spray. And you have a positive attitude. Now march yourself across that meadow and get what you want.”

“I'm ready,” Lucy said. “Wish me luck.”

Annalise gave her a hug. “Good luck.”

They parted ways, Annalise heading back along the trail and Lucy starting out through the hard-packed snow. As Lucy crossed the meadow, her breath clouded in front of her face and tears swam in her eyes and froze on her cheeks.

Her whole life had come down to this moment. She'd been all alone for so long and now she was ready for something more. Yet, she couldn't guarantee that it would happen exactly the way she wanted it to.

In the distance, she could make out Trudie's cabin with its peaked roof and fieldstone chimney, with her little low-slung cabin nearby, still standing. That was a positive sign. If he'd been angry with her, he would have burned the cabin or knocked it down. But there it was, a testament to their time together.

As she approached, Lucy expected to hear Riley bark and then see him bounding toward her. But she didn't. The area around the cabin was dead silent. Lucy drew a ragged breath and shouted. “Eli!”

She waited but there was no reply. “Riley, come here, boy.”

Lucy set her pack on the porch steps and wandered over to her cabin, then opened the door. She held her breath as she stepped inside, stunned at the new interior. Gone was the rough dirt floor, replaced by wood that had been sanded and varnished to a soft shine. A small kitchen dominated one corner, with a sink and a small gas stove.

Lucy smiled. He was making the place more comfortable for her. That was also a positive sign. She slipped her jacket off and tossed it over a kitchen chair, then slowly wandered around the small space. It looked so tiny, so cramped, but it felt like home and that was more important.

She walked outside and took in the view, then headed for Trudie's cabin. The interior was chilly, the fire dying on the grate. Lucy bent down and dropped another log onto the embers, then watched as it flickered and finally flamed. She sat back on her heels and held her hands out to warm her frozen fingertips.

Behind her, she heard the door open and a few seconds later Riley trotted in. When he saw her, he came bounding over and knocked her onto the floor, wriggling and licking her face. Lucy laughed, falling back onto the rough planks and trying to fend off the ecstatic dog.

A sharp whistle broke the silence and Lucy looked over to see Eli standing in the doorway of the cabin, like a mountain man, his hair windblown and tangled, his beard fully grown. He wore a thermal shirt and well-worn jeans.

Eli grinned, leaning against the door, his arms crossed over his chest. “Hello, Luce.”

She drew a shaky breath and slowly got to her feet. “Hi, Eli.”

“I'm surprised to see you here.”

“Are you?” Lucy asked. “I thought you might be expecting me. You fixed up my cabin.”

“I had a lot of time on my hands.”

“Not enough time for a haircut and a shave, I see.” Her lips were curled into a teasing smile. “You're looking good.”

“I look like a bear.”

Lucy slowly straightened. “A handsome, well-groomed bear.” She grabbed the can of bear spray clipped on the front of her jacket. “Am I going to need this?”

“Are you worried I might attack?”

“That depends,” she murmured.

Eli took a step toward her and her heart leaped. “Are we going to talk in circles for the rest of the day,” he asked, “or are you going to tell me why you really came?”

“You were right. I was wrong. I was in love with you. I
am
in love with you.” Lucy drew a ragged breath. “I'm sorry that I didn't realize it sooner.”

“What made you realize it?”

“There was this cowboy and he—”

Eli held up his hand to stop her. “I really don't want to hear this.”

A long silence grew between them and Lucy waited. “And—and what about you? Have your feelings changed?”

Eli shook his head. “My feelings for you will never change,” he replied.

“Then, why are you standing over there?” She drew another deep breath, then rushed across the room and threw herself into his arms. The moment he yanked her into his embrace, that familiar feeling of happiness and safety washed over her. She was home.

He picked her up off her feet, his kiss deepening. Even through the beard and the shaggy hair, this was her Eli, the man she loved, the man she wanted to spend her life with.