Ellie glanced up, basking in the warmth of her husband’s dark eyes, then looked down at the backpack dangling from her hand. “You said there was hiking, so I should just bring a backpack...”
“You could have gone with a camping pack,” he said, pointing at the one he carried on his back. “Or maybe I overpacked? It’s going to be cold.”
Ellie laughed. “You can say you brought the warmest socks, if you’re looking for an excuse.”
“Or I’ll tell our parents that I’m carrying your extra clothes, just to be a gentleman,” he said, smiling.
She gave him a little shove, but he caught her hand in his. He laced his fingers with hers and she smiled up at him, his deep brown eyes full of both love and mischief.
“Also, most of my clothes are all packed,” she added, gesturing to the moving boxes that lined the wall.
Ellie gazed around at their beautiful new home, where they’d just spent the first night of their new life together. It was hard to believe they were finally married.
Shortly after they’d gotten engaged, they’d taken the money from the sale of Ellie’s Santa Barbara home and built a house, just for them, on the Tang Ranch property. They’d chosen a spot farther down the river, in the forest, a short hike from the rest of the buildings. It was a two-story, A-frame house, with wooden siding and a wide front porch. It was big enough for the two of them and maybe more. Someday.
“Ready for a last goodbye to our parents?” she asked.
“They seem to be doing just fine without us around,” said Michael, taking her backpack with his free hand.
“True,” she said with a bit of wonder in her voice.
But maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Ellie’s parents, ranchers who had only visited Ellie in Santa Barbara twice, had surprised her by accepting Michael’s parents’ invitation to stay at the ranch for a week, both before and after the wedding, in Michael and Sunny’s former home. They had never once accepted Sean’s parents’ invitations to visit, though Ellie suspected that the ranch felt less intimidating than Clint and Janine’s rambling Silicon Valley mansion. Either way, the two families had hit it off, making both Michael and Ellie a lot less nervous about leaving for their honeymoon. For the past year, she’d had more connection with her parents than she had during her entire marriage with Sean. Maybe it was that she had been on her own, or maybe it was that their worlds were not so different now. Whatever the reason, she was grateful.
As they walked out of their new home and down the snowy driveway toward the main ranch house, she thought of how much had changed. Not only had she sold the Santa Barbara house shortly after her hospital visit with Michael, but she had also moved out of the house in Tahoe, ready for a fresh start. She had kept the cabin in the Virgin Islands that Sean had set up as a safe house. Maybe someday she and Michael would visit, but she wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
Aidan, thankfully, had been arrested, tried and found guilty of attempted murder. It had taken time—and a restraining order—and Aidan had done his best to try the case in the court of local public opinion. But in the end, she’d been vindicated. The emails and “gifts” to the council members, along with her testimony, Michael’s, Aman’s and the rest of the hotel staff’s had stood together against the story that Aidan had concocted, the one where he’d insisted that somehow he’d been the victim.
Clint Alexander was never charged for anything, though Ellie was almost sure he wasn’t completely innocent. After Aidan’s conviction, he had first tried to reconcile with her. When that didn’t work, he had asked to buy her out of the company. She had offered him a counterdeal: she’d take nothing from the company, but an independent firm of her choice would look over all future environmental reports before any project began. She had left that chapter of her life behind, but with the confidence that Green Living Construction would no longer cause harm.
That wasn’t the only change. She had moved to Clover Valley and started a consultant practice from her tiny apartment on the main street of the little mountain town and, for the first time in her life, she’d lived completely on her own. Slowly, the world had blossomed in front of her. On the weekends, she’d spent time at Tang Ranch, helping with the horses or riding with Michael, learning the land. Over the last year, she had watched Michael open slowly, his smiles becoming more frequent, and she’d found herself smiling more often, too. Now, when she looked over at her new husband, so playful and affectionate, she barely recognized him from the silent, withdrawn man she had met a year ago. Ellie had to wonder if he was thinking something similar about her.
They walked up the steps to the main house and when they opened the door, the front hallway was filled with the sounds of their parents’ voices. Michael set their bags on the floor and they entered the living room. Four plush armchairs circled a cracking fire in the stone fireplace. Ellie’s mother was leaning over the armrest in deep conversation with Mrs. Tang, and her father was laughing at something Mr. Tang had said.
When Mrs. Tang caught sight of the pair, she stopped talking and gestured to them. “The newlyweds!”
All four parents rose from their seats and headed for Michael and her. Ellie’s father got to her first and wrapped her in a warm embrace.
“Are you sure this is what you want to do for your honeymoon?” he asked. “You could go somewhere warm.”
Ellie suppressed a smile. “We’re sure.”
“I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered as he released her.
Then he turned to Michael and shook her husband’s hand. “You make my daughter happy, and I am forever thankful you came into our lives.”
Ellie’s mother and Michael’s parents crowded in. Michael’s mother fussed with Ellie’s scarf, making sure it covered her neck.
“Have a wonderful honeymoon,” said Mrs. Tang. “And welcome to the family.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Tang.”
Her mother-in-law’s eyes sparkled. “Please, call me Mother.”
Ellie swallowed back a lump in her throat. Never could she have imagined she’d experience this warmth and joy of togetherness.
“Thank you, Mother,” she whispered.
When Ellie had first suggested the fire lookout tower as their honeymoon destination, Michael had thought she was joking. But the more he’d considered it, the more he’d liked the idea. It was a part of their story together, the first day they’d met, and in the many times they’d gone over that day that changed both their lives, she had confessed that when they’d sat at the table, she had felt something more than just gratefulness. Even if neither of them had realized it on that day, it had been the start of something new. He, too, had seen her as more than a woman in distress. Looking back, he had to agree that maybe he could even say that it was the beginning of his falling in love with her. So they’d planned a tiny wedding, followed by a honeymoon at the tower.
Now, as he snowshoed up the trail with his cross-country skis and two gallons of water hanging from his pack, he reconsidered the wisdom of this idea. Weren’t honeymoons supposed to be for relaxing? Then again, he had the most beautiful view in the world: the snow-covered mountain, the clear sky at dusk, and his new wife, trekking ahead of him.
“There it is,” said Ellie over her shoulder.
Michael took a couple more steps and then he could see it, too. The fire tower peeked out from behind the tall pines.
Ellie picked up the pace as they approached. It was just how it had been a year ago, though today there was a little less snow. They climbed the snowy steps, and Michael punched in the code and then opened the door into their little paradise. At least, it would be paradise once he got the propane stove running.
Ellie kicked off her boots and crossed the room to the table in the corner for two. She set her backpack on the ground and pulled out the thermos of hot chocolate, setting it on the blue-and-white-checked tablecloth. Michael unlaced his boots and walked over to join her.
They stood facing the windows. Ellie unscrewed the lid of the thermos, and poured hot liquid into the tiny metal cup then handed it to him. He took a sip, savoring the sweet taste, warming his insides. He should really start the stove, but Michael wanted to savor this moment in the quiet cabin, just the two of them. The sun was setting far off in the distance, somewhere over the mountains and down in the valley, and the sky was lit with a rainbow of colors, red, orange, yellow shifting into deep blues and purples above them.
“Was it worth the hike?” Ellie asked. “I think I might’ve heard a few mumbles on the way up.”
Michael chuckled. “Who, me? Never.”
Ellie laughed that bright, musical laugh. He had heard it so many times over the last year, and it filled him with a warmth that glowed inside him when they were together.
“How are you doing, Mrs. Tang?”
