Page 100

It felt like a private oasis tucked away in the Wyoming hills.

Amanda stared at the view, then turned toward Grady. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

“Had to show it to you before you left.”

She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the scent of pine and fresh water, then pulled out her phone.

After taking a few pictures of the lake and waterfall, she turned the camera toward Grady.

He caught her immediately and held up a hand to block his face. “No.”

“Oh, come on. One picture.”

Dropping his arm, he huffed but didn’t stop her when she raised the phone again. She snapped the picture before he could change his mind.

“That better not end up online.”

She checked the photo. His hat shadowed part of his face while Hank’s ears poked into the bottom of the shot. Grady wasn’t smiling or frowning, but the expression was pure him.

“Nope.” She slipped the phone away. “That one’s just for me.”

His expression softened, the hint of a smile touching his mouth as his eyes held hers.

And just like that, the picture felt more important than any of the dozens she’d taken since coming to Wyoming.

“C’mon. There’s a spot over here where we can have lunch.”

He guided Hank across the meadow, and Amanda followed on Penny.

A short while later, the horses were tethered to an old hitching post near the meadow’s edge, grazing on grass within reach. Amanda and Grady sat on a blanket spread across a flat rock just outside the waterfall’s spray, with their lunch between them.

He’d packed sandwiches, fruit, chips, and bottles of water, plus a container of brownies he claimed Rissa insisted they take. Amanda reached for one before anything else. “Will you judge me if I have a taste before lunch?”

“You’re an adult.”

“That’s not an answer.” She broke the brownie in half and took a bite, closing the container when Grady reached toward it. “Get your own.”

“I packed them.”

“And then you gave me unrestricted access.” She handed him the other half of hers before he could argue. “There. Now you can’t say I never share.”

They ate and talked, neither in any hurry to finish. With the waterfall filling the occasional silence between them, she was content sitting beside him, enjoying the food, the scenery, and having him all to herself.

After finishing her sandwich, she leaned back on her hands and gazed toward the waterfall. “How did you find this place?”

“Been coming up here since I was a kid.”

“And you waited until now to bring me?”

He took a drink of water, then set the bottle aside. “Figured I had to save something for our last day together.”

The answer caught her off guard. The words themselves weren’t particularly romantic, but coming from Grady, they felt that way. He’d brought her to a place he'd loved since childhood, choosing to share it with her before she left.

When she turned toward him, she discovered he was already watching her. “For a man who didn’t want his picture taken, you’re awfully comfortable staring at me.”

“I like the view.”

A groan slipped past her throat. “That was terrible.”