Page 93 of Hope After Loss

She does as instructed and steps back. “We did it!”

“Yep. Now, all I have to do is stake it and tighten the rain fly, and this one is done.”

She sets to blowing up one of the sleeping pads and pillows while I secure the pegs.

She unzips the door and drags the pad inside and throws the sleeping bags on top.

“Ready to do number two?” I ask.

She looks from me to the tent and back again. “Why don’t we just both sleep in this one?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. There’s plenty of room for us both. It’s silly to go through all the trouble. It’s just twice as much to tear down, right?”

I nod.

“Besides, what if you wake up in the middle of the night and cry for me?” she teases.

“That’s a possibility.”

She laughs. “Okay, that’s settled now. How about that dinner you promised me?”

“Coming right up.”

We spend the rest of the night eating hot dogs roasted over the fire, lying on our backs and looking up at the stars, and falling asleep, cuddled together in a sleeping bag.

When we awaken the next morning, she’s ready to get down the mountain and pick Kaela up.

We don’t discuss anything that happened between us as we pack everything up, snap a few photos of the waterfall, and head back to our vehicles.

But she lets me open the door and kiss her goodbye before she drives away.

Weston

Once everything is in place and the people I invited are tucked into my office, I set the wrapped box on the conference table, and Brandee and I wait for Anna to arrive.

“You know, you’re a sweet guy when you wanna be, Weston Tuttle,” she states.

“I’m sweet all the time,” I declare.

She narrows her eyes at me.

“Okay, I’m sweet eighty-five percent of the time.”

We hear the slamming of a car door and then the tapping of heels on the steps that lead to the office door.

I click off the lights and duck behind a filing cabinet, and Brandee stands in the corner.

Anna walks inside and turns to flip the light switch.

“Did we have a lunch meeting scheduled that I forgot about? Because the parking lot is full of cars. And why is it so dark in here?” she says as the lights blink on.

When she turns back in our direction, the two of us pop out of our hiding spots and shout, “Happy birthday!”

She stumbles backward a step at the surprise and reaches out to balance herself on the corner of her desk.

Once she is steady, she looks around and takes in the decorations.