Page 21 of The Way Home (Pathfinders Lake Romance #5)

Riley pursed his lips to fight a smile as he gave me his famous eye roll. God, I’d missed it.

We both got dressed, ate a light breakfast, filled our water bottles, and headed out.

As we walked along the path, Riley’s hand bumped against mine, and I grabbed it, slotting our fingers together.

He glanced over at me and gave me a smile, keeping his hand in place.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

What I wouldn’t give to have a lifetime of holding his hand and getting to walk side-by-side with him.

When we came to the fork in the path, something stirred in me. I was feeling a pull to go down a path I hadn’t taken in a long time. The more I thought about it, the more right it felt.

“Should we go back to the dock?” Riley asked.

As much as I wanted to recreate the kiss that knocked us off our feet—literally—I had something different in mind. “Not this time.”

I led him down the split to the right. It was a longer walk, but Riley didn’t seem to care.

In fact, he squeezed my hand as we continued in that direction.

The pull tugged at my chest, as if I was connected to a thread and was being drawn by it.

We were teetering on the edge of something, Riley and I.

Something was building between us. It didn’t have a label, and I didn’t know how it would end, but every fiber of my being told me it was right.

Riley and I were right. I’d known it as a teenager and had searched for this feeling my entire life.

This thread that stitched us together and pulled us tighter and closer with each step we took.

When the tree line broke to reveal the monument, we both froze. There was power here, an energy that I could feel buzzing beneath my skin. Some force that was woven into the sand and rocks and water. Sacred. It felt sacred. And we had been beckoned by it.

“Wow. I forgot how big it was,” Riley spoke in a hushed tone as if not to disturb the rocks.

“I think it’s actually gotten bigger.”

The monument was made up of rocks of various sizes and stood almost five feet tall.

Some you could fit in the palm of your hand, and others you would need both in order to lift them.

The rocks were round or oblong, all different shapes, but all smooth, worn down by water over time.

They were stacked carefully and had been there for ages.

The rocks further down had grown together, moss acting as a glue to hold their shape.

Newer rocks had been placed on top as the monument continued to grow.

There was no sign, but there was a legend.

One that gave the lake its name and one that I’d been thinking more and more about.

I sat down in front of a tree at the edge of the area and leaned against it.

Still holding Riley’s hand, I tugged him down to sit between my legs.

He did, settling in until his back rested against my chest. My arms folded around him, and I rested my chin on his shoulder.

We both stared at the monument, taking it in.

After a quiet moment of appreciation, I asked, “Do you remember when you gave me my nickname?”

“Jem?”

I grinned. I never got tired of hearing him say it. “Yeah. You kept trying to figure out ways to shorten my name to have something simpler to call me.”

Riley chuckled. “As I recall, you hated the idea of being a Jerry.”

“Jerry! Blech! Can you imagine? It sounds like a dad’s name.”

“You could be a dad,” Riley offered. The simple suggestion caused a weird flutter of emotion. It wasn’t something I ever imagined for myself, but hearing him say so suddenly gave me a glimpse of the possibility.

“Even if I was, I would never be a Jerry kind of a dad.”

“No. You wouldn’t. Or a Remy for that matter.”

“Oh, God! Remy was even worse!” I snorted.

“I think you said something like, you would ‘rather gouge your eyes out with hot pokers.’”

A laugh burst out of me. “I did not say that.”

“I’m fairly certain you did. You could be pretty dramatic. You had this, like, soul-deep hatred of the name. I don’t know what a Remy ever did to you to deserve it.”

“Nothing. I’ve actually met a few Remy’s who were great guys, but it… just didn’t fit me.”

Riley tipped his head back to give me a little nudge. “I know. And it didn’t.”

I squeezed my arms around him, pulling him closer. It felt so good to be here with him like this, to hold him, and talk about the old days. “Do you remember when you suggested Jem?”

He inhaled deeply and let it out. When he spoke, he lowered his voice. “Yes, and I remember the way you stopped and stared at me as if I’d said something important.”

“You did, Ri. You really did. You said the name like it had been one you had already been thinking. Like it lived in your head and you were sharing it with me. You looked at me, and you told me you thought it fit me because I sparkled.”

A laughed awkwardly. “Shit, I was so corny.”

I leaned to the side so I could turn and meet his gaze. “No. It wasn’t corny. It made me feel so special.”

Riley arched his brows with confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I felt so comfortable with you, Ri. I could simply be myself. Everyone else always had me in a box. I had to be this perfect athlete, this perfect team leader. While everyone accepted me on my journey to discovering my pansexuality, I still felt like I had to play this role for other people. But with you… there was no pressure to be anything else. I could be a gamer, I could be goofy, I could be weird, I could be…”

“Dramatic?” Riley added.

“Yes… maybe even dramatic.” I placed a hand on his cheek and locked onto his green eyes, shining behind the black frames. “You told me I sparkled, and I believed you.”

Riley let his head rest on my hand. “You do. I wish you could see yourself the way I do. The way others do. You shine so bright, it draws people in. I always felt lucky simply to be in your presence, like I could absorb some of the light that poured from you.”

“I felt lucky to be in your presence, too. Still do. And you have plenty of light. You shine brighter than your favorite planet.”

“Technically, Pluto’s planet status was downgraded.”

“You know what I mean.” I grinned and kissed his cheek before leaning back against the tree once more.

We sat in a comfortable silence, existing together on this holy ground, memories of good times floating between us. Riley sunk down a little, bending his knees, and reclining into me. “Tell me about the monument.”

“You know the story.” I’d told it to him the first time I brought him here. We sat just as we did now, him in my arms, a tree supporting us. It was past and present colliding, swirling with the emotions that came with the time together and the time apart.

His fingers gently stroked over my arm in a soft caress. “I do, but I like hearing you tell it.”

I had to clear my throat before I could start. “The monument marks a tragedy, but one that was born out of love. A forbidden love that defied time, language, history, and culture.”

“And you don’t think you’re dramatic?” Riley chuckled.

“Hush. It’s story time, darling.”

Riley huffed out a soft laugh, and I continued, “As the legend goes, there was a handsome, young Cheyenne pathfinder who came across a beautiful young woman, and he was drawn to her in an instant. The woman was the daughter of a preacher from a group of missionaries. They came from different worlds, but they didn’t need words to be able to speak of the love they felt for each other.

They kissed, and their bodies became one. ”

His fingers never stopped moving in that gentle pattern on my arm as he listened.

“The pathfinder and his lover would swim into the lake, where the water flowed in and around them, holding them up as they made love. It was as if the lake itself gave its blessing of their union. The two were destined to be.”

The story was part of the history here, but speaking it out loud made my eyes warm with building tears as I thought of the pain they faced trying to be together.

“They were destined for each other, but their peoples weren’t ready for such a pair.

Members of the Cheyenne tribe found the pathfinder with the preacher’s daughter.

Soon, the pioneering party came looking for the young girl.

The two were chased by both groups. With nowhere to go, they fled to the water.

They knew that if they left the lake, they would be pulled apart, or worse. ”

“You don’t have to say the rest,” Riley whispered.

A single tear broke free, and I let it slide down my cheek, not wanting to let go of him. I didn’t expect the story to get to me like this, but it did. With the weight of everything with Riley, with the hope we could be something again and the fear that we wouldn’t, it did. “I do. It’s important.”

I took a deep breath and blew it out. “The lovers knew they could never be together if they returned to land and that wasn’t something they could live with.

Instead, they held each other and kissed, promising their love in ways words weren’t big enough for, and they said goodbye.

They found rocks from the lake, and they let the water welcome them to the home they wouldn’t have if they returned to their people. ”

A tear slid down the other cheek, and my throat tightened.

Riley’s gentle caressing of my arm continued as he gave me time to finish, because I had to finish now.

I couldn’t leave it with the tragedy that happened but with what grew out of it.

“The rocks”—I croaked, coughing to clear away the thickness in my voice—“the rocks are a tribute to the couple. Over time, the story has been passed down, and people collect rocks from the lake and leave them here as a way to bring the couple back to land. Each rock added helps return them to the home they should have had. To honor what they had and to pledge to fight for love.”

“It has gotten bigger,” Riley said with awe.

“It has. It’s grown a lot. People continue to add onto the monument.

It’s become a sacred place for those who have ever known forbidden love, a love that might push against societal norms. With each person who places a rock and chooses to love louder than the fear or misunderstandings of those around them…

it gives the next person a foundation to build on.

Love honors the past, and love is the way forward. ”

The silence returned between us, holding space for those that came before us as we admired how many rocks had been collected to grow into what we saw today.

Riley’s fingers finally stopped, and he rested his hand on my arm, squeezing it gently. “Do you really think there’s a place for them?”

“For who?”

“For the people whose relationships might be… unconventional?”

“I think this world is hard, and if you are lucky enough to find something or someone who makes you happy, and it’s not hurting anyone, then you should hold onto it and never let go.” My arms tightened around him, and Riley folded his arms over mine, holding them in place.

“What if people don’t agree with it?”

“Fuck ’em.”

Riley snorted out a laugh. “It’s that easy, huh?”

“Sure. Why not? Well… it might not always be easy, but it would be worth it. For the right person… it would be worth it.” You are worth it, I thought. If Riley chose to be mine, there wasn’t a force on earth that could keep him from me. But it had to be his choice.

A soft sigh came from the man in my arms. He leaned his head to the side to look up at me. “I’d like to think you’re right.”

“Of course, I am.” I gave him a wink.

The corner of Riley’s lips tugged up. “You know what I think?”

“What’s that, Ri?”

Pushing away, Riley turned to face me, kneeling between my legs. His eyes roamed over my face for a moment before he gave an almost imperceptible nod, as if he was confirming something to himself. “I think it’s time to head home.”

“All right.” The abruptness of it surprised me. I could have stayed there with him all day, but if he was ready to leave, I wasn’t going to argue.

His expression was hard to read as he stood up.

Riley held out a hand to me and helped pull me up before threading our fingers together.

Riley slid a glance over to the monument once more before returning his attention to me.

He took a step closer to me and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

It wasn’t enough, I wanted more, but I loved that he was getting more comfortable and initiating things.

Home? Yeah, that didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

The walk back was quiet, but Riley kept his hand in mine the entire way.

He was clearly working through something in his head, and I needed to let him.

The closer we got to the cabin, the taller he seemed to stand, as if he was shedding weight along the way.

Brick by brick coming down from the wall he’d kept up for so long.

This time when we approached the cabin, it didn’t feel like the end to a perfect day.

It felt like the start of something. Something big.

My heart was racing and my mind was running wild with possibility.

Riley let go of my hand and walked up the steps ahead of me.

When he reached the top, he looked over his shoulder to find me still at the bottom.

He angled his head toward the door in a silent invitation.

An invitation for what, exactly? I didn’t know, but hell if I wasn’t going to find out.