The Cowgirl's Chosen Love - Vivian Arend Page 0,74
person of something else they wanted to talk about.
The only thing Julia didn’t bring up was the information Brad had shared that morning.
It wasn’t that she was trying to avoid the discussion, but the story wasn’t something she wanted to share with Zach while he was driving.
And then the closer they got to their destination, the less she felt as if she should bring up a big topic before what was supposed to be a fun and easy getaway.
The twisting road they’d been on for the last hour and a half unexpectedly opened into a wide parking space at the edge of an enormous lake.
Julia leaned forward with interest. “Where’s the road?”
“We take a ferry at this point. There’s another route to Nelson that goes over the pass, but I thought you’d enjoy going this direction first.”
“Cool. How long is the ride?” Julia peered out the window toward the lake. “Ohhh. Is that the ferry there?”
Zach put Delilah into park, gesturing across the smooth surface of the water to where a strangely shaped barge approached slowly. “That’s it. It’s only a forty-five minute ride once we’re on board. It’s not like the massive ferries that go out to Vancouver Island, just a basic transport vehicle. We drive on board, then you can either sit in your car or walk to one of the observation decks.”
Fifteen minutes later they were on the wide, flat-decked boat.
Zach caught her by the hand and tugged her toward the stairwell. “Come on. I’ll show you my favourite view.”
He led her to an area on the second floor with sturdy seating that let them stare out over the wide expanse of Kootenay Lake as the engines rumbled and steadily pushed them across to the other side.
The wind was crisp. Julia stared at the mountains rising all around the lake, some of them tipped with white. “It’s colder here than in Heart Falls.”
“There are glaciers in the area. The wind sweeping over them means the breezes are always crisp.” He wrapped an arm around her, snuggling close to protect her with his body.
A forty-five-minute ride. Julia watched the water stream out in expanding waves behind the ship and considered her options. She didn’t want to put a damper on his outing, not considering how excited Zach was about getting away.
But he’d said to be honest, and he’d said she should do what would make her happy, and while talking about the past wouldn’t make her happy, per say, it would be good to get it out in the open.
Julia twisted toward him, sliding back far enough to grab his hands and meet his gaze straight on. “I have something I need to tell you.”
His head tilted slightly, but he stayed silent.
“Just so you know, the reason I’m telling you this isn’t because it’s big and scary, or because it changes anything about what we’re doing the next couple of days. We’re going to Nelson to do research for your future brew thing magic. I still want to do that. That’s important to me.”
His grin wasn’t quite as solid anymore. “Jules, if this opener is meant to be reassuring? You’re missing the mark.”
“Dammit. It’s just… Brad told me this morning that the guy who kidnapped me got released. I knew it was coming, but I had kind of deliberately forgotten. It’s not freaking me out, and I’m not worried about him, but I realized I needed to say something to you because—well, I think you need to know.”
Zach nodded slowly. “That’s why you were having a nightmare, wasn’t it?”
Julia let out a huff of air. “Yeah. Someday I’ll be able to mention what happened, or have somebody else bring it up, without having that reaction. But for now, Tony says physical manifestations to triggers are one of the things our brains do while dealing with unhappy memories. But since it’s not hurting me, other than being a pain in the ass, I shouldn’t worry about it.”
“Okay.” Zach looked a little uncomfortable. “I mean, okay, I hear you, but there’s a part of me that’s not okay with you having nightmares.”
He was such a sweetie.
Julia cupped his face with her palms. “I know. But you were good help today, waking me up.”
She pressed a quick kiss against his lips, partly to give her a moment to gather her thoughts before she sat back. The water around them reflected blue sky with white clouds. No one else was sitting outside, leaving them with more than enough privacy.