University of Southern California, Duke, and Rice.”
I stared at him like he was a new creature. He gave me a sideways look.
“That’s…extremely…impressive.”
“It’ll do.”
“Was your heart into it?” My voice had dropped with the temperature. We were in another copse and the branches were so close together, they seemed to form a fortress around us.
We picked up our lazy stride again, the conversation cooling as well.
He grabbed my hand and squeezed. “No to baseball. It was just a means to an end.”
“What would you have studied?”
“I’ve never given it much thought.”
A terrible ache plagued my heart. I knew why he had given up his life, and I hated it. I also loved it at the same time. As much as I loved him, I was selfish, and I loved that he was beside me, walking in the woods, holding my hand. I couldn’t imagine wanting anything more than his love, anyone more than him, for the rest of my life.
That night out in the snow, the other half to my heart had fallen into place—him. It was the first time in my life that I had ever felt whole.
From out of the blue, a mist came down, a gentle phenomenon, despite the sun still shining brightly above the trees. The softness of the water seemed to coat my hair instead of saturating it, along with skin and clothes.
In a move that made me gasp, he pulled me toward him, forcing my hands against his chest. I looked up at him, my eyelashes collecting rain, more like dew. He blinked a few times, the droplets from his lashes running, and then his lips found mine, warm and tender.
Our lips made a gentle sound as they parted. I resisted the urge to go back for more, to taste him and the rain together again.
“Don’t,” he said, his voice soft, but with a definite edge, as the pitter-patter of rain in the background continued. “I have no regrets. If tomorrow would become the day after Elliott’s accident again, I’d do it all over. In a fucking heartbeat.”
Our eyes met and held—until his eyes flicked over my shoulder, behind me. His eyes were transfixed, unable to move. I went to turn around, but he held me steady. A moment later, he pulled my body against his and turned me slowly until my back faced his front.
A ten-point buck stood in the rain, his antlers a crown, grazing on a patch of grass. He paid no attention to us, his appetite more important than the intrusion, it seemed, until Brando moved me to his side and tucked me behind him.
The earth beneath me stirred with a gust of wind.
The buck held his head up high, the grass hanging out of the side of his mouth, frozen in mid chew.
Putting a hand to each side of Brando’s waist, I peeked around his arm. Just like two wild male animals are prone to do, the buck watched Brando, his stare intent. His black almond eyes seemed guarded, but still incredibly beautiful. His left ear twitched.
“He’s the prince of the forest.” Awe shocked my words into a whisper.
“I’m the king. He’ll move before we do.”
I pointed to my right. Brando followed the line with his eyes only.
“We’re here,” I whispered.
Just then, the buck threw his antlers down and took off in the rain, probably in search of the princess he had vowed to protect.
Chapter Eighteen
Scarlett
Evelyn Rose’s Secret Cabin
Red hair as fierce as the sun, makes me come undone,
Green eyes crying in the rain, makes me feel pain,
Full lips the color of cherries, makes me feel jealous,
A mind as quick as lightning makes me think,
But your heart makes me simply vow, always.
Springtime would tease the cabin to fully bloom. But since we were in Louisiana, where even in autumn the days could be warmer than summer ones, the beauty of the living structure left plenty for the eyes to admire.
The outside had been carpeted with emerald plants that lacked true roots, moss, all in thanks to the oak trees tilting over the cabin’s structure, sharing their gifts of Spanish moss. The light misting of rain coated emeralds with diamonds, and when the sun hit the droplets just right, it transformed basic nature into enchantment.
Stained glass windows caught the reflection of the sun and shimmered with an array of different colors; from the windows hung boxes housing multicolored irises that reached toward the sky’s warmth and showers from above.
“Come on,” I said, encouraging Brando. His eyes were still focused on the