to see more of the land around Bennett’s cabin. If the view just from his house is any indication, it’s got to be absolutely gorgeous. We pack up lunch because he says we will be gone most of the day.
‘How do you feel about taking the horses instead of the four wheelers?” Bennett asks. “Even though we could take them, I’d like you to be comfortable on the horses as well.’
I am a little nervous about horseback riding, as I’ve only been a handful of times. Those were the just for fun ones. The kind where you ride for hours and are beyond sore the next day. If he thinks this is something I need to learn, then I will do it.
‘That’s fine. Just bear with me because I know almost nothing when it comes to horses,’ I tell him honestly.
A brilliant smile crosses his face. Then we head to the barn that I’ve yet to see and explore, where he picks out a horse that he assures me should be nice and mellow.
‘If you two get along then this will be your horse. If not we can try to match you with a different one and if none of them work then we will get you your own horse. We have room for plenty more,’ he says as if it’s nothing to tell someone that they’ll make sure to get you a horse if you don’t like any of the ones they already have.
Part of me wonders if this is just how Bennett really is or if he’s trying a little too hard. Either way, it’s nice to have the attention from him. It seems like he actually cares, but only time will tell.
We load up the horses and head out on a trail beside the barn.
‘A little farther down this trail is a bunch of berry bushes. Even though they’re wild berries, they are great to eat. Every year I use them to make jams, jellies and even just food for the animals. By harvesting them, it keeps other animals like bears away. The further we can keep them from the house, the better,’ he tells me.
I have to agree with him there. I don’t like bears much myself.
‘Have you ever had one get too close to the cabin?’
‘When I was building my cabin, I had a lot of animals that came up. But the noise pretty much scared them off. Now I try to keep it as clear as I can so that it’s not an easy food source. That seems to keep them away.’
He points out a good field for a picnic spot in the spring when the flowers are all in bloom and a trail that leads to one of his favorite hunting spots.
We walk along a river and talk about how he’ll set up some fishing here in a few weeks, how the process works and for the various uses of the fish. At this point, we’ve been on the horses for a couple of hours stopping only to let them have some water from the river. I’m getting a little sore and shift in my seat, but of course, it doesn’t go unnoticed by Bennett.
‘Just a few more minutes. Once we break this tree line, we will be at the lake and I figure that’s where we can have lunch.’
I nod because I can definitely use some time off of the saddle. Hopefully, this is something that I’ll get used to especially if we’re going to be riding more.
I’m thinking about how sorry I’m going to be tomorrow when we break through the tree line. The stunning view takes my breath away. There’s a lake surrounded by mountains that still have snow on the top.
When we come to a stop, he dismounts before walking over to me and taking the reins of my horse, and helping me off. It feels good to stretch my legs. While he gets the horses some water and secured, he lets me explore. Then Bennett sets up a picnic for us.
Actually, I’ve never been on a picnic before. But it’s everything that I would picture from the movies with a blanket down on the ground and a basket of food.
As we eat, I take in the view which is something that you would only see on a postcard or in a book while wondering where you could actually see it in real life.
‘This would be the perfect spot for camping,’ I say thinking out loud.
‘Do you like to camp?’ he asks.
‘Oh yeah. My father and I used to go all the time before he got sick. It was our way of getting out of the city. We’d turn off our phones and take time to reconnect with each other.’
‘Well, we’ve got some time midweek where we could come out for a night or two and camp. The lake makes for some good swimming. I think it would be a good way for us to talk and get to know each other a little better.’
‘I’d like that.’ I smile back at him. I think it’d be the perfect way for us to open up and find out about each other.
Plus, I really do enjoy camping and it’s been a long time since I’ve gone.
‘Do you see that spot on the other side of the lake where the big boulders are stacked in almost a hump shape?’ he asks, pointing across the lake.
I nod because it’s pretty hard to miss the boulders as they are pretty freaking huge.
‘Directly behind there is a cave. When I’ve been out hunting and got caught in really bad weather, I’ve had to use it a few times. I make it a point to keep it free of animals and stocked with blankets and some dry wood for a fire. There’s also a bear-proof crate in there with some canned foods. When we come camping, I’ll take you over there and show it to you. It’ll make a nice hike around the lake.’
Instant dread settles in the pit of my stomach. Why is he telling me this? He has to know I’m hiding something, and that I’m running from something. If he knows that, it means he’s going to ask.
I wait for the question that I don’t want to answer, the one that will send him running and maybe ask me to leave. I don’t know if I can trust this man. After all, he moved up here for a much more peaceful and simpler life.
If he knew my situation, he wouldn’t want me here because there’s a very good chance, I could be the disruption to his peace. Yesterday, his friends had been so nice to me, would they still if they knew the truth?
What if he asks me to leave? Where the hell would I go? I have absolutely nothing except the two suitcases I came here with and a box of photos that Aspen is storing at her house for me.
I wonder if hitchhiking is still a thing and how far I’d be able to get.
‘You, okay?’ Bennett pulls me from my thoughts with concern all over his face. Its then I realize it’s been quite a while and he hasn’t asked me the dreaded question.
‘Yes, just got lost in my head. Do you often get trapped in bad weather out here?’ Holding my breath, I’m hoping he will take the bait on the subject change, and thankfully, he does.
‘At least once a year. It’s not uncommon when you’re on long hunting trips to not make it back before the weather hits.’
We finish lunch and begin the trek back home.
‘It sounds like you and your dad were really close,’ he says.
‘Yeah, it’s always just been him and me. We took care of each other, and he was always my biggest cheerleader. What about your parents?’
‘We were pretty close, but they’re no longer around.’
I don’t miss the short and vague answer, but I want to use this time to try to get to know him a little more.
‘Is that why you moved out here to the mountain?’
‘Partly.’ While his tone is friendly, it’s also vague, and if the short answers are any indication, he really doesn’t want to talk about this. Deciding to let it go, as it wouldn’t be fair for me to press an issue with him when I’m not willing to talk about things myself. When I don’t press, he seems relieved and we talk about some of our favorite camping moments with our families.
He’s definitely easy to talk to and we have a lot of the same interests. I find myself smiling quite a bit and it’s all about stuff I wasn’t expecting.
My expectations were more along the line that I’d be with some guy that I could barely stand, and if I was lucky, would ignore me until it was time to talk about having kids. What I wasn’t expecting was to actually like my husband or for him to be this handsome man and to be such a good person. I had assumed that the only guys that would do the mail-order bride thing are ones that couldn’t get a wife in real life and so they had to resort to getting one via the website. I’ve never been happier to be wrong.
The problem is the more that I like him, the worse I feel about keeping a secret from him. It would be better if he wasn’t a good guy, then I wouldn’t have felt so bad about keeping all this to myself. But the nicer he is and the closer we get, the more I want to tell him. I can’t take that chance just yet.
