sandwiches from the saddlebag of his horse.
“Wow, you really thought this through, didn’t you, Bear Grylls?”
He paused and placed both hands on his hips, looking like Peter Pan as he said, “Now I’m going to show you how to survive the wild Botanical Garden.”
“You’re such a goof,” I replied, brushing him off with laughter.
He bent over to continue setting up our picnic. Laying the sheet in the very middle of the field where the sun shone the brightest, he gestured for me to rest. So I sat down while he gave each of the horses an apple. A moment later he sat next to me, his smile laced with satisfaction.
He handed me a sandwich and then cleared his throat. “I wanted to give you a normal day. This is your perfect day, Aurora Jay, all joking aside.”
My face flushed once again, my blushes beginning to blend together.
“It is perfect,” I said softly, avoiding his gaze. I could feel his eyes searching the side of my face, waiting for something.
“Normal’s not so bad, is it?” he continued.
“I suppose not.”
“So you admit that I was right then?” he said confidently.
I could hear the smile in his voice. I turned sharply towards him. “Absolutely not!” I answered, disbelief coloring my tone.
He chuckled. “I’m just messing with you,” he mused.
I nudged him playfully, glad that the mood had shifted. He took another bite from his sandwich and then leaned back onto his elbows.
I looked down at his adorable face and giggled. His puzzled expression, particularly with mustard staining the corner of his mouth, made me laugh even harder.
“What?” he asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him.
“Nothing,” I answered, touching the corner of my mouth. He caught the hint, quickly wiping the mustard away and turned his head to the sky.
We sat there for a while, looking around at the flowers and then back at each other, delight lingering in the air. He started humming a tune he often played on his guitar absent-mindedly. I wriggled my toes to the beat, a feeling of bliss bubbling up inside me. I watched him as he hummed merrily, admiring the features of his face. His smile held such peace as he took another bite from his sandwich.
He finished the last bite of his sandwich and then dusted his hands off. I don’t think the day could’ve been any better. He had to have felt the same. That is, until things suddenly took a turn for the worst.
He looked up and then all of a sudden his face paled to a ghostly white. My eyes followed his stare and then my stomach twisted in terror. The sun’s rays began to disappear upon the horizon and our new special spot turned grayish and shadowed. A dark cloud was forming above us.
Oh my god.
“It’s not supposed to rain today,” he said, suddenly worried. His eyes grew in horror, pleading for it to be untrue. I felt a drop of water land on top of my head and then another on my forearm so I quickly put my half-eaten sandwich back into its baggie and signaled for Fenn to get off the sheet.
Mr. Creepy’s words replayed, “And when she’s harmed by your ignorance…” I shouldn’t have listened to Fenn. I should have followed my gut and chased Mr. Creepy down. The fear of the unknown was like a crushing weight.
“We need to hurry before the rain breaks,” I rushed, trying to steady my trembling hands as I threw everything back into his pack. Thunder barreled off the hillsides in the distance.
“It’s going to be okay, Rory,” Fenn said, remorse shading his tone as he moved to help me up onto the horse. I waited for him to mount and then took off for the barn. Not even ten minutes into the ride, clouds opened up and let us have it. I looked back to see worry written all over his face. I don’t know if I was trying to assure her or myself, but I leaned into Snow, whispering to her that everything was okay.
We were racing time, trying to beat the inevitability of lightning that Mr. Creepy had predicted. If only we had just listened to him. Just as I
“Wow, you really thought this through, didn’t you, Bear Grylls?”
He paused and placed both hands on his hips, looking like Peter Pan as he said, “Now I’m going to show you how to survive the wild Botanical Garden.”
“You’re such a goof,” I replied, brushing him off with laughter.
He bent over to continue setting up our picnic. Laying the sheet in the very middle of the field where the sun shone the brightest, he gestured for me to rest. So I sat down while he gave each of the horses an apple. A moment later he sat next to me, his smile laced with satisfaction.
He handed me a sandwich and then cleared his throat. “I wanted to give you a normal day. This is your perfect day, Aurora Jay, all joking aside.”
My face flushed once again, my blushes beginning to blend together.
“It is perfect,” I said softly, avoiding his gaze. I could feel his eyes searching the side of my face, waiting for something.
“Normal’s not so bad, is it?” he continued.
“I suppose not.”
“So you admit that I was right then?” he said confidently.
I could hear the smile in his voice. I turned sharply towards him. “Absolutely not!” I answered, disbelief coloring my tone.
He chuckled. “I’m just messing with you,” he mused.
I nudged him playfully, glad that the mood had shifted. He took another bite from his sandwich and then leaned back onto his elbows.
I looked down at his adorable face and giggled. His puzzled expression, particularly with mustard staining the corner of his mouth, made me laugh even harder.
“What?” he asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him.
“Nothing,” I answered, touching the corner of my mouth. He caught the hint, quickly wiping the mustard away and turned his head to the sky.
We sat there for a while, looking around at the flowers and then back at each other, delight lingering in the air. He started humming a tune he often played on his guitar absent-mindedly. I wriggled my toes to the beat, a feeling of bliss bubbling up inside me. I watched him as he hummed merrily, admiring the features of his face. His smile held such peace as he took another bite from his sandwich.
He finished the last bite of his sandwich and then dusted his hands off. I don’t think the day could’ve been any better. He had to have felt the same. That is, until things suddenly took a turn for the worst.
He looked up and then all of a sudden his face paled to a ghostly white. My eyes followed his stare and then my stomach twisted in terror. The sun’s rays began to disappear upon the horizon and our new special spot turned grayish and shadowed. A dark cloud was forming above us.
Oh my god.
“It’s not supposed to rain today,” he said, suddenly worried. His eyes grew in horror, pleading for it to be untrue. I felt a drop of water land on top of my head and then another on my forearm so I quickly put my half-eaten sandwich back into its baggie and signaled for Fenn to get off the sheet.
Mr. Creepy’s words replayed, “And when she’s harmed by your ignorance…” I shouldn’t have listened to Fenn. I should have followed my gut and chased Mr. Creepy down. The fear of the unknown was like a crushing weight.
“We need to hurry before the rain breaks,” I rushed, trying to steady my trembling hands as I threw everything back into his pack. Thunder barreled off the hillsides in the distance.
“It’s going to be okay, Rory,” Fenn said, remorse shading his tone as he moved to help me up onto the horse. I waited for him to mount and then took off for the barn. Not even ten minutes into the ride, clouds opened up and let us have it. I looked back to see worry written all over his face. I don’t know if I was trying to assure her or myself, but I leaned into Snow, whispering to her that everything was okay.
We were racing time, trying to beat the inevitability of lightning that Mr. Creepy had predicted. If only we had just listened to him. Just as I
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