Take Me To The Lake: Chapter 24

For the last week, things have been really quiet up on the mountain. Though I still check every day, there have been no more footprints in the tree lines. There have been no other sightings of Hope’s mom, so we’re hoping she left town. Thankfully, things have been peaceful.

Today, the guys and the girls are coming over for dinner. Hope was determined to get Bennett to come, even though he’ll be the only single one here.

‘Do you think I made enough food? You guys sure eat a lot. Just in case maybe I should make some more rolls,’ Hope says. Then she scurries over to the refrigerator.

I grab her hand and pull her towards me.

‘You’ve made plenty of food, I promise. They’re going to be here more for the company than the food, anyway.’

Wrapping my arms around her waist, she melts right into me.

‘I know, but they’re your friends and I want them to enjoy coming over here.’ She looks around at the food already on the counter.

She has two roasts in the oven, and she’s made enough biscuits for twenty people. There are four different side dishes, three different pies and another pie for Bennett to take home since he’s the only single one.

‘Baby, they’re our friends now,’ I tell her. The smile she flashes up at me makes my heart race.

‘I like the sound of that.’

Heaven help me, so do I. It’s not long before our company begins to arrive. Axel and Emelie are the first to get here and Emelie disappears into the kitchen with Hope.

‘I want to thank you for that dog,” I say. He’s an amazing hunter. When we took him out to see what he could do, he tracked down an entire herd of deer for us the other day. Plus, having him around makes Hope feel safer. I never would have thought of it.’

As if he heard my praise, Hank comes over to welcome Axel.

‘That was all Emelie. She insisted, and I’m glad it’s worked out. Now, she’s trying to convince me to get one.’ He has the smallest hint of a smile on his face as he watches his wife in the kitchen.

‘Do it. Let me tell you, I wouldn’t have tracked down the deer that day. Really, I thought he would bring back some small animal.’

Just as Hank lies down in the doorway of the kitchen so that he can still watch Hope and see us, there’s a knock on the door again that sends him up and barking.

This time it’s Phoenix with his wife Jenna and Bennett is behind them pulling into the driveway.

Jenna, of course, heads straight to the kitchen with the others as Phoenix and Bennett join Axel and me.

‘Any other news on the person in the woods or your girl’s mother? And are we sure the two aren’t related?’ Bennett asks when the girls are out of earshot.

‘Honestly, I have no idea if they are related,” I say. “Though it seems like too much of a coincidence to not be. Also, it was a guy in the woods and not her mom. But my gut says it’s just all too much of a coincidence for me. And her mother coming all the way up from Georgia? According to Hope, this is what she does when she breaks up with a guy, so I’m trusting her on this. In short, there’s been nothing more from either one of them. I know the man hasn’t been around as I’ve been checking the tree line every day.’

Once I’ve finished my assessment of our current situation to Phoenix and Bennett, Hank comes to lie at my feet. But he’s still facing the kitchen and watching Hope. It’s like he knows she needs space to spend time with the girls, but he’s still going to keep his eye on her.

Hank knows he’s a hunting dog, but when we’re here at the cabin, he’s constantly at Hope’s side. It doesn’t matter what she’s doing, he’s right there. Every night, he sleeps by her side of the bed on the floor and always facing the door.

I’m excited to see what he does when it comes to the trap line and I’m thinking of taking him with me soon.

Then the conversation turns to the upcoming winter and different things that we’re doing this year.

Before I know it, the girls are calling us in for dinner. Hope has the table all set up, nicer than I could make it look. Then she’s set the food buffet style on the kitchen counter, so everyone goes and makes a plate. But we insist the women go first.

As mountain men, we pile our plates high. I was right she made plenty of food. Even with all the food we took on our first round, there’s still at least half of it left. Though it won’t go to waste because I know these guys will go back for seconds once they taste my Hope’s cooking.

‘Well, now that we are all sitting here, I guess this is as good a time as any to announce that Axel and I are expecting,’ Emelie announces.

Axel has a huge smile on his face as he reaches over and places a hand on her belly. Cheers go up from Jenna and Hope and even Phoenix. Bennett and I offer our congratulations.

They’re both positively glowing with happiness. Bringing new life to the mountain, and starting a family is an amazing step forward. There was a point in my life when I didn’t think there would ever be anyone out there for me. You simply never saw women up on the mountain like this. But I want a family and seeing my friends being able to make it happen just solidifies this desire in me.

Hope leans her head on my shoulder and places a hand on my thigh. In an instant, I can see my entire life here on the mountain with her. In my mind’s eye, it’s like in the movies when they fast track a bunch of memories on the screen all in a period of a few seconds. I can see her on our wedding day, having our first kid, winters up here, and homeschooling our kids. Even better, I can see her thriving up here. Whatever I need to do or whatever it takes, I’m going to make that happen.

‘Look how happy they are,” Hope says. “I don’t think I’ve seen that man smile once the entire time I’ve known him.’

When I look up, sure enough, there’s a big smile on Axel’s face.

Questions are being fired at them. Do you want a boy or a girl? Do you have any names picked out? When are you due?

Finally, Emelie says, ‘Okay, okay. We are due at the end of winter. And yes, we’re planning a home birth here on the mountain. We have no preference whether it’s a boy or girl. Currently, we have no names picked out. But we wanted you all to be the first to know.’ Emelie finishes answering all the questions with another bright smile on her face.

The rest of our dinner conversation covers how they plan on having the baby up in the mountain, the logistics of having it at home versus at a hospital. It appears they have done some research and I plan to sock all that information away for later. Though I’m sure the other guys are doing it as well.

After dinner, the girls separate into the kitchen to clean up and talk, while the guys move on into the living room. There are lots of giggles from the kitchen and I can tell by the look on the guys faces they feel the same way about the sound. It’s an absolutely perfect sound to have in the house.

Looking around at these guys who have been here for me and helped me through one of the worst times in my adult life, I’m feeling both thankful and grateful. I am proud to call them friends. Even if we don’t see each other as often as other people do, we take care of each other. We are a family.

This is my tribe. When we’re together, it’s nothing like that game night with Alex and his friends. These guys love their wives with their whole hearts. Though Bennett may be the last single one in the group, he would, if it came to it, protect these women with his life.

When I look into the kitchen, it’s as if she can feel my eyes on her and Hope turns to smiles at me. I get up and walk over to her while Emelie and Jenna go out to their husbands.

‘This is my kind of guys’ night. Men like me, well, we want our wives around. We want to hear your giggles filling the house, and we want to be around other guys who love their girls.’ I tell her as she puts the last of the dishes away.

‘I know, and that’s one of the many things that I love about you,’ she says.

At her words, I freeze. I’m scared to even take a breath. Does Hope mean what I hope she does? My emotions must be written all over my face because she laughs lightly, her face glowing as she wraps arms around my neck.

‘Yes Cash. I love you. Body and soul. I love you with all my heart. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.’

She loves me.

It’s the most freeing feeling in the world knowing that this girl who I want to spend the rest of my life with, and who I want to build a life with loves me.

I don’t think. I kiss her. I can’t get her close enough, so I pin her against the kitchen counter to deepen the kiss. To attempt to get as much of her body touching mine as possible.

I get so lost in this kiss, so lost in the moment that she loves me too that I forget everything else.

She pulls back with a little giggle. That’s what I finally hear the whistles and the clapping that are filling the cabin from my friends behind me.

‘And I think that’s our cue to head out,’ Jenna says.

Then everyone gets up and moves in the direction of the door, saying our goodbyes.

When it’s just us again, I turn to her and in one swoop throw her over my shoulder and head straight for the bedroom.

Her giggles fill the cabin the entire way.