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She led hile track path Little traffic ventured along here, but she could always see her little cottage just below The grass was drying, golden in the noontiht When she reached the crest of the hill, she stopped, picked up a stick and threw it a short distance for To

From the crest of the hill they could see down the valley Her cottage and their car lay below them; the holloas cradled by spruces and pines and the ever-present poplars and birches that were rapidly losing their plu a golden carpet, while the air held the sharp tang of evergreen “Is this okay?”

Luca put down the basket and reached inside for a blanket “It’s perfect”

She sat down on the blanket, throwing the stick for the dog again “We won’t havethe sun war”

“Then wethe basket “Tomato bocconcini and peppers,you what’s for dessert because good girls eat their vegetables first” He laid out real china and silverware along with their parcels and said, “If you’ll serve, Mari, I’ll pour the wine”

For a fewout the picnic Mari sat with her legs crossed, arranging the meal on the plates Already she could feel the stress of work ebbing away and filled with a newer, sweeter proble his co its warlad to be here with hi as simple as a picnic on a fall day But that was as far as it could go She had to remember why she had come To establish some sort of truce Some sort of equilibriu more

“Fresh air and good food does wonders for stress” Luca’s voice caainst the sun

“This is one of those tiain” She handed hi “I didn’t realize how tense I was I’ve been so focused on trying to get everything accomplished with the same number of hours in the day”

Torass, and collapsed in a contented heap a few feet away “I haven’t been doing this with hiet fat and lazy”

“Everyone needs downti simple and restorative It’s what I hope people find at the Cascade A break from the…what’s the term…the rat race Time to smell the roses For some, this is a way of life”

“For someone like you, you mean?”

He smiled and took a bite of bocconcini “Someone like me?”

She gave hirinned “Oh, you mean the idle rich”