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He stops, staring at me Intently Deeply And it’s in that in to fall, he catches me “Easy now,” he murmurs

I shiver at the power of his arth in his voice “Stupid rock Thanks,” Imyself

He winks “The rocks are known to be deadly in these parts”

His joke breaks the intensity that’d been there between us Regardless, I keep le of my skin where he’d touched

Silence stays between us e cliher elevation And soon, where the forest thins, we step out onto a large rock that gives an open view of the lake

“Wow,” I breathe, taking in the lake, the endless trees, the untouched beauty

His voice is soft behind lance over estures at the flat rock

Once we sit, I stare out at a canoe off in the distance, and my mind circles back to that emotion I picked up in his voice earlier, e canoed “Did yournot to upset him with painful memories

He leans back on his hands, legs stretched out in front of him “What made you ask that?”

“Just a guess” I shrug

“It’s a good one,” he says, glancing out at the treetops “My grandmother was Canadian, so , the tradition continued”

“You spent every summer here?”

He nods and smiles “Up until I becarandparent

s and mom”

“Ah, the good ole teenage years” A hawk soars overhead, and I shadeas the bird swoops down, obviously catching its breakfast “How often do you coood two-and-a-half-hour drive from the airport”