I watched Cane as he focused on the road and realized how much he had missed. I wondered how that had changed who he was as a man. And then to lose his father on top of it … he must feel incredibly alone in the world.
Before long, we were driving up a winding gravel road at the base of the mountains. There were homes littered around, but few and far between as the elevation rose. We turned up a lane and started up the side of one of the smaller peaks. As we inched higher and higher, it felt like we were leaving the world behind us. I watched the lights grow farther away as we reached the top and everything flattened. Cane put the Denali in park and turned off the lights.
I was stunned.
We were practically sitting on top of the city, the twinkling lights lay at our feet like a sea of flashing stars. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
It was simply magical.
Cane got out of the SUV and walked to the back. Soon he came around, opening my door. He kissed me gently on the lips before I stepped out and the magnificence of our surroundings hit me. I was truly in awe.
The constant noise of the city ceased to exist. Silence reigned and it was like being in another world, looking down on Earth. I inhaled a breath of fresh, cool air as I spun in a circle, taking it all in.
Cane grabbed my hand and led me to the front of the vehicle. He spread a blanket across the granite pieces strewn about the desert floor and sat down, pulling me gently with him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I nestled against his chest, my new favorite place to be.
“This is just fabulous. I don’t even know what to say, Cane. This literally takes my breath away,” I whispered. He hugged me tighter. “This may be the most perfect place on Earth.”
“It is more perfect with you here,” he said before kissing my cheek. “I thought maybe you would enjoy it. Or I hoped you would, anyway.”
“I really do. How did you find this place?”
He looked at me for a long moment and I could tell he was searching for words. Finally, he said, “It’s mine.”
“What do you mean it’s yours?”
His face smoothed out, hiding whatever he was really feeling. “My grandfather owned a lot of this ground back in the day. Practically everything around here. He sold a lot of it off as the years went by, but this is still one chunk out here that we, I mean, I, own.”
“I love that you brought me here. This place is really special; even before I knew that it was yours, I still felt it.”
He brought his head down to mine and pressed his cheek onto my head. “I’ve never brought someone up here before.”
“Why?” I asked. “It’s amazing. Why wouldn’t you want to share this with anyone?”
“I mean, there have been people here before,” he laughed. “Max has spent many nights up here back in the day. We camped up here a lot growing up. There’s been many beers drank in this very spot.”
“We should bring wine next time.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
The city lights twinkled below, the only sound coming from the wind whistling through the canyons around us. I felt so at peace sitting in this remarkable place with this remarkable man; at that moment, I wouldn’t have traded places with anyone else in the world.
“This place is kind of sacred to me.” I felt his shoulders rise and fall. “I’ve never brought a girl up here before. I didn’t want to taint it or something. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Tell me about your grandpa.” I hesitated as soon as the words left my mouth, hoping I wasn’t pushing for too much too soon.
“I spent a lot of time around here with him growing up. Dad worked a lot, trying to build his own empire, trying to give us the best life he could. Mom hated that he worked so much. She thought he should just get a little pudfuck job from my grandfather. But Dad wouldn’t do that. He wanted to do his own thing.”
I frowned. “So that’s why she left, right?”
He nodded. “So, with no one around to watch me, Grandpa Ben got stuck with me,” he said, smiling fondly. “We hiked up here, searched for gold. Well, I searched for gold. And snakes. And cool rocks. Grandpa just kind of walked around. I bet I’ve walked every bit of desert out here at one point or another.”
“See that rock ledge over there?” Cane asked, pointing to a rock wall on the left. “Ask Max about that one of these days,” he chuckled.
“What’s that about?” The thought of Cane and Max together in their teenage years made me smile.
“That’s not my story to tell. But it’s a helluva laugh, I promise you that.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“Yeah, more like entertaining.”
“It sounds like you had a nice childhood.” I hoped the smile on his face would remain.