“I only like you because of this truck, you know,” Kari mentioned as we climbed into the cab.
“Good to know,” he said before shutting his door and turning on the engine. A low rumble reverberated through my body as he backed out the driveway, flipping to a country station on his radio.
Besides Max answering a few work calls on his cell, the ride was pretty quiet. I found myself wishing that Cane was with us, but I reminded myself of his words: things would be back to normal soon.
I really hoped that was true. I missed him.
The more I thought about it, the more down I felt. I tried to focus on the banter between my sister and Max and the songs on the radio but nothing could overtake the worry, the fear that something was falling apart.
Before long, Max pulled into the parking lot of Pinnacle Peak and we got out of the truck.
“Seriously. Could this thing be any higher?” I asked as I descended to the ground.
“It could. But I felt any more would be overkill,” Max snickered.
“Ha, ha.”
Max grabbed us bottles of water from the cooler in the back and led the way.
It was a beautiful day, the weather finally beginning to cool off just a bit. The sun was bright but not baking and an easy breeze flowed. With each step on the granite-strewn trail, my mood elevated, too. Max paused dutifully as Kari and I stopped to take silly selfies by the cacti. As we got to the actual pinnacle, I was actually smiling.
Kari and Max walked to the other side, taking a selfie of their own, and I sat by myself on the hard ground. The desert looked beautiful from that elevation and I recalled a similar view I had seen with Cane by my side. I smiled as I remembered him opening up to me a little bit that night, sharing stories about his family. Looking out across the city from a different point than I did that night, I realized everything looked differently, depending on the perspective.
I glanced over to my right and saw a little flower growing in the midst of a strip of bare desert floor. It had a thick stalk lodged in a crack in the earth; its spectacular peachy-hued petals were basking in the sun.
This little flower made it, I realized, through tons of adversity. It overcame the rocks, the heat, and the location and blossomed because it fought for what it wanted.
I stood and looked out across the desert.
I needed to fight for what I wanted, too.
As we got back into Max’s truck a little while later, my phone went off.
Cane: I miss you.
Me: I miss you, too.
The sun had begun to set in the west, casting shadows across the back yard. Kari and I sat by the pool watching Max push a broom across the floor. After our hike, we had stopped for lunch at the Mexican restaurant where I had first met Cane.
I was in the same boat leaving Blanca’s as I was in the last time—quietly hoping for a call from Cane Alexander.
A light breeze tickled our skin as we sat stretched out on the chaise lounges. The sun was hidden by the acacia trees in the yard and I felt my body begin to relax.
I closed my eyes and listened to the pool swirl, the water splashing against the sides as Max pushed the pool broom across the floor.
“Why do you have an automatic pool cleaner if you have to clean the thing yourself anyway?” he asked.
“You don’t have to,” Kari said, tipping down her sunglasses. “You are just picky.”
“We need to move somewhere that doesn’t require having a pool for survival.” Max submerged himself in the water and came back up hot and wet, his tattoos glistening with water droplets.
“Move?” This was news to me.
“Not specifically.” Kari looked to Max for help.
“We have been talking about moving in together.” I could tell by the nonchalant way about his voice that he was testing me out, seeing how I would respond.
“Oh,” I said, a little surprised. “I didn’t know that.”
“We aren’t sure or anything,” Kari said hurriedly. “Just something we’ve been throwing out there.”
I looked at my sister and Max as they shared a smile. “I actually think that’s great.” I set my e-reader down. I couldn’t concentrate on Blake and Cam anyway. “Are you getting a new place or moving in here or Max’s or what?”
“We don’t know. I said we were just thinking about it,” Kari said laughing.
I watched Max work his way around the pool, his muscles pushing and pulling. “I have been checking out apartments online, too. I need to just pull the trigger on one.”
Max looked at me. “Have you talked to Cane about that?”
“I would have to talk to Cane at all before I could talk to him about that.” I raised my eyebrows, challenging Max to a response.
I watched him force a swallow before swinging his eyes to the side gate. “What’s up, Alexander?”
My breath caught in my throat as my eyes followed Max’s eyes to the side gate.