“Sure. We’ve got a lot of time before dinner.”
She nodded, either to his comment or in agreement about calling, he wasn’t sure. And he certainly wasn’t going to ask right now. Instead, he took a look at the road signs and tried to guesstimate where they would be in a few more hours of driving.
“So about sights for today,” he started. “I think there’s a birds of prey habitat somewhere along this highway and, if my memory serves me, something called Craters of the Moon.”
When she looked over at him this time, she gave him a slight smile that looked more like relief at his change of topic than anything else. “I don’t know what there is to see at Craters of the Moon in winter, so how about the bird thing?”
“Bird thing it is,” he said with a nod.
He snuck another glance at her. She still looked tired, but there was a resignation on her face that made him think she was glad he had maneuvered her in the right direction when it came to her mom. One squeeze of her knee and a corresponding pat of her hand on his, and he turned his attention back to the drive.
*
The cold Idaho wind was blowing extra hard as they climbed out of the car at the overlook. Selina pulled her coat tighter around her body, grabbing on to the collar and hiking it up to cover as much of her ears as possible.
“Cold?” Marc asked. He was swinging his arms as though he didn’t have a care in the world, but Selina suspected it was partly because he was cold. His face was bright with excitement, though, and his enthusiasm was contagious.
She smiled in response. “A little, but the walk will do me some good.”
“Come on, then,” he said, clapping his hands together. “I’ve been driving around to see stuff, and so far almost everything has been closed. I’m just happy this is open.”
Gravel crunched under her boots as she walked behind him on the trail to the canyon edge. The snowstorm had left only a dusting of snow on the high plateau of the canyon. With the sun bouncing off the white surfaces, all the colors around her seemed more vibrant. The blue of the sky was brighter, the black and gray of the rocks were deeper, and even the tan of the dead grass looked more alive.
Or maybe, Selina thought as she sidled up to Marc who had stopped to read a sign, what she was seeing was a reflection of her own happiness. Her entire body felt lighter. Her soul felt lighter. Light enough that she could take a running start, open up her arms, leap off the canyon, and fly.
Most of her joy was related to the fact that she finally had gotten out of Athol and was pursuing her own dreams, but some of it was the man next to her. Though being prodded in the car about calling her mom had been annoying, she was glad he’d done it. She’d needed the push, but she’d also needed him to back off. He seemed to know instinctively when to do one and when to do the other.
Selina admired the view around them. The landscape seemed to go on forever. Birds cried and chirped in the air, and the wind picked up Marc’s floppy hair, lifting parts of it until it was almost standing straight up.
He smiled, taking one step closer to her until their shoulders were nearly touching. “Have you ever been here before?”
“No.” Though, right now, she couldn’t think of any place she’d rather be.
“Cool, huh?” He held out a hand. “Come on. Let’s finish walking to the overlook.”
She didn’t take his hand, even though she wanted to. And to her relief, he didn’t seem to be offended or disappointed.
“God, this is amazing,” he said when she caught up with him at the overlook.
Walking up to the rim made her heart race. Black rock jutted out from the sides of the canyon, obscuring the view of the river in places, which snaked hundreds of feet below them. Then there was a harsh cry—seemingly out of nowhere—and a large bird flew directly overhead before plunging into the canyon.
“Holy shit,” Marc said as they both jumped back. “What kind of bird was that?”
“I don’t know,” she answered, her tone echoing the amazement in his. “I didn’t read the sign that closely.” She’d been too busy looking at the landscape and Marc.
“I did.” He shook his head. “And I still don’t know what the bird is. Big. And I think maybe a bird of prey.”
She smirked and raised a brow at him. “Well, this is a refuge for birds of prey.”
His laugh at her smart remark rang delightfully in her ears. “Since neither of us remember what the birds are, we can give them our own names. Big for that bird was an understatement. And it was brown, I think. So I name it . . . Big Brown Bird.”
“That’s . . .” She was about to say a stupid name when she turned to look at him and saw the mischievous glint in his eyes. “We can do better than that.”