Mavis smiled gratefully at him. “Thanks, honey.”
The blush deepened a little at the endearment. “No problem.” His radio crackled then, and he said, “I gotta go. Nice to see you, Mavis. Sir.” He nodded at Wilson, and jogged off.
“That’s a nice young man,” Wilson observed.
Mavis nodded. “He’s wonderful for Nina. Just wants to be the best man he can be, wants everything that’s best for her. So sweet, although don’t tell him I said it like that, he’ll be embarrassed.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” Wilson was looking thoughtfully after Joel. “I didn’t think about this—Nina isn’t alone, is she? She comes with a whole family of her own.”
“Yes,” Mavis said on a happy sigh. “I’m so grateful. Because it’s not just Joel—Joel’s very close with his brother Zach, and Zach’s mated to Teri, and Teri is Lillian’s sister, of course. Nina
’s connected to the whole pack, that way, and it’s so good for her. After being alone for so long...I’m just happy she’s got such a close group of family and friends.”
Wilson nodded, still looking after Joel. Mavis wondered suddenly if Wilson had ever wished he had a son.
Well, a stepson-in-law might be just the thing for him, then. Mavis smiled to herself, and then looked up at him. “Shall we hike?”
“We shall.” Wilson held his arm out to her like they were at some nineteenth-century ball, and Mavis laughed a little as she took it. They started off towards the trail.
Joel had been right: the trail was absolutely gorgeous. The mountains stretched up into the distance, but they were in a little valley, so it felt like they were being held by the cupped hands of the earth. The grass was verdantly green, the trees just getting their leaves, and the sun shone warmly over it all.
It was a beautiful day—one of those late April days that felt more like mid-May, with the temperature climbing up through the sixties as they walked. Mavis inhaled the sweet, sweet scent of wildflowers and pine, wanting nothing more than for this moment to last forever. Her fingers were twined with Wilson’s, and she felt like they were of one mind, taking in all of the gorgeous natural beauty around them, breathing in the mountain air, and just being together.
They walked for close to an hour, only speaking to point out some beautiful plant or bird. It was a revelation, being able to be comfortable with a man in silence like this. Daryl had always had to make his opinion known, and most of Mavis’ memories of them being quiet together were chilly, when one or both of them was upset.
The years that Nina had been missing had been almost entirely silent.
But this—it was like she was rewriting the past. Relearning what could be, in the future. She could almost sense Wilson’s love and affection; she could feel the warmth of his hand, and see the deep feeling in his eyes when she looked at him. They didn’t need to speak. They only needed to be here together.
Eventually, they reached a point where the path either continued up into a more strenuous hike into the mountains, or looped back around on itself to go back to the visitor’s center. Wilson looked around with a frown.
“What is it?” Mavis asked. She didn’t quite want to turn around yet, either, she had to admit, although she wasn’t really in the type of shape she’d need to be in to start straight up a mountainside.
“Do you mind taking a bit of a detour?” Wilson asked her, turning back with a twinkle in his eye.
“What do you mean?”
Wilson grinned, looking boyish, and tugged her toward the edge of the path.
Mavis followed, but she said, “Is this safe?” Nina had warned her about the fact that the Park had dangers, wild animals and dangerous terrain, and how it was always important to either stay on the tourist paths, or be sure you knew the territory you were headed into and had the correct safety equipment with you.
Not that Mavis thought a little traipse through the sun-dappled woods would be dangerous.
And actually, now that she thought about it, she had her own dangerous wild animal with her. She was pretty sure that most wildlife would think twice before coming after a genuine snow leopard.
Wilson was saying, “The woods aren’t too thick, and I can’t scent any bears or anything else dangerous nearby. If you’d rather go back on the path—”
“No,” Mavis interrupted, smiling at him. “I trust you. Let’s go this way.”
Wilson smiled back, and together they stepped into the forest.
Mavis felt almost like a fairy tale creature now, following a shapeshifter into the woods. She smiled to herself at the private fantasy. She was surrounded by magical, fairy-tale type creatures every day, including her own daughter.
Plenty of magic in her life already. She didn’t even need fairy tales.
The path quickly disappeared behind them as Wilson led her through the trees. Out here, the natural wonder was even more apparent than it had been on the path; they were surrounded on all sides by the forest, with no indication anywhere of human activity.
Mavis breathed in happily, and caught the aroma of flowers drifting in from somewhere. The area where they were walking was so thickly wooded that the forest floor was mostly logs and pine needles, because the sun filtered in only dimly through the enormous trees. She wondered where it was coming from.