Hudson grabbed their backpack and slipped it over his shoulders and pointed to the door.
“Where are we going?” Rebecca gave him a quizzical look.
“Follow me, and you’ll find out.”
The two of them headed into the early morning sunshine. The snow clouds had given way to a clear blue sky, and the wind from the north was minimal. It was crisp and cold, but altogether a perfect November day. Hudson pointed to the path that led to the cabins, and the two of them moved in that direction.
Here, the trees were mostly evergreen, pine, spruce, and fir. The smell of pine needles was heavy in the air and brought to mind hot chocolate, snow, and Christmas. They trudged along the path and stopped near the first cabin. Made of logs, like the rest of them, it boasted new windows, a new roof, and the bronze nameplate above the front door had been freshened up. Dry Run.
Hudson stared at the name for a long time, unaware his easy manner had changed until Rebecca moved to his side.
“Everything okay?” Rebecca asked, her voice light.
“This was ours.”
“What do you mean?” She followed his gaze.
“This cabin. We’d have family reunions up here, and this cabin, Dry Run, was always ours. I liked it because it was the closest to the main lodge, and I’d beat all the other kids over there for breakfast. It was the highlight of my day.”
She chuckled. “You weren’t hard to please.”
“None of us were. We had it easy. So damn easy, and we didn’t know it. As long as Mrs. Thompson had her homemade strawberry freezer jam and biscuits, I was good to go. We spent our days on the water.” He pointed to a clearing just to the left of Dry Run. “And our nights around the fire. Wyatt was the singer. Jesus, nothing could get that kid to shut up. Dad would bring out his guitar, and the two of them would sing Hank Williams songs all night. They’d always end with a sing-along. ‘American Pie’ or something.” He stopped. “Huh. I forgot my dad played. How crazy is that?”
Rebecca grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
“It’s not crazy. It just is.”
He shook off the memories and cleared his throat. “We should get going.”
They hiked for nearly two hours, following a well-worn path that told Hudson the area was still used even though the resort hadn’t been in use in years. It wasn’t overgrown, and easy to follow. The higher they climbed, the less dense the trees were and the rockier the landscape became. When they finally reached the clearing, the sun was high in the sky, and Hudson doffed his jacket and slid off his backpack.
“Oh my God.” Rebecca walked to the edge of the stone clearing. They were at the top of the hill they’d just hiked, one with deep ravines that led straight down into a neighboring body of water, Silver Lake. And in the distance, several smaller lakes stretched out, liquid blue among patches of evergreen and the many bare trees that had lost their leaves to the oncoming winter.
“I forgot how beautiful this place was.”
She turned in a full circle, and though her eyes were on the scenery below, Rebecca had his undivided attention.
“Yes,” he murmured, walking toward her. He followed her gaze. “It’s incredible.” He wasn’t talking about the view, and when she glanced up at him, a gentle smile lit her face.
“Do you remember the last time we came here?” she asked.
Hudson nodded. “Best prom party ever.”
She giggled. “I can’t believe us girls hiked up here in running shoes and gowns in the dark.”
“Hell, Nash carried the whole damn sound system on his back.”
“That’s right.”
“And a small generator to run the thing.”
She giggled. “And his date quit halfway up.”
“Thank God. She whined the entire way.” Hudson opened up the knapsack and retrieved a blanket, two hot thermoses of soup, and biscuits.
“You really thought of everything.”
“You seem surprised.” He handed Rebecca one of the thermoses.