Dance With Me (With Me in Seattle 12)

“I have it.” I raise my phone and give it a little wag. After I shake his hand, I walk out of the police station to the SUV that Christian loaned us rather than have to rent a car in our name.

Between Luke, Christian, and myself, we thought of everything to keep Starla and I completely untraceable. To anyone looking for us, it would appear that we simply disappeared.

I like it. But I’m still careful because Starla’s life is on the line, and I will not fuck this up.

I glance at the time. Starla and Jenna will be at the spa for at least another hour, so I drive around town, soaking it in.

It’s small but well-kept. The downtown has a rustic, woodsy atmosphere without sending it to over-the-top cheesy. There are restaurants, dress shops, a flower shop, and finally, toward the end of the main street, a coffee shop.

I find a parking space out front and walk inside Drips & Sips, in desperate need of caffeine. It’s bigger than it looks outside, with a nice gift shop and seating in the back.

“What can I get you?”

“Coffee. Highly caffeinated.”

“We have plenty of that.” The barista smiles as she taps the screen of her computer. “Where are you visiting from?”

“How do you know I’m visiting?”

She laughs now as she hands me my change and turns to the espresso machine to make my drink.

“Because I know everyone in this town, and I ain’t ever seen you around here before.”

“Guilty. I’m from California.”

She nods and continues to talk about tourists and some of the things I should go see while I’m here, but I ignore her, keeping an eye on the shop, making mental notes of who and what I see.

It’s a habit of the job.

A redheaded woman sits at a table in the back with headphones on, typing vigorously on a laptop. An older grey-haired woman drinks coffee with a younger friend, both deep in conversation.

The bell above the door rings as a tall man in a suit walks in, waves at the barista, then walks quickly to where the redhead is typing.

“Ty!” the woman exclaims and stands to hug him.

“Here you go. Have a fun vacation.”

“Thanks.” I wave and walk back out to the car, ready to go and find my girl and take her back to the treehouse.“I get it,” Starla says a couple of days later. We’re standing at the top of Whitetail Mountain after riding the chairlift all the way up. There’s a place up here to buy a beer or a meal, but aside from that, we’re surrounded by trees and more mountains.

“What do you get?” I ask as I watch Starla stare out across the valley before us.

“Why people want to live here.” She smiles over at me. “It’s quiet. The people are so nice. And good-looking. Did you notice that?”

“No,” I say with a laugh. “I don’t think I was paying attention to that.”

“It’s almost weird,” she says. “Anyway, I like it here.”

“It’s nice.”

“But you don’t want to live here.”

“I’m a city boy,” I confess with a shrug. “So, yes, this is beautiful, and I would definitely visit again, but I like living in Seattle.”

“I get it.” She walks over to the other side of the mountain, looking into Glacier National Park and toward Canada. “I guess I’m just enjoying the peacefulness of it.”

“As you should. This is your vacation.”

I take her hand in mine and pull it to my mouth, casually kissing her knuckles.

“Let’s take the chair back down,” she says, leading me to the chairlift. “The view is going to be off the hook.”

“Let’s do it.”

There’s no line when we arrive. The kid running the lift gives us instructions on where to stand, and we hop onto the chair, get settled, and he lowers the bar over us, securing us.

“I knew it,” she says with a wide grin as we glide over the top of the mountain and see the valley below. There’s a huge lake at the edge of the town, and we can see a dozen or so boats zooming over the water. “Today would be a great day to be on the water.”

“Do you like to boat?”

“I don’t know,” she says. “I’ve never done it.”

“Never?”

“I’ve been a little busy touring.” She shrugs a shoulder and then points to the horizon. “Look! There’s another town and lake way out there. Geez, we must be able to see fifty miles away.”

She’s like a kid, seeing the most amazing thing of her life. Her excitement is so palpable. She’s been all over the world on tour, but it occurs to me that she would have always been in a hotel and a venue, not out exploring the sights.

We need to change that for her in the future.

“The spa was amazing the other day,” she says as she swings her feet in the air. “I’ve been to some of the best spas in the world, and this one could go up against any of them any day of the week.”