The Bet (The Bet 1)

When he reached the deck he noticed her sitting in a chair closest to the water.

“This was my dad’s favorite spot. He’d say he could see all the way to China from this spot right here.”

“Hmm.” Travis kneeled down next to her. “Not China, but maybe, just maybe Vancouver though.”

Kacey sighed heavily. “I don’t even know where to start. Do

I say thank you for doing something I didn’t have the guts to do? Do I say I’m sorry for treating you so horribly? Do I apologize to my dead parents for being less than what they brought me up to be—”

“Whoa! Wait right there.” Travis jerked her to her feet. “Don’t you ever say that. I will throw you over my shoulder and jump into the river next time you say such stupid things.”

Kacey’s eyes began to tear.

“Oh baby, you can cry. Cry all you want, but you need to hear this, hear it from me, okay? This wasn’t your dream. I know that. And you probably should have gone away for a bit to try to heal. I did this for you, for me, for your parents. I loved them too, you know. And it worked out in the end, didn’t it? Your parents…” He swallowed so he wouldn’t begin to get choked up. When he felt he had control over his emotions again he continued, “I count myself lucky every day I get to see you breathe, let alone walk and talk at the same time. Because each day you do those things is one more day that your parents didn’t. To me that’s living. You are living, and that is what your parents would want, Kace. They wanted you to live, to love, to hurt, to laugh, to cry. They wanted it all because they lived it all. Here look at this…”

Travis lifted the chair Kacey had been sitting in and flipped it over, reading, “X marks the spot. Here lies my treasure.”

He turned to look at her. “My treasure is right next to me.” A red arrow pointed directly to the other chair, and then, as if there was ever any doubt of who the message was talking about, a tiny picture of Kacey as a baby was taped to the bottom.

“Did you put this here?” Kacey choked.

“No.” Travis grinned. “Your parents did, or at least I’m assuming they did, considering it was like that when we bought the place. I’ve just kept it in pristine condition, which would have been easier if they had taken precaution to laminate the picture. No worries though. I’ve got stalker in my genes. I just swapped the photo out with another one from your baby album.”

“Which you got from…”

“Mom…”

“How does she even have those?”

Travis shrugged. She didn’t need to know his family had an entire shed full of the stuff Kacey refused to look through after her parents’ death. “We had it around.”

“This is…” Kacey lifted her hands in the air and huffed.

“A lot to take in, I know. I can be like that. So now, I’m going to feed you.”

“Ah, so that’s your evil plan. Make me emotional then feed me.”

“Of course” He kissed her nose. “I hear chocolate works wonders. It’s also an aphrodisiac, at least that’s what I hear.”

“Lucky you.” Kacey punched his arm.

“No, Kace.” He breathed into her ear and licked the side of her neck, loving the way her skin tasted salty and sweet at the same time. “Lucky you.”

“Arrogant bastard,” Kacey said, playfully pushing him away.

“Always. Now, sit. I’ll be right back.”

****

Kacey was suddenly thankful for the sweatshirt as the wind picked up. But she didn’t want to go inside for warmth. She wanted to stay planted exactly where she was, and never leave.

Ever.

Suddenly the thought of going back to Seattle seemed too depressing to dwell on, and her flight was early the next morning. She leaned back against the chair and played with a sugar packet from the table. Dread filled her stomach as she thought about leaving.

What if she stayed?

What if she stayed here?