“Swashbuckler?” Dane asked. “What does that mean?”
“Pirate,” Amy said. “Thor.”
“Thor has short hair in one movie.” That was Ethan, being literal again. “So you still look kind of like him. But you look more regular now too, I guess.”
“If you had some lines shaved on the side of your head,” Matt piped up, “you could still be Thor.”
“What do you think?” Harlan asked Amy.
“Nah,” she said. “That would be trying too hard. You’re edgy, accidentally dangerous.” She did some more smiling.
Dane was paying attention to her now. He was paying attention like crazy. He wasn’t going to be thinking about heifers tonight.
He proved it by saying, “If I knew I could make you happy just by not shaving, I’d have done it.”
“Mm,” she said, and now, she was looking at him. “Sounds nice. Do that.”
“Want to go to Hawaii with me?” he asked her. “When calving’s done?”
She stopped in the midst of dishing up green beans and sat up straight. “Oh, man. Do I ever.”
“We could try snorkeling,” he said. “And you could buy a new bathing suit.”
“Or I could buy two.” She smiled at him, he smiled back, and Harlan thought, My work is done here.
Tomorrow, then. One short, anonymous trip to Yellowstone, but only to keep Owen company, since he was getting the feeling that it was necessary. It was clearly time to do something for somebody else, considering that he hadn’t been able to do it so far. He’d walked out on his dad once again, his baby sister was still stuck there, and he didn’t know what to do about that.
One weekend. After that, he was going somewhere warm. He’d figure out the rest later.
That was a plan.
5
Drama Llama
Jennifer’s breath was coming out in frosty puffs of air, and with some difficulty, because she was skiing. She hadn’t wanted to, but she was doing it, right? Day One of the new, braver Jennifer.
Not that she’d started out that way.
“I don’t know how to ski, remember?” she’d told Dyma when they found the rental place in the Snow Lodge. As she was looking at the snowshoes. Which had been the whole plan.
Dyma said, “Lame. We should get skis instead. You want to strap tennis rackets on your feet, then pick them up and put them down awkwardly for ten miles? Way too boring and hard.”
“Maybe I want to pick up my feet for four miles,” Jennifer said. “And then drink an Irish coffee.”
Dyma sighed. “What animals are we going to see, two miles out from the lodge? You can go so much faster skiing, and it’s easy. We won’t do anything hilly, I promise. You just glide along, with a whole lot less effort than snowshoes.”
The rental guy, who looked to be in his early twenties, confident, athletic, and clearly possessing zero clue about normal people, said, “That’s right. Cross-country skiing’s super easy, no worries, and you get to see a lot more. Try the Lone Star Trail first off. It’s flat, and it follows the Firehole River, which means you’re more likely to see something interesting. No way to get lost, and you can do that on skis and be back well before it gets dark. And hey—I have the afternoon off tomorrow. I could go out with you and show you the best spots for wildlife.”
“See?” Dyma told Jennifer. “Now that we’re here, shouldn’t we do everything we can? Even though you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared,” Jennifer said. “I’m up for an adventure. It’s why I’m here. That doesn’t mean I have to do anything stupid.”
“There is no greater illusion than fear,” Dyma said, “no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.”
“Well, no,” Jennifer said, just as the guy, whose name was Peyton, according to his name tag, said, “Awesome. What’s that from?”
“The Tao,” Dyma said. “Lao Tzu.”
“That’s awesome that you memorized it,” he said. “Carpe diem. Seize the day. You’re both right. If it’s not new, if it’s not a little scary, it’s not an adventure, right? I’d be happy to guide you. Both of you. From noon tomorrow until whenever, I’m yours.” He glanced between them and smiled.
“You’re kidding,” Jennifer said, when the lightbulb finally went on. “I’m her mom.”
“Oh.” He looked startled for a moment, then recovered. “No worries. I can deal.”
“You … can deal,” she said.
“No,” Dyma said. “Seriously? Dude. That’s not even close to appealing. It’s just gross.”
“Hey,” he said, “I didn’t mean that. I just meant, whatever happens, happens.”
“Because we’re both hot,” Dyma said. “Mom. That’s what he means. Oh, my god.”
“I didn’t say that.” Peyton was looking a little worried now, and no wonder. “Hey, I’m just here to rent you skis. Or snowshoes. Whatever. If you don’t want a guide, that’s cool too.”
Jennifer was having trouble not getting the giggles. The kid looked like he wished he could backpedal into last week, and Dyma looked so … mortified. What, it was beyond the bounds of possibility that somebody would think her mom was hot?
Not that she would have done anything about it. She absolutely wouldn’t have, and she needed to have a talk with Dyma about older guys who flattered you and came on strong, and how that was only because you were easier to impress into bed than a woman their own age. But still. It was pretty funny to think that she could be the kind of older woman that a younger man was irresistibly drawn to.
“Doesn’t the Tao have anything to say about this situation?” she asked her daughter.
“A good traveler has no fixed plans,” Peyton said, sounding a little sullen, “and is not intent on arriving. But never mind.”
Now, she slid her skis cautiously along the established track, shoved her scarf higher over her mouth and nose with a not-warm-enough gloved hand, because it was freeze-the-insides-of-your-nostrils cold out here, and looked out at mounds of cold, dry snow that sparkled like they were full of jewels, at dark-green lodgepole pines with their pincushions of needles, and at steam rising from a river that was still flowing, because it was thermal. She watched a bald eagle soar overhead and just about fell over doing it, listened to the wind in the pines and the rush of the water, and also listened to Dyma saying, “So. You said you’d explain later. OK, it’s later. We’re finally here, so tell me why I had to come with you on this vacation, or whatever it is. What happened with Mark? Tell me the truth. I’ve already endured the most awkward move in the history of moves for you, not to mention missing a whole day of AP classes, and I’ll miss another day on Monday. You should care, because if I need to remind you, those are four more classes we won’t have to pay college tuition for. Plus there’s my scholarship and all.”
Jennifer said, “Wait. Is this the same girl who’s always telling me she’s got this, and I should quit worrying?”