“It was our way of protecting you. We didn’t want you to suffer like your granny.” He reached for her hand. “It didn’t make a lick of difference to us. But as Agnes can attest, people aren’t always kind to those who are different. They can be cruel.”
She leaned over and hugged him. “I was lucky to have you and Grandma looking out for me. Thank you, and thank you for telling me.”
“As I told your mother, you were a blessing to me and your grandmother. And don’t you worry, your secret is safe with me. I’d never tell anyone.” He patted her back. “Now off you go and enjoy yourself with Nate. You deserve to take a break.”
“I really shouldn’t. There’s too much to do for tomorrow.”
“You leave it to me and Jonathan. All we have to do is slap some of those fillings you made this morning onto the bread and cut them into triangles.”
Now she was more nervous about leaving than she had been. But her grandfather countered every argument Ellie made to stick around. So in the end she reluctantly agreed.
She kissed his cheek and headed for her room. Once she’d changed into a yellow T-shirt and a pair of denim capris, she checked out the Bridgerton room.
The wainscoting Nate and Hunter had put up that morning worked beautifully with the blue wallpaper with its lacy white pattern that Abby, Sadie, and Mallory had hung on the upper two-thirds of the walls. The blue satin drapes with gold piping looked as wonderful as Ellie had hoped, as did the gold-and-blue floral satin bedspread against the powder-blue velvet headboard. All that was left for Ellie to do was hang the prints in their heavy gilded frames and dress the nightstands.
It wouldn’t take her long to finish up, she thought, looking around for the hammer and finishing nails. She’d feel better if the room was complete before she left. She found what she was looking for on the dresser and picked up one of the framed prints.
“I told you she’d be here,” she heard her cousin say behind her.
Ellie turned to see Sadie, Chase, and Nate watching her from the doorway.
Sadie walked over and took the hammer, nails, and print from her and put them on the bed. “We’ve got this.”
“I know you do. You guys did an amazing job on the room. It’s just—”
Sadie put her hands on Ellie’s shoulders, turning her toward the door. “Go.”
“But—” Ellie went to object, only to be cut off by her cousin again.
“Chase and I will take care of this, and Abby, Mallory, and the kids have the sandwiches covered.”
“Okay, okay. If Grandpa and Jonathan want to help, don’t let them cut the sandwiches. The flower cookie cutters are on the counter on top of the bread box.”
“Yes, and we found the pink-, yellow-, and blue-dyed sandwich bread,” Sadie said, giving Ellie a light push toward Nate. “Go have fun, kids.”
Chase handed Nate a black duffel bag and waggled his eyebrows. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.” He closed the door in their faces.
From behind the door, Sadie released a startled shriek. Ellie went to open the door to see what was wrong, but her cousin’s shriek was immediately followed by laughter. Then the room went quiet.
“Don’t you dare mess up the bed, you guys!” Ellie called through the door.
“I can pretty much guarantee they’ll mess up the bed, but you’ll never know it. Chase is a neat freak. He won’t leave the room until everything is in order.” Nate nodded at the stairs. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What about Ryder?” she asked, following him down the stairs.
“He won’t even know we’re gone. He’s having a blast with Gabe and Mallory’s boys.”
“Okay, so where exactly are we going? And what’s in the bag?” she asked as they left the inn.
“A picnic, according to Chase and Sadie.” Nate walked toward his motorcycle. “And we’re not going far. Just over to the cabins. Sadie says there’s a great spot for a picnic.”
“She’s right. We used to go when we were kids. It was one of our favorite spots. We decorated the trees with solar fairy lights. Actually, now that I think about it, those were probably the lights you saw from the balcony last Saturday.”
“Could be,” he said, but there was a skeptical tone in his voice.
Before she had a chance to question him, he shut the compartment he’d put the duffel bag into and handed her a helmet. “Hop on.”
She swung her leg over the seat and put on her helmet.
He laughed. “Good try.” Placing his hands on her hips, he positioned her on the back of the bike instead of the front, where she’d been sitting.
“You’re no fun,” she said as he got on and put on his helmet.
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “That’s the first time anyone has ever said that to me.” He winked and put down his visor. Then he started the motorcycle. “Hang on.”
She just bet all the women Nate dated thought he was a whole lot of fun. She put her arms around him, wishing she’d have the opportunity to experience what those other women had with him. Except in some ways, she had. Nate was fun to be with. He made her smile. He made her laugh. It’s just that she wanted more from him, she thought, as his hard stomach muscles flexed beneath her fingers.
She pushed the thought from her head and enjoyed the ride. It was exhilarating with the wind rushing around them, freeing even. Being pressed snug against Nate only added to her enjoyment. She admired the power in his big frame, the ease with which he maneuvered the motorcycle off the dirt road and onto the rutted path through the woods. Her only disappointment was that the ride was over too soon. He brought the Harley to a stop on the outer edge of the clearing.
“I told you,” she said as she got off the bike and removed her helmet. She lifted her chin at the lights draped among the upper limbs of the trees.
“How the hell did you get them up that high?” Nate asked, removing his helmet to look up at the trees.
“Sadie climbed the trees. I used a ladder. She’s more daring than me.” Ellie smiled at the memories and glanced around. “It hasn’t changed that much. The cabins have, obviously. They’re looking pretty run down.”
“I had an idea about that that I wanted to run by you.”
“Ah, so you had an ulterior motive for bringing me here.”
“I did,” he said, then sighed when he opened the duffel bag. “And apparently Sadie and Chase had an ulterior motive for sending us here.” He tilted the bag to show her the contents. It contained a bottle of wine, candles, grapes, cheese, cold meats, and buns.
She pointed at the navy nylon fabric rolled up at the bottom of the bag. “Is that a sleeping bag?”
“Knowing Chase, it is.” He shook his head. “How did he get all this crap in here?”
“I have no idea, but I really need him to teach me how to pack like that.”
“You and me both,” Nate said, walking through the clearing. “This spot look good to you?”
Above them the sky was clearly visible, and the trees didn’t completely block out the view of the lake. “Perfect,” she said, and Nate began unloading the bag. He piled the food in her arms and then took out the sleeping bag and laid it on the ground.