“It was a good trip,” the two of them said at the same time. “Well, what do you know. Maybe we do have a few things in common,” Trent said.
“Maybe.” Dad stepped back and assessed the new area. He cleared his throat, once again coughing away the momentary emotions. “This looks good.”
“Yeah. Marla’s going to love it. It was a great idea, Dad.”
“Wasn’t mine. It was yours. I just built off it, like I did on that camping trip. You’re smart and creative, and that’s part of why I liked about having you around, Trent,” his father said. “I was so looking forward to when you came home from college and started working here full-time. I wanted to see what we could do with this place, where the two of us could take it. Instead, you went off on your own.”
Trent sighed. Just when they seemed to have found common ground, the two of them circled back to the same argument. “Dad, why are we having this argument again?”
“Because…” His father held up a plant that had overgrown its pot. Roots twined their way out of the base, then knotted into a circle under the pot. “Just because you can’t see the roots of who you are doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
Kate watched Trent and his father work together, rearranging some outdoor furniture into a home-like setting on one side of the nursery. They seemed to be getting along, even talking. Until they didn’t. Robert went off one way, Trent another.
“Those two men,” Anne said with a sigh. “I hope they work things out someday.”
“I think it’s just that they’re too similar,” Kate said. “That can make it hard to see each other’s viewpoint.”
“Well, if you talk to my son,” Anne said softly, “tell him that his father might be as gruff as a grizzly bear, but he loves and misses his son something fierce.”
“I will, I promise.”
His mother gave Kate a quick hug. “After all the hours we spent together, you’re practically family.”
The words warmed Kate’s heart and set off a longing deep in her chest for this whole thing with Trent and his family to last longer than a couple of days. What would it be like to truly be a part of his family? To come up here on the weekends and spend time together with everyone?
Silly fantasy thoughts. None of that was going to happen. Wishing and hoping for things that would never be didn’t make them real.
Trent strolled over and handed her an icy glass of water. “What do you say we play a little hooky?”
“Oh, thank you for the water.” She took a long drink. Her legs and arms ached from being so active all day, but it also felt good to not be behind the computer. She’d spent most of her time with Trent’s mother and sister, hearing everything from the story of his first steps to the day he’d skipped school in first grade to go see a neighbor’s puppies. “What do you mean by playing hooky? Because if it involves lifting dirt or plants, no way. I’m pooped from today.”
He laughed. “Just an easy hike. There’s a short trail at the end of my street. I’d like to show it to you and I’ll tell you all about my first hike on it while we climb.”
“Sure. That sounds fun.” She put a hand to her forehead. “Wait, maybe I should check myself for a fever.”
“Why?”
“I think I’ve caught some kind of outdoors bug.” When he rolled his eyes, she grinned. “Yet another bad joke.”
“You do seem to have an awful lot of those.” But he laughed as he said it, and the mood between them lightened. Trent called out to his mother that they’d be back in an hour, then Kate and Trent set out down the street.
His neighborhood backed up to part of the Cascade Mountains, a breathtaking view, even from street level. Snow-capped mountains rose in little white triangles above them, one after the other, as far as the eye could see. A small dirt path wound behind the houses and into the ridges. Thick groups of trees marched up the slope, their roots poking above the worn earth.
“Lots of loose gravel here, so watch your step.” Trent took her hand, guiding her past the first slippery slope. His touch was warm, comforting, and made her feel, even in this small space, safe and secure. As soon as they were on solid ground, Trent released her hand.
Kate told herself not to care. This was an excursion for research, not to be alone. Except why did Trent keep getting close and moving far away? “So, uh, did you hike this trail a lot when you were young?”
“It’s the first hike I ever did. My friends and I would come here to play, but we never ventured very far. Then, when I was nine, I got it in my head that I wanted to see how high I could climb. I set out on Saturday morning and got all the way to that ridge.” He pointed to an outcropping so high above them, she could barely see it against the dark mountain side.
This was the Trent she had been looking for in all these interviews she’d done with him. The headstrong, brave, strong man who had reached the top when no one else thought he could. “Wow. That’s really high. Weren’t you scared?”
“I was too dumb to be scared.” He grinned. “I set out with almost nothing. A water bottle and some cookies my mom made. I told her I was going to the bottom of the ridge to play with my friends like I always did, but instead, I kept going. I didn’t even have a jacket. It was cold as heck up there, and that’s when I started to get scared.”
“Sounds like my kind of hiking prep.” Kate grinned. “So, what happened?”
“My dad found me. I had asked him about hiking that trail one time, and he said he used to climb all the way to the top when he was younger and not so busy with the nursery. He warned me not to go alone, that someday he’d take me, but he never found the time. I guess when I took off that sunny Saturday, he figured out I was going to do the same—I never was a kid who liked to listen to rules—and he set out to find me.”
She could see that in Trent’s father, and in Trent himself. The stubbornness, the courage, the deep love neither of them showed on the outside. “That’s wonderful. It shows you both think a lot alike.”
Trent scoffed. “I don’t know about that. We have the same interests in sports and the outdoors, and when I was young, we did stuff together whenever he wasn’t working. After that day on the mountain, my dad insisted I join the Boy Scouts, so I’d learn to always be prepared. He went on some of the camping trips with me, and it was one of the few times we got along. Maybe it was because we were both outdoors, doing something we loved. In the nursery, we butted heads all the time, but when we were putting up a tent or building a fire, we got along like best friends.”
“Deep down, your dad sounds a lot like you.” When the two of them had been standing together earlier, they were almost mirror reflections with the same stance, sandy-brown hair and piercing blue eyes.