Callie

I was noticeably quiet on the ride back to the cabin. They guys hadn’t returned yet.

“Let’s open a bottle and sit by the fire.” She held up her phone. “Guys will be here in a minute.”

I spotted Nip and Valentine in one of their great debates in an enclosure in the back yard.

Katie’s puppy sat in the grass watching them as if contemplating on whose side she should be on.

I shook my head.

“I’m going to grab Nip and take him for a walk.” I pointed outside. “It looks like he could use some time away from the girls.”

I grabbed his leash off the table near the back door. I pulled my hat down over my head.

“Call—”

“I’ll be back soon.” I interrupted and slipped out the door. The sun had set below the mountain range and the temperature had dropped. I was fueled by anger, but at who and at what, I wasn’t sure.

“Hey Valentine.” I knelt down and picked her up and kissed her little noise. She yelped and wiggled in my hand. I couldn’t feel angry when I held her.

I sat her down, reached in and placed the collar on Nip. He yelped and wiggled himself when he saw that he was going to have some uninterrupted alone time with mommy.

I heard him laugh in his barks.

I rubbed his head and sat him down on the ground.

“I’m sorry, Val. I don’t want you to get eaten by a mountain lion or something.”

She gave me one of her patented whimpers.

I blew her a kiss and headed in the direction of the driveway with Nip at my heels.

I wasn’t sure why I was feeling so out of it about the wedding. I wanted to marry Noah and spend my life with him, but his expectations of what that looked like and how I pictured my life didn’t jell, yet.

I shuffled down the driveway and noticed a trail opening near the road.

“What do you think, Nip. Feel like a hike.”

He answered me with a yelp.

I peeked down the road, hoping not to step out as the guys pulled up. I ran across the street and up a few steps that marked the head of the trail. I heard a SUV rumble by behind me, but soon I heard no noise. It was peaceful and quiet and cold, but the raging noise in my head made it hard to enjoy it. I walked up a few more feet up the steps and the trail flattened out. I looked back to make sure I could find my way back. I walked for another ten minutes, but hadn’t made it much distance from the house. I came through a clearing and found a small man made wooden deck sticking out over the side of the mountain.

Nip jumped up on the deck and I followed. He inched towards the edge and thought better of it and came running back.

“Don’t worry Nip.” I scooped him up. “I won’t let you fall.

I sat down, my legs dangling over the edge. I leaned over the edge a little and blinked.

The drop wasn’t far, but it would hurt.

“Why don’t you stay back here?” I scooted back and tied Nip's leash to the edge of the back of the deck.

He came as far as the leash would allow, and laid down. A leaf blew off a nearby tree and he was occupied.

I took out my phone and snapped a few photos of him. @Lifewith89 Instagram followers would love the view.

I made a note to make sure I got a selfie with Noah and I in this spot.

I flipped through a few other photos. Selfies of us from last year traveling the world. A few from the wedding of the century a few months ago.

We looked happy. We were happy when he or I weren’t overthinking our relationship. When we enjoyed each other.

The quiet moments were few and far between. Noah wasn’t to blame. I wasn’t to blame either. It was football, school, work, having celebrities as best friends, all of it.

I missed … us.

The tranquility seeped in my bones and forced the negative feelings out. The world was so huge and my problems so minuscule compared to the majesty of the place.

Noah loved it here and he wanted me to love it, too.

It was a good place to start. Discovering what we had in common again. I could love this place.

And, as a spot to get married. Sure, why not. I looked back at the narrow trail. It would solve a few of my celebrity wedding phobias. Not too many people could fit in this spot and I imagined half the guests wouldn’t want to trek a half mile in the woods to watch Noah and I say, I do.

I grinned and stood, wiping the dirt off my pants. Nip had moved on from the leaf and found a stick for entertainment. The stick was way too big, but he tried to pick it up. He would get it in his mouth and lift it and it would fall out. He growl at it and did it all over again.

It reminded me of Noah. He’d work at something to the point of hurting himself until he got it.

I videotaped it as Nip placed the stick on the first step the deck. He looking up in triumph as the stick slipped off the back of the step and down the mountain.

I cracked up.

Nip barked at the stick until he couldn’t see it any longer. He barked at me and then stared down again. His left front paw swiped out as if testing that the world fell away and whimpered.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Here I was in my own head about issues that could easily be resolved by talking to Noah.

Nip was ready to defy the laws of physics to retrieve his prized possession that was all around him.

We both turned to the most complicated of answers to simple questions.

For me, the answer was simple. Marry Noah and my life would be what you made of it.

When we thought it was going smooth, it will all change again.

That was life.

For Nip, his stick was gone, he picked another one.

I continued to crack up. I reached for the side of the deck to steady myself.

“Oh shit.” In doing so, I dropped my phone and it bounced off the front of the deck made it's way down the hill to settle next to Nip’s stick.

My laughter stopped. So did Nip's whimpering barks. He looked at me, down at my phone and back at me again.

“I have to get it.” I said to no one. I shrugged my shoulders.

Nip's head tilted.

I walked over to the side of the deck and held on as I shuffled my feet down the steep incline.

“Yip, Yip.” Nip stated what I already knew. This was a bad idea. I gripped a beam and scooted further under the deck.

When I reached the edge of the beam, my fingers hurt. A small ledge two feet down would allow me to rest a minute.

I could scoot down the rest of the way on my butt.

My eyes followed the edge of the deck and Nip's little paw came out and disappeared.

“Nip, I’m fine,” I said. A few more inches and I could leap to the edge.

“One, two, th—” My fingers lost their grip.

I cried out as I flung myself toward the ledge at the last minute.

I misjudged the distance and the width of the ledge. The dirt gave way, a blessing to my ankle. I scrambled to grab onto something. It turned to dust in my fingers and I flipped and dropped a few more feet and landed smack on a small protrusion on the mountain. My head and face throbbed in pain.

I smacked against the side of the mountain so hard my teeth rattled. A cold shiver ran through me. I groaned. I inhaled and tasted dirt.

I grabbed my head. The world swirled into indescribable images. I thought I had reached out towards the earth, but I grabbed at air. I ran my hand through my hair. My hand came away wet and slimy. A familiar sound made me look up, but I wasn’t sure where it came from for who or what it belonged to.

I blinked. Tried to focus. I picked up on an image above me, brown hair, scrunched thick brows, beautiful full sexy lips. The thought made me giggle. The lips moved, but couldn’t tell what they were saying. I reached out for it, but it was far away and I was tired, so tired.

“I’m fine. I’ll be there in a minute.” I heard myself say, but it was like the sound came from outside of myself. “I need a little nap.”

Yeah, that’s it. I need to rest for a minute.

I heard screams and growls.

A few minutes and I will be fine.

Just a few minutes and … the world felt warm against my cheek. My body ached, but the warmth drew me in.

I closed my eyes and the world faded to black.