Page 49 of One Night in Alaska
“It’s not?” I peered closer without actually approaching it. “What is it? A chipmunk? A beaver?” I knew he’d mentioned water, but the tail looked wrong for that. “Some kind of a land otter?”
Beau was laughing so loudly now, other people walking down the trail turned to stare at us. I felt my face turning red. Why wouldn’t he just tell me what it was?
“It’s a marmot,” he finally squeaked out.
“A marmot?” I repeated. “What the fuck is a marmot?”
“That.” He pointed at the mega-squirrel. “It’s like a squirrel in a lot of ways, but clearly, this guy is bigger.”
“Well, duh,” I said. “Are they dangerous?”
“Highly. When they look at you that way, it means they’re planning out their death blow.” He couldn’t keep his laughter in as he finished the sentence, so I knew he was joking.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I headed off down the path, leaving him doubled over with laughter as I stormed off. I wasn’t really that angry, but I was a little embarrassed. How the hell was I supposed to know what a marmot was? It wasn’t like anyone ever put them in an alphabet song.
“Wait up, Georgia,” Beau called. “Be careful. You might run into a pack of rabid marmots!”
Shaking my head, I continued down the path and around the corner, out of his sight, muttering to myself about how he thought he was so stinking funny. I was looking at my boots, not the path in front of me. Until I heard what sounded like the bleat of a goat in front of me. I stopped immediately in my tracks and lifted my head to see what I thought was a huge ram standing in the path in front of me.
Its coat was brown and short, and it had long twisted horns protruding from its head. It was large enough to rival a small cow—and it was looking right at me.
Beau caught up to me, but he wasn’t laughing anymore. “It’s okay,” he said, taking hold of my arm as he stopped behind me. “He’s more afraid of you than you are of him.”
“He doesn’t look afraid,” I noted. The animal snorted, his nostrils flaring. “I suppose that’s not a goat either, huh?”
“No, that’s an alpine ibex. They’re not dangerous, but they’re usually not this far down the mountain either. Now, he might be related to the fellow whose head we saw on the wall of the restaurant, though I thought that was a chamois. It’s fine. Just give him a second, and he’ll leave.”
I waited, hoping Beau was right. After a few seconds of staring us down, the ibex bounded off into the trees, disappearing from sight. I took a deep breath. “Damn. That was way up close and personal.”
Beau smiled and slid his hand down to capture mine. “It’s all right. I’ll protect you.”
“If you’re not too busy laughing at me,” I teased, squeezing his hand.
“I’m sorry,” he said, and I thought he meant it. “You’re just so cute when you’re confused.” He bent down and kissed me sweetly. I liked it. He was forgiven.
We continued on our way, breaking out of the trees and continuing down the path until we came upon a spectacular, crystal-clear lake. I gasped, letting go of Beau’s hand to cover my mouth. “Oh, wow.”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked me. “This is Bachalpsee Lake. Isn’t it fabulous?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” I admitted. The mountains reflected off the surface, making the view even more breathtaking.
We stood there for quite some time, taking it in, before Beau asked if I was ready to continue. I nodded, and we headed along the path until we could see the mountain peaks he’d mentioned earlier from the path. Once again, I found myself looking at views from something out of a movie. I felt like spinning around and singing as I took it all in. The lush emerald green grass, the bright blue skies, the snow-capped mountains, and a rainbow of wildflowers made this the most beautiful place I’d ever been. Being there with Beau made it even more special.
He was still holding my hand when he said, “What do you say we head to the cable car and head back down to the village? We could get some gelato at this place people come from around the world to experience.”
“Gelato sounds amazing right now.” I wasn’t hot because there was a nice breeze, but I could definitely use something to cool off a bit.
I took one more look around, trying to sear the images into my mind, just in case I never came here again, and then we walked down the path toward the cable car. I knew this was a day I’d never forget, but I also hoped it was a day I’d get to repeat.
29
BEAU
The cable car ride back down wasn’t as crowded as the one going up. It was nice, holding Georgia’s hand. It seemed like maybe she had calmed down a bit from earlier. I’d picked a really lousy time to tell her that Kaylee had been pregnant when she passed away. Not only had it upset Georgia to hear that, but it put me in a bit of a funk as well. It was just part of my reality, though. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think of my unborn child and imagine how my life would be different if my wife and baby had lived.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t let the ghosts from my past interfere with my present. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to end up fucking everything up with Georgia because I couldn’t keep my mind off Kaylee.
We arrived at the bottom of the mountain and followed the other few people who were in the same car with us off. Still holding hands, we made our way to the gelato shop, which was tucked away a bit down from the main area where the tourists hung out. There were still several little shops situated here, so we weren’t alone, but more people hung out in the more visible area.