Love Another Day

by Regina A Hanel

  "I know. A room with a view was my one requirement. It's an inspiration to my writing. Here, put these on." Halie handed Sam a pair of sweatpants, socks, and sweatshirt.

  "Shoot. I should've grabbed my change of clothes from the Expedition."

  "Don't worry about it. Put these on for now. You're only a couple inches taller than me. They should fit fine."

  Sam took the clothes and shuffled into the bathroom.

  "I'll go get us some soup from the restaurant. I won't be long," Halie said.

  "That sounds good. Take your time." Sam was glad Halie was getting them something warm to eat. Since she had time, she took a warm shower.

  Fifteen minutes later Halie swept into the hotel room and set a tray with two steaming soup bowls on the desk.

  "Smells good. Is that minestrone?" Sam asked, alternately rubbing her arms and legs.

  "I think so. I was in such a rush I didn't even ask." Halie marched to the bed nearest the bathroom and pulled back the covers. "Crawl in. You need to stay warm."

  Sam thought Halie read her mind. Even though she'd taken the shower, she was so cold she felt like her insides were shivering. She happily scooted into bed. "I put on the heat when you were gone. I hope you don't mind."

  "No, of course not. I'm glad you did. I should've thought about it myself."

  As soon as Sam propped up the pillows behind her, Halie handed her the bowl of soup and a spoon. She picked up the other bowl and sat at the edge of the bed. "Heck of a day it's been, hasn't it?"

  Sam scooped a spoonful of the soup into her mouth. The hot liquid heated her insides. "It's been crazy, that's for sure. Definitely more than I'd bargained for."

  When they finished their soups Halie said, "You still cold?"

  "Believe it or not, I am."

  Halie got up off the bed and collected Sam's soup bowl, placing it on top of her own, then took her spoon and set everything on top of the desk. "Okay, then move over a little," Halie said as she slipped out of her loafers and slid out of her sweats. "I'm going to warm you up if it's the last thing I do."

  "I don't doubt that," Sam said. Though having Halie in bed next to her was completely innocent, Sam wished she didn't have the no dating visitors rule and that having broken it once hadn't changed her life.

  "I can't believe it. Your skin's still cold as ice. You'll be lucky if you don't catch pneumonia." Halie inched closer to Sam. She placed her hand on top of Sam's thigh and pressed her leg against her to keep her warm.

  Sam's body hungrily absorbed Halie's warmth. She reveled in Halie's closeness. She was surprised how much she enjoyed her company and how connected she felt to her so soon. She knew she needed to be careful. Halie was fiery, kind, and beautiful. It would be easy to get caught in a moment and then regret it later on. As she glanced at Halie, brown eyes bored through her, weakening her defenses.

  Halie snuggled closer to Sam, laying her head on Sam's chest.

  Sam felt as though she couldn't breathe. A part of her wanted to kiss Halie and a part wanted to run, but she felt as though she had no control of either choice.

  Halie searched out Sam's eyes with searing intensity, her breathing quickened.

  As if living out a dream, Sam's eyes dropped and considered Halie's lips. When she did, Halie leaned in and kissed Sam longer and more passionately than she'd been kissed before. The intensity was overwhelming, and at the same time Sam's mind was telling her no. With great difficulty, she inched away. "We can't do this. I want to, but we shouldn't."

  "We're not doing anything wrong," Halie said. "I like you, Sam, a lot. You're a special person."

  "So are you, but you don't understand."

  "Then help me understand."

  Tiredness overtook Sam. The day had been a long one. Dealing with Sally Kornwall, and trying to come to terms with some of her comments had already mentally drained her, but the added strain of potentially losing a life, and her overwhelming feelings for Halie left her emotionally spent. "I'm not sure I can. Would you just hold me for a while? I won't stay much longer," she said, but seconds after Halie wrapped her body snug around her, Sam fell asleep.

  HALIE STROKED SAM'S hair. As her own heartbeat slowed, she considered the complex woman lying next to her. She admired Sam's desire to help everyone and everything she saw, while not even thinking about her own well-being. She enjoyed the strength Sam exuded, so opposite the tenderness in her eyes--and hands.

  Halie's thoughts drifted back to when Sam was massaging her neck with her strong and gentle hands. She recalled having closed her eyes. As her neck and shoulder muscles uncoiled, her thoughts moved to a white sandy beach on a deserted tropical island where she and Sam were lying together on a blanket, the breeze caressing their half-naked bodies. Sam moved closer to Halie. Sam's hand, hot from the sun, glided over Halie's shoulder, and her finger gently traced down her arm and over her stomach. She wanted Sam's hands all over her. She led Sam's hands to the side of her cheeks and pulled her into a tender kiss.

  When Sam shifted in her sleep, Halie snapped back to reality. What was she doing? She needed to keep things professional. She had to remain totally focused on her job, on the cover story. That's why she was there. The attraction she was feeling toward Sam would go away. Ignore the uniform. Ignore those emerald green eyes and the way they stand out against that tanned, light olive tone skin and long, dark hair. Ignore the fact that she's warm, kind, and brightens your days.

  Chapter Eight

  HALIE STOOD HIGH above the valley floor snapping photos from Oxbow Bend Turnout; photos of the gray mountain backdrop, the pine covered foothills, and the Snake River as it bowed out into an area of plush marshland filled with wildflowers, etching the beginnings of a new lake. From the overlook, she viewed the river otters with her high-powered camera lens. They were searching for food and playing, and were later joined by a pair of moose grazing on the water plants.

  Intermittently, Halie glanced from behind her camera lens at Sam. Sam stood quiet, a few feet from her side, holding a small, gray pair of binoculars in front of her eyes. It had been six days since her unbelievable kiss with Sam, yet Sam had remained silent about the moment. As much as Halie tried ignoring her feelings for Sam, each day with her made it harder, not easier, to maintain a strictly professional relationship with her. Searching for a way to engage Sam in conversation, Halie said, "There are so many spectacular views from around here, it's hard to know where to focus."

  "I know. I'm glad I don't have to choose."

  "I feel like I'll never be able to capture it all," Halie added, as she watched an osprey swoop past and pluck a fish the length of a football from the water. Nabbing the opportunity, she took a photo.

  "At least you know you'll get enough material for your article. You still want to go searching for those elusive elk tonight?"

  Halie moved the camera away from her face. "Sure, why not?"

  "I don't know. I thought you might be tired, the long week and all."

  "No, I'm fine. Work invigorates me, but if you don't feel like going--"

  "No, I want to go."

  "Great. Me too. I'm looking forward to it." Halie smiled at Sam, then spent most of the next hour behind the lens before packing her camera away and calling it a day.

  "I'm glad the week's finally over," Sam said as she started the ignition.

  "And why's that?"

  "I don't know. I guess I can't wait to go home and see Jake. I know that sounds silly, but I miss him. He hates it when I have to go to work and he's stuck home alone."

  "Oh," Halie uttered in surprise, her eyes narrowing as she tried to unscramble the multitude of disconnected thoughts ripping through her mind, attempting to make sense out of what Sam had said. Even though they hadn't spoken about the prior weekend, about their first kiss, or made a move in that direction since, Halie sensed they had been connecting at a deeper level. Her feelings for Sam were becoming more than she'd ever imagined they would be, and she had thought maybe deep inside Sam felt the same way
. "You never mentioned Jake before."

  "I didn't?"

  "No. I would have remembered," Halie replied.

  "I thought I had. I don't know. It's no big deal. I guess he's such a constant in my life that mentioning him didn't cross my mind. Besides, he usually introduces himself before I ever get a chance, but since his accident, he hasn't been out with me much. Otherwise, I'm sure you'd have met him already."

  Halie wished Sam had revealed her not so little secret about this person to her before they had kissed and before her heart got involved. Clearly, by mentioning Jake to her now, her only thought was that Sam must be keeping her at a distance. Anger and disappointment hung heavy on her. How could she do this to me now? Yet as conflicted as her feelings were, she possessed an unexpected need to diplomatically uncover more about Jake. "You said Jake was in an accident? What happened?" Her tone was flat and in sharp contrast to the cheeriness she'd exuded earlier.

  "This is kind of a long story. You sure you want to hear it?"

  Halie acknowledged that she did, even though she wasn't so sure herself.

  "A couple months ago Jake and I went hiking near the entrance station in Moran, along a foot trail that paralleled one of the snowmobile trails. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he bolted off into the woods. Then I heard this gut-wrenching scream, and I ran in after him. I found him lying in the snow, twisting back and forth, blood splattered everywhere. He had a steel trap clamped to his leg. I tried calling dispatch, but my cell phone was dead."

  Halie cringed at the image. "Oh, no."

  "Tell me about it. Jake had a look in his eyes I'll never forget. I tried pulling the trap apart, but the jaws were clamped too tight. The teeth cut through my gloves like they were made of paper. I'm surprised the thing didn't snap his leg in half. I had to do something. I broke off a couple tree branches and used 'em to pry the trap apart. But by that time Jake was practically unconscious. I tied his leg off to stop the bleeding." Sam slowed the patrol vehicle and stopped next to a car that was parked off the side of the road. She rolled down Halie's window and yelled out, "Excuse me folks, you're going to have to get back in your car. You can't stop along the roadway, except where it's marked. There's a turnout a couple of miles ahead on your left. You can park there."

  The man, woman, and two young kids stood with their backs toward the road and didn't move immediately. Sam called to them again, and then the woman corralled her kids and got in their car. The man holding the camera responded much more slowly. He pursed his lips and rolled his eyes when he saw the national park service emblem on the side of the Expedition, then slunk toward his car.

  Sam leaned back in her seat and watched. "Sorry about that. You'd think the honking horns from passing cars would be enough incentive for him to move over or at least realize he can't stop there," she said to Halie. Sam ignored the angry gestures and mumbling coming from the man. "Anyway, back to Jake. Thankfully a group of snowmobilers rode by and helped us, or I don't think he'd have survived."

  Halie sat still. Her chest ached. Not because of what happened to Jake, but because he existed in Sam's life and meant so much to her. She tried to deny that finding out about Jake had any impact on her, but she was fooling herself. She watched quietly as the family pulled away.

  Sam followed in the Expedition at a safe distance until they reached the turnout. "He had fractured his leg. It's been in a cast this whole time. Hates it too. He keeps picking at it. He's supposed to get it off on Tuesday. I'm sure he'll be happy as a pig in 'you know what' once that happens."

  "Yeah, I'm sure he will. So you probably don't want to go searching for elk tonight then. I don't mind though, we can make it another day."

  "What? What do you mean? I said I was going, didn't I?" Sam protested.

  "I know, but what about Jake?"

  "What about him? Don't be silly. I'll spend a few hours with him and then pick you up, say around quarter to eight?"

  "Let's make it for another night. I'm not sure I'm feeling up to it anymore." The thought of Sam caring for another person on an intimate level hurt too much. She pushed it from her mind.

  "An hour ago you said you were fine."

  "I know, but things change."

  "Fine. It doesn't matter to me," she said. "I just offered because you seemed upset that you hadn't seen any elk yet, and they were one of the first animals you wanted to photograph."

  "I know, and I'm grateful for the offer, I am, but--"

  "But what?"

  The deafening silence between them forced the words from her mouth. "Nothing. I don't know. I'm sorry." Part of her wished she had the willpower to deny Sam, but she didn't. Halie rationalized that seeing Sam, even if she was with Jake, was better than not seeing her at all. "I still want to go. What time should I be ready?"

  SAM PULLED INTO the parking lot of Big Bison Lodge fifteen minutes early and somewhat hesitant, uncertain of Halie's mood. She didn't understand why earlier Halie's demeanor and tone went from jovial to uninterested at her mention of the weekend. What was it she had said that shifted Halie's temperament, and which Halie would she be seeing now? She spotted Halie standing behind the front doors waiting for her. As she pulled up to the curb, Halie walked down the stairs and climbed into the Expedition.

  "Hi," she said.

  "Hi," Sam replied. "Ready?"

  "I suppose. Where exactly are we going anyway?"

  "There's a cozy nook at the base of the Teton Mountains a mile or two south of Jenny Lake. A stream runs along the mountain and empties into the Snake River. There's a forest at the base, and sagebrush and grasses that the elk enjoy eating. It's not far off the Jenny Lake access road."

  "Sounds like a nice spot," Halie said, her voice devoid of enthusiasm.

  "It is. Is something bothering you?" Sam waited for a reply but received none. "Anything I can help you with?"

  After a short delay, Halie said, "No, but thanks for asking. I guess part of me misses being home and being surrounded by the things that make my life comfortable."

  "I'm sure your magazine must let you go home sometimes."

  "They do. They'll pay for a flight every three weeks."

  "There you have it. One more week to go. In the meantime, maybe I can help take your mind off missing home for a while."

  "Thanks, Sam. I'm sure you can," she said.

  Sam pulled off Teton Park Road onto the Jenny Lake access road.

  "God, check out the tops of the Tetons! They're amazing. They're bright orange and check out that reflection in the lake," Halie commented.

  "I know. It's incredible, isn't it?" Sam hadn't noticed the orange hue overlaying the mountain until Halie had mentioned it. She was too worried about what was bothering her, but once the energy returned to Halie's voice, Sam was able to enjoy the view with her. The orange color mixed with red, and as the breeze drifted over the lake, the lake appeared as though it were on fire.

  "It is," Halie said. "I think I could sit and stare at these mountains in silence for hours, which really isn't like me."

  "You mean being quiet for that long?"

  "Funny. No, I mean sitting here and doing nothing for that long except enjoying what's in front of me. I'm always too busy working, and if I'm not working, I'm making sure I'm busy doing something." Halie rubbed her leg. "I don't think I've ever been comfortable enough around someone to want to do nothing with them, strange as that may sound."

  Halie's comments lightened Sam's heart. "And you are now?"

  Halie shrugged. "I am. Why? Shouldn't I be?"

  "No, you should be. I'm glad you are, and I'm glad it's me." When she reached the end of the access road, Sam parked and got out of the Expedition. She grabbed a blanket from the hatch and tucked it under her arm.

  Halie followed and yelled, "Sam, wait. I forgot my camera."

  Sam circled around and unlocked the door.

  "I can't believe I almost forgot this," Halie said.

  "Neither can I. Am I distracting you?"

  "As a matte
r of fact, you are. But then you already knew that, didn't you?"

  "Maybe," Sam said in a self-assured tone. "You didn't really need the camera. You could've used my binoculars."

  "And what good would binoculars do me? I can't take photos with them can I?"

  "Not with this one, no, although I think you can buy some that do."

  "Wouldn't surprise me in the least."

  After walking the length of two football fields through sagebrush, being careful of where they stepped, they rested on a fallen tree trunk and waited for the elk. The unique aroma of sagebrush and the sweet smell of wildflowers hovered in the air.

  Sam unfolded the blanket, setting it across their legs to cut the growing chill the evening brought with it. Sam enjoyed the silence and wondered if Halie was enjoying it too. She grabbed a tall blade of grass and placed it in her mouth, chewing on the torn end. She watched Halie without speaking a word, noticing how beautiful she looked as the sunlight faded from the sky. She pictured the two of them in the same spot, but on a different day, a day in the future. They would have come to watch the sun set together, nestled close in each other's arms like two familiar lovers.

  Sam's thoughts were interrupted by the touch of Halie's leg pushing against hers. She knew it wasn't by accident, and it transported her back to the day at the lodge and their first kiss. A flash of heat surged through Sam's body from the constant pressure.

  "It sure is getting warm under this blanket," Halie whispered. "The two of us could probably heat a small cabin, don't you think?"

  Sam felt the flush of her cheeks. "Yeah, maybe more than that." She wanted very much to lean over and kiss Halie, but couldn't muster the courage. And before she knew it, her opportunity was gone. She heard the rustle of leaves and the crackle of twigs.

  Halie heard it too, tapping Sam's leg to alert her before readying her camera.