Flight Risk

27 - Shore of Lake Manitoba Part 2

"And when you get all sorted, Australia is high on my list of places to visit. At the top since I met a certain someone charming. I'd be happy to spend time in..." I looked at Caleb.

"Cardwell," he said.

"Cardwell, if it meant getting to see you again." I pulled out my phone and searched his town on Maps, putting a little favourite icon on it so I wouldn't forget. As I opened an image of the town out of curiosity, my jaw dropped. "Holy shit, that place is gorgeous, and here I am showing you my province's best attempt at a coast."

Caleb chuckled for the first time today, which warmed my spirit. "We have more coast than we'll ever appreciate, but remnants of enormous glacial lakes are in short supply. Plus, Cardwell doesn't have you."

I soaked up his words like the warming summer sun that reflected in the lake before us. "The great thing about people is we fit very well on airplanes and in vehicles."

An adorable smile played on his lips. "I'd love to visit you in Indonesia too, but I doubt I can soon."

That was understandable. He couldn't leave Lily again.

"I'm ready for a change. You can only dive so many times with manta rays before their charm wears off."

He raised an eyebrow. "Ya sure?"

"Nah, they're amazing." We both smiled and laughed, our gazes not leaving each other. "But I have someone cooler than a manta ray to see. Although one day, you'll have to visit it."

Caleb smiled. "I will, or we will."

His words combined with those mesmerizing eyes of his sent my stomach dancing the Red River Jig. I reached out for his hand and entwined our fingers, then laid my head on his shoulder.

"Thanks for sharing your pain with me. I know you didn't want to talk about it, and I was too stubborn and stuck in my head to not stress you out."

He caressed my hand and squeezed it. "Can't run from it forever."

I raised his hand to my lips and kissed it softly, like he'd done for me. It brought an almost full smile to his lips, and I set myself a goal of getting a complete one on them before the end of the day.

"You're not running, not if you're taking this trip for her. Who's to say that she isn't with you for the ride? Maybe she's got some spiritual mobility and said to hell with this shitty hospital. I'm tagging along with Caleb because polar bears are amazing, and he's awesome."

He smiled while his eyes glistened with unshed tears. "That would be something."

"My aunt passed younger than she should have, and she always loved adventures and travelling. When I'm out exploring, I think of her, and hope that somehow it brings her to these places she would have adored."

"That's sweet."

"Where would Lily hang out here? Is she a beach gal, a water critter, hitting up beach volleyball, or running somewhere down those nature paths after you?"

Caleb looked around, considering each spot. "With friends, she'd be at volleyball, but on her own, walking the beach."

I nodded toward the pebbly beach and the frothy white bubbles on its border with the water, and called out, "Enjoy the beach, Lily."

He chuckled, his smile slightly broader than earlier. "What about your aunt?"

"In a kayak on the lake."

"Did she come with us yesterday?"

"Nah, I was too much of a mental mess then."

His cheerful expression faded. "I'm sorry."