All I Never Wanted

Chapter 16

The morning light streaming through the window seemed brighter as it reflected off the snow and Annie blinked against it as she woke. It took her a moment to remember where she was and then she turned her head to look at Luke, sleeping peacefully beside her. She smiled softly and watched him for a few minutes as he slept, memorizing every detail of his tousled hair and freckled cheeks.

Curious to know what time it was she slid from under the blankets to find her cell phone, as the room had no clock. She decided they must have no need for alarms when they stayed here. Her display read shortly after nine and now that she was up she could hear faint voices drifting from the kitchen. Other people were already awake.

As quietly as possible she dug through her duffel for fresh clothes and tiptoed her way towards the bathroom, hoping not to wake Luke. She glanced out the window at the snow as she passed and stopped short when her vision registered brown instead of white. She stepped closer to the cold glass pane and felt her jaw drop at the massive group of elk meandering through the property. She had never seen so many at one time!

Forgetting her efforts not to wake him, Annie turned towards the bed calling, "Luke! Wake up! You've got to see this!"

His only response was a sleepy groan.

Annie rolled her eyes and tried again. "Luke, I'm serious. There's an entire herd of elk outside the window."

She heard him stirring but kept her eyes glued to the animals, watching cows and babies lumber past with a few bulls mixed in. She had never been this close to an elk. They were impressively large, the calves easily as tall as her.

Luke shuffled up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "There's a field down over the hill behind the cabin. They like to go down there in the winter, especially when it snows, because it's an easy food source."

"Do you see this many all the time?"

"No. Usually it's much smaller groups and in the summer we see most of the bulls by themselves. Ever hear one bugle?"

Annie shook her head.

"Sends chills down your spine. I'll have to bring you back this summer, see if we can get lucky enough to hear one."

Annie smiled. She liked the thought of coming back here with Luke.

They stood together for a while longer, watching the exodus of animals as they headed for the field. Then Annie stepped away, reaching for the clothes she'd dropped on the floor. "I'm gonna go shower. Feel free to resume your beauty sleep."

Luke grinned as he rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. "I'm up now. And I think I smell coffee. Might as well stay this way."

He reached out for her, pulling her in for a kiss before letting her disappear to the bathroom.

Annie showered quickly and then joined the rest of the group congregating in the kitchen. Luke sat at the kitchen table, still in his fleece pants and a t-shirt, nursing a mug of coffee. Toby and Laura were working on heaping plates of eggs, toast and potatoes. The rest of the crew was missing in action.

"Smells heavenly out here." Annie announced, taking a deep breath and heading for the coffee.

"Help yourself. We made enough for everybody. It's all keeping warm in the pans on the stove." Laura informed her.

"Thanks." Annie offered. "You made dinner last night and breakfast this morning. I think you're off KP duty for the rest of this trip."

Laura shrugged. "I like to cook. Doesn't bother me."