Stay (Love In Montana Book 5)

Later they all sat down to breakfast. Anastasia noted Ryder’s sad blue eyes fixed upon her. He hadn’t talked to her after returning from their trip. Strangely she missed his naughty banter, his flirty remarks, his hot body close to hers! She had no idea why! They weren’t anything more than acquaintances after all! 

“So where are we heading to after this?" Asked Sawyer.

"We'll go hiking on the Continental Divide Scenic Trail right away and then after lunch we can go boating on the Coyote Creek," said Rhett.  The others too liked the idea and all were ready in twenty minutes. They locked the cabin and drove towards their destination. The girls were excited to see herds of elk, deer and families of white-tailed deer crossing their path at regular intervals. There were lots of bighorn sheep, mountain goats and antelopes everywhere but thankfully they didn't find any bears anywhere. 

Rhett showed them the Antelope Basin teeming with wildlife and an abundance of wildflowers, beautiful hued aspen and willow thickets and lush grasslands. 

"It's beautiful, Rhett, " said Adelaide, clicking pictures with her phone. 

"We need to go hiking from here," said Rhett. They all parked their trucks and started the hiking trail and followed the beautiful and picturesque Antelope Basin Road crossing other trails passing through grasslands, open stands of Douglas fir, and aspen. In places, the grass had grown over the constructed tread, so they had to be careful not to lose track of the trail. This route closely followed the actual Continental Divide, dipping in and out of the Montana/Idaho border. 

Terrific vistas of the Madison and Centennial Ranges come into view as they followed the relatively easy hike. "Look at that cave on the other side, a black bear is sunbathing, " Ryan pointed out and they all checked it out, especially Adelaide. Living at Fordsville they had all seen bears except Adelaide and Anastasia of course. 

"What if a grizzly blocks our path?" Asked Rihanna and Adelaide looked at her with horror, going towards Rhett and clutching his arm.

"They usually avoid the trails," explained Rhett, holding her hand tightly in his. "Stay by me, " he told her softly and she nodded. 

"Rhett's ready to fight a thousand grizzlies now, " said Rex with a grin. Even Rhett grinned. Teasing the two of them had become their favorite thing to do. 

At the end of the trail portion of the route they followed a winding road through the Henry's Lake Mountains, to Red Rock and then to the Centennial Mountains.  Throughout their hike they saw elks, badgers, deer, and antelopes, a few black bears while they saw wolves and antelopes at the Basin. Everybody took pictures of the Raptors and the songbirds along with everything that they saw. It was strange that through it all Ryder hadn’t uttered a single word. While the others were busy clicking pictures Anastasia stared at the far away peaks thinking about how she would miss all this when she went away forever. She just wished that she could stay with them forever in Fordsville! 

“Hey! Are you thinking of me?” asked Ryder, coming up behind her. Anastasia clutched at her heart with surprise. 

“You startled me!” she gasped. Ryder smiled, his eyes looking sad. 

“I’m sorry!” he mumbled. “What are you looking at?” he asked with curiosity.

“Everything. I’m going to miss Fordsville a lot,” said Anastasia with a sigh. 

“Then stay. Who’s asking you to leave?” asked Ryder, fighting the urge to compel her to stay. Ever since she had informed everyone her plans of going away to Las Vegas, he had been restless. A strange dejection, a strange helplessness made him wish that she would change her mind somehow. He just couldn’t pinpoint why he felt this way. It wasn’t as if he was in love with her! 

“I have obligations that I need to fulfill, Blue. You won’t understand. It’s too complicated,” said Anastasia. 

“How can you say so? You haven’t even told me. I might understand you more than you think me capable of,” said Ryder quietly. He felt a stab of pain pierce his heart at her judgement of him. 

“Maybe some other time,” she said, trying to dissuade him. 

It was well past lunchtime when they returned to the cabin. Adelaide and Rihanna cooked the fish that they had caught in the morning. After a hearty lunch, they went towards Coyote Creek for a lazy boat tour. Ryder managed to get into a boat with Anastasia since Sawyer whisked Renée away into his boat. Rex, Ryan and Rihanna were in one boat, eagerly watching birds with Rex's binoculars. 

“So when are you leaving?” Asked Ryder, slowly rowing their boat forward. Anastasia glanced up into his sad eyes. Why was he looking so much affected by the news of her departure? Did he care?

“After finishing this course. Maybe in a month or two,” she told him hesitantly. The truth was that she needed to leave immediately. Her parents had been calling her everyday but she just didn’t want to leave Fordsville, her grandparents who loved her and mostly Renée, her only best friend in the whole world. And now? A certain blue eyed boy had become the main reason why she just couldn’t think of leaving Fordsville. 

Ryder’s face lightened up with hope. In two or three months he might convince her to stay back in Montana forever. He grinned at her. “I’ll bug you so much in these 2-3 months that you will miss me when you leave,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. Anastasia smiled back. She knew that she would miss him. She had no idea why she felt a strange magnetic pull towards him. She had no idea why her eyes sought him out all the time. She had no idea why she wanted to stay back for him. She just knew that Fordsville felt like home to her. A fat trout jumped across in front of them and Anastasia squealed with delight. “This is the first and best trip of my life. I’ve never had so much fun, ever,” said Anastasia, clasping her hands and staring at the shimmering water and the greenery all around. The birds dived into the water for a catch, the trees swayed in the cool breeze, Elks at the edge of the creek, drank water to their fill. It was heaven on earth. Of course someone’s presence beside her made it all the more enjoyable. Ryder gazed at her mesmerizing green eyes which looked so happy and content. He could spend a lifetime watching her! ‘Whoa! Where did that come from?’ he widened his eyes at his wayward thoughts. Was he smitten by his sister’s best friend? ‘Great Ryder! Out of all the girls in the world, you had to choose your mean little sister’s bestie?’ his inner mind questioned him. 

It was time to return to the cottage and pack up. He tied the boat at the small pier and held out his hand for Anastasia to take. She hesitated a little and then placed her slender, soft hand into his. Ryder clasped onto it instantly and helped her out of it. He didn’t leave her hand and walked towards the others who were waiting to walk back to the cabin.

Everyone seemed to be disappointed that the good times were over so soon and it was time to return to the cottage and pack up. "Can we leave in the morning?" Asked Anastasia,  as they trudged back to the cabin. 

"I think they have an early morning booking tomorrow for another group. So we have to vacate today," said Rex. 

"We can come here again if you want to, " suggested Ryder and everyone gave him odd looks. He ignored their looks and waited expectantly for Anastasia's answer. He wanted to say so much more. He had meant that repeat trip for only the two of them but Anastasia was too innocent to understand what he meant. 

“Okay, " she said as a deep blush stained her cheeks.

Everyone helped pack up. They had to pack up their trash too and carry it back out of the forest with them. At last they were done and handing the keys to one of the staff who had come over for the keys, they drove home. Ryder drove Sawyer's truck with Renée and Anastasia and Sawyer himself. Renée was too quiet after the boat ride and closed her eyes and pretended to sleep while Sawyer played with his mobile at the backseat. Ryder kept on glancing at Anastasia sitting in the passenger seat beside him. He wanted to ask her when he could see her again but she just sat there glued to her window. With everyone around he just couldn’t ask what his heart was dying to. 

This couldn’t be the end. He would need to see her again. He asked her for her address and she told him. Ryder instantly knew where she stayed having grown up in Fordsville all his life. So she was Daisy and Eddie Hampton’s granddaughter? He dropped Anastasia to her house and then drove home without a word, Anastasia looked at him sadly and then whirled around and ran into her house, her heart breaking. Ryder hadn’t spoken a word to her. He hadn’t even said goodbye to her. She had wanted him to ask her to meet him again but he didn’t seven to care. It seemed that this would be the last time they would meet!