The Choice

251/571backtracked. “Don’t get me wrong. I didn’tmean it in a bad way. I just meant that youstrike me as independent and someonewho’s always up for new adventures.” “You don’t know anything about me.” As soon as she said it, she rememberedsaying the same thing to Stephanie. Shebraced herself for what might come next. He absently moved his fruit with his fork.“I know that you moved away from yourhome, that you bought your own house, thatyou’re making it on your own. To me, thatmeans independence. And as for adventur-ous—you’re here with a bunch of strangers,aren’t you? You went parasailing and evenovercame the thought of sharks to get dippedin the water. Those were new challenges. Ithink that’s admirable.” She blushed, liking Travis’s answer muchbetter than his sister’s. “Maybe,” she con-ceded. “But it’s not like traveling around theworld without an itinerary.”

252/571 “Don’t let that fool you. You think Iwasn’t nervous when I left? I was terrified. Imean, it’s one thing to tell your friends whatyou’re going to do, and it’s another thing en-tirely to actually get on the plane and land ina country where barely anyone speaks Eng-lish. Have you traveled?” “Not much. Aside from a spring break Ispent in the Bahamas, I’ve never been out ofthe country. And if you get right down to it, ifyou stay close to the resort like I did—sur-rounded by American college kids—it couldhave passed for Florida.” She paused.“Where are you going next? Your next bigadventure?” “Nothing too far-flung this time. I’m go-ing to the Grand Tetons. Do some camping,hiking, canoeing, the works. I’ve heard it’sbreathtaking, and I’ve never been there.” “Are you going alone?” “No,” he said. “I’m going with my dad. Ican’t wait.”

253/571 Gabby made a face. “I can’t imagine goingoff on a trip with either one of my parents.” “Why not?” “My parents? You’d have to know them tounderstand.” He waited. In the silence, she set asideher plate and brushed off her hands. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “First off,my mom is the kind of lady who believes thatstaying in anything less than a five-star hotelis roughing it. And my dad? I suppose Icould imagine him doing something moreexciting, except for the fact that he’s nevershown interest in anything other than fish-ing. And besides, he wouldn’t go anywherewithout Mom, and since she has her stand-ards, that means the only time spent out-doors is patio dining. With a fancy wine listand waiters in black and white, of course.” “Sounds like they really love each other.” “You inferred that from what I wassaying?”

254/571 “That, and the idea that your mom isn’t afan of the great outdoors.” That elicited alaugh. “They must be very proud of you,” headded. “What makes you say that?” “Why wouldn’t they be?” Why indeed, she wondered. Let me countthe ways. “Let’s just say that I’m pretty suremy mom prefers my sisters. And trustme—my sisters are nothing like Stephanie.” “You mean they always say appropriatethings?” “No. I mean they’re just like my mom.” “And that means she can’t be proud ofyou?” She took a bite of her burger, taking hertime before responding. “It’s complicated,”she demurred. “How so?” he persisted. “For one thing, I have red hair. My sistersare all blond, like Mom.” “So?”

255/571 “And I’m twenty-six and still single.” “So?” “I want a career.” “So?” “None of that fits the image of the daugh-ter my mother wants. She has definite ideasabout the role of women, especially southernwomen of proper social standing.” “I’m getting the sense that you and yourmother don’t get along.” “Ya think?” Just over his shoulder, Gabby saw Allisonand Laird strolling down the path toward thelighthouse, hand in hand. “Maybe she’s jealous,” he said. “Here youare, making your own life with your owngoals and dreams, dreams independent ofthe world you grew up in, the world she ex-pected you to inhabit—simply because shedid. It takes courage to do something differ-ent, and maybe what you think is

256/571disappointment in you is actually, on somedeeper level, disappointment in herself.” He took a bite of chicken and waited forher reaction. Gabby was flummoxed. It wassomething she’d never considered. “That’s not it,” she finally forced out. “Maybe not. Have you ever asked her?” “Whether she felt disappointed in her-self? I don’t think so. And don’t tell me thatyou’d confront your parents that way, either.Because . . .” “I wouldn’t,” he said, shaking his head.“Not a chance. But I have a feeling that bothof them are probably extremely proud of you,even if they don’t know how to show it.” His comment was unexpected andstrangely affecting. She leaned toward himslightly. “I don’t know whether you’re right,but thanks anyway. And I don’t want you toget the wrong impression. I mean, we talk onthe phone every week and we’re civil. It’s justthat I sometimes wish things were different.

257/571I’d love to have the kind of relationshipwhere we really enjoyed spending timetogether.” Travis said nothing in response, andGabby found herself relieved that he didn’ttry to offer a solution or advice. When she’drelated similar feelings to Kevin, his first in-stinct had been to come up with a game planto change things. Pulling up her legs, shewrapped her arms around her knees. “Tellme—what’s the best thing about being avet?” “The animals,” he said. “And the people.But that’s probably what you expected me tosay, right?” She thought about Eva Bronson. “The an-imals I can understand. . . .” He held up his hands. “Don’t get mewrong. I’m sure that some of the people Ideal with are a lot like some of the peopleyou have to deal with.”

258/571 “You mean pushy? Neurotic? With tend-encies toward hypochondria? In otherwords, crazy?” “Of course. People are people, and a lot ofthem consider their pets members of thefamily. Which, of course, means that if theyeven suspect anything is wrong with theirpet, they demand a full exam—which meansthey bring them in at least once a week,sometimes more. Almost always it’s nothing,but my dad and I have a system in place todeal with it.” “What do you do?” “We put a yellow sticker on the insideflap of the pet’s file. So if Mrs. Worriedcomes in with Pokie or Whiskers, we see thesticker, do a cursory exam, and tell them thatwe don’t currently see anything wrong, butwe’d like to see the dog or cat in a week justto make sure. Since they were going to bringtheir pet in anyway, it helps get them in andout of the office quickly. And everyone is

259/571happy. We’re the caring veterinarians, andthe owners are assured that their pets areokay, but that they’d been right to worry,since we wanted to see them again.” “I wonder how the doctors in my officewould react if I started putting yellow stick-ers on a few files.” “That bad?” “Sometimes. Every time there’s a new is-sue of Reader’s Digest, or some news showthat identifies a rare disease with specificsymptoms, the waiting room fills up withkids who naturally have exactly thosesymptoms.” “I’d probably be the same way with mykid.” She shook her head. “I doubt that. Youstrike me more as the walk-it-off or sleep-it-off kind of guy. And as a parent, I don’t thinkyou’ll be any different.” “Maybe you’re right,” he admitted. “Oh, I’m right.”

260/571 “Because you know me?” “Hey,” she said, “you and your sister star-ted it.” For the next half hour, they sat together,talking in a way that felt remarkably familiar.She talked more about her mother and fatherand their polar personalities; she told him abit about her sisters and what it was like togrow up with so much pressure to conform.She filled him in on college and PA schooland shared some of her memories of theevenings she’d spent in Beaufort before mov-ing to town. She mentioned Kevin only inpassing, which surprised her until she real-ized that even though he was a major part ofher life now, that hadn’t always been thecase. Somehow, talking to Travis remindedher that she’d become the woman she wasgoing to be long before meeting Kevin. As the conversation wound down, shefound herself confessing to her occasionalfrustration at work, the words sometimes

261/571spilling out in a way she didn’t quite intend.Though she didn’t mention Dr. Melton, shedid relate stories about some of the parentsshe’d met in her practice. She didn’t give anynames, but occasionally Travis would smilein a way that suggested he knew exactlywhom she was talking about. By then, Megan and Liz had packed mostof the food back inside the coolers. Laird andAllison had gone for a walk. Matt, on the oth-er hand, had half his body buried in sand bythe toddlers, who didn’t quite possess the co-ordination to prevent their shovels fromraining sand into his eyes, nose, mouth, andears. Just then, a Frisbee landed near Gabby’sfeet, and she saw Joe approaching. “I think it’s time we rescued Matt,” hecalled out. He pointed toward the Frisbee.“You up for it?” “Are you saying they need someentertainment?”

262/571 Joe grinned. “I don’t think we have achoice.” Travis looked at her. “Do you mind?” “No, go ahead.” “I have to warn you—it’s not going to bepretty.” He stood up and shouted in the tod-dlers’ direction, “Hey, kids? Are you guysready to see the World Champion Frisbee ex-pert in action?” “Yay!!!” came the chorus. They droppedtheir shovels and dashed toward the water. “Gotta go,” Travis said. “My audienceawaits.” As he jogged down to the waterline andsloshed in, Gabby found herself following hismovements and feeling something oddly likeaffection. Spending time with Travis wasn’t at allthe way she’d imagined it would be. Therewas no pretension, few attempts to impress,and he seemed to have an intuitive feel forwhen to stay silent or when to respond. It

263/571was that feeling of engagement, she realized,that led her to embark on a relationship withKevin in the first place. It wasn’t only thephysical excitement she felt on the nightsthey spent together; more than that, shecraved the comfort she experienced duringthose quiet moments they spent talking orwhen he gently took her hand as they walkedthrough a parking lot on the way to dinner.Those were the moments in which it waseasy to think he was the one she was meantto spend her life with, moments that latelyhad been fewer and farther between. Gabby reflected on this as she watchedTravis dive for the Frisbee. He bungled thecatch, allowing the Frisbee to hit him in thechest, and landed in the surf with a dramaticcascade of water. The toddlers squealed withdelight, as if it were the funniest thing they’dever seen. When they shouted, “Do it again,Uncle Travis!” he jumped to his feet withequal flamboyance. He took three long, slow-

264/571motion strides and sent the Frisbee flyingback to Joe. Putting on his game face, he as-sumed the exaggerated crouch of a baseballplayer, readying for the next catch in the in-field. With a wink toward the kids, he prom-ised, “The next time, I won’t even get wet!”and followed his comment with a splashing,seizurelike miss that elicited even moresqueals of delight. He seemed genuinely toenjoy performing for the kids, which only in-creased her feelings of warmth toward him.She was still trying to make sense of her re-action to Travis when he finally emergedfrom the ocean and started toward her, shak-ing the water from his hair. A moment later,he plopped down on the sand beside her, andwhen they accidentally touched, Gabby hadthe briefest flash of them sitting together justlike this on a hundred different weekends inthe future.

Eleven The rest of the afternoon seemed toreplay the events of the morning in reverse.They spent another hour at the beach beforereloading the boat; on their way back, eachcouple rode once more in the parasail,though on her second trip Gabby rode withStephanie. By late afternoon, the boat wascruising through the inlet, and Travisstopped to buy some shrimp from a localfisherman he obviously knew well. By thetime they finally docked back at the house,all three toddlers were sound asleep. The

266/571adults were windblown and content, theirfaces darkened by the hours in the sun. Once the boat was unloaded, the couplesdeparted one by one, until only Gabby,Stephanie, and Travis remained. Travis wason the dock with Moby; he’d already spreadthe parachute on the dock so it could dry andwas currently rinsing off the boat with agarden hose. Stephanie stretched her arms overhead.“I guess I should be on my way, too. Dinnerwith the folks tonight. They get hurt feelingsif I come down here and don’t spend enoughtime with them. You know how it goes. Letme say good-bye to Travis.” Gabby nodded, watching lethargically asStephanie leaned over the deck railing. “Hey, Trav!” Stephanie shouted. “I’moutta here. Thanks for today!” “Glad you could come,” he shouted with awave.

267/571 “You might want to toss something on thegrill. Gabby just said she’s starving!” Gabby’s lethargy vanished immediately,but before she could say anything, she sawTravis give a thumbs-up. “I’ll be up in a minute to start the grill!”he shouted. “Just let me finish up here.” Stephanie sauntered by Gabby, obviouslypleased with her social engineering. “Why’d you say that?” Gabby hissed. “Because I’m going to be with my par-ents. I don’t want my poor brother to have tospend the rest of the evening alone. He likesto have people around.” “Well, what if I wanted to go home?” “Then tell him when he gets up here thatyou’ve changed your mind. He won’t care. AllI did was buy you a couple of minutes tothink about it, since I guarantee that hewould have asked you anyway, and then—ifyou’d said no—would have asked a secondtime.” She slung her bag over her shoulder.

268/571“Hey, it was great getting to know you. I’mglad we had the chance to meet. Do you everget up to the Raleigh area?” “Sometimes,” Gabby said, still thrown bywhat had just happened and unsure whetherto be pleased or angry with Stephanie. “Good. We can do lunch. I’d say we coulddo brunch tomorrow, but I really have to getback.” She removed her sunglasses andwiped them with her shirt. “See you again?” “Sure,” Gabby said. Stephanie went to the patio door, slid itopen, then vanished inside, cutting throughthe house on the way to the door. By thatpoint, Travis was already strolling up thedock, Moby trotting happily by his side. Forthe first time today, he’d put on a short-sleeved shirt, though he left it unbuttoned. “Just give me a second to get the coals go-ing. Shrimp kabobs okay?” She debated only an instant before realiz-ing that it was either this or head home to a

269/571microwave dinner and some awful show ontelevision, and she couldn’t help but remem-ber the feeling she’d had when watchingTravis frolic in the surf with the toddlers. “Just give me a few minutes to change?”While Travis got the coals going, Gabbychecked on Molly, finding her sleepingsoundly along with the puppies. She took a quick shower before changinginto a light cotton skirt and blouse. After dry-ing her hair, she debated whether to put onmakeup, then decided on just a bit of mas-cara. The sun had given her face some color,and when she stepped back from the mirror,it occurred to her that it had been years sinceshe’d last had dinner with a man other thanKevin. A case could be made that it was simply acontinuation of the day, or that she’d beentricked into dinner by Stephanie, but sheknew that neither was completely true.

270/571 Still, was her decision to have dinner withTravis something she should feel guiltyabout, perhaps even conceal from Kevin?Her first impulse was to insist that she’dhave no reason not to tell Kevin. The day hadbeen harmless—technically, she’d spentmore time with Stephanie than she had withTravis. So what was the big deal? You’re dining alone tonight, of course, alittle voice whispered. But was that really a problem? Stephaniehad been right: She was hungry again, andher neighbor had food. Human Necessity101. It wasn’t as though she were going tosleep with him. She had no intention of evenkissing him. They were friends, that’s all.And if Kevin were here, she was sure thatTravis would have invited him along, too. But he’s not here, the voice insisted. Willyou tell Kevin about your little dinner fortwo?

271/571 “Definitely. I’ll definitely tell him,” shemuttered, trying to quiet the little voice.There were times when she absolutely hatedthe little voice. The little voice sounded likeher mother. Thus decided, she looked at herself onelast time in the mirror and, pleased withwhat she saw, slipped out the patio door andstarted across the lawn.As Gabby weaved her way between thehedges and appeared at the edge of the lawn,Travis caught the movement from the cornerof his eye and found himself staring un-abashedly as she approached. When shestepped onto the deck, he felt a strange shiftin the atmosphere, catching him off guard. “Hey,” she said simply. “How long untildinner?” “A couple of minutes,” he answered.“Your timing is perfect.”

272/571 She peeked at the skewered shrimp andbrightly colored peppers and onions. As if oncue, her stomach grumbled. “Wow,” shemurmured, hoping he didn’t hear it. “Theylook great.” “Do you want anything to drink?” He ges-tured toward the opposite end of the deck. “Ithink there’s some beer and soda left over inthe cooler.” As she crossed the deck, Travis tried toignore the gentle sway of her hips, wonder-ing what had gotten into him. He watched asshe flipped open the lid, rummaged throughthe cooler, and pulled out two beers. Whenshe returned to hand him one, he felt her fin-gers graze his. He twisted open the cap andtook a long pull, looking down the line of thebottle at her. In the silence, she stared at thewater. The sun, hovering over the tree line,was still bright, but its heat had diminishedand shadows were gradually stretchingacross the lawn.

273/571 “This is why I bought my place,” she fi-nally said. “For views like this.” “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” He realized thathe was watching her as he said it and forcedaway the subconscious implications. Hecleared his throat. “How’s Molly?” “She seems fine. She was sleeping when Ichecked on her.” She looked around.“Where’s Moby?” “I think he wandered around the front.He got bored with my cooking once he real-ized I wasn’t about to offer him any scraps.” “He eats shrimp?” “He eats anything.” “Discriminating,” she said with a wink.“Is there anything I can do to help?” “Not really. Unless you want to grab someplates from the kitchen.” “Be happy to.” She nodded. “Where arethey, exactly?” “In the cupboard to the left of the sink.Oh, and the pineapple, too. It’s on the

274/571counter. And the knife. It should be rightthere.” “Be back in a minute.” “And would you mind bringing some sil-verware, too? It’s in the drawer near thedishwasher.” As soon as she turned to enter the house,Travis found himself studying her. There wasdefinitely something about Gabby that inter-ested him. It wasn’t simply that she was at-tractive; there were pretty women every-where. There was something about herstraightforward intelligence and unforcedhumor that suggested a grounded sense ofright and wrong. Beauty and earthy commonsense were a rare combination, yet hedoubted she was even aware she possessedit. By the time she emerged, the kabobswere ready. He loaded a couple on each platealong with some slices of pineapple, and theytook their seats at the table. Beyond them,

275/571the slow-moving creek reflected the sky likea mirror, the stillness broken only by a flockof starlings passing overhead. “This is delicious,” she said. “Thank you.” She took a sip of her beer and motionedto the boat. “Are you going out againtomorrow?” “I don’t think so. Tomorrow I’ll probablygo riding.” “Horseback riding?” He shook his head. “Motorcycle. When Iwas in college, I bought a beat-up 1983Honda Shadow with the goal of restoring itand turning it around for a quick profit. Let’sjust say it wasn’t quick, and I doubt I’ll evermake a profit. But I can say I did all the workmyself.” “That must be rewarding.” “Pointless is probably a better word. It’snot very practical, since it has a tendency tobreak down and genuine parts are almost

276/571impossible to find. But isn’t that the price ofowning a classic?” The beer was going down easy, and shetook another drink. “I have no idea. I don’teven change my own oil.” “Have you ever gone riding?” “No. Too dangerous.” “Danger depends more on the rider andthe conditions than the bike.” “But yours breaks down.” “True. But I like to live life on the edge.” “I’ve noticed that about your personality.” “Is that good or bad?” “Neither. But it’s definitely unpredictable.Especially when I try to reconcile it with thefact that you’re a veterinarian. It’s such astable-sounding profession. When I think ofveterinarians, I automatically think familyman, complete with an apron-wearing wifeand kids visiting the orthodontist.” “In other words, boring. Like the mostexciting thing I should do is golf.”

277/571 She thought of Kevin. “There are worsethings.” “Just to let you know, I am a family man.”Travis shrugged. “Except for the family part.” “That’s kind of a prerequisite, don’t youthink?” “I think that being a family man is moreabout having the proper worldview than theactual condition of having a family.” “Nice try.” She squinted at him, feelingthe effects of the beer. “I’m not sure I couldever imagine you being married. Somehow,it just doesn’t seem to fit you. You seemmore like the dating lots of women, perpetu-al bachelor kind of guy.” “You’re not the first person to say that tome. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d sayyou spent too much time listening to myfriends today.” “They were very flattering.” “That’s why I take them on the boat.” “And Stephanie?”

278/571 “She’s an enigma. But she’s also my sis-ter, so what can I do? Like I said, I’m afamily-oriented guy.” “Why do I get the feeling you’re trying toimpress me?” “Maybe I am. Tell me about your boy-friend. Is he a family man, too?” “None of your business,” she said. “Okay, don’t tell me. At least not yet. Tellme about growing up in Savannah instead.” “I already told you about my family. Whatelse is there to tell?” “Tell me anything.” She hesitated. “It was hot in the summer.Very hot. And humid, too.” “Are you always this vague?” “I think a little mystery keeps thingsinteresting.” “Does your boyfriend think that, too?” “My boyfriend knows me.” “Is he tall?” “What does that matter?”

279/571 “It doesn’t. I’m just makingconversation.” “Then let’s talk about something else.” “All right. Have you ever been surfing?” “Nope.” “Scuba diving?” “Nope.” “Bummer.” “Why? Because I don’t know what I’mmissing?” “No,” he said. “Because now that myfriends are married with children, I need tofind someone who’s up for things like that ona regular basis.” “As far as I can tell, you seem to find waysto keep yourself entertained. You’re wake-boarding or Jet Skiing as soon as you get offwork.” “There’s more to life than just those twothings. Like parasailing.” She laughed and he joined in, and sherealized she liked the sound of it.

280/571 “I have a question about vet school,” shesaid apropos of nothing, but no longer caringabout the direction of their conversation. Itfelt good just to relax, to bask in the pleasureof Travis’s company. It made her feel at ease.“I know it’s dumb, but I’ve always wonderedhow much anatomy you had to study. As in,how many different kinds of animals?” “Just the major ones,” he said. “Cow,horse, pig, dog, cat, and chicken.” “And you had to know pretty mucheverything about each one?” “As far as anatomy goes, yes.” She considered that. “Wow. I thought itwas hard just doing people.” “Yeah, but remember: Most people won’tsue me if their chicken dies. Your responsib-ility is much greater, especially since you’redealing with kids.” He paused. “And I’ll betyou’re great with them.” “Why would you say that?”

281/571 “You have an aura of kindness andpatience.” “Uh-huh. I think you got too much suntoday.” “Probably,” he said. He motioned to herbottle as he stood. “Want another?” She hadn’t even realized she’d finished.“I’d better not.” “I won’t tell anyone.” “That’s not the point. I don’t want to giveyou the wrong impression about me.” “I doubt that’s possible.” “I don’t think my boyfriend would appre-ciate it.” “Then it’s a good thing he’s not here, isn’tit? Besides, we’re just getting to know eachother. What harm is there in that?” “Fine.” She sighed. “Last one, though.” He brought two more over and openedhers. As soon as she took a drink and felt thecorresponding buzz as it went down, she

282/571heard a voice inside her whisper, Youshouldn’t be doing this. “You’d like him,” she said, trying to rees-tablish some boundaries between them.“He’s a great guy.” “I’m sure he is.” “And yes, to answer your earlier question,he’s tall.” “I thought you didn’t want to talk abouthim.” “I don’t. I just want you to know I lovehim.” “Love is a wonderful thing. It makes lifeworthwhile. I love being in love.” “Spoken like a man with plenty of experi-ence. But keep in mind that true love lastsforever.” “Poets would say that true love alwaysends in tragedy.” “And you’re a poet?” “No. I’m just telling you what they say.I’m not saying I agree. Like you, I’m more of

283/571a happy-ending romantic. My parents havebeen married forever, and that’s what I wantto have one day, too.” Gabby couldn’t help thinking that he wasvery good at this sort of flirty banter—andthen reminded herself that it was becausehe’d had a lot of practice. Still, she had to ad-mit there was something flattering about hisattention, even if she knew Kevin wouldn’tapprove. “Did you know that I almost bought yourhouse?” he asked. She shook her head, surprised. “It was for sale at the same time this onewas. I liked the floor plan better than thisone, but this one already had the deck andthe boathouse and a lift. It was a toughchoice.” “And now you’ve even got a hot tub.” “You like that?” He cocked an eyebrow.“We could get in later, once the sun goesdown.”

284/571 “I don’t have my suit.” “Bathing suits are optional, of course.” She rolled her eyes, pointedly ignoringthe shiver that had gone through her. “Idon’t think so.” He stretched, looking pleased with him-self. “How about just our feet, then.” “I could probably handle that.” “It’s a start.” “And a finish.” “That goes without saying.” On the other side of the creek, the settingsun was changing the sky to a golden paletteof colors that stretched across the horizon.Travis pulled another chair closer andpropped his feet on it. Gabby stared acrossthe water, feeling a sense of well-being shehadn’t experienced in a long time. “Tell me about Africa,” she said. “Is it asotherwordly as it seems?” “It was for me,” he said. “I kept wantingto go back. Like something in my genes

285/571recognized it as home, even though therewas so little there that I saw that remindedme of the world I came from.” “Did you see any lions or elephants?” “Many.” “Was that amazing?” “It’s something I’ll never forget.” She was quiet for a moment. “I’menvious.” “Then go. And if you do, make sure youvisit Victoria Falls. It’s the most amazingplace I’ve ever seen. The rainbows, the mist,the incredible roar—it’s like you’re standingon the very edge of the world.” She smiled dreamily. “How long were youthere?” “Which time?” “How many times have you been there?” “Three.” She tried to imagine living a life so freebut somehow failed. “Tell me about all ofthem.”

286/571 They talked quietly for a long time, duskgiving way to darkness. His colorful descrip-tions of people and places were vivid and de-tailed, making her feel as if she’d been along-side him, and she found herself wonderinghow many times, and with how many otherwomen, he’d shared these stories. Halfwaythrough, he rose from the table and broughtback two bottles of water, respecting herearlier comment, and the appreciation shefelt added to her growing sense of affectionfor Travis. Though she knew it was wrong,she was somehow unable to stop it.By the time they got up to bring the dishesinto the house, stars were twinkling over-head. While Travis rinsed the dishes, Gabbytoured Travis’s living room, thinking it wasless like a bachelor pad than she’d imaginedit would be. The furniture was comfortableand stylish, brown leather couches, walnutend tables, and brass lamps, and while the

287/571room was clean, it wasn’t obsessively so.Magazines were stacked haphazardly on thetelevision, and she could see a thin layer ofdust on the stereo, which somehow seemedjust right. Instead of artwork lining the walls,there were movie posters that reflected Trav-is’s eclectic taste: Casablanca on one wall,Die Hard on another, with Home Alone rightnext to that. Behind her, she heard the faucetstop, and a moment later, Travis stepped in-to the room. She smiled. “You ready to go soak ourfeet?” “As long as you don’t show too muchskin.” They wandered back outside to the hottub. Travis flipped open the cover and set itaside while Gabby removed her sandals; amoment later, they were sitting beside eachother, their feet swishing back and forth.Gabby stared upward, tracing images in theskies above her.

288/571 “What are you thinking about?” Travisasked. “The stars,” she said. “I bought an astro-nomy book, and I’m trying to see if I remem-ber anything.” “Do you?” “Just the big ones. The obvious ones.”She pointed toward the house. “Go straightup from the chimney about two fists andyou’ll see Orion’s belt. Betelgeuse is on Ori-on’s left shoulder, and Rigel is the name ofhis foot. He has two hunting dogs. The brightstar over there is Sirius, and that’s part ofCanis Major, and Procyon is part of CanisMinor.” Travis spotted Orion’s belt, and thoughhe tried to follow her direction, he couldn’tmake out the others. “I’m not sure I see theother two.” “I can’t, either. I just know they’re there.”

289/571 He pointed over her shoulder. “I can seethe Big Dipper. Right over there. That’s theonly one I can always find.” “It’s also known as the Big Bear, or UrsaMajor. Did you know that a bear figure hasbeen associated with that constellation sincethe ice age?” “I can’t say that I did.” “I just love the names, even if I can’tmake out all the constellations yet. CanesVenatici, Coma Berenices, the Pleiades,Antinous, Cassiopeia . . . their names soundlike music.” “I take it this is a new hobby of yours.” “It’s more like good intentions buried inthe detritus of daily life. But for a couple ofdays there, I was really into it.” He laughed. “At least you’re honest.” “I know my limitations. Still, I wish Iknew more. When I was in seventh grade, Ihad a teacher who loved astronomy. He had

290/571this way of talking about stars that made youremember them forever.” “What did he say?’ “That staring at the stars was like staringbackward in time, since some stars are so faraway that their light takes millions of yearsjust to reach us. That we see stars not as theylook now, but as they were when dinosaursroamed the earth. The whole concept juststruck me as . . . amazing somehow.” “He sounds like a great teacher.” “He was. And we learned a lot, althoughI’ve forgotten most of it, as you can tell. Butthe feeling of wonder is still there. When Istare at the sky, I just know that someonewas doing the exact same thing thousands ofyears ago.” Travis watched her, entranced by thesound of her voice in the darkness. “And what’s strange,” she went on, “isthat even though we know so much moreabout the universe, ordinary people today

291/571know less about the daily sky than our an-cestors. Even without telescopes or mathem-atics or even the knowledge that the worldwas round, they used stars to navigate, theyscanned the sky for specific constellations toknow when to plant their crops, they usedstars when constructing buildings, theylearned to predict eclipses . . . it just makesme wonder what it was like to live so faith-fully by the stars.” Lost in thought, she wasquiet for a long moment. “Sorry. I’m prob-ably boring you.” “Not at all. In fact, I’ll never think of starsin the same way again.” “You’re teasing me.” “Absolutely not,” he said seriously. His gaze held hers. She had the suddensense that he was about to kiss her, and shequickly turned away. In that moment, shewas acutely aware of the sound of frogs call-ing from the marsh grass and cricketssinging in the trees. The moon had reached

292/571its apex, casting a shimmery glow aroundthem. Gabby moved her feet nervously in thewater, knowing she should leave. “I think my feet are getting wrinkled,” shesaid. “Do you want me to get a towel?” “No, that’s okay. But I should probably begoing. It’s getting late.” He stood and offered a hand. When shetook it, she felt the warmth and strength init. “I’ll walk you back.” “I’m sure I can find my way.” “Just to the bushes, then.” At the table, she picked up her sandalsand spotted Moby heading their way. Hetrotted up to them just as they stepped ontothe grass, his tongue flapping happily. Mobycircled them before charging toward the wa-ter, as if making sure nothing was hiding. Hecame to a stop with front paws slapping,then charged off in another direction.

293/571 “Moby is a dog with boundless curiosityand enthusiasm,” Travis observed. “Kind of like you.” “Kind of. Except I don’t roll in fish guts.” She smiled. The grass was soft underfoot,and they reached the hedge a moment later.“I had a wonderful time today,” she said.“And tonight, too.” “So did I. And thanks for the astronomylesson.” “I’ll do better next time. I’ll impress youwith my stellar knowledge.” He laughed. “Nice pun. Did you just thinkof that?” “No, that was my teacher again. That’swhat he used to say when class was ending.” Travis shuffled his feet, then looked up atGabby again. “What are you doingtomorrow?” “Nothing really. I know I have to go to thegrocery store. Why?” “Do you want to come with me?”

294/571 “On your motorcycle?” “I want to show you something. And it’llbe fun—I promise. I’ll even bring lunch.” She hesitated. It was a simple question,and she knew what the answer should be, es-pecially if she wanted to keep her life fromgetting complicated. “I don’t think that’s agood idea” was all she had to say, and itwould be over. She thought about Kevin and the guiltshe’d felt minutes earlier, about the choiceshe’d made by moving here in the first place.Yet despite those things, or maybe even be-cause of them, she found herself beginningto smile. “Sure,” she said. “What time?’ If he seemed surprised by her answer, hedidn’t show it. “How about eleven? I’ll giveyou a chance to sleep in.” She raised a hand to her hair. “Well,listen, thanks again. . . .” “Yeah, you too. See you tomorrow.”

295/571 For an instant, she thought she’d simplyturn and leave. But again their eyes met andheld for just a beat too long, and before sherealized what was happening, Travis placed ahand on her hip and pulled her toward him.He kissed her, his lips neither soft nor hardagainst hers. It took an instant for her brainto register what was happening, and then shepushed him back. “What are you doing?” she gasped. “I couldn’t help it.” He shrugged, seemingnot the least bit apologetic. “It just seemedlike the right thing to do.” “You know I have a boyfriend,” she re-peated, knowing that deep down she hadn’tminded the kiss at all and hating herself forit. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,”he said. “It’s fine,” she said, holding up her hands,keeping him at a distance. “Just forget aboutit. But it’s not going to happen again, okay?”

296/571 “Right.” “Right,” she repeated, suddenly wantingto go home. She shouldn’t have put herself inthis position. She’d known what was going tohappen, she’d even warned herself about it,and sure enough, she’d been right. She turned and started through thehedge, breathing fast. He’d kissed her! Shestill couldn’t believe it. Though she intendedto march straight to her door, making surehe realized how adamant she’d been aboutnot wanting it to happen again, she snuck apeek over her shoulder and was mortified torealize he’d seen her. He raised a hand in arelaxed wave. “See you tomorrow,” he called out. She didn’t bother to respond, since therewas really no reason to. The thought of whatmight happen tomorrow left her with a senseof dread. Why did he have to ruin things?Why couldn’t they just be neighbors andfriends? Why had it ended like this?

297/571 She pulled the slider closed behind herand marched to her bedroom, doing her bestto work up the anger she felt the situationmerited. It should have worked, but for theshaky legs and hammering heart, and thelingering realization that Travis Parker foundher desirable enough to want to kiss her.

Twelve After Gabby had left, Travis emptiedthe cooler. Wanting to spend some time withMoby, he grabbed the tennis ball, but even ashe began their familiar game of fetch, histhoughts kept returning to Gabby. As Mobybounded through the yard, he couldn’t shakethe memory of the way Gabby’s eyes crinkledwhen she smiled or the awe in her voice asshe’d named the stars. He found himselfwondering about her relationship with herboyfriend. Curiously, she hadn’t said muchabout him—whatever her reasons, it struckhim as an effective way to keep him guessing.

299/571 No question, he was definitely interestedin her. It was odd, though. If history was anyguide, she really wasn’t his type. She didn’tstrike him as particularly delicate or touchy,a hothouse flower—he seemed to attractthose types of women in droves. When heteased her, she teased him right back; whenhe pushed the boundaries, she had noqualms about putting him in his place. Heliked her spirited nature, her self-control andconfidence, and he especially liked the factthat she didn’t seem conscious of possessingthose qualities. The whole day struck him asa tantalizing dance, in which each of themhad taken turns leading, one pushing, theother pulling, and vice versa. He wondered ifa dance like that could go on forever. That had been one of the downfalls of hispast relationships. Even in the early stages,they had always been one-sided. Usually he’dended up making most of the decisions aboutwhat to do or where to eat or whose house to

300/571go to or what movie to see. That part didn’tbother him; what bothered him was thatover time, the one-sidedness began to defineeverything about the relationship, which in-evitably left him feeling as if he were datingan employee instead of a partner. Frankly, itbored him. It was strange, he hadn’t really thought ofhis previous relationships in this light. Heusually didn’t think about them at all. Some-how, spending time with Gabby made himthink about what he’d been missing. He re-played their conversations in his head, real-izing that he wanted more of them, more ofher. He shouldn’t have kissed her, hethought with a burst of uncharacteristicanxiety—he had gone too far. But now, all hecould do was wait and see, and hope shedidn’t change her mind about coming withhim tomorrow. What could he do? Nothing,he realized. Nothing at all.