“Have you asked him that?”

“Jules, you know the answer to that question. I can’t bring up the future; I just don’t foresee anything happening.” I looked back at the bridge to see Baylor still sitting staring down at the creek.

“Just don’t go falling in love with him, Eden, you’ve gotta protect your heart.” Sympathy showed through in her voice.

“Oh you won’t have to worry about that, I won’t go falling in love with him,” I said before a tear escaped the corner of my eye. “You can’t fall in love with someone you already still love.”

“Oh, Eden,” Julia gasped.

“It’s too late for my heart. I just hope that when I get home you’ll help me restore the pieces.”

“You bet, sweetie, you know I’m always here for you. Tell you what, I’ll make a run to the store and be sure to stock up on that German chocolate cake spectacular ice cream you love so much. I can tell that you’re gonna need it.”

Chapter 12

Baylor

1999

“Baylor, why in the world are you taking me to the bridge now? It’s freezing outside and there is snow on the ground.” Eden looked absolutely adorable in her oversized parka and while it was a bit chilly it wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be. Besides, she would definitely thank me once I exposed her to how beautiful the bridge was with the snow drift on top and the creek frozen over.

We frequented the old abandoned covered bridge quite often, but this was the first time without Dean tagging along. I wasn’t even sure what the bridge was used for besides decoration, most of the other ones in Cottage Grove had either been used for jogging trails or for trains to pass through. This one was the most special to me and held the most character in my opinion. I was kind of nervous to be taking her there by myself and my sweaty palms were a reflection of that. I wanted to ask her to the winter formal, but I was worried that it would mess with our friendship and the feeling of ease we had around each other. There had been this other senior hanging around me, Kristina. She was beautiful and all, but I wanted to ask Eden to the dance before I even mentioned it to Kristina. For some reason the girls didn’t get along too well, and I wasn’t really sure why.

Only fishtailing the Camaro once, we pulled up to the bridge that we all claimed as our own during the fall, and the soft snow peaks had Eden gasping in her seat. She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and threw open the door before I even had a chance to put the Camaro in park. I rushed around the car to follow in her footsteps and she began twirling around making deep imprints in the snow. “It’s beautiful and almost majestic!”

“See, one of these days you’ll learn to trust me to know what I’m talking about.” I pulled down on my sock hat so it would fully cover my ears and was rewarded with her bright white smile that made my knees wobble. Even though I had just turned eighteen and hadn’t actually lived much, she was the girl who made everything fall into perspective for me.

“Baylor Jenkins, you are an absolute mess. If I started following everything you said without some sort of sarcasm behind it then there would be major anarchy for all women. It’s a proven fact that women are smarter with the everyday mundane things than men are, so it’s just statistics that women shouldn’t really ever listen to men. It does work both ways though, since when do men ever listen to anything a woman says, ever?”

Eden always did love listening to herself talk, and would give anything to argue a point. Seemed to me that she should be going to law school instead of Dean. But she would make an amazing radio broadcaster too because she had the right voice for radio. But of course, that could have been my biased opinion showing through. She ran over to the entrance and looked over into the creek, plopping down on the snow-covered platform. That was another thing that I loved about Eden, she didn’t care if she got dirty or wet; just being outdoors excited her.

Wait a minute…Did I just say love?

I did care about Eden very deeply, but did I love her? And could she actually love me back?

I decided to test it by trying to kiss her right then and there, and if she followed my advances I’d know for sure. If not, then I supposed I’d tuck my tail between my legs and ask Kristina to the dance.

I approached her cautiously with my heart in her hands and took the empty spot on the bridge directly next to her. She was staring blankly down into the ravine that housed the creek which was now just a solid sheet of ice. I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach the subject of me wanting to kiss her, did I just go in for the kill? Ask her? So many rampant thoughts running loose in my mind. My dad never told me that girls would take over my mind completely; it was even crazier when it was just one girl in particular.

“Edie?” I said, trying to get her attention while I still had the nerve.

“Huh?” She turned her head and focused her big beautiful brown eyes on me. So much life and spirit reflecting back at me.

I darted my tongue out to moisten my lips and began moving towards her at a snail’s pace. Our eyes were still trained on one another, and then I shifted mine down to her lips. I didn’t know if it was because I broke eye contact and she was completely clueless or that she just didn’t feel the same about me. The next thing I knew she turned her head away from me, tapped my shoulder and quickly pointed out at a pair of otters playing in the snow.

The rest of the afternoon I felt off, either because of the failed attempt and missed chance at a kiss from Eden, or the fact that I would have to hold my feelings back from how I truly felt about her.

Chapter 13

Baylor

Present Day

“Do you remember the time I brought you here right before Christmas, when it snowed?”

Her eyes instantly lit up so I knew she did before she even confirmed it. “I do. It was absolutely beautiful and magical.”

“I believe the exact word you used was majestic.”

Nodding her head she leaned into my side and bumped into my shoulder with hers, “It definitely was.”

I looked off into the distance and was surprised to see two otters playing near the stream. What were the odds? Shoulder checking her back, I jerked my head in the direction of the playful animals.

“Oh, look at how cute they are,” she brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

I had always admired her heart and how much she loved animals and the outdoors. Moving my hands from my lap to grip the edge of the platform, I took a deep breath and said, “That day, when we came here in the snow. That was the day.”

“What day?” She asked looking a bit perplexed.

“The day I knew that I loved you.” I looked up to her again and could see the tears swimming in her eyes just waiting for the moment she would allow them to spill over. “I had this plan to kiss you and if you kissed me back, without decking me, then I’d know you felt the same way. My next move was to ask you to the winter formal.”

“That’s what you were trying to do when I saw the otters?” I nodded. “You should’ve spoken up,” she took a moment to release a deep sigh, “I guess we both had major communication issues.” She was quiet for a bit then looked down at the empty space that was between us. “You went to that dance with Kristina.”

I covered her hand with mine and gave it a gentle squeeze, trying to convey my apology, “Yeah.” I was a freaking coward but that next Monday at school Kristina, with her take-charge attitude, sought me out and asked me to the dance.

“You want to know when I fell in love with you?” Eden asked softly. The rain had started back up again, the steady stream of droplets pouring down and coating each of our jackets. I nodded because I was truly interested and afraid all at once. “It was when I had to make a big delivery to Tillie’s and everything wouldn’t fit in the basket on my bike.”