Once Burned by Suzie O'Connell Page A

elk by the time the valley widened into the sagebrush flats just north of the tiny town of Wise River. Since they were making better time than he’d planned—he was somewhat surprised Lindsay hadn’t asked him to stop—Henry pulled off the highway west of Wise River into one of the many recreation areas along the Big Hole River so they could stretch and walk out any numbness brought on by the vibration from the frame-mounted engine of the bike.
    “Enjoying the ride so far?” he asked.
    “Absolutely! You’re really lucky to call this place home, Henry. The country up here is stunning.”
    “Yes, it is. And yes, I am.”
    “What river is this?”
    “This is the Big Hole, and it’s prime trout fishing.”
    “That’s it. I’m going to have to find a way to come back sooner rather than later. There is just too much here to see and do in the limited time I have.”
    “You like to fish?”
    “You bet I do. My dad used to take me out salmon fishing in the Puget Sound and Hood Canal every summer. And we’ve been lake and stream fishing a few times, too.”
    “You really are an outdoors kind of girl, then.”
    “When Evie wanted to play dress up, Skye and I would try to talk her into building forts in the woods behind my parents’ house or running through the tide pools on the Indianola Beach. I was a total tomboy, remember?”
    “Yes, I do. I’d ask if your parents wanted a boy and tried to make up for not getting one, but I get the feeling tomboy is just in your makeup.”
    “It really is,” Lindsay said and laughed. “They actually wanted a girl, and for a while, my mother tried to turn me into a proper one… until she realized it wasn’t going to happen. Then she embraced her little tomboy and encouraged me to be whatever I wanted to be.”
    “Your parents sound like great people.”
    “They are. They’ve been there for me through everything, even when I didn’t want anyone’s help.”
    “A little stubborn?” Henry asked. “Or just proud?”
    “Both, and more than a little.”
    “No wonder you and I get along so well.”
    “You? Stubborn? Say it isn’t so.”
    “Har har. How ‘bout we get back on the bike for the second leg of our ride to Anaconda?”
    “Did I touch a nerve?” Lindsay asked. The playful note was still thick in her voice.
    “Well, I do have my pride you know.”
    When she tipped her head back and laughed, Henry found himself grinning. God, she was fun to be around. He offered his elbow, and she slipped her hand around it, and they walked back to his bike as several rafts of fishermen drifted by on the current of the river.
    “So, how long have you and Skye and Evie been friends?” Henry asked.
    “Since elementary school. We were all in the same second grade class. I should’ve gone to a different school because I lived in Indianola, but my mom taught at Poulsbo Elementary, so that’s where I went.”
    “Your mom’s a teacher? What grade.”
    “Was. She retired last year, but she taught sixth grade, mostly.”
    “Retired already?”
    “I wouldn’t say already . She taught for forty-two years.”
    Henry stopped and stared at his companion. Something didn’t add up. “How old are your parents?”
    “Sixty-six. They were forty when I was born and had given up hope of ever having children. Needless to say, I was quite the surprise.”
    Henry chuckled. “I bet so. I’d also bet they were thrilled.”
    “They were. I am so blessed to have the parents I do, and if I do even half as well with Noah as they did with me, I’ll have done a good job.”
    “I’m sure you’ll do every bit as well.”
    They climbed back on his bike, and he thought she held on just a little tighter for a moment. He almost told her that he hadn’t said that just to ease her maternal doubts, that he firmly believed every word, but he sensed doing so would cheapen the compliment, so he started the bike and pulled back onto the highway.
    The Mount Haggin road was more open than the