they'd first discovered this area.
She couldn't think of anyone else who remotely resembled him. He was
complicated,almost contradictory in so many ways, yet simple, a strangely erotic
combination. On the surface he was a country boy, home from war, and he probably
saw himself in those terms. Yet there was so much more to him. Perhaps it was the
poetry that made him different, or perhaps it was the values his father had instilled
in him, growing up. Either way, he seemed to savor life more fully than others
appeared to, and that was what had first attracted her to him.
"What are you thinking?"
She felt her insides jump just a bit as Noah's voice brought her back to the present.
She realized she hadn't said much since they'd started, and she appreciated the
silence he had allowed her. He'd always been considerate like that.
"Good things," she answered quietly, and she saw in his eyes that he knew she was
thinking about him. She liked the fact that he knew it, and she hoped he had been
thinking about her as well.
She understood then that something was stirring within her, as it had so many years
ago. Watching him, watching his body move, made her feel it. And as their eyes
lingered for a second, she felt the heat in her neck and breasts, and she flushed,
turning away before he noticed.
"How much farther?" she asked.
"Another half mile or so. Not any more than that."
A pause. Then, she said: "It's pretty out here. So clean. So quiet. It's almost like
going back in time."
"In a way it is, I think. The creek flows from the forest. There's not a single farm
between here and where it starts, and the water is pure as rain. It's probably as
pure as it's ever been."
She leaned toward him.
"Tell me, Noah, what do you remember most from the summer we spent
together?"
"All of it."
"Anything in particular?"
"No," he said.
"You don't remember?"
He answered after a moment, quietly, seriously. "No, it's not that. It's not what
you're thinking. I was serious when I said 'all of it.' I can remember every moment
we were together, and in each of them there was something wonderful. I can't
really pick any one time that meant more than any other. The entire summer was
perfect, the kind of summer everyone should have. How could I pick one moment
over another?
"Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that
overwhelms logic and common sense. That's what it was like for me. I didn't plan on
falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me.
But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening
to us. We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare
and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has happened only once, and that's
why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never
forget a single moment of it.”
Allie stared at him. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Ever.
She didn't know what to say and stayed silent, her face hot.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, Allie. I didn't mean to. But that summer
has stayed with me and probably always will. I know it can't be the same between
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