Geronimo (A Songbird Novel) Read Free Page B

two weeks before I need to get back for work, and I thought I’d come over here and see where the road takes me. Try to cross a few things off my list.”
    “Hang on.” He frowned at me. “You’re going to see where the road takes you, but you’ve made a list? Isn’t that a contradiction?”
    “It’s not that kind of list.” I hesitated, wondering why I was compelled to show him. The only other person who’d seen it was Sarah.
    His hazel eyes studied me, the warm smile within them enough to have me reaching for my back pocket. My cheeks were already burning red; I figured I may as well make them neon.
    Unfolding the sheet of paper, I cleared my throat and placed my list on the table between us.
    “Jane’s Life List,” Harry murmured, picking it up and scanning the contents. I had about ten things on there. A mix of the simple, like reading The Great Gatsby and watching Gone with the Wind , to the adventurous, like skydiving and learning how to surf.
    His lips curled at the edges, and I guessed he was up to the two Sarah added before I left on my trip: horseback riding on the beach and skinny-dipping in the ocean.
    “Nice.” He nodded and then passed it back to me. “Aren’t those normally called a bucket list?”
    “Yes, well.” I tipped my head, gazing at my scribble. “I decided to change the title.”
    “Why?” He asked it so softly, so nicely, I started answering him before even thinking about it.
    “I’ve been in a rut, I guess you could say, and I just needed something to bring me back to life.”
    I hoped it was a sufficient answer. I really didn’t want to go into detail.
    Harry went still, studying me with a look of wonder. My words obviously resonated with him, because a slow smile worked over his lips and he started nodding.
    “I like the sound of that,” he whispered.
    Our eyes connected, pulled together by something we shared. I wasn’t sure what it was but I sensed an understanding. Forcing my gaze away, I concentrated on refolding my list and putting it back in my pocket.
    “So, that first item you crossed off. The ‘saying goodbye’ one. Is that some metaphor for leaving your rut behind?”
    I wasn’t about to tell him the truth, that I crossed it off because today at my tree, I realized that Blake would always be with me. I didn’t need to say goodbye to him anymore. We were destined to spend eternity together, and I could go forward and achieve the list for both of us.
    But for some reason, I didn’t want to bring Blake into my conversation with Harry, so instead I just smiled and mumbled, “Something like that.”
    “Well, you’re in the perfect place to do some of those things. Europe’s just a stone’s throw away. I can already think of about three different places you could go to start crossing off your list…and adding to it.” He winked.
    His reaction inspired me and I pulled out the list again, smoothing it out on the table and uncapping the pen with my teeth. Blake danced through my mind, powering ideas through my head. A smile worked over my lips as I imagined him beside me, coaxing the truth out of me.
    “Come on, carrots, what are we going to do? Be wild about it, honey. Make me proud.”
    I chuckled and started writing and talking at the same time. “I want to see something ancient and beautiful. I want to soak in the sun. Swim in water so clear I can see my toes.” I looked down at what I’d added.
    See an ancient wonder.
    Swim in crystal clear waters.
    Tapping my pen on the sheet of paper, I glanced up at Harry and kept going. “I just want to stop thinking and get outside of my own head. I want to live and do things that will make me laugh. I want to feel unchecked joy. I want to be crazy and spontaneous.” I could hear Blake’s voice in my words.
    Harry’s awe-filled gaze was still in place, his eyes searching my expression.
    Would he think I was a fraud? I was sitting there spouting stuff that would have come from Blake’s mouth. But as I