Chapter 52 Evan’s Special Place
Evan rode on ahead, so that Grace would have an unobstructed view as she rounded the bend. He acted as if he did not notice it and continued on, but when he looked back, he saw a look of worshipful rapture on her face as she forgot about the narrow, rocky trail and paused to drink in the view. That first moment left a person breathless. Evan had seen it dozens of times, but it still caused him to pause, just as Grace had. It was like looking at the detail of a painting. What she didn’t realize was that a little further along another dimension to the portrait opened up as the narrow trail opened up on the cliff edge and allowed clear access into the valley above the falls. When one first rode up to the falls, a long, dark ridge blocked the view of what lay off to the right of the valley above, but as one came out upon the flat grassy ledge a vast, bald peak began to come into view and the portrait from the tip of the peak to the pool at the bottom of the canyon was made complete.
Evan dismounted, unsaddled his horse, put on the hobbles, slipped the bridle off, and then leaned back on his saddle to take in the view. It was some moments before Grace arrived in silence. Her eyes were fixed upon the scene that was emerging bit by bit before her eyes. All of her senses were fully arrayed by one of the most beautiful sights in all of creation. When she finally arrived on the grassy ledge, she could only stare in stunned silence. Evan knew that she was hooked. This day would be the perfect time to tell her of his plans. “Let me take your horse, ma’am,” he said, interrupting her. She glanced at him only for a moment as if she believed that she was alone and the interruption had broken into some deep thought. She slipped out of the saddle, however, and walked only a few paces away, where she slowly lowered herself to the grass and continued her worship of the view before her. Evan tended to her horse as he had his, removing the rolls from both saddles, which were a blanket and their lunch wrapped in the slickers on the back of their saddles. He laid out the spread and began picking through the items that she had packed for their picnic while he watched her.
She appeared to be in the middle of a silent prayer or a yoga meditation. Her face was glowing in the late morning sun. After a long moment, she rose from her spot in the grass and made her way over to stretch out with him on the blanket. For the first time since they had arrived, she made full contact with his eyes. “I thought you said that it didn’t amount to much,” she chided. “A creek flowing over the edge of a cliff. My God, Evan, it’s beautiful!”
He grinned and nodded in agreement. “Everything in these mountains is beautiful, from the smallest seed hidden in the grass to the grander and more dramatic sights like this one. You just have to have your eyes and your heart open to see it.” He was subtly moving toward the subject.
“Why haven’t you ever brought me here before?” she asked. There was a tone of scolding in her voice.
“To be honest,” he began. “Two reasons, really. It is kind of private, and I wasn’t ready to let you into this part of my world and because I wasn’t sure how you would do on that trail that hangs on the edge of the cliff coming in here.”
“Well, the treacherous journey into your secret place was certainly with it, though I would rather come in by a different route,” she said. She considered her thoughts for a moment. “Actually, that’s not true. The hair-raising ride adds to the glory in some way. Hmmm... there is a fantastic metaphor in that. The journey into the secrets of one’s soul often leads along a treacherous path, but it opens up into a new and wonderful experience that takes one’s breath away.”
Evan already had her journal in his hand and was presenting it along with her favorite pen, which he had slipped into his shirt pocket before leaving the house that morning. He grinned at her as she took it, and then leaned toward him for a soft peck on the mouth. He watched as she was soon lost in her writing. He could almost hear the rapid scratching of her pen over the sound of the falls. After a few moments, he realized that he probably wouldn’t be able to talk to her about his plans. He placed lunch near her, even in her free hand, but her mind and her pen were too busy to eat. She had started a book of some sort before they left New York, and it was the book that had really helped her to make her decision. She conjectured that she would be able to think more clearly and write better if she were isolated away from the phone and other interruptions. Since the homestead had no phone and there was no one around to interrupt her, she had actually accomplished a great deal.
Evan ate lunch and watched her. At first, he was disappointed by the fact that he was being ignored completely and that he would not be able to approach the subject that was on his mind, but she was happy. He could see it all over her face, and he knew the feel of her contentment as well. He watched her for a while and then decided that he had better get on to his work. There were cattle in the basin and along the ridge that needed tending. “I'd better go do what I came to do,” he said. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Just stay put.” He hardly had to say the last. She wasn’t going anywhere.
“Okay,” she mumbled without looking up from her writing.
Evan went to his horse, which was slightly miffed at the fact that his grazing in the thick, rich grass of the ledge was being interrupted. He slipped the bridle over his head and removed the hobbles, and led him over near his saddle. He swung the saddle onto the back of the horse with practiced ease and buckled the cinches in place, then buckled the hobbles into the D-ring of his back cinch. He started to repeat that he would be back soon, but realized that it would probably fall on deaf ears, and simply turned the face of his horse away from her and started along the ledge which led up onto the broader expanse of the basin.