Danika Stone

Lou stood at the kitchen sink, her eyes unfocused on her hazy reflection in the window. Outside the sky was fading from steely blue to indigo. The mountain range beyond was a solid sheet of black, cut out by a child's sloppy scissors.

In his stupor, the forest had begun to change. The sounds were confusing, his eyes blurring in his exhaustion. He tugged another branch out of the way, gasping as a jagged twig poked through the palm of his hand, momentarily catching there. The pain was almost an afterthought, his fingers no longer working effectively.

For a long time, they sat without speaking. The air outside was filled with the lilting sound of sparrows, the buzz of traffic on Main Street, and under that the faint lapping of waves on the lakeshore. Lou smiled. It wasn't the same, but it was better.And better, Lou thought, is a start.

It was Red Rock Canyon. One of the most beautiful places in Waterton... in the Rockies, for that matter. And it was there, waiting for him to find it. As long as he was willing to look for it.

Breathtaking.That was the word, Liv decided, which had convinced her to wear the ludicrous outfit, because no one - not the one, solitary boyfriend she'd had during high school, or the leering frat boys she avoided at college parties - had ever spoken to her with such reverence. And with Xander beaming down at her, she did feel beautiful.

She lifted her head in surprise, following his line of sight above the tree line. Beyond the distant peaks, a green and blue symphony of lights had begun. It rippled and shimmered like sunshine on water, leaving Rich blinking back tears. He'd read something about this but had never seen it before.__t's the aurora borealis,_ Lou said quietly. __orthern lights.

Cole didn__ see her for the rest of the weekend, and he was glad.She wasn__ in class on Monday either. That made it easier.Tuesday she was still missing.

And then they half-ran, half-skipped the last eight blocks to her apartment, their bodies connected by their crossed arms. Half a block away, their combined shadow looked like the wings of a single sea bird, wheeling in a bright sky. Two blocks further, and they looked like two boats, alone on an endless ocean. One block from that, and their joined bodies merged into a symbol of infinity.

Thursday afternoon, the dark clouds closed in, and by Friday morning a heavy rain was falling. The mountain peaks were hazy sentinels, disappearing into misty fog that clung to the valley.

This advice from a college freshman carrying a cane?""It's a walking stick, I'll have you know.""Same difference.""Hardly. It's fashion.

Make a wish,_ Oliver said, gesturing to the upturned cup, __nd turn it clockwise three times.

Yeah... everything is images for me. Bits and pieces coming together in pictures._ He grinned. __ see good fortune as dragons, and..._ he turned the cup, pointing at a rippling shape along the edge, __nd that thing there is definitely a dragon. Whoever this person is _ this tall guy you talk to _ it__ a good thing for you. Some kind of resolution, and a change for the future...

He couldn't be more than forty-five, but Murray Miles was stooped, old before his time. The mountains of Alberta had the ability to bend those who lived here.That, or it broke them.

Hormones, it seemed, we're making a much-delayed appearance in her life.Liv was horrified.

You can do it now. You can't say you've never dated, because you have. A lot of people, actually._ Xander's gave her a mischievous grin. __ou've leveled up, dearest. You're an expert on dating compared to Liv of six months ago.

Dating' stressful. I'd have to dress up.

You__e breaking the fucking law, Cole_ there is no right way to do this.

It's going to happen whether you like it or not,_ he said quietly.The top of the book dropped to display Susan's wrinkled gaze. __hat's that?___hange,_ Rich said. __t's inevitable.