Inevitable romance fiction

[The physical position of Hickman Butte lookout makes it an excellent radio relay for folks working within the deep valleys surrounding Mt. Hood. Many wildlife biology teams used me in the capacity of relay as they did their work, because even when they were one valley away from each other, they had no line-of-sight, and thus no radio contact. In the process of doing this work, I inevitably noticed at least one pretty female voice, this fiction proceeded from there. Pseudonyms are being used, because real last names were used in the original piece.]

"Good Morning," he said, stepping gingerly by her sleeping form, a plastic cup in his hand.

She looked up, incredulous, as he opened the door and walked out onto the catwalk. She watched, transfixed, as he drank a bit of water, swished it, and spit it out over the handrail. It was a clear morning and she could see Mount Hood glorious to the East.

She was laying on a thick foam mattress covered with a ragged patchwork quilt that showed the flannel it was sewn onto in places where quilting was missing. Her pack and boots were stowed neatly in the corner by the door, and she was sleeping in her sleeping bag.

"Good night's sleep?"

"Yes, -- but... who are you?" There was something familiar about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Her forehead crinkled as she tried.

"My name is B.P., and your is Ms. Littlepine," he said as if it were a joke.

"That's it, your voice. You're Hickman Butte." Her face relaxed a bit at this recognition, but started gathering again at the edges when she started to recognize where she was.

"Is this Hickman Butte?"

"Yep."

Her mind raced. She remembered hiking a ridgeline the night before. They'd checked station 36, and got no response. She was tired, and the pack was pulling tight at her shoulders. She had stopped to adjust her pack when... when what... did she fall asleep?

"--you would might want a more comfortable -- Littlepine? You there?" He waved his hand in front of her face.

"So, I thought I'd invite you up finally. Our conversations had gone so well."

"But -- won't they be worried -- the crew. They don't know where I am."

"They're not worried. They know where you are."

A hiss of steam caught their attention, and he moved quickly over to the little propane camp stove, turning off the burner under a percolator-top coffee pot.

"Some tea? I don't have many kinds," he was pulling boxes of tea out from under a small cabinet, "but, well let's see."

"Wait, wait. Wait one minute. How did I get here?" she was starting to think something badly awry, but only in a modern 20-th century kinda way.

"Did you drug me?"

"Hell no!"

"Well, how did you get me up here? Why don't I remember it?"

"Well, I have this theory and it's kinda hard to explain." He was looking down, his face revealing both uncertainty and guilt. "I think I dreamed you here."

"Don't give me that --"

"Wait, wait. Let me finish. You see, over the past few weeks, I've gotten very interested -- no that's not it. Intrigued by you. Our little nightly conversations have been very nice. I've enjoyed them. I started pondering what you were like -- what you looked like. Then I had this dream -- last night, I dreamed that you came here. I dreamed that you were thinking about me at the same moment, and you came here.

So anyways, I woke up and here you were. I wasn't surprised in a way, the dream was very real. Dreams have been slippery for me lately anyway -- it's been harder and harder to tell the difference -- So there you were, sleeping peacefully, looking very nearly the way I expected you to look.

Don't be mad. How could I have anticipated this? I never expected this, it's nice I admit, but.." He flushed and turned to his tea making. "I mean it, if I had known it was a possibility, I guess..."

She was silent. Raised on one elbow, the sunlight coming in over the mountain's shoulder lit up her sandy-blond hair, luminescent. She looked down, breathed out a deep sigh.

"We didn't ---"

"NO, no -- of course not."

Now they both flushed. A childish air overtook the room, and neither would make eye contact. He handed her a plastic coffee cup steaming with tea.

"It's black, I didn't know if you did caffeine or not."

"It's fine, thanks." She seemed to ponder the situation a moment. "So -- you have the day off?"

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