Since it was Molly’s day off, they had elected to go hiking that morning at Blue Mountain. She’d been out that way before, but not very often. And Edmund’s own outdoor exercise was more usually in the form of running than hiking, so this was an interesting change of pace for him.
They seemed struck by a strange clumsiness while out in the forest because they bumped into each other rather more often than necessary. These collisions frequently resulted in kisses.
They returned to Molly’s apartment where she made them biscuits and gravy from scratch. When Edmund tried to help, she shooed him out. “There is not room enough in this kitchen for two. You can help by getting the dishes later.”
As they ate at the counter facing into her kitchen, Edmund said, “You know, if I were a native southerner, I could probably point out something you did wrong. However, as a mere damn Yankee who happened to live there a few years, these are great.”
Molly beamed at him and kissed him on the cheek. She was genuinely happy to have someone to cook for. Although she’d been trying to learn for a while, having no audience, as it were, stole some of the fun.
Later, Molly sat at the same counter working on her cheap laptop; she called Edmund over. He looked over her shoulder.
“Oh Jesus, Molly, that’s perfect!” he laughed.
His smile faded when he saw her glare. “Oh, uh, sorry. But…yes, that is exactly right. Molly, have I mentioned that in addition to being beautiful, you’re brilliant?”
The glare softened. “So, send you this link?”
“Absolutely,” Edmund answered. “I’ll have it in the mail tomorrow morning.”
Not long after this, Edmund kissed Molly goodnight and headed back to his own apartment, a cheap studio in Missoula. After a couple of weeks of driving back and forth far too often, he’d decided that this was the more practical option. He hated leaving her place, which, apart from Molly herself, somehow managed to turn “tiny” into “cozy,” whereas his was just “cramped,” but they both agreed, for somewhat different reasons, that he was not staying the night, not even on a couch.
He still had to drive out to Christ Mountain once every week or so to check on the house, but that was much easier than every other day while staying in a motel half the time.
Although it was not a serious expenditure for him, Edmund felt a little guilty spending Gunnar’s money on this, but he didn’t know how he could go back to doing this alone. Having just one other person he could be honest with…it made him feel human again.
So, he drove ten minutes to his own apartment, let himself in, and fell straight into bed.
The Mayor of Christ Mountain 
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