Chapter 67: Smile
Chapter 67
Cameron
Lenora reacted to seeing the elephants like a teenage girl meeting her favorite idol group — wide-eyed, breathless, completely awestruck.
She’d been leaning so far over the side of the truck I half expected I’d have to grab her by the waist to stop her from trying to climb out. Her hand was stretched toward them, trembling slightly, like she thought if she reached just a little farther, she could bridge the impossible space between human and wild.
The smile on her face... I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like that before. This one was unguarded, pure — and it did something to me.
The elephants barely spared us a glance, too busy shifting their massive bodies and flapping their ears in that lazy, rhythmic way.
I think to myself, this — this right here — is the reason I have my immense wealth and money. Not the houses, not the cars, not the carefully calculated investments.
It’s for this.
For her.
For the smile on her face right now, so bright it could rival the sun overhead.
*
We return to the lodge just as the sun dips low, the sky painted in streaks of gold and crimson. Lenora is still practically vibrating beside me, replaying every moment of the elephants, the giraffes, the zebras — her words tumbling over each other like she’s afraid she’ll forget them if she doesn’t say them fast enough.