Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“That’s what you came all this way to say?”
I nod over my shoulder. “It’s not that far.”
When I turn back, she smiles. “You still bothered to go the distance for me.”
Why is she looking at me like I’m some kind of hero?
I recognize that spark in her eyes. It turned to fire once we were alone together. Now, I can’t bear her looking at me in the same way, so I pick at the splintered wood of the doorway instead. “I would have traveled the world for you.”
It’s hard to escape the silence between us. Shaking my head, I hate myself for making it worse. “We lost electricity, but this cabin doesn’t have a generator.” Daring myself to look her in the eyes again, I direct my gaze back to her.
A thud alerts me to a growing pain in my chest. Only once, but that’s all it takes for the knife to twist a little deeper. Her knife obsession is beginning to make more sense. “We need to move you to the main house.”
She shifts, her hand on her hip, and appears to take quick inventory of the mess. When she looks back at me, she says, “I was hoping the electricity would come back on.”
“I can’t look at it in the dark. It’s too cold out here.”
“You’re a man of many talents. Fuel pump expert, electrician. Next, you’ll tell me you play that guitar I saw in the living room. A real Renaissance man.”
Do I tell her?
Forgetting my name is one thing, but not remembering I’m in a band listed on the fucking hat she was wearing. Fuck, she goes hard.
She opens the door wider for me while hiding mostly behind it. “Do you want to come in while I pack?”
Accepting that offer isn’t my wisest decision. I should wait outside in the cold or return in a little while. But I need to get her out of here sooner rather than later. The temperatures are falling too fast for it to be safe in here for long.
I step inside and close the door behind me. With the curtains open, the last bit of moonlight reaches the edges of the cabin. Soon, it will be overhead, though, and of no use to us.
While she uses her phone’s flashlight, I scan the tiny house, surprised by how much of her stuff has taken over the place. “Looks like you settled in.”
“The Wi-Fi was spotty, so I was reorganizing my belongings. Nothing else to do since I wasn’t tired.”
“I was doing some reorganizing myself.” Why do I tell her so much? She doesn’t care. She doesn’t need to know.
“Oh yeah? Furniture? Clothes? The kitchen cabinets? Professionally speaking . . .” She waves her arm out so casually, like we’re friends, the opposite of what she said inside. “There’s a better way of organizing.”
Pretty sure she’s the last person I need to hear advice from. It’s up to me to fix this shit in my head. That’s why I’m in Deer Lake. Ironic that I came here to get her out of my system only to end up with her right back in my life.
“Those would be easier than fixing myself.”
I lie through my teeth like the fucker I am. I know damn well it’s not my head that needs fixing. It’s the organ in my chest. I’m not doing myself any favors by hanging around here. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to carry your stuff over.”
“I can manage on my own.”
Opening the door, I only turn enough to know she’s behind me. I nod, wishing I could look at her without reliving that night in Austin. The star she drew on the bag, a symbol of the brokenhearted? It’s now a symbol of us and what we used to be. “You’re the expert in that area.”
I head for the lake, thinking the cold air will be good to cool my blood from boiling. I’ll eventually get over the rest. It’s the anger that’s going to do me in. The hurt feelings are a bonus. Man, was I a sucker for her.
I thought she was the one, but she only wanted a good time.
She got it. I did too until the next morning.
On the positive side of her being here, she’s giving me the closure I never got prior. She doesn’t even remember my name, for fuck’s sake. If that’s not a door slamming in my face, I don’t know what is.
The rustling of brush under shoes has me looking back. She’s struggling to drag a bag weighing her down across the uneven ground. I hurry to assist. Her eyes go wide until she sees it’s me and smiles. That’s how I used to imagine us being—happy in each other’s company.
Fools and their dreams . . .
Taking the handle of one and grabbing the smaller black bag under my arm, I start for the main cabin. “I kept the lights out to save energy, but it’s still warm. There are three other bedrooms, but I think you’ll like the one my sister stays in best.”