That Time We Faked It (Time On The Ice #3)

43. WADE

WADE

Chasing the Runaway Heart

T he gravel crunched beneath the tires as the taillights of the car disappeared into the night. My chest felt hollow, a gaping void where my heart used to be. I stood at the open gate of Rossler Flats, rooted to the spot, unable to breathe, unable to move, as the love of my life drove away.

Cal was gone.

The world felt like it had stopped, every sound muffled except the desperate hammering of my pulse. The cool night air nipped at my skin, but I couldn’t feel it. All I could feel was the crushing weight of loss, the jagged edges of something beautiful shattering inside me.

I had thought I’d known heartbreak before. When Sam died. When everything I believed in was ripped away in war. But this—this was different. This wasn’t death. This was watching someone who had become my entire world choose to leave, to give up on us. And the worst part was that I didn’t even understand why.

I wanted to scream, to yell after him, to beg him to come back. But my voice stayed locked in my throat. It was my brother’s wedding night, and here I was, standing in the cold at the end of the driveway, breaking apart. I had failed him. I had failed us.

The rumble of engines in the distance broke through the fog of despair. I turned slowly, my legs heavy, my chest aching as the familiar sight of the family’s farm mokes approached. The headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating my sisters—Tania, Tia, and Tiffany as well as mom—piled into one, their faces pinched with worry. In the other moke were my brothers, Wylie and William, and Ben both looking grim, their usual playfulness nowhere to be seen.

They parked haphazardly, and my sisters were out first, their long skirts billowing as they ran toward me.

“Wade!” Tania called, her voice sharp with alarm. “What happened? Where’s Cal?”

Tia reached me next, her hand gripping my arm. “Why are you standing out here? What’s going on?”

“Wade, talk to us!” Tiffany urged, her big, dark eyes scanning my face.

I swallowed hard, my throat raw, my hands shaking. “He’s gone,” I said, the words scraping out of me like shards of glass. “He… he left.”

“What do you mean, he left?” Wylie demanded, his tone tight as he and William joined the group. “Where did he go?”

“I don’t know!” The words exploded out of me, a raw, anguished cry that echoed into the night. I ran a hand through my hair, gripping it tightly, desperate for something to anchor me. “I don’t know where he’s going. I don’t even know why. Everything was fine, and then—” My voice broke, and I turned away, trying to compose myself.

“Then what?” William pressed, his usual calm demeanor edged with urgency. “Wade, what happened?”

“It was Danton,” I said, my voice shaking. “That bastard baited me in front of Cal. He got too close, made it look like… like something was happening. Cal walked in, and—” I took a ragged breath, my fists clenching at my sides. “He thought I was cheating on him. He thought I was cheating, and he ran.”

Gasps rippled through the group. My mom, who had been standing silently at the back, her shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders, stepped forward. Her eyes were wide, her mouth trembling as she asked, “And you have no idea where he’s going?”

I shook my head, my throat tight with unshed tears. “No. I tried to stop him. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t true, but he wouldn’t stop. He wouldn't… he wouldn’t even look at me.”

My words lingered in the air, pressing down like an invisible force neither of us could escape. My sisters exchanged worried glances, their faces pale in the moonlight. Wylie muttered a curse under his breath, his hands resting on his hips as he paced.

“We need to figure out where he went,” William said firmly. “Think, Wade. Did he say anything? Was there anywhere he’d been talking about? Anywhere he might go?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head again. “He didn’t say anything.”

The silence stretched, heavy and unbearable, until my mom’s voice cut through it like a whip. “Did he take the laptop?”

I turned to her, startled. “What?”

“The laptop,” she repeated, her tone urgent. “The one I gave him. Did he take it with him?”

I froze, the pieces suddenly clicking into place.

“I don’t know,” I said, my heart pounding. “But… maybe.”

“Then we check,” Mom said firmly, her voice brooking no argument. “Now.”

Without another word, we all turned and headed for the cabin, hope flickering to life in my chest. If the laptop was gone, if Cal had taken it, it might hold the key to where he was going.

The cabin was packed, every last Rossler crammed inside like a family reunion gone off the rails. Partners, kids, everyone who’d managed to make it back from the wedding reception sat or stood wherever they could find space. The chatter, the concern—it all blurred together, a hum of noise that grated against the raw edges of my nerves.

I stared at the laptop in front of me, the red dot moving steadily across the map. "Find My Laptop" shouldn’t have been my lifeline, but there we were. Cal’s laptop— Mom’s thoughtful gift—was still logged into the Rossler family account. He didn’t even know it, but that stupid red dot was my only hope of finding him.

My only hope of fixing what I’d broken.

I looked up, my chest tight, my ribs aching like I’d taken a hard punch. Benny and Wylie were squeezed into the armchair, their wedding suits still pristine, their faces anything but. They looked at me like I was one shot away from collapse, and maybe I was.

My throat burned as I forced the words out.

“My drama wrecked your wedding,” I muttered, the guilt cutting into me like glass. I couldn’t meet their eyes for long. “I ruined it.”

“You didn’t wreck anything,” Benny shot back, his voice steady. Too steady, like he knew I needed the reassurance more than he needed the truth. “Our engagement party, our wedding—it was all more than we could’ve dreamed of because of your man. Cal made it unforgettable.”

“Yeah,” Wylie added, his jaw tight. “We’re the idiots who let Danton stick around. That’s on us, not you. Karma’s a bitch, but she came for the right people.”

I let out a bitter huff that barely passed for a laugh. My heart felt like it was barely working, sluggish and hollow without him.

Because that’s what he did—lit me up, gave me a reason to breathe, a reason to fight. Now he was gone, tearing down some highway, thinking I’d betrayed him. And me? I was here, surrounded by family, falling apart in the quietest way possible.

“So?” Wylie leaned forward, his tie crooked, his wedding glow dimmed by concern. “Do you know where he is?”

I glanced back at the screen, the red dot blinking like it was mocking me. “On his way to the airport,” I said, my voice low, rough.

Silence settled in the room for half a beat before Mom’s voice cut through, sharp and sure. “How do you feel about a family honeymoon?”

The words landed like a brick in the middle of the room. Benny snorted first, shaking his head in disbelief. “You can’t be serious,” he said, though there was a spark of hope in his eyes.

“Of course I’m serious,” Mom replied, her arms crossed like she was daring us to argue. “He’s family. And when someone’s family, you fight for them. You don’t let them walk away.”

I swallowed hard, my throat raw. Her words gutted me because she was right. Cal was family. My family. And I let him walk away.

Not anymore.

I stood, the chair scraping loud against the wood floor, the sound cutting through the tension. My hands curled into fists, not from anger, but from determination. “Then let’s go get him,” I said, my voice low, steady, but laced with the kind of desperation I couldn’t hide.

Because Cal was mine.

And I wasn’t letting him slip away. Not like this. Not ever.

As much as I appreciated the loyalty of a full-on Rossler family rescue mission, getting an entire clan up and moving toward the airport took longer than I could’ve possibly imagined. Coordinating cars, snacks for the kids, and the inevitable “who’s riding with who” debates was a circus I didn’t have the patience for.

By the time we were finally on the road, I found myself in the passenger seat of Dad’s truck, which was probably for the best—my hands hadn’t stopped shaking since Cal walked out. Or maybe bolted was the better word. Either way, I wasn’t in any condition to drive.

The old truck rumbled along the highway, steady like Dad himself. My eyes stayed glued to the laptop balanced on my knees, the little red dot on the screen blinking as if it held the key to my sanity. It was moving, fast, and my stomach dropped as I watched it take flight.

I exhaled slowly, willing myself not to lose it.

“Looks like he’s heading to Canada,” I said, my voice barely louder than the hum of the engine.

Dad glanced over, his hands steady on the wheel, his expression calm in the way only a Rossler patriarch could manage. “Think he’s going home?”

“I hope so,” I murmured, leaning back against the seat, the tension in my chest refusing to ease. “I hope he’s heading somewhere familiar, somewhere he feels safe. Somewhere I can catch up to him.”

Dad didn’t say anything for a while, just kept driving, the truck eating up the miles between us and the airport. His silence wasn’t uncomfortable; it was grounding in a way I desperately needed. Finally, he spoke, his voice steady and measured.

“He’ll be there, Wade. He just needs time to think.”

I nodded, my fingers tightening around the edge of the laptop. Time to think. That was Cal to a T. Always overanalyzing, always caught between his head and his heart. Always running.

But this wasn’t just a misunderstanding or a spat we’d laugh about later. This was deeper. Messier.

The thought struck me like lightning: I needed to call his friends. Cal’s inner circle knew him better than anyone—better than I did in some ways—and if anyone could help me track him down, it was them. I pulled out my phone, fingers trembling as I scrolled through my contacts to Shane’s name. We’d become friends over time, trading texts about Cal, sharing inside jokes that always made him roll his eyes at us.

But when I dialed, the call rang out without an answer. A pang of frustration hit me, but I didn’t stop. Next was Tyler. Another ring, another voicemail.

Damn it.

That left Hunter. The guy intimidated me more than I cared to admit, not because he was mean but because he had this raw, unfiltered energy that screamed don’t fuck with me. The kind of guy who’d seen some serious shit and wasn’t about to waste time with yours. Still, I hit dial.

He answered on the second ring, his voice rough and impatient. “This better be worth it, lumberjack,” he said, not even bothering with a hello. “I was about to give my boyfriend a congratulatory fuck, and let me tell you, there haven’t been many wins to celebrate this past year.”

Under different circumstances, I might’ve laughed at the bluntness, but tonight? I wasn’t in the mood. “I thought Tyler would like to know Cal is missing,” I said, cutting straight to the point. “I was hoping he’d heard from him.”

The silence that followed was heavy, stretching long enough that I almost thought the call had dropped.

Finally, Hunter’s voice came back, sharper now, edged with concern. “What the hell do you mean, missing ?”

“I mean he packed a bag and left,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “He’s not answering his phone, and I don’t know where he’s going. All I’ve got is a tracking app on his laptop that says he’s heading toward Canada.”

Hunter swore under his breath, and I heard rustling in the background, like he was moving. “Why’s he running? What happened?”

“It’s… complicated,” I admitted, my throat tightening. “He thinks I cheated on him.” I rushed to add, “But, I swear I didn’t.”

“What?” Hunter’s tone was flat-out disbelieving now. “That’s bullshit. You’re head over heels for him. Hell, I’ve seen golden retrievers less loyal.”

“Tell that to Danton,” I muttered bitterly. “He showed up at my brother’s wedding and made it look like—” I stopped, shaking my head. “Doesn’t matter. Cal saw enough to think the worst and bolted.”

I could hear him relaying the information to someone in the background, likely Tyler. A muffled curse followed, then Hunter came back on the line. “We haven’t heard from him yet, but we’ll start making calls. He’s got a few places he likes to go when he needs to clear his head.”

“Thank you,” I said, my voice cracking despite my best effort to keep it steady.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Hunter replied, his tone firm. “You need to get your ass to Canada and find him. Cal’s a stubborn son of a bitch, but he’s also got a habit of thinking he’s not worth the trouble. Prove him wrong.”

“I intend to,” I said, gripping the phone tightly. “And if you hear from him—”

“You’ll be the first to know,” Hunter promised. “Now go. Stop wasting time on this call and go get your man.”

I ended the call, my chest tight with a mix of fear and determination. Hunter was right. Cal had a head start, but I wasn’t going to stop till I could take that ass in my arms and tell him he was the only man in my life. Ghosts included.