10. Weston
10
WESTON
The past week has been a fucking nightmare. I barely slept. Barely ate. After Audrey left, it felt like part of me had been ripped out, and even the peace of the forest couldn’t help. I told myself it had to be this way. Told myself I had to let her go. But fuck, I couldn’t do it. It was like being asked to stop breathing.
When I rolled out of bed this morning after another sleepless night, I knew what I had to do. I drove to Lila and Ridge’s cabin—luckily, I know where it is—and asked for Audrey’s address. Lila was clearly hesitant. Hell, I don’t blame her; I must have looked crazy standing there on the doorstep. But when she saw how desperate I was, she relented. She said she thought Audrey would be happy to see me, and I held onto that as I drove away from Cherry Mountain, heading for Denver.
Now Audrey is finally back in my arms, and it feels like my heart might burst. All the pain of the last week seeps away as I hold her close, breathing in her familiar scent. I can’t leave her again. I’ve made my decision, and I choose Audrey. Every damn time.
“Listen,” I say, pulling back to look into those pretty eyes I love so much, “I can’t ask you to give up city life, and I won’t. Your happiness means the world to me, and I know you’re a city girl through and through. But I can’t live without you, Audrey.” The words bubble out of my throat, rushing forward like a waterfall. “I want to move to Denver. I want us to be together, and I don’t give a fuck where I live as long as you’re there.”
Her lips fall open. But now that I’ve started talking, I can’t stop. She needs to know how I feel. She needs to know how serious I am about her.
“You’re in my veins, sugar. You’re all I think about, all I want, and whatever it takes to be with you…I’ll do it. Anything.”
My breath is coming fast. I’m exposing my deepest feelings, laying it all out there, and there’s still a chance she won’t want me. Hell, why should she? I’m a grumpy old mountain man, and she’s a beautiful young city girl. She might not have thought about me once since she left.
But goddammit, I have to try.
I can’t walk away from this place without telling her how I feel. Audrey stole my heart the second we met, and I’m never getting it back. It’s hers whether she wants it or not. I’ve never felt this way before, but I know this is the real deal. This girl is it for me. She always will be.
“Weston…”
The way she says my name makes my stomach flip. “I know it’s a lot, but it’s how I feel, sugar?—”
“Weston, listen to me.” She loops her arms around my neck, her eyes molten as she says, “I don’t want you to live here.” My heart drops, but then she continues, “I don’t want either of us to live here. This place…well, it used to be home, but I don’t think it is anymore.”
I try to piece together her words, shaking my head. “What do you mean? You want to leave Denver?”
She nods. “It will always have a place in my heart, but I don’t think I belong here anymore. The two people I care about most in the world live on Cherry Mountain, and I think…I think maybe I should, too.”
My head is reeling. I didn’t think Audrey would want to leave Denver in a million years, and it’s thrown me for a loop. But I’m also dwelling on the other part of what she said.
The two people I care about most in the world live on Cherry Mountain.
One of those people is obviously Lila. But the other…
Audrey seems to read my thoughts, and she smiles. “Yes, Weston. I’m talking about you. This week has been really tough for me, too. I’ve been thinking about you all the time, trying to distract myself with work, but it didn’t help. If you hadn’t turned up today, then I would have shown up at your door myself soon enough.”
I can hear the blood pounding in my ears as I process her words. “And you really want to live on Cherry Mountain? You think you could be happy there?”
“If you’d asked me a month ago, I’d have said no way. But now? Yes, I think I would be happy there.” She grins at me. “I just need to avoid rocky ledges.”
I reach down to cup her cheek, hardly daring to believe my ears. “Then come live with me, sugar. Let me take care of you.”
Audrey’s face glows, sunshine streaming from every pore, seeming to fill the apartment with light as she says, “I’d love to live with you, Weston. I’d love that more than anything.”
I make a noise deep in my throat as I pull her close, peppering her pretty face with kisses.
“Fuck, you don’t know how happy you’ve made me,” I say hoarsely. “I love you, Audrey. I know it’s crazy, but I do. From the second I met you, I just knew…”
“So did I.” She beams at me, eyes twinkling. “I love you too, Weston.”
I grin at her beneath my beard. It’s so much more than I ever could have hoped for. This perfect angel feels the same way about me, and I finally get to bring her back home where she belongs. As soon as we’re back on Cherry Mountain, I’m going to put a ring on her finger and make it official. Then the whole world will know what I’ve known all along—that Audrey was always meant to be mine. And now she is. Forever.