CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Nova
IWATCHED AS WYLDER TOOK OFF WITH THE REMAINING couple of boxes.
Everyone had pitched in. Kol and Sky had been the first to show up.
She had been bouncing up and down with excitement about my moving into the space, while Kol looked like he hadn’t slept a wink in the past thirty-six hours.
I just hoped he wasn’t having second thoughts about his new roomie.
A throat cleared, and I braced myself because I knew the owner. I slowly turned to face Brae, wondering exactly what I’d find.
“That’s everything,” she said with a slightly wobbly smile.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Brae’s expression hardened. “Don’t you dare. There’s nothing to be sorry for. This is going to be good. First steps toward a new life. I’m just going to miss you.”
I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling as dry as a desert. “I’m nervous,” I admitted. “And I’ll miss you.”
She was the best friend I could’ve ever hoped for.
She’d uprooted her whole life for me, moving to a small town in the middle of nowhere to make sure people were still looking for me.
She’d put herself in the crosshairs of a killer, hoping I might still be alive.
And almost got herself killed because of it.
“Nova,” Brae whispered hoarsely, reaching out to take my hand but then stopping herself. “I’m always going to be right here. Maybe I can have Dex make us a clubhouse or something at the new place. Nova and Brae only. No boys allowed.”
I laughed, relishing the feel of the vibrations coursing through me. I’d laughed more with her in the past day and a half than I had since I returned. And that felt a lot like hope.
“Our new normal definitely deserves a clubhouse,” I agreed. “And maybe bedazzled jackets.”
Brae’s eyes brightened. “Oh, I am in on the bedazzled jackets.”
“Nothing can be too scary if bedazzled jackets are involved.”
“Dang straight. Now, let’s get you moved into your new apartment.”
A smile tipped up the corners of my mouth. “Do you think you could take me to pick up my new car first?” I asked. Between what was left in my savings from when I went missing and a few weeks at the Boot, I was ready for the responsibility of a car payment. And that felt good, too.
Brae laughed and shook her head. “Man, you really don’t mess around when it comes to fresh starts.”
“No, I don’t.” And that also felt damn good.
I still felt a little rusty at the whole driving thing, and I was glad I had another month or so before I had to deal with any snow on the roads—something I had minimal experience with anyway.
But the mechanic at Grit & Grove had assured me that the eight-year-old Subaru would handle the white stuff expertly.
I hoped so. Just like I hoped I could hold down my job at the Boot, because I now had a car payment on my shoulders, along with rent for my new apartment.
I bit my lip as I followed Dex’s 4Runner through the gate onto Twisted Oak Ranch.
I hadn’t actually discussed with Kol how much that rent would be.
I’m alive. I’m breathing.
The words swirled around and around in my head as I lowered my window to punctuate the point. I’d figure out rent and everything else. One step at a time.
The drive from the gate to Kol’s house took almost ten minutes, but it made sense when the ranch was over a thousand acres. The vise around my lungs eased a little. A thousand acres. Endless space to breathe.
I followed Dex’s SUV down bends and turns in the gravel road before Kol’s house came into view. I spotted Wylder’s truck, Mav’s truck, and Waylon’s supercharged golf cart/ATV hybrid with a Bigfoot painted on the hood. The last one had me smiling.
As I climbed out of my hatchback, I called out to Brae. “When are you going to get yourself a Bigfoot golf cart?”
She grinned back at me for what felt like the first time. “Oh, don’t you worry. I’ve already put in my order with Waylon for when the house is done.”
I chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?”
Dex slid an arm around Brae’s shoulders. “Please, don’t encourage this Bigfoot obsession.”
Owen grinned at him. “You’re gonna have to believe when Sky and I catch one on a trail cam.”
“Yeah, he will,” I agreed.
Owen bounced up and down. “I’m so glad you’re moving to the ranch, Supernova. It’s bussin’, and we’re gonna live here soon, too.”
Brae had given me a list of Owen’s newly acquired slang after I got out of the hospital, and I made the mental translation that bussin’ meant really good or cool or something generally positive.
“I’m really excited, too. I want to make friends with the alpacas,” I said.
“Supernova!” Skylar yelled, running around the side of the garage. “We saw you out the windows! Your apartment’s ready! You wanna see? Wanna right now?”
Sky looked like she was hopped up on 87 million grams of sugar as she bounded around the front yard.
I gave my sleeves a quick tug, making sure the scars on my wrists were covered. “I would love to see my new apartment.”
“Come on,” she yelled.
Wylder appeared by the entrance to the garage. “Mav brought her chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream for breakfast. She’s been running circles around us ever since.”
“They were the freaking best!” Skylar shouted.
I couldn’t hold in my laugh. “I hope Mav’s on babysitting duty for the rest of the day.”
Wylder’s lips twitched. “Pretty sure Kol’s gonna send her home with him tonight.”
“Fitting.”
We made our way through the garage and then up the stairs. The door was open, and I could smell the faint scent of finish or wood stain. But only a little before the pine from the wide-open windows took over.
As I stepped inside, I gasped. The space looked nothing like it had just over a week ago. Not only was everything finished, it looked like a literal dream.
In the far corner was a small kitchen complete with a ⒉／⒊ fridge, a smallish range, and plenty of storage.
And I could see that the glass-fronted cabinets had been stocked with dishes and food.
There was even a little coffee station with a machine and all the little supplies.
And next to it sat a jar of my favorite wild berry Skittles.
I tried to swallow, to clear the burning in my throat. Because someone had to really pay attention to notice my affection for the candy. My gaze wanted to drift to the man in the corner, but I couldn’t let it. Not yet.
My burgundy chair was in the other corner, and damn if Kol hadn’t been right. Someone had put pale-pink pillows on it, along with a fuzzy cream blanket, and it softened the feel of it right up.
Next to the chair was a side table just large enough for a cup of coffee and a book. And the perch would give me a vantage point out over the forest at the front of the ranch. Absolutely perfect.
A small table for three sat in front of that window with a hand-painted vase filled with wildflowers—likely the last of the season.
“I made the vase and picked the flowers!” Sky cheered, bouncing up and down.
“It’s perfect,” I croaked.
And I didn’t miss a small scattering of yoga gear between the chair and the table. A mat that looked like a watercolor painting, a block in the same design, a strap in soft purple, and a woven blanket that looked so soft my fingers ached to touch it.
On the wall next to the entrance were two doors.
I wandered to one of them, peering inside to find a closet larger than I would’ve expected, with plenty of hanging space and a dresser along one wall.
The next door was the bathroom. Everything had an antique feel, with a clawfoot tub and shower and a pedestal sink.
There were built-in shelves, and everything was done in whites and soothing blues.
I swallowed hard as I stepped out and took in the bed. Someone had gotten me new bedding. It was in the color scheme I’d described to Kol just last night. It looked like a wildflower field of pale pinks, purples, blues, and greens. It was all the same colors but through a calming lens.
But the showstoppers were the bookshelves built around the bed. They were made of the most beautiful pale oak and had room for countless stories and knickknacks. It even had antique bronze reading lamps on either side that stuck out over the bed.
“When I saw your shelves the other night, I knew you needed these. The finish is still drying, so you’ll need to wait a few days before putting anything on the shelves.”
That voice. Low and quiet but somehow with a power that felt as if it vibrated through me. And my whole body recognized the tenor. Finally, my gaze lifted to the source of the sound, the feeling.
And there he was.
Kol stood in a far corner of the apartment, his gaze locked on me.
He wore a U.S. Forest Service tee in army green, the emblem over one side of his chest, with a worn flannel shirt over it, dark jeans flecked with paint here and there, and boots that had seen their share of the outdoors and hard work.
I wanted to throw myself at him.
I quickly shoved that urge down. “You …” My voice cracked on the word. “You did … all of this?”
The slightest hint of pink hit cheeks tanned from all his time outdoors. “Fresh starts.”
“He did those damn shelves all by himself,” Wylder cut in, looking my way and waiting for a reaction.
“Hey,” Mav argued. “I helped with the finish.”
Wylder rolled his eyes. “Do you want a medal?”
“I wouldn’t mind a cupcake,” he muttered.
Kol crossed the space and held out a key. It was new but looked antique in its shape, with knobby tines and the very top in the shape of an imperfect heart. “Your key.” He swallowed. “There’s a secondary lock and an alarm, but I thought you’d like the feel of this one.”
I palmed the cool metal in my hand as unshed tears stung the backs of my eyes. I hadn’t cried since the hospital. I’d fought to keep any tears at bay, unsure if I’d be able to stop them if I ever got started. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
Kol shoved his hands into his pockets. “It’s nothing.”
I stared into those hypnotizing hazel eyes. “It’s everything.”