Chapter 30
M ac stood behind Avaline's desk, leaning over her shoulder as she tapped at the keyboard. His gaze fixated on the search bar as she typed in Lauren's name.
When Lauren's TikTok profile appeared, his heart kick-started against his ribs.
It had been several weeks since she'd driven away from the campground, but with the summer rush over and the mountain now closed to the public, it seemed like months.
Too many mornings without her voice. Too many nights without the sound of her laugh echoing off the ridge.
"Can you tell which videos are her latest?" he asked, his voice low. He told himself it was to see if she was okay. If she'd changed. If maybe she'd missed him.
Avaline pointed to the top of the screen.
"It's easier to see on the phone app, but the ones up here are her pinned videos, and they can be from a long time ago.
We wouldn't know without looking at the posted dates.
Although it looks like they're her popular ones.
" She moved her finger lower on the screen.
"This would be the last one she posted. It looks like yesterday.
" She looked over her shoulder at him. "Do you want me to click on it? "
He nodded.
The click of the mouse vibrated in his chest. Her image filled the screen.
Lauren, in an off-white sundress, was walking across a crosswalk. Her head turned, gazing over her shoulder with her hair flying in the wind. Traffic was stopped behind her, blurred in the background. There was no caption, no hint of where she was going or what she was doing.
"Wow," Avaline murmured. "She's got over fifty thousand comments already."
Of course she did.
She looked beautiful. Too beautiful. And more than that, she looked comfortable. Totally at ease in her surroundings. Like she belonged there.
Mac straightened. "Go ahead and close it."
He paced the room. The image of Lauren burned into his mind. Avaline picked up a piece of paper and held it out to him. "Here's her phone number and the address she used to reserve the cabin."
He took it without a word, shoving it deep into his pocket.
Outside the lodge, the morning air was crisp, the sun barely clearing the ridge. It wasn't even eight o'clock, but the thought of waiting another day made his skin itch. He crossed the yard to the pole building, where his dual sport waited.
Beckett and Cord stepped out from the side door, catching him as he swung a leg over the motorcycle.
"You might want to take the truck," Beckett said.
Mac shook his head. "It's hard enough to leave the mountain. I'm not sitting caged up in a truck bouncing all over the damn seat. At least this way I'll feel the wind on my face."
Cord eyed him. "You coming back tonight?"
"Yep." Mac settled his helmet on his head. "Either with her or without her."
Beckett rolled the sleeve of his flannel shirt. "Good luck."
"Ride safe, cuz." Cord lifted his hand, giving him a two-finger wave. "Try to smile when you talk to her. Women like that."
"Skip the bullshit and show her how real men show their feelings." Beckett nodded. "Don't give her time to come up with an excuse."
He flipped off both of them with his middle finger and started the motorcycle.
His cousins stood there grinning like fools, as if he were leaving and never coming back.
He revved the engine to life and pointed the bike toward the road that would take him down the mountain. Toward Missoula. Toward Lauren.
The motorcycle rumbled underneath him. The vibration traveled through his legs and into his chest. Mac eased it into third by the time he hit the narrow road that wound down the mountain.
The morning air was cool enough to sting his cheeks, but it invigorated him, keeping his concentration on the gravel road. It was the kind of air that cut through the noise in his head, telling him to turn around and get his ass back to the campground.
He leaned into the first curve, swerving the bigger boulders that no amount of road grading would get rid of. It was part of belonging in the northern Rockies. There was no need for gravel because there were enough rocks in the dirt to pack the earth.
The wind pulled at his jacket. It had been too long since he'd left the mountain for anything other than a yearly supply run with Beckett. It'd been too long since he'd had a reason that mattered. But now he had two.
Jetter and Lauren.
Going to Missoula had only two outcomes. She'd be happy to see him, or she'd send him away. However it went, he needed to know if she still thought about him. If she even wanted to see him.
If she didn't, fine. He'd turn around and come back. Pissed off and mad at himself, but at least he'd have an answer.
He should never have let her go. Now all he could do was hope that she'd give him another chance to make things right between them.
The road narrowed as it dropped, switchbacks curling along the ridge. He took them fast, the tires gripping the ground. Behind him was the lake, the campground, his world.
The wind roared in his ears, and the pressure in his chest lightened. The more miles he rode, the sooner he'd get to see her.
He thought about what he'd say when he saw her. He wasn't good with words, not the way she was. But he'd tell her the truth. He'd been wrong to let her go without telling her how he was feeling. That he could make the trip down the mountain if it meant keeping her in his life.
By the time he hit the straight stretch at the base of the mountain and the dirt road turned into asphalt, the sun was higher, the air warmer, and the wind had died down. Missoula was only two hours away, straight highway riding.
He twisted the throttle, the bike surging forward.
Jetter was safe with his mom. He probably wouldn't see him until closer to the end of the month, once he settled into a new school year. Before his son left, Mac hadn't discussed going to see Lauren or the possibility of making her a permanent part of his life.
He hadn't wanted to disappoint his son if Lauren's feelings had changed.