Chapter 31
L auren stood in the center of her apartment, surrounded by more than enough outdoor gear. Her nerves had her second-guessing her decision to go up the mountain. Not because she doubted her feelings toward Mac, but because there were so many what-ifs .
What if she were a summer fling for Mac?
What if he hated aggressive women?
What if he no longer has feelings for her?
What if, in the end, he thought she was too young for him?
What if he wasn't interested in a relationship because he wanted to concentrate on being the best dad he could be for Jetter? How could she blame him for that?
She looked around the cluttered room. Her duffel bags were zipped, her camera equipment padded and secure, and the newly purchased battery pack and Starlink satellite unit were ready.
She'd tested the setup twice already, running the satellite off her Jeep's power supply, and to her surprise, it worked.
Not forever, but long enough to get her through a few days on the mountain until she figured out solar banks.
The Callahan men all rode motorcycles and ATVs around to attend to campground maintenance; they had to have a way to get gas up the mountain. If she had fuel for her Jeep, she could run it to power Starlink.
She exhaled and rechecked her list. Clothes. Chargers. Tripod. Extra SD cards. Snacks.
Everything was ready.
Except her.
She'd spent the last two days scheduling social media posts from footage she'd taken on her Oregon coast trip two years ago, which she had never shared.
It was beautiful content, and it would keep her audience engaged while she disappeared into the Bitterroot Mountain Range.
But the truth was, she was scrambling with no direction.
She hadn't posted anything from the campground.
Not yet. Not until she knew what it all meant.
In the meantime, she had to find ways to keep up her brand.
A knock on the door startled her.
She glanced at the clock. It was noon. Sonja was at work. Curious to know who had come to visit her, she opened the door and found her mom with a concerned smile, her dad holding a bag of groceries like he wasn't sure if she'd eaten that day.
Her mom's eyes swept the room. "Where are you going?"
"Well, hello to you, too." She swept her arm out, inviting them in.
Her parents walked inside. Her mom stopped in front of her. She hugged her and received a one-arm hug in return.
"Lauren Elizabeth Holt." Her mom pulled back. "You didn't tell us you were leaving."
Lauren squared her shoulders. "I'm going back to the mountain. To Bitterroot Ridge Campground. I'm sure you have the contact information from my last trip in case you need to find me."
Her dad frowned. "Why are you returning?"
Her mom's voice was more curious. "Is something wrong?"
Lauren shook her head. "No. I'm going up there to talk to a man."
"The one in the pictures," her dad mumbled.
"Yes." She crossed her arms. "I love him."
Her mom blinked. "With who?"
Lauren swallowed. "Mac. The man who owns the campground."
"If you're in love, where is he?" Her mom's brows lifted. "Wouldn't he be here with you?"
"No." Lauren looked down. "He doesn't know I'm coming to tell him that I fell in love with him."
Silence. Her heart raced. She could feel their judgment in the way they held their opinion. They disapproved of how she was handling her life. It wasn't the first time they showed their disappointment in her.
She would never be as successful as they are or have an MD behind her name. She would never be as skinny as her mom. She would never be as smart as her dad.
"Lauren..." Her dad set the grocery bag on the counter.
Her mom stepped forward. "Honey, you can't show up out of the blue. What if he doesn't feel the same? You'll embarrass yourself."
"I have to try," Lauren said quietly. "I need him to know how I feel. I need to say it out loud."
They stopped arguing with her. Yet, appeared worried, unsure, and surprisingly protective. These were emotions she rarely received from her parents.
But she was determined.
Eventually, her mom hugged her, and her dad followed. They left with quiet goodbyes and shut the door behind them. Neither wished her good luck.
She blew out her breath. They'd go on about their day without giving her another thought. That was how it was in her family.
She hated it. But she chose not to dwell on things she couldn't change.
Lauren stood in the aftermath of her parents' surprise visit, heart pounding, hands trembling slightly as she tried to brace after that tornado that had swept through her apartment.
She stepped over and adjusted the strap on her camera bag.
Then, another knock interrupted her.
She frowned. Perhaps she was wrong, and her parents hadn't finished speaking about their disappointments with her choices in life.
She crossed the room, expecting her parents, and opened the door.
And froze.
Mac stood there, helmet in hand, wind-tossed and dust-covered, his eyes locked on hers like he hadn't blinked since he left the mountain.
Her breath caught somewhere between her ribs and her throat.
Mac was here as if he'd ridden through every storm between the Bitterroot Mountain Range and Missoula to get here. To her.
Not once, in all her planning, packing, and rehearsing, had she imagined Mac showing up at her apartment. She'd pictured the mountain, the lodge, the quiet walk up to his cabin to seek him out. She'd imagined knocking on his door, heart pounding, words trembling on her lips.
But she hadn't imagined him leaving the mountain to come and see her.
"Mac," she whispered, the name barely audible.
He stood there, taking her in, without saying a word.
She reached up and patted the side of her head, forgetting what she looked like and what she was wearing.
Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid, and her sweatshirt was too tight, and her joggers were stretched out.
She looked nothing like the woman in the sundresses in her videos, or the woman at the campground.
And yet, standing before him, she'd never felt more like herself.
"I was coming to find you," she whispered.
"Yeah?" He glanced behind her at her luggage before meeting her gaze again. "Looks like I beat you to it."
She shivered. His low, rough voice caressed her soul.
She stepped aside, wordlessly inviting him in. He walked past her, slow and deliberate, like he wasn't sure if the floor would hold him. She closed the door behind him. The soft click echoed through the apartment.
He was here.
He came to her.
She closed her mouth to keep from gawking.
Mac looked at the gear, the satellite unit, the carefully folded flannels stacked on the chair. "You were really coming back to the mountain?"
Lauren pressed her hand to her racing heart. His arrival threw her off balance. Everything she'd rehearsed fled her mind.
"I planned on driving up tomorrow morning," she said.
He turned to face her. "Why?"
She swallowed. "Because I couldn't stop thinking about you."
He studied her, giving no indication that her confession meant anything to him.
"When I left, I thought it would be easier to walk away without seeing you," she continued. "But it wasn't. It's been almost a month, and I still feel like I'm waiting for you to say something. Something that will tell me I'm not going crazy."
Mac's brows lowered. "You're not crazy."
The words hung between them.
Mac stepped closer, his voice barely above a whisper. "I came to tell you that I'd leave the mountain if that's the only way I can see you. Not forever. But enough to make this work. If you want me."
Lauren's eyes filled with unshed tears. If it were anyone else, she'd think the backhanded admission wasn't enough. But this was Mac. The mountain was his life. The sacrifice he was willing to make for her made her knees weak.
"I don't want you to leave the mountain," she said. "I want to be a part of your life. I want to see if we can make this work."
He picked up her hands and twined his fingers with hers, bringing their linked hands to his chest.
"You already are a part of my life." He exhaled harshly. "Do you know how hard it was to find out you were gone? I thought I'd never get to see you again."
"I know." She raised to her tiptoes and peppered kisses on his lips. "I was scared of having my heart broken."
"Never gonna break it." He held her steady and kissed her deeply. "Can you change your plans?"
She pulled back, looking at him with concern. "You don't want me to go up to the mountain?"
"Not tomorrow." He quickly kissed her. "I want to take you now because I want to fuck you in my bed, and then I want to wake up with you in my arms and have you again." He kissed her. "And again."
"Yes." She bounced on her toes. "What do I do first?" Before he could answer, she said, "I'll load the Jeep."
"I'll take your stuff down. You do whatever you have to do to close up the apartment."
"For how long?" She bit her lip, anxious to know where his thoughts were leading them.
His gaze softened. "For as long as you want."
"Forever?"
He dipped his chin. "Not a day shorter."
She let her hands fall from his sides. Filled with adrenaline, she had no idea where to start. All her plans blew up in the most glorious way.
He'd come for her.
She was going home with him.
They still needed to talk. But they were both taking the first step.
Mac picked up two pieces of luggage. "Keys?"
She stepped over a box and pushed the button on her fob. "There you go."
He strolled out of her apartment with his hands full, not wasting a minute. She rushed to the door and watched him stride to her Jeep. He was a beast, lugging her things as if they weighed nothing.
She hugged her middle, needing to hold the excitement inside of her. They were going to the mountain. It all happened so fast and out of the blue.
It had to be a sign that she was making the right decision, right?