Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
brOOKS
I wake up expecting to feel Hadley on the other side of my bed, but when I stretch my arm out, I’m met with nothing. Cracking my eyes open, I scan my room.
Empty .
The sheets are still warm, so she can’t have gotten far. Pushing the sheets off myself, I quickly find my boxers in the mess of my clothes on the floor and tug them on. Then I’m throwing open my bedroom door and heading into the main living space.
An amused grin spreads across my lips as I watch Hadley tiptoe toward the front door. As quietly as possible, I come up behind her. And when she has the door cracked open, I speak.
“Going somewhere, Hads?”
She jumps, letting out a scream. Then she whirls on me, fire in her hazel eyes. “Brooks! What the hell ?”
I can’t help the low chuckle that escapes me. Then I raise a brow. “I should be asking you the same thing.”
She has the decency to look somewhat sheepish. “Was I supposed to stay for breakfast?” she asks. “You’ll have to forgive me. Sleeping with my ex boyfriend is a new experience for me. I don’t know the rules.”
“We make the rules,” I say with a shake of my head. “You don’t have to stay. That’s up to you. But don’t leave me without saying goodbye. Not again.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to take them back, if for no reason other than the look of betrayal on her face.
“Had—”
“ Goodbye , Brooks. I’ll see you around.”
The door slams in her wake.
I run a hand down my face as I sigh. Fuck, I messed that up. She was already freaking out about us having sex, then I just had to go and make it worse.
Walking back to my bedroom with less enthusiasm than when I woke, I find my phone buzzing on my nightstand.
Margaret
the roasts are blicked. Done open,
I blink at the screen. I’m generally good at understanding my great aunt’s typo-riddled texts, but this one has me stumped.
What?
While I wait for her reply, which will undoubtedly take her at least ten minutes to type, I head to the bathroom and have a quick shower. Once I’m dressed, I veer toward the kitchen and start brewing some coffee. Then I check my phone.
Margaret
ducking ussless phone
DUCK
Before I can say anything back, my phone starts to ring. When I pick it up, Margaret is muttering under her breath.
“Hello?”
“It’s a shitshow out there. Half the roads in this town are blocked, and I can’t even get out of my goddamn driveway. Don’t bother opening the bar. ”
My brows shoot to my hairline. That’s an unusual instruction from her. We’re always open, rain or shine. “You’re sure?”
“Consider it a gift. Merry fucking Christmas,” she replies, and then she hangs up.
Shaking my head, I finally look out the window. All I can see is an ocean of white. I heard we were getting some snow, but it must’ve really come down last night, and it seems there’s no sign of it stopping yet. Even if I did open the bar this afternoon, it would be nothing but a ghost town.
But shit, if the roads are closed, that means Hadley shouldn’t be out there. The drive up to the resort isn’t a safe one in weather like this. Not until the roads are cleared.
I’m grabbing my keys and shrugging on my coat before I even register my actions. All I can picture is her winding up in a ditch somewhere in her haste to get away from me.
I shouldn’t have let her leave .
Why did I have to go and stick my foot in my mouth? Things were going fine—her escape notwithstanding—until I threw the past in Hadley’s face. This morning would be turning out a hell of a lot differently if I hadn’t done that.
I take the stairs two at a time and make it outside in under a minute. My truck is parked out front, and I make a beeline for it. With any luck, I can catch her before she does any damage to her car. Or herself.
As I go to throw open the driver’s side door, my attention gets pulled to the edge of the parking lot. The turnout onto the road is packed with snow, and in the middle of it all is Hadley’s car. The tires are spinning and the engine is roaring as she pumps the accelerator, fumes pouring from the exhaust pipe.
Shutting my door, I walk across the parking lot and tap on the glass with my knuckle. She shrieks in surprise, then rolls down the window.
“Yes?” she huffs.
I lean down to meet her gaze. “It seems like you’re having a bit of trouble,” I say.
Her hands tighten on the steering wheel. “I’m fine. Just give me a minute.”
I chuckle. “I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but even if you manage to make it out of the parking lot, you won’t get far. The road up to the resort will be closed. So are most of the ones in town.”
She eyes me warily. “How long will it be before they’re open?”
I shrug. “Don’t know. Depends how quick the plows make it out. Could be hours.”
Her eyes grow wide. “ Hours ? I have to get to work!”
“Maybe this is your sign to take a break,” I reply. “Come back inside, Hads. You can shower while I make you breakfast. Then I can apologize for what I said before.”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine right here.”
I sigh. “Hadley, please. There’s no point in wasting all your gas. Come inside.”
I can practically see her brain calculating all of her options, working through them like a complex math problem. I wait. After a few moments, she sighs and shuts the car off.
The door slams behind her when she gets out, and then she takes off across the parking lot, stomping all the way. I open my mouth to suggest she use my footprints to avoid sinking into the snow, but I think better if it.
Though I can’t help smiling as I follow after her.
“Food’s ready!”
I set the plate of pancakes in the middle of the kitchen table, along with a bottle of maple syrup and a bowl of fruit.
Soft footsteps pad across the wooden floor, and I look up just in time to catch Hadley walk into the living room. Her long red hair is hanging over her shoulders, still wet from her shower, and her makeup-free face gives way for her freckles to shine .
I used to trace those freckles like constellations in the night sky.
I laid out some of my clothes for her to wear, but I’m surprised she took me up on the offer. I figured she would put her sweater dress back on from last night. But she didn’t. No, she’s wearing the hell out of one of my t-shirts, and a pair of sweatpants with the waistband and ankles rolled.
Hadley crosses her arms. “What did you make?” she asks.
“Pancakes,” I reply as I take a seat. “I took a stab in the dark and assumed they were still your favourite.”
She closes the distance and sits across from me. I watch with rapt attention as she picks up her fork and puts a pancake on her plate before cutting into it. Then she lifts it to her mouth.
“Shit,” she says with a groan that has my mind running elsewhere. “I really missed those.”
Her vibrant eyes pop open, meeting mine. Missed those. Missed those.
Missed you .
I clear my throat. “Mom misses making them for you. Her children don’t compliment her cooking the way you did.”
She shrugs as she swallows. “It was easy when hers were the only home-cooked meals I got.”
Hadley was used to her parents’ indifference when we were together, but it still threw me for a loop every time she brought it up. It didn’t sit right with me. Still doesn’t.
My dad skipped out on our family, but at least he had the decency to be honest about not wanting us. Her parents were there, but they weren’t there .
We eat in silence. After so long apart, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find it feeling weird between us. But it doesn’t. It feels like we’ve slipped back into our old routines.
Once we’ve both finished our food, I meet her eyes.
“I shouldn’t have brought up the past earlier,” I say. “I wasn’t trying to attack you. That was unfair, and I’m sorry. ”
Hadley sets her fork on her empty plate. Shaking her head, she says, “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Her fingers twist nervously in the hem of her shirt— my shirt. “After I woke up, I was kind of freaking out, and then when you caught me, I panicked. And I got defensive. So I’m sorry. And…” She lifts her head, gaze meeting mine again. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye.”
That was the one thing I had asked of her when she broke up with me. I knew she was leaving for Brazil and that we were over, but I wanted the chance to see her off, at least.
I swallow the old emotions that crawl up my throat. “Me, too.”
Silence settles between us again. This time, it’s slightly less comfortable. We’re both in our heads, it seems, thinking about our relationship’s end.
“I can go,” she says quietly. Where she thinks she’s going to go, I have no idea. “You probably have work to do.”
I shake my head. “Margaret closed the bar. I have the whole day free.”
“Where’s your laptop, then? I can just go downstairs and work until the roads get cleared.”
She’s still trying to keep out of my way. But I want her here, in my space. In my life. I always have.
“Don’t have one.”
“A desktop?”
“Nope.”
She blinks. “You don’t have a computer ?” she asks incredulously. “Have you gone full mountain man on me?”
This pulls a laugh from deep in my chest. “My old one broke. Most of the stuff I’d need a computer for can be done on my phone, and when it can’t, I borrow someone else’s or go to the library.”
“And let me guess, the bar doesn’t have one either?”
I grin. “You’re catching on. Margaret is allergic to technology, so she’d drop dead if someone tried to bring a computer into her bar. We don’t even accept credit cards.”
She huffs. “Well, what am I supposed to do all day?”
I lean back in my chair, my grin turning into a smirk. “Looks like you’ll just have to spend some time with me, sweetheart.”