Chapter 26
NASH
Raven and I fell asleep on the floor by the fire. She snuggled in with her back to my chest, my arms encircling her and holding her tight. Having her in my arms all night reaffirmed what I already knew. I wanted this every night. Nothing would make me happier than to have her by my side every day. I meant it when I said she felt like home to me. The one place I truly felt I belonged.
The texts she received from her family made me realize our time here could be coming to an end. I still had a lot of work to do on this cabin. I wouldn’t be going anywhere until it was done. But Raven would be out the door as soon as possible.
And what would happen then?
Would things be different between us when we were back to our real lives? Would we return to the way we were before? God, I hoped not. Now that I had experienced what it was like to be this close to Raven, I’d never be satisfied with less.
I wanted everything with her.
What would Rowan do if he saw us together like this? He’d beat me to a bloody pulp, that’s what.
Since I turned my phone off, I had no idea if he’d sent any more messages. Denial could be my crutch just a little bit longer. I’d have to face him and tell him the truth as soon as we got out of here. But I didn’t need him ruining the time I had remaining with Raven.
Are you sure this relationship is worth sacrificing your friendship?
Raven sighed in her sleep and nestled closer to my chest, her hair tickling my nose. I breathed in her minty scent, and any doubts I had were vanquished.
The next morning, sunbeams lit the floor where we slept. The rain had stopped. The storm was over. My heart squeezed in my chest.
Raven stretched and sat up. She brought her hand over her eyes to shield them from the bright sun. “What is that blinding light? Can’t you turn it off? I wasn’t ready to get up.”
Munch came over and gave us both slurps up the sides of our faces. His tail wagged happily.
“Munch disagrees.” I kissed her forehead. “I’ll let him out. You can take your time.”
“Are you sure? How are you feeling today?”
“Stiff and sore all over, like I got hit by a truck. But otherwise good. Just need to move around a bit, get my body loosened up, you know. Okay if I take him out?”
“Sure thing. I owe you one.”
“I’ll remember that.” I winked and opened the door. Munch ran into the yard to do his business. The air was much cooler this morning. It would be a good day to make some progress inside and have the windows open while I work. Raven should be able to work outside, too. Even though it was nice having her work with me, I couldn’t keep her from what she was here to do.
The bin with the squirrel’s nest was sitting by the tree where I left it last night. I peered inside and saw the nest was empty. Mama squirrel must have been busy last night, building a new nest and moving her family in already. I dumped the old nest into the woods and carried the bin back to the cabin for Raven.
Now that the rain had stopped, I would be able to get the lumber from the garage, so I could finish the walls. No, scratch that. I needed electricity to use my saw, which I’d need for the walls and floors. If only I’d brought my generator. I could go home and get it once the road is open.
“Munch,” I called. “Let’s go back inside and get some food.” The dog heard the magic word and raced inside.
Raven was looking out the window at the lake. “This really is a perfect spot. It faces south, so it has a perfect view of both the sunrise and sunset from the tip of this hill.”
“Now that the weather’s better, we might actually be able to see the sunset tonight.”
She stretched up onto her tiptoes and kissed me. “That’s a date.”
The three of us ate a light breakfast together. We still had enough food, but our supplies were getting low.
Raven groaned. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a large coffee right now.”
“I know what you mean. We could probably heat up some water over the fire, but I’d rather not have that heating up the cabin during the day.”
“I’ll take my stuff outside to get some more done on this painting. What are you going to do?”
“First, I need to go up on the roof to patch up whatever hole that squirrel was getting in through. Then I’ll bring in materials from the garage, so I’m ready once the power comes back on.”
She nodded and moved to her art corner. It seemed like there was more she wanted to say, but she held back. Her armor was already going back up, and I didn’t like it one bit.
“Tweet?”
She turned and looked at me over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
“This isn’t the end for us. It’s the beginning. You know that, right?”
“I hope so. A part of me wishes we could stay stranded here. That we never have to go back.”
“We’ll go back to our lives, but not back to the way things were between us. We’ll move forward, not back.”
“I like the sound of that.” She gave me a peck on the lips and smiled. “Hey, we still have one more letter to read. Don’t we?”
“I think you’re right. We need to find out what happened with T and her guy.”
“Let’s read it now before we start working.” She took my hand and led me back to the mattress.
We sat side by side against the wall. I put my arm around her, holding her tight against me. Where she belonged.
She picked up the last letter and handed it to me. “Why don’t you read it this time, Nash? I love the sound of your voice when you read.”
How could I argue with that?
“Okay. Here we go.”
Dearest G,
I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last letter. So much has happened that I don’t even know where to start.
You said something in your last letter about living my life without regrets. And that reminded me of something my grandmother used to say, “We only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make.” I’m not sure if those were her words or something she read somewhere, but it always stuck with me.
Bolstered by the wisdom of both of you, I pretended to be bold, like the lead actress in a play. I pulled Jonah aside one day and told him how I felt. I confessed my undying love. And told him that if he felt the same way, we would find a way to be together. Then I kissed him.
It was a kiss I will remember to my dying day. Then he admitted he loved me. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. But then he went on to tell me that it didn’t matter how he felt about me because he had to do his duty and marry the woman his parents had chosen for him. He told me I needed to move on as well. That there were plenty of good men out there that would be lucky to have me as a wife.
It has taken me a few months to collect myself enough to be able to write this letter. My heart was shattered in that moment, and I’m sure I will never recover. My true love marries another next month, and I’m not sure how I will survive it. Of course, my family was invited to the wedding. How can I watch him marry someone else? If only I could come stay with you for the next year. I’m certain you’re the only one who could lighten my spirits. I apologize for this depressing letter. My usual humor has all dried up.
I pass the torch to you, my friend. Please write back and tell me who is catching your eye, or the ever-amusing tales of your younger siblings. Hearing from you is the one thing that brightens my dreary days.
Your friend,
T
Raven was unusually silent as I folded the letter back up and stuffed it back into the envelope. She turned her head and wiped her cheek on her shoulder.
“Hey. Look at me.”
She turned and put her arms around me, her head on my chest.
“Just because it didn’t work out for them, doesn’t mean it will be that way for us. We’re already much further ahead of T. We’ve both admitted our feelings. We’re not teenagers. And we have control over our own lives.”
“Yes, but look how long we let the opinions of others get between us. It might not be the same situation as in the letters, but the truth is, the opinion of my brother and family has kept us apart all this time. Can you honestly promise it won’t happen again?”
“Absolutely. You are the most important person in my life. I love you. And I’m not going to let anyone get in the way of that. Not even your brother.”
Her eyes met mine, lit up as if I’d given her the moon. “You mean that?”
I nodded. “Every word.”
I kissed her and poured all the love in my heart into that kiss. She needed to know how serious I was. The depth of my feelings for her was hard to fathom, much less express. Stronger than anything I’d ever experienced. They consumed me and I knew there was no going back. Raven was everything to me. The potency of this kiss left us both breathless.
“I love you, too. Nash.”
I moved us to sit on the bed, with her in my lap.
Our kisses slowed and softened as I let my lips tenderly worship and adore her. From the mole on her neck to the curve of her brow and the softness of her skin. Everything about her set me on fire. How did I ever get so lucky as to win the love of a woman like her?
Realizing I had better rein it in before I let things get out of control, I tore my lips away from her but continued to hold her tight.
She sighed and slid off my lap. “I suppose we should get some work done, now that we finally got a nice day to do it.”
“Let’s work for two hours and then take a walk down the road to check out the bridge.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She gathered her supplies and put them back in her plastic bin. Then she brought her easel, chair, and supplies out to the same spot as the first day.
By the time I’d fixed the chimney and hauled all my materials inside, I was ready for some more time with Raven.
“I realize it hasn’t been two hours yet, but would you, by any chance, be ready for a break?”
“I actually got a lot done already. I could take a break and stretch my legs a bit.”
With her hand in mine, and Munch leading the way, we walked along the driveway toward the bridge.
Munch took off after something but luckily stayed where we could see him. We both called him, but he didn’t stop.
We ran after him, frantically calling his name.
We were almost to the bridge when we caught up with him. He and a fawn were frolicking in some standing water like best buds.
With Munch occupied, we walked to the edge of the bank. The water was still high, and the bridge submerged. It was hard to tell the integrity of the structure just by looking at it.
“It doesn’t look that bad. Does it?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t want to drive a car on it. Not until it’s inspected.” Hope swelled in my chest. Maybe we could stay here together a little longer.