Chapter 14
Hall
The Kit-Kat bar didn’t fulfill me like it usually did.
I sat on my back deck, the wrapper crinkling in my fingers as I broke off another piece and chewed mechanically. The stars were out, scattered across the sky like diamonds on black velvet, but I didn’t reach for the telescope.
What was the point?
The light I’d been watching for months was still there, glowing faintly in the valley below. But now I knew exactly who lived in that farmhouse. And I’d let her walk away.
Three days. Three fucking days without a word from her. I’d told her to call if she needed anything, and she hadn’t. Which meant she didn’t need me. Simple as that.
I shoved the rest of the chocolate bar into my mouth and stared at the distant glow of her windows. There were lights on inside the farmhouse and the RV.
Maybe I’d read everything wrong. Maybe the sex had just been stress relief for her. A way to blow off steam after losing her house.
The thought made my chest ache as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it.
Maybe I’d call her and casually ask how the repairs were going, see if she wanted company. I got up and rummaged around in my bedroom until I found my phone. It was hiding in the pocket of the jeans I’d worn yesterday.
Now that the moment was here, I hesitated.
But what if she says no? What if she’s already moved on?
Pushing past those fears, I pressed the power button.
Nothing happened. The screen stayed dark.
I pressed it again, holding it down this time.
Still nothing.
“Fuck.” I turned the phone over in my hands, jabbing at buttons. Dead. Completely dead.
Of course it was.
“I’m such a fucking jackass,” I muttered to myself.
Here I’d been hanging on a call from her, and she couldn’t even reach me if she wanted.
What if she needed me?
That thought settled in my heart like an uncomfortable burr. I’d promised to be there for anything she needed. And here I was, completely unreachable.
I tried to remember the last time I’d plugged it in and came up blank. It was one of my worst habits. I talked to people so rarely that keeping the thing charged never seemed important.
But Cassidy might have called. She might have needed me, and I’d been sitting up here on my mountain with a dead phone like a dumbass.
I was halfway to my feet, ready to dig out the charger, when a knock sounded at the front door.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Cassidy.
I was out of the bedroom and through the living room in seconds. I yanked the front door open, already rehearsing what I was going to say, how I’d explain, and beg her to give me another chance.
But when the door opened, it was just Amos.
He stood on my porch with a six-pack dangling from one hand.
“Hey, buddy.” He grinned, shouldering past me into the cabin. “Figured you could use some company. You’ve been weird as hell at work lately.”
The disappointment hit me so hard I couldn’t speak for a moment. I just stood there, holding the door open, staring at the empty darkness where I’d hoped she’d be.
“Are you going to close that or are you waiting for a bear to wander in?”
I turned around and saw that Amos had already made himself comfortable on my couch, cracking open a beer. “Come on, man. Talk to me. What’s going on with you?”
I shut the door and slumped into the chair across from him. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit.” He took a long pull from his beer. “You’ve been moping around the camp like someone shot your dog. And don’t think I didn’t notice you almost took my head off when I stopped by last week when you had your cute little houseguest here.”
“She wasn’t my houseguest.”
“Right,” Amos snorted. “She was just some random woman wandering around your cabin in her nightgown. Happens all the time up here on Hall’s Lonely Mountain.”
He knew me too well.
I didn’t respond. Just stared at the floor and tried not to think about how empty the cabin felt without her.
Amos was quiet for a minute. Then he said, casual as anything, “I called her, you know. Asked her to dinner.”
My head snapped up. “You did what?”
“Cassidy. I got her number from the insurance paperwork you left on the—”
I was on him before he finished the sentence.
The couch tipped back, and we hit the floor hard, my shoulder driving into his chest, beer spraying across the rug. I got one good punch in before he managed to shove me off, scrambling backward with his hands raised.
“What the hell, Hall?” He wiped blood from his lip, eyes wide. “What the fuck did I do?”
I was breathing hard, my fists still clenched, rage pounding through my veins. “You asked her out. You asked her out!”
“So? She’s single, isn’t she? You told me yourself you weren’t fu—”
He stopped and stared at me. Something shifted in his expression. “Oh, shit. You have a thing going with her.”
Frowning, I growled out, “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Holy shit. That’s what’s been going on. You’re in love with her.”
The word hit me like a bucket of ice water. I sat back on my heels, the fight draining out of me.
“I…” The word stuck in my throat. I’d never said it out loud before. Never even let myself think it clearly. Not for anyone. Not even my parents. But Amos was watching me with something like understanding in his eyes, and suddenly I couldn’t hold it back anymore. “Y-yeah.”
Amos let out a low whistle. “Well, damn.”
He pushed himself up and sat leaning against the wall. He laughed, pressing the back of his hand to his split lip. “I wouldn’t have hit on her if I knew, man. She turned me down anyway, for what it’s worth.”
Something loosened in my chest, and my breath started flowing again.
“But here’s what I don’t understand.” Amos grabbed his fallen beer, grimacing at the mostly empty can. “If you’re so gone for this woman, why are you up here by yourself while she’s down in that valley all alone?”
“She hasn’t called.”
“Have you called her?”
“My phone’s been dead,” I muttered.
Amos stared at me. “You absolute moron.”
“I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” He stood up, tossing the empty can in my trash. “You’ve got a woman down there who clearly wants you. A woman who turned my sexy ass down to wait around for you. Man up and go get her.”
“What if she doesn’t want me? What if I was just convenient?”
“Then at least you’ll know,” Amos grabbed his jacket from where it had fallen under the back of the couch.
“Look, I’m not gonna pretend I’m some expert on relationships.
Women don’t stick around for me. They like me fine for a night or two, but nobody wants to date me.
But at least I try. That’s more than you can say. ”
I’d always thought Amos liked his life. He was always flirting with the ladies and following one home to her bed.
“I never knew you wanted to settle down, man,” I rumbled.
He ran a hand through his hair as he headed for the door. “I’m starting to feel like the last man standing at a party that ended hours ago. I’d give anything to find a woman to settle down with.”
He met my eyes, and for once there was no humor in his expression.
Then he added, “Don’t be an idiot and let her slip away just because you’re scared. Some of us would kill to have what you’ve got.”
He left without another word, the door clicking shut behind him.
I lifted the couch, pushing it upright again. Then sat in the silence of my empty cabin while Amos’s words echoed in my head.
He was right. I’d never felt this way about a woman before, and even if I wasn’t sure I deserved her, I was going to let her make that decision. I needed to tell Cassidy what was in my heart.
Two minutes later I was in my truck heading down the mountain.