Chapter 7
Whiskey
“For the last time, I did not rent your cabin on the internet,” Hunter snaps.
I have a dozen foster brothers, but only three of them know I’m home. I’ve already talked to Nate about this, and he swears he didn’t do it. Given how much he’s been scouring the internet to find a good baker, I believe him.
Jasper didn’t do it either. He’s another one of my brothers who lives in these mountains.
He’s got his hands full with his wife, Thea, and their new baby.
He can barely look away from that kid if the endless text messages filled with pictures of her red, wrinkly face are anything to go by.
That only leaves Hunter as a possible suspect.
“What you need to do is call up Griffin and get him to trace where the money went,” he says. “If you can find the money, you’ll know who did this to you.”
I’m quiet for a beat too long because Hunter asks, “Have you done that yet?”
“I’ll get around to it,” I promise as I weave through the forest with Bella beside me. My entire body aches from the long day spent hauling trees.
He makes a noise of disbelief. OK, so that’s two of us that don’t believe me. I’m not sure why I haven’t tried to have anything traced yet. It makes sense to do that, but Sophie’s appearance in my life feels a bit like a miracle, and I don’t want to question it.
“Do you think she’s a con artist?”
“At first, I considered it, but I don’t know. It’s been over a week. You’d think if she were angling for something, I would have figured it out by now.”
“I can come over there. Charm it out of her.”
“Don’t you dare,” I growl.
Hunter has never been a ladies’ man. He’s too much of a recluse. Like me, he prefers to live in his cabin on the mountain undisturbed. I know he’s messing with me, but his words still leave me furious. He chuckles softly. “You could try to charm it out of her.”
I grunt. “I’ve never been the charming type. It’s not in my nature.“
But would Sophie like that? Would she like to be charmed? No, I can’t be thinking like that. She’s only here for three more weeks. When she first arrived, I was counting down the days until she’d leave.
But now that we’ve fallen into a slow rhythm, I find I don’t mind sharing my space with another person. No, that’s not it. It’s her.
I like sharing my space with Sophie. I like the way she fills my cabin with life and laughter. I like the way she bounces up every morning, putting on coffee and clanging the pots until I finally roll from the couch in a disgruntled heap.
I like her teasing laugh and her sunshine smiles. I like that smudgy makeup around her eyes and those tight little skirts that she wanders around in.
Since I don’t know what to say to him, I promise to call him later. He gets off the phone, chuckling under his breath.
“One day, he’s going to find a girl he likes, too,” I tell Bella. She makes a soft whimper as we walk back to the cabin.
I used to like coming home after a hard day’s work because I looked forward to the solitude and the quiet of my cabin. But now I look forward to arriving and seeing Sophie in my space. Her presence fills me with peace and contentment.
The moment my boots hit the porch boards, excitement thrums through me.
I can’t wait to see her and hear about how her day has gone.
Even the mundane things are fun to talk about with her.
I push open the cabin door to find a bride sitting in the middle of my living room floor.
She’s pale white, looking like a ghost. She blinks up at me, her eyes an eerie shade of yellow.
I yelp and mutter a string of profanities under my breath before I realize that it’s just Sophie in makeup and old wedding dress that looks like it might have been used fifty years ago.
I throw my head back and roar with laughter, unable to hold back the booming amusement. I can’t even remember the last time someone made me laugh like that.
She beams at me. "I figured it was my turn for the prank."
"It was a good one," I agree.
"It was fun, but these contacts are miserable to wear." She puts a finger to her eyeball and pulls out one contact then the other.
She blinks up at me with those moss-green eyes, and I’m so tempted to kiss her. Would she like that? There are moments when I think that she’s almost becoming fond of me.
She started sitting closer to me on the couch at night, and she certainly doesn’t seem to mind brushing up against me when we’re working together in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner.
"I’m going to change out of this monstrosity while you start dinner," she tells me and disappears from the room.
Still chuckling, I head into the kitchen to start on a savory mac and cheese dish.
She told me last night that macaroni and cheese is her favorite meal. More and more, I find myself looking for little ways to make her smile. There’s something about seeing her happy that puts a warm glow in my chest.
When I finish preparing the food, I tell her, “Let’s eat on the porch.”
I’m delighted when I see the smile that stretches across her face.
Makes me feel like grinning like a fool.
The air is crisp and invigorating. The stars dotting the sky are bright, and the moon is a half-crescent.
In the distance, I can hear creatures big and small scurrying through the woods.
It’s a perfect autumn night in the country.
"How was your day?" she asks when we’re settled on the steps. She takes the first bite of her food and moans, making a sound that has me hungry in other ways.
"More of the same," I grunt. It’s all I ever tell her. "How about yours? Did you go into town?"
She takes a sip of her sweet tea. It’s Lorna’s sweet tea, the kind I only break out for special occasions. Funny how now that she’s around everyday feels like it’s a special occasion. “I bumped into Griffin while I was there. He seems very nice."
Even though it’s irrational, I feel a stab of jealousy that she was in town talking to another man. I want all of her words. I want to be the one that she tells all of her stories to. "Did you?"
"He told me something interesting. He said you used to serve in the military." I nod, tense, waiting for her to ask me questions.
She doesn’t though. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed.
"It was kind of nice to learn a personal fact about you. Maybe we could try to get to know each other,” she says softly.
I’m not all that interested in talking about myself, but I want to know more about her.
"We could play twenty questions," she suggests.
"How about ten," I counter. There aren’t many interesting facts about me, but I know that she’s endlessly fascinating. I want to learn all of her secrets and know everything about her. I want her to tell me the things she’s never spoken to another person.
She gives me her megawatt smile as if she was expecting me to shoot the idea down entirely. "I’ll take ten. Why do you go by Whiskey?”
“I was the teenager who sold other kids fake IDs so they could get beers. When I got into the Marines, I was the one who kept everyone in booze. Guess the name kind of stuck and never went away.”
“Then what’s your real name?”
I frown because she knows that one. It’s the one thing that’s never quite made sense to me about her appearance in my cabin. “Tobias.”
“Like my cat?”
“You named your cat Tobias?”
“I wanted to go with Toby, but he’s too sophisticated for that.”
I blink. “That’s why you called my name when you were first at the cabin? I share a name with your cat?”
She shrugs. “I guess so. Weird. How long have you lived here?”
"I bought the place about three years ago when I knew I wasn’t going to be able to continue serving in active duty.
Now, why haven’t I seen a boyfriend around?
" I don’t even bother trying to hide my blatant subject changing.
It’s been bothering me for days now. If she were mine, I wouldn’t be letting her stay with another man. No, I’d keep her all to myself.
Her round apple cheeks darken underneath the yellow glow of the porch light. How is it that her blush can leave me thinking such filthy things? "I’m single."
Her confession is easily the best news I’ve heard in months. It makes me want to pound on my chest in satisfaction.
"How about you?"
"There’s no one in my life," I reassure her quickly. The only person I’m thinking about is her. "Why did you pick this cabin to rent?"
"For the running trails nearby. I’m going to run in the 5K race in Asheville next month. I wanted to get used to the altitude. Where I come from in Georgia, it’s very flat.” She takes another bite of her macaroni. “What made you buy this particular cabin?"
"Courage County has been home since I was a teenager. I was a foster kid here, and when I knew I couldn’t be a Marine anymore, it just seemed like I should return home."
"But you haven’t really come home. I mean, you’re not part of the town, and no one really even knows you’re here. It just seems like if you’re home, they should know."
"Why?" I ask the question, bewilderment running through me.
"Because I’m sure they miss you, and they love you."
I want to tell her that the boy they love is gone. In his place is a man that no longer understands how to function in society. But I can’t tell her those things. Instead, I distract her by asking a question. "What is it you do for work?"
She swallows hard and absently stirs the rest of the macaroni in her bowl. "I was a makeup artist, but I quit my job. Now, I’m kind of trying to figure out what’s next.”
I don’t say anything because it feels like there’s something more. Something she’s trying to figure out how to put into words. I give her space, eating my food and waiting.
“Have you ever had your life split into before and after, and you didn’t know what to do in the after?" she asks softly.
I get the feeling that, like me, she’s seen some things she wishes that she could forget.
"Yes," the word is a broken whisper on my lips.
"Then you know how I feel," she murmurs softly.