Chapter 7
Addie wasn’t sure what to focus on, the text she’d received from the unknown number last night, telling her she’d overstayed her welcome, or Noah and the look on his face when he realized he’d shoved her. She hadn’t even been hurt. It had been her fault for touching him.
It had been a mistake. A huge, colossal mistake. But at the time, it had been a reflex. The second she saw the change in him, she’d been so scared about what he’d do. All she’d wanted to do was help him.
Yeah, well, she sure hadn’t done that.
She glanced at the door leading to the park. It was a rare quiet moment. Which wasn’t exactly optimal, because it gave her far too much time to get stuck in her head.
Her gaze shifted back to her computer screen. She was supposed to be updating the FAQ section of the website, but she couldn’t concentrate.
She tapped the screen of her phone like she expected to see another text. There was none.
Someone wanted her to get out. Out of where? Amber Ridge? Why? And was she actually being watched by someone, and this was that someone?
She’d tried to call the number. No one answered. Not a surprise. That was the entire reason to text, right? Because they wanted to keep their identity secret. Because they wanted her scared of the unknown.
Well, mission accomplished. And what was worse, she felt like she was just waiting now. Waiting for the next text. Waiting for them to do something to her. Because she wasn’t leaving. This was her home right now. And she was not going to be scared away.
The door opened and Jules stepped in, her usual wide smile on her face. “Good morning, Addie.”
Addie tried to return the smile, but it felt wonky. “Morning, Jules.”
The food van had been so busy that Jules had hired help, which meant she was able to bring Addie’s hot chocolate to the office some mornings. It was honestly a highlight of her day.
“Uh-oh.” Jules stopped at the desk. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” If nothing included a phone terrorist and a complicated relationship with her boss.
“I can see that’s not true.” She pushed a to-go cup across the desk. “A new hazelnut hot chocolate to brighten your morning.”
“You’re too good to me.”
“Not too good. The perfect amount of good.” Jules tilted her head. “Want to talk about it?”
“Not at the moment, but I appreciate you asking.”
“I’m always here if you need someone.”
Addie’s smile softened. Another reason to love this woman…she cared. “Thank you.”
Jules squeezed her hand before heading out.
Addie lifted the hot chocolate and groaned the second the sweet liquid hit her tongue. Holy Hannah, it was good. Really good. And so needed. She’d been in such a state this morning, she hadn’t even touched her chocolate jar…not once.
What she had done was check her phone a gazillion times for a text from Noah. She’d messaged him last night to ask if he was okay, but he hadn’t replied. Nor had he been in the office this morning.
She took the lid off her cup and went to pour the liquid into her chipped sloth mug, but as she did, her phone vibrated with a text. She looked up so quickly, she spilled hot liquid over her hand.
Shit! Crap! Hot! Too hot!
She set the to-go cup down on the desk and rushed to the kitchen, where she ran her hand under cold water.
Another reason to hate this damn person harassing her—she jumped every time her phone went off. And now she’d poured perfectly good hot chocolate all over herself.
She turned off the water and stepped out of the kitchen—only to stop. “Noah.”
He stood in the office, taking up far too much space.
He frowned at her, eyes cautious. “Addie, is everything okay?”
“I thought my hand was a better place for my hot chocolate than my stomach.”
He frowned.
She lifted her red hand. “I burned myself.”
Two steps and he closed the distance between them before gently gripping her wrist. And holy hell, but his fingers on her skin felt good. Not just good, they made every fiber of her being shoot to life and her lower belly ripple.
“Are you okay?”
His deep, husky voice almost made her shiver. “I’ve had worse.”
He ran his thumb over the burn, but surprisingly, it didn’t hurt. Somehow, like the man’s touch was magic, it took the edge of the ache away.
They both looked up at the same time, and suddenly she was breathless. The kind of breathless where her lungs forgot how to function because her body was too distracted by his closeness and how his eyes held her hostage.
She forced words out. “Are you okay after last night?”
“Not really.”
She’d expected him to lie. To tell her something meaningless about being fine even though they both knew it wasn’t true.
Was he being honest because he trusted her with just a bit of the darkness inside him?
She opened her mouth, not sure what words were about to come out, when the click of the door opening sounded from the other room.
His hand dropped and immediately her arm felt cold.
She cleared her throat. “I, uh, have something for you.”
He gave her a quizzical look and she forced herself to step back. It took far more willpower than it should have.
In her bag, she rummaged for the folded piece of paper. When she found it, she handed it to him. “Here. It’s the number of my dad’s therapist. His name’s Dr. Ted Burton and he’s a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating PTSD. He works in Bozeman but does Zoom appointments.”
Noah’s frown deepened, and for a moment she wasn’t sure if he’d take the slip of paper.
Crap. Was she overstepping? Was he about to tell her to mind her own business and walk away?
Instead, he slipped the paper from her fingers, and she released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
He dipped his head. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll, um, get back to the desk.”
She stepped back into the reception area to see a handful of people waiting. It would be Noah’s zip-lining group that was due to start in a few minutes.
The first guy in line lifted his blue eyes. He had short brown hair and a kind smile. “Hi.”
“Hi. I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” She lowered into the seat behind the front desk.
“You didn’t keep me waiting. I’m Toby. I booked into the ten a.m. zip-lining group.”
“Addie, and your instructor is right here. But before you go, I’ll get you to fill out these forms.” She handed him a clipboard with the forms and a pen.
“Am I signing my life away?”
She chuckled. “You tell me.”
He took the forms and sat down. She drew in a lungful of air before the next people stepped forward. Even though she smiled, far too much of her concentration remained on Noah. The way he’d touched her hand. The way her entire body reacted when he spoke to her.
Noah strode down the path toward the zip-lining platform, his group following close behind.
Their quiet chatter competed with the sounds of the park around him.
But those intrusive fucking thoughts in his head were louder than anything.
The ones he hated. The ones he wanted gone but had no damn idea on how to do that.
Damn, he was a mess. He told himself to leave Addie alone. Yet the second he was near her, the second he saw her, all he wanted to do was touch her. It was like a craving he had to give in to even though he knew it was bad for both of them.
They were halfway to the platform when one of the guys came to walk beside him. “Hi, I’m Toby.”
“Noah.”
Toby shoved his hands into his pockets. “You’re one of the owners, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve done a good job. The place looks great.”
“Thanks. We had a great team help us.”
“You must have.”
When the tower came into view ahead, Toby whistled. “She’s tall. Should I be scared?”
“Depends, are you scared of heights?”
“I didn’t think I was, but then, I’ve never climbed a tower like that and zip-lined off it before. But I’m trying to step outside my comfort zone.”
“You’ll definitely do that here.”
Noah stopped in front of the tower and turned, then waited for the last of the group to arrive before he began.
“Welcome, everyone. I’m Noah Hayes, and I’ll be your instructor. One of my guys will be waiting for you at the other end of the zipline. Before we get up there, I’m going to go through a few procedures and safety instructions.”
He gestured to the gear he’d prepared earlier. “Everyone will be fitted with a harness.”
He spent ten minutes going through the equipment and safety instructions before handing out lanyards for the belay cable. “Before climbing, we attach our lanyards to the belay cable so that we’re secured.”
He noticed one of the older women look up to the platform a few times, and each time, her skin paled a bit further. He made a mental note to keep an eye on her.
When the group was getting ready, he stepped over to her. “Hey, Cindy, right?”
She nodded quickly.
“Are you okay?”
She swung her gaze from the platform back to him. “Yes.”
Scared of heights. She didn’t need to say it for him to know. “You can stop or pull out at any time.”
“No. I want to do this. I’ll be fine.”
He nodded, not sure if she would be, but if she wanted to give it a try that was her choice.
Noah checked that each lanyard was clipped correctly to the belay cable before climbing the vertical ladder. He liked to go up first so he could help them up onto the platform from the top.
“Make sure you keep in contact with the ladder at all times,” he called behind him.
When he was on the platform, he turned and looked down. One by one, everyone headed up and he helped them in their final steps of the climb.
Cindy was last, and she was slow.
“You’re doing well, Cindy,” he called, once everyone else was up. “Slow and steady.”
Suddenly, one foot slipped, and she screamed and grabbed the ladder in a bear hug.
“Hey, Cindy,” he called. “You’re safe. You’re connected to the cable. You’re not going anywhere.”
“I-I can’t move,” she gasped, her words barely reaching him.
“You’re doing great. Take as long as you need.”
“No. I don’t want to be here! I need help. I-I can’t stop shaking.”
Shit. He’d lifted his radio to call Rhett to come and help her down, when Toby lowered beside him. “Mind if I try?”
Noah looked the guy over and nodded.
Toby glanced down. “Hey, Cindy.” His voice was low and calm.
She looked up, fear keeping her eyes wide.
“I’m Toby. Can I talk to you for a second?”
She gave a jerky nod.
“It might not feel like it, but right now, your brain’s being really smart. It’s spotting danger and trying to keep you safe. It’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.”
The woman stared at Toby like he was a lifeline. Was the guy trained in this stuff?
“But,” Toby continued, “your brain doesn’t realize that the danger isn’t real. It doesn’t recognize that you’re harnessed in and there’s no way for you to fall. Can I help your brain catch up?”
She nodded again. “O-okay.”
“Let’s start with some deep breaths. In through the nose, hold, and out of the mouth.”
Cindy closed her eyes and did exactly as Toby told her to.
“Slow and steady. That’s good. Do you feel your body starting to relax and feel safe? It’s coming out of its freeze. Let’s breathe again.”
Cindy breathed again.
“Good. Now, I want you to do something for me—one step up. That’s your only job.”
Noah didn’t think she’d do it. But she lifted a foot and stepped up the ladder.
“That was really great, Cindy! Now the next one.”
Toby continued to talk to Cindy and, one step at a time, the woman climbed the ladder.
When she got near the top, Noah pulled her up.
Toby smiled at her. “Amazing work!” His voice still held that calming undertone. “You ready for the next part?”
Who the hell was this guy?
It didn’t matter. He was helpful.
Not only did Toby help the woman up the ladder, he used the exact same method to get her down the zip line, where Flint met everyone on the other side.
The group’s hour and a half went quickly. Everyone had a few turns, and by Cindy’s third time up the ladder and down the line, she didn’t blink.
Toby was a damn magician. Maybe they should hire him.
At the end, Noah debriefed everyone and collected the gear before walking the group back with Flint. Even Cindy was smiling.
As people left, Noah turned to Toby. “Thanks for your help today.”
“It’s my job.” Toby frowned and glanced toward the parking lot before stepping closer. “Look, I don’t mean to butt into something that isn’t my business, but I couldn’t help overhearing a bit of your conversation with your receptionist when I arrived this morning.”
Noah’s jaw clenched. Great, now even strangers were finding out that he was a damn mess.
Toby shoved his hands into his pocket. “I’m a clinical psychologist. I’m very familiar with treating trauma. I don’t use any fancy machines or do anything too crazy. I do a lot of cognitive processing therapy, which helps restructure traumatic thoughts, so they don’t control you.”
Noah had already had therapy before leaving the military. It hadn’t helped. But he did need help.
Toby cleared his throat. “No pressure, but I’m in the process of setting up an office here in Amber Ridge. You’ve got my name and number. Feel free to reach out.” He smiled before heading off.
Noah scrubbed a hand over his face, not sure what the hell to do with that information. He wanted to be okay. He needed to be okay. He couldn’t let either of the incidents with Addie happen again. Because next time, she might not come out of it unscathed.