CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
At the first crack of light, Holly tiptoed out of Cole’s bedroom, packed her stuff, and fled. Even though her flight didn’t depart for another five hours, she went straight to the airport and parked herself in a chair where she could watch planes take off and land.
Events from the last two days filled her thoughts. Almost getting shot, spending time with Cole’s fun-loving family, a hot day on the water followed by an even hotter night in Cole’s arms.
There was no way to top all that. So rather than struggle through an awkward goodbye, she arranged for a cab and snuck out in the pre-dawn light. Guilt ran through her, but she couldn’t face Cole. She would not allow herself to regret sleeping with him. But she also didn’t trust herself to be able to look him in the eye and hide her feelings. And she had no idea what, if anything, came next.
She liked him. A lot. And not just him. The Robinsons were wonderful. They’d welcomed her so effortlessly. It was like coming home. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed that feeling of “home.” Since her parents had left Green Valley Falls, she had nowhere to land when things got rough. It would be way too easy to fall in love with Cole and his family.
No, she had to put some distance between all these emotions. There was no future with him. He wasn’t the pen pal type, and long-distance relationships never worked. And that was assuming he wanted one.
While she sat at the airport gate, Cole texted.
Um, bye ?
The sarcasm came through loud and clear. And he was right. It had been rude to sneak out. Normally, her manners were better than this, but she didn’t think she could say goodbye without making a fool of herself.
Sorry. I suck at goodbyes. Thanks for everything.
Lame. Even she saw how inadequate that was. But it was better this way. Rip off the Band-Aid and get on with life.
She made it back to Green Valley Falls for dinner. Her friends were eager to hear about this trip to New York.
“I can’t believe you saw another person get killed,” Tess said. “What are the odds?”
“I can’t believe you almost got killed,” Juliet said.
“Yeah,” Holly said. “I’m oh for two on visiting the Big Apple without witnessing a death.”
“Okay,” Faith said after the entrees arrived and they’d all dug in. “On to more important matters. What’s up with you and Cole?”
“Oh, well, um…” Holly stammered.
“You had sex with him,” Tess blurted. It wasn’t a question. Her team knew her well enough to read between the sexy unspoken lines.
“Shhh,” Holly hissed, checking the nearby tables to make sure no one overheard.
“And you didn’t lead with that?” Alex asked.
“You don’t think murder trumps a little action?” Holly countered.
“Little?” Faith said, raising an eyebrow. “Doubt that. And no. Not when that action comes from someone who looks to have some serious skills regarding said action. Spill.”
Holly felt her cheeks flush and cursed them for betraying her. “I mean. You’re not wrong about that. The ‘action’ was pretty grade A. Top notch. Medal worthy even.”
“You love him,” Juliet said, pointing at Holly with a fork.
“I might like him,” Holly said, feigning indifference. “No one said anything about love.”
“You never lit up talking about Rick the way you do with Cole,” Tess said. “You guys have the ‘spark’ we were talking about after the wedding. The thing you were missing with Rick.”
They all nodded in agreement. “Tess is right,” Faith agreed. “Cole is hot, smart, funny, and most important, sparkly.”
“Even if all that’s true,” Holly said. “There’s more to consider. A, he has expressed zero interest in continuing our acquaintance. B, he lives in New York City, and long-distance relationships never work. And C, he is way out of my league. Can you imagine?”
“I can imagine how gorgeous your kids would be,” Faith said, causing Holly to choke on the sip of water she’d just drunk.
“And it’s not like you’re gonna meet anyone better in this town,” Tess said.
They’d had this conversation many times, wondering how any of them would find love when pickings were so slim. It was hard to meet men in a town where you’d known everyone since birth.
They rehashed the rest of the trip, everyone giving their opinion on what the sex meant and berating her for leaving without saying a proper goodbye. Holly stopped by Barkingham Palace to pick up Lady and headed home.
The trip to New York had cost her three vacation days. The upside was that she’d returned just in time for her weekend, which fell on Thursday and Friday this week.
She slept hard but woke the following morning with everything still weighing on her mind—the meeting with her dad, her thoughts about Cole, and what she was going to do about Rick. Long overdue for a camping trip, she decided to take some solo time on the mountain. That always helped clear her head.
Holly texted Jen to ask about borrowing a horse. After getting the okay, she stuffed her backpack, loaded up Lady, and drove to Jen’s.
“You want some company?” Jen offered.
“You’re worried I’ll get lost,” Holly said. “Don’t be. I only do that in strange places.”
“If you say so.”
“Thanks for letting me borrow Buttercup.”
“She needs the exercise and will love a hike in the woods,” Jen said. “Where are you headed, and what time you due back?”
“Up the back trail to the west side of Arrowhead Lake. I should be home early afternoon tomorrow. I won’t have cell coverage, so don’t worry if you try and can’t reach me.”
Holly had already texted her friends all that info, but it couldn’t hurt to have too many people in the loop. She saddled Buttercup, put some of the overnight stuff in the saddlebags, strapped on her rifle, mounted up, and set off with a wave.
She followed the main road for a couple of miles, Lady jogging alongside, then turned off to start upward. Technically, they were in the state park, but not in an area accessible to just anyone. You had to be familiar with the backwoods trails to even find the entrance. The trail itself wasn’t traveled frequently, and the farther up she got, the more a clear path faded.
The slow clomp, clomp, clomp of the horse making its way through the woods was relaxing and gave Holly time to ruminate. Every once in a while, Lady would sprint off into the trees after something but always came back within minutes.
On her list of things to think about, Cole jumped to the top. Her friends knew her well. Maybe better than she knew herself. And if she was objective about it, she had to admit, the thought of being in love with Cole had crossed her mind. Which seemed crazy since she’d supposedly just been in love with Rick. Was she that desperate? Easily swayed? Gullible? Or just so clueless, she wouldn’t know actual love if it bit her in the face?
Three weeks ago, she’d sworn off men and wouldn’t have trusted her own judgment to get her out of a paper bag. But now? Now, the anemic, no-more-men promise was on the verge of flatlining.
One thing she could say for sure. Her feelings for Cole were different—heavier, more intense—than what she’d felt for Rick. If Rick was friendship love, Cole was blow-your-mind, lose-your-mind, drop-everything-and-do-anything-for-him, love.
But that didn’t change the situation. He still lived a completely different life, over three hundred miles away.
Every thirty minutes, Holly would lead Buttercup to the lake’s edge and allow her and Lady to drink. When the sun waned, she found a small clearing close to the water.
“Whoa, girl,” she said.
Holly slid off the horse and let the reins fall. Lady did a lap around the area, sniffing everything in sight. She returned and barked once to give the all-clear. Holly unpacked Lady’s bowls and dumped a water bottle in one and some kibble from a Ziploc bag in the other.
“Eat that up quick, so I can rinse the bowl,” she said to the dog. “I don’t want to deal with bears tonight.” While Lady ate, Holly took care of Buttercup, feeding and brushing her before tethering her halter to a rope strung between two trees.
She wasn’t worried about anyone stumbling onto her site. Tourists hiked from the park and stayed on the other side of the valley. And the locals hardly ever came up this way.
Dusk was falling, so she quickly set up her tent. Then gathered wood and started a fire, careful to ensure there was nothing flammable nearby. On a blanket next to the fire, Lady by her side, Holly watched the sky go from gray to black.
Being alone didn’t bother her. But being lonely was starting to.
The last Christmas holiday season had been the first time she’d really felt what lonely could be. It was right before she started dating Rick. Her dad was in jail, and her mom had moved on. The Reeds invited her to spend Christmas Day with them, which had been lovely, just not the same.
She longed for what Cole had. Parents who loved each other, siblings who teased, but would do anything for each other. A safe place where you were always welcome.
Perhaps that’s why she’d said yes to Rick. So eager to start her own family, she almost married a man unworthy of her. That was clear to her now. Sure, men were scarce around here, but that couldn’t—wouldn’t—happen again. Now that she had a taste of what love could be, she wouldn’t settle for anything less.
The fire’s flames hypnotized her long into the night. She stared, waiting for inspiration about what she should do. She loved her job but not necessarily where or who she worked with. She loved her friends, but they would be there for her no matter where she lived. And she loved her parents, but they would never return to Green Valley Falls.
Change. That’s what the flames finally messaged her. She needed a change. But of what? Her job, house, hair color? No, it had to be big. A fresh start. Away from a town that knew everything about her and her family. Away from an ex-fiancé she had to see at work every day.
The next morning, she woke feeling confident in her decision to leave Green Valley Falls. Destination unknown, but yeah, greener pastures were elsewhere. That felt right. She packed up camp, saddled Buttercup, and set off. With time to kill before she had to be back, she headed north on the trail, thinking she’d circle around the lake.
Two hours later, she’d lost sight of the lake but kept going, knowing it had to be on her right. Soon, though, she realized she must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Looking up at the sun, she figured out where north was, pictured the map in her mind, and reoriented herself.
She wasn’t lost, but nor was she one hundred percent sure exactly where they were.
“Come on, Bennett,” she muttered to herself. “You’re better than this.”
An hour later, she gave up. “Forget it. Let’s just go back the way we came.” Buttercup whinnied in agreement.
Pointing the horse to what she would swear was south, they started moving again. Dusk snuck up on her, and she resigned herself to an unplanned night on the mountain. Which was fine. She had extra food for the animals and plenty of snacks for herself. Jen would worry, but with no cell signal, there wasn’t much she could do about that.
Tomorrow, they’d just head downhill. She’d have to reach the bottom eventually. And depending on where she popped out of the woods, she could get home from there. At least she hoped so. No, she had to. If she had to be rescued off this mountain, she would never live it down.