Chapter 5 Grace
GRACE
“You’re sure you don’t want to come, Gracie?” Mila asks, pulling on her coat by the door.
“I’m sure,” I tell her. “Honestly, I’ll be fine. You two go have a good time!”
Mila looks hesitant. She’s going to Cherry Hollow with Holden, and they’re getting dinner at some fancy Italian restaurant. They sweetly invited me along, but I don’t want to intrude on their dinner date. It’s about time they got a break from my third-wheeling for a little while.
“You promise to call if there are any problems?” Mila asks. “I’m nervous leaving you here all alone in this weather.”
The rain started about two hours ago and hasn’t slowed down since. It lashes against the windows, hammering like bullets against the glass. But I don’t mind. It makes me feel cozy, listening to rainfall when I’m warm and safe in Holden’s cabin.
“I promise. But you don’t need to worry, I’ll be fine. It says the rain is going to stop soon anyway.”
My sister finally relents. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“Help yourself to anything in the fridge,” Holden says, grabbing his keys.
“Thanks.” I smile at him. “Have a great time!”
Holden slips his arm around my sister’s waist, holding a giant umbrella with his other hand. They say goodbye to me before heading out into the pouring rain, and I see a flash of headlights through the window as they drive away.
Once they’re gone, I turn back to my laptop. My eyes are fuzzy from staring at the screen so long, scrolling through job sites. It’s frustrating as heck—every job seems to need years of experience. How am I meant to get experience if every job expects me to have it already?
Keep looking, I tell myself. You’ll find something amazing. Just one more page.
It sure doesn’t help that my mind keeps drifting back to Lucian; I have to force myself to refocus on my screen every two seconds.
I’ve been thinking about him all day, remembering how he looked this morning in his dark jeans and flannel shirt, muscles bulging beneath the fabric.
He’s so mysterious, so closed off, but that only makes me want to know him more.
He loosened up a bit when we started talking about Midnight, and it was so adorable to watch him with her, a giant grump melting at the sight of his cat.
God, he’s so cute.
Most people probably wouldn’t think “cute” when looking at Lucian.
He’s big and broody, built like a bear, with a scowl that never seems to leave his face.
He also grunts more than he talks. Intimidating is the word most people would use to describe him.
But not me. There’s just something about him, something soft and gentle hiding beneath his rough exterior.
I can feel it. There’s more to Lucian than meets the eye…
although what meets the eye is already hot as heck. He’s so huge, so rugged…
Nope.
Getting distracted again.
I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been scrolling and applying, scrolling and applying, scrolling and applying.
But it’s been at least two hours since Holden and Mila left, so they’ll probably be back soon.
It suddenly occurs to me that it’s still raining.
I tuned out the hammering sound before, but it’s still going hours after the forecast said it would stop, and I feel a flicker of unease in my belly.
I hope they get back okay.
Suddenly, the room is plunged into darkness. I gasp. Everything is black except for the eerie glow of my computer screen. Then my phone buzzes in my pocket, making me jump. Mila’s name flashes up on the screen.
“Hello?” I say.
“Hi, Gracie.” My sister sounds stressed, a note of panic in her voice. “So listen, we’re stuck in Cherry Hollow. The mountain road is flooded, and there’s no way for us to get home.”
My mouth goes dry. I never entirely got over my childhood fear of the dark, and it feels like the cabin is closing in around me.
“That sucks,” I say. “I was just about to call you to say the power went out.”
“Crap, and it hasn’t come back on?”
“Nope.”
Mila groans. “Shoot. That means the backup generator isn’t working.”
I hear her say something to Holden, but it’s too muffled for me to hear.
“I’ll be okay,” I tell her, trying to sound upbeat. “If I light a fire and stay close to it…”
“We’re out of matches,” Mila says fretfully. “We stopped at the store to buy more on the way to the restaurant. I’m so sorry, Gracie. I wasn’t thinking.”
I bite my lip, trying not to let anxiety get the better of me.
Staying in Holden’s cabin with no heating and no fire isn’t an option.
The temperatures up here are no joke, and I can already feel the warmth seeping out of the room.
I hear Holden’s voice in the background of the call before Mila seems to agree with him, then she says, “You’re going to have to head to Lucian’s cabin.
He’s the closest neighbor. Hopefully his generator is working, and if not, at least he’ll have a fire going. ”
Lucian’s name makes my heart stutter, but I can’t help looking apprehensively at the rain drumming against the darkened windows. The trees will give me some cover, but it still won’t be a pleasant walk.
Mila is still apologizing. She sounds stricken. My poor sister has always blamed herself for everything, even when we were kids. She has always taken it upon herself to look after me, and beats herself up every time she feels like she’s failed.
“It’s okay, Mila, honestly. How were you supposed to know the road would flood? The rain was meant to stop hours ago.”
She doesn’t seem to hear me. “We should never have left you without matches. That’s basic safety out here. I’m sorry, Gracie. So is Holden, he feels awful—”
“Mila, I promise I’ll be fine.” I’m already standing up. “I’m going to pack a bag and head to Lucian’s place, okay? I know where it is.”
She makes me promise to wrap up in several layers and take an umbrella.
I assure her I’ll call her when I get to Lucian’s, then I pocket my phone and take a deep breath.
I’m not sure how Lucian will feel when I turn up on his doorstep for the second time today.
But I don’t have a choice, and the thought of seeing him again makes me feel warm, despite the chill in the air.
I use my phone to light the way as I fill a backpack with some overnight things, zipping it up. Then I pull on my coat and grab an umbrella from the closet in Holden and Mila’s bedroom. My stomach is fluttering with nerves.
What if Lucian doesn’t want me there?
But there’s no time to dwell on it. I need to get out of this freezing cabin, so I open the front door, grimacing as a thousand fat raindrops slap my face.
The wind roars, the trees shaking so violently that I’m scared to put the umbrella up in case it’s instantly ripped from my hands.
I take a reluctant step out from under the porch, already shivering, when I spot the glare of headlights in the distance.
Relief washes over me. Mila and Holden must have made it up the mountain after all.
I wonder how they got here so fast…
Scurrying back beneath the porch, I watch as the pickup truck pulls up in front of me. With a relieved smile, I wave. Then the door opens, and my heart leaps to my throat.
Lucian.
The headlights illuminate his hulking frame as he strides toward me in the pouring rain. He barely seems to notice it. His eyes are fixed on me, and when he stops a few feet away, all I can do is gawk at him.
“The hell are you doing out here in this weather?” he asks, his deep voice booming over the sound of the storm.
“I could ask you the same thing!” I have to shout to be heard.
“Came to check you’re all doing okay. Power’s down.” Lucian runs a hand through his wet hair, frowning at the darkened cabin. “Where’s Holden? His generator not working?”
I quickly explain the situation—the flooded road, the lack of matches, and how I was just about to walk to his cabin for safety. Lucian’s frown deepens with every word.
“The hell were they thinking, leaving you alone out here with no matches?” he mutters angrily to himself. Before I can say anything to defend them, he’s already ushering me to his truck, opening the passenger side door for me. “Get in. Heating’s on.”
Lucian’s truck feels like sinking into a warm bath.
It smells like him, like pine and something else I can’t put my finger on—smoky and autumnal.
I drink it in hungrily, looking over at Lucian as he climbs into the driver’s seat.
He seems to take up the whole truck with his broad shoulders, his giant hands clasping the steering wheel as he drives us away from Holden’s cabin.
As it disappears behind us, I feel a buzz of excitement growing inside me.
I’m spending the night at Lucian’s cabin.
It shouldn’t excite me this much. I know it means nothing.
He’s just being neighborly and helping me out of a tight spot…
again. But still, the thought of spending the night under the same roof as this gorgeous mountain man sends a jolt between my thighs—something raw and needy.
Something I definitely shouldn’t be feeling about a man twice my age.
Something that’s already way too far gone to ignore.