Chapter 11
The days melded together as John and Frankie consumed themselves with developing reforestation strategies, hiking to different sections of John”s land, and making love. They were inseparable. But before Frankie knew it, she was packing her suitcase to fly home the next morning.
She worried her bottom lip, her teeth gouging deep, as she paced back and forth in the bedroom, her phone in her hand. Finally on the fifth ring, Sharon answered, her face popping up on the screen. Frankie froze, wondering for a moment if she was hallucinating. Sharon”s face was slathered with an olive-green clay mask and her normally arrow-straight hair was pinned in curlers.
Frankie choked on a giggle. ”What in the world are you doing?”
”Umh pfamglin unh mah boomi ruteem,” Sharon garbled out between a whitening mouthpiece.
”Take that ridiculous thing out. I can”t understand a word you”re saying,” Frankie snapped, her anxiety spiking.
Sharon rolled her eyes and pulled the whitening tray out. ”I said, I”m working on my beauty routine. My cousin is taking me to a new pub tonight. Rumor is, it’s a hotspot for sexy SAS veterans.” She waggled her eyebrows.
”God help them,” Frankie muttered.
Sharon scowled. ”I heard that. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure? You should be packing right now, because if I”m not mistaken…” She glanced at her watch. ”You”re hopping on a plane in less than twenty hours.”
”Yes. I know.” Frankie”s heart sank. She and John went to great pains to avoid speaking about her upcoming departure. But it was nearly upon them with her scheduled to leave his cabin at seven the next morning. ”About that.”
Sharon”s brows shot up, and she sat down, her expression sobering. ”Frankie, are you seriously considering not coming home?”
Tears pricked the back of Frankie’s eyes and she squeezed them shut. ”It”s insanity, I know. There”s no way I can stay. I mean…” She flapped a hand in the air as if she was about to take flight. ”What would I even do for a living?” She started pacing again. ”I”d have to get a job and a work visa. I have no idea in what order I would do that. And then I”d need a place to stay. I mean, I couldn”t just assume I would stay in this place, as amazing as it is,” she rambled, feeling like she might vomit.
”Wow,” Sharon breathed. ”It”s worse than I thought. You really have fallen for this guy, haven”t you?”
Frankie watched out the window as John chopped firewood. His muscles bunched with each swing. It was a sexy, masculine mating dance, she was sure. ”I am crazy.”
”No, you most certainly are not. You”ve just found your person, that”s all.” Sharon plopped down on her bed, her eyes serious. ”Not everyone gets the shot that you have to find the one person who completes you. It just turns out yours was halfway across the globe. But you found him. It pains me to say this, but I think you”re crazy not to stay.”
”Stop it.” Frankie swiped at a tear that had wandered down her cheek. ”It”s impossible. I mean, what would I do without my favorite tea shops? They don”t have those here.”
”You order tea online and make it yourself,” Sharon answered matter-of-factly. ”Then you sip it while you stare at that magnificent stud you”re shagging.”
Frankie sputtered. ”Oh my god, Sharon. You”re impossible.”
”I know, love. But I”m also right.” She was silent for a moment. ”If you are not one hundred percent sure, get on the plane tomorrow morning and come home. You”ll know very soon if you”ve made a mistake.”
”Yeah, okay.” Frankie bobbed her head, her eyes on John again. ”That”s a plan, at least.” She paused for a moment, then looked at Sharon. ”I never expected this.”
”That”s usually when the best stuff happens,” Sharon commented softly. ”Okay, now.” Her voice grew forceful. ”You are going to enjoy your last evening in Wisconsin fornicating with that sexy lumberjack. And I”m going to wash all this shit off, then head out and shag a man of my own. Ta, darling.” The screen went blank.
Frankie stared at the phone, too overwhelmed with emotion to even laugh at her friend”s antics. Sharon was right. Once she got home, in her own surroundings, she”d feel normal again and realize that this was all just a crazy hormone-fueled delusion.
***
John stood on his porch, hands buried in his pockets, sick to his stomach as he watched the driver load Frankie”s bags in the trunk. His heart was heavy, clenching in his chest like it was in a vise. He”d never felt this ache before and had no idea how to react. But the urge to drop to his knees and beg her to stay was about to overthrow his willpower.
”I wanted to at least drive you to the airport,” he said for the fifth time, his voice caught on the last word. She had refused to let him, saying he”d done more than enough and that she didn”t want to be a burden. She”d never be a burden—this woman was like sunlight and water to him. Absolute necessities.
Frankie’s hazel eyes welled up as she pinned him with her gaze. Her lips quivered and she sniffed, swallowing hard. ”No, it should be like this. This is clean and quick.”
He had no idea what she meant by that, but his brain wasn”t in the right place to argue.
”I”ll never forget you, John. No matter what happens, whether we decide to stay in contact or not, I”ll always remember this time with you.”
He gulped around the baseball-sized lump in his throat that refused to be dislodged. Watching her walk away was killing him.
John nodded glumly, fighting to keep the sorrow off his face. ”You”ll probably need to call a few times to just work the kinks out of that strategy,” he replied, his voice carefully monotone.
Frankie bobbed her head several times and a lone tear escaped, tracking slowly down her cheek. ”Yes, yes. I”m sure we”ll need your guidance on the plan you made for us. Thank you for that. Thank you for everything.”
John jolted back a step as she barreled into his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist and squeezing. He smoothed his hands up and down her back, drawing her in further as his cheek rested on top of her head. He soothed himself while he tried to calm her. He tilted her chin up with a finger, holding her watered gaze. ”We”ll see each other again. I know it.”
She raised on her tiptoes, crushing her lips to his. He cupped her face, holding her in place as he took over, his mouth ravaging hers. He wanted to give them both a kiss to remember, and this was it.
The awkward clearing of a throat had John pulling back. He glanced to his left to find the driver watching them, his hands clasped at his waist.
”Sorry to interrupt, John. But we”ll need to leave soon if she wants to make her flight,” the man said.
John waved. ”Got it, Toby. She”s ready.”
”Right. Yes.” Frankie swiped at the tears that continued to fall. She planted a hand on his chest, her eyes earnest. ”I lo—” She cut herself off, biting her lip, and gave her head a shake. ”Goodbye, John.”
With one farewell pat to his chest, she hurried down the porch stairs and jumped into the car. John stared at her silhouette, waiting for her to look back and wave, but she never did.
And he watched as his heart drove away.
***
Frankie chewed her thumbnail mercilessly on the drive to the Green Bay airport, her common-sense warring with her heart. She sniffed again, wiping away more tears. The thought of walking onto that plane made her want to scream. But what would she even do here?
I don’t know, maybe you could run the foundation he wants to start? He practically gave you the answer wrapped with a pretty pink bow.
Frankie grimaced. When had her subconscious become so sarcastic?
When you decided to blow the opportunity of a lifetime. Or maybe when you decided to throw a chance at true love away like it”s yesterday”s trash? Pick one.
Damn, she was a salty bitch today, that one.
Frankie steeled herself with a firm breath and opened her backpack, pulling out a folder. Thumbing through the pages, she smiled as she reread the reforestation strategy John had typed for her the night before. This would work—she knew it. It would be the final piece they needed for success. But now…
Now she wasn”t so sure that she wanted to be part of this solution any longer. What if she wanted to live in a verdant forest with a tall, blue-eyed lumberjack, working by his side to envision his dream?
Frankie gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear her head.
It”ll be just like Sharon said. I”ll get home and everything will feel normal again. My desire to stay will be forgotten and I”ll get into my old routine. It”ll all be okay then.
But would it? How could she ever forget John and his picturesque cabin in the woods? Or even Angus? And what exactly was so exciting about her routine? Was Sharon right?
Frankie blubbered out a laugh. Her emotions were fragmenting like broken glass.
”Ma”am, are you okay?” Toby”s voice was anxious, and his eyes darted between the road and the rearview mirror. ”Do I need to pull over?”
”No.” She waved a hand toward him. ”I”m all right. It”s just been a busy week and I”m tired.”
He nodded and met her gaze in the mirror. ”Hopefully you can get some sleep on the flight. How long is it?”
”About sixteen hours total, with a layover in New York.”
The driver whistled. ”That”s one heck of a trip. You should get some shut-eye in that time.”
”I hope so,” she murmured. The scenery was a green blur as they sped further and further away from the man who had stolen her heart.
Frankie straightened with a snap, blinking as that thought bounced around in her head.
The man who stole my heart… The man who stole my heart…
It was as if the clouds had parted and common sense finally prevailed. John hadn”t just been a fling or her star-crossed lover. He was her ONE. The man she was destined to love. Why had it been so hard for her to admit?
I love him!
Goosebumps burst out all over at the thought, as if every cell in her body was affirming her realization. She didn”t need to end things like her grandmother, who had responsibility, a fiancée, and an arranged marriage that called her back to Britain. Frankie didn’t have any of that baggage. She only had a lonely flat, a somewhat demented yet loveable boss/best friend, and a pathetic social life.
She also had a career, of course, but she could do that just as easily here. Her efforts and skill set could be used in Wisconsin to make a difference.
”Here we are ma”am,” Toby announced as the car began to slow. He parked in front of the small airport terminal and strode to the trunk.
Frankie gawked out the windshield, not seeing a thing. Her heart raced as her mind whirled with the possibilities. Could she really do this?
It”s time to live a little, Frankie. Take a chance!
She hopped out of the car and turned to Toby, who stood patiently next to her bags on the curb. ”I”m so sorry, Toby. But there”s been a mistake.”
His brow dropped, but he didn”t say a word, waiting for her to continue.
”I have to go back. I”m so sorry,” she repeated. ”Is there any way you can take me back?”
Toby grinned and clicked the button to open the trunk. ”Sure thing, ma”am. Hop in and I”ll have you back at John”s place in no time.”