8. CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER EIGHT
Elise
The smell of crispy bacon wafts down the hallway, teasing my nose the moment my eyes open. I twist in the sheets, pulling the soft blankets around my neck so I’m wrapped up in my own little cocoon.
With the teasing smell filling the bedroom, I stretch out. There’s a crack in the drapes covering the windows, and it looks dark and gloomy this morning. This big bed is a dream, and even more perfect on a cold, rainy morning.
I haven’t slept so well in years. After everything that happened last night, I almost feel bad for falling asleep the second we finished.
I slump back on the pillows with a grin on my face. What a perfect night. The perfect night.
I never came to the mountains to fall in love, but here I am.
Wait.
I shake my head. I can’t be in love with Huxton, I barely know him. Of course there is an undeniable connection between us, but love? It’s too soon for that, surely.
With that thought playing on my mind, something distracts me from the warm snuggly duvet and thoughts about my forever. I shuffle back against the headboard and listen out to the deep rumble coming from somewhere inside the cabin.
A rich baritone rolls down the hallway from the kitchen. Huxton is singing, his deep vocals carrying through the cabin. I can’t help but smile. For such a gruff of a man, his voice is gorgeous.
I listen to him, but eventually he falls silent. I can hear the birds outside whistling as they search for their breakfast. I think about rolling out of bed to open the drapes and watch them, but it’s so toasty warm in these snuggly blankets.
Then Huxton walks in, holding a tray of steaming scrambled eggs and dark, crispy bacon. There’s a mug of coffee and some wildflowers spread over the tray too.
“You hungry?”
He looks even better today than he did last night. How is that even possible?
He’s wearing the same worn old jeans that hang perfectly around his hips, and he’s slung a white tank top on. It’s nothing special, but those giant muscular arms look even bigger today. I find myself smiling when my mind drifts, remembering how safe I felt in them last night. How perfectly they wrapped around me as we slept.
“Starved,” I say, smiling.
Huxton moves over and the mattress dips as he slides in next to me. He slides the tray in front of me and I grab for the coffee right away.
“I thought you’d be hungry after last night,” he says, biting into a thick slice of sourdough.
Thoughts of last night swarm my brain. Huxton’s perfect mouth, how it felt on me. The way he pushed me to my limits, taking me over the edge like I’ve never been before.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep so quick,” I say, shoving bacon in my mouth, grunting at how good the salty flavor hits my tongue. “Oh, this is good!”
Huxton chuckles, his enormous chest bouncing beside me. “Don’t be sorry. I like watching you sleep.”
“That’s a little creepy, but ok,” I tease, feeling like we’ve opened up to each other so easily.
We laugh as Huxton gives me a playful shove. He glances to the clock on the wall, an antiquey looking thing that I swear will cuckoo at us in ten minutes time.
Shit.
“Huxton! I have to be at work in ten minutes!”
Panic fills my body, but Huxton doesn’t get the memo. He just leans back in bed and takes another bite of his toast.
I slap his arm. “Huxton, I need to go! Tracy will be wondering where I am… and…and…” I look around, not anywhere in particular, but into the racing dread in my mind. “Fuck! Huxton what do I tell Tracy?”
He cocks a brow at me. “About what?”
“About this!” My eyes bulge as I wave a finger between us. “Us! What happened here last night!”
His expression fades to that familiar emotionless gaze he holds so well. Those piercing eyes drop to the tray in front of us as he places his toast on the plate, turning ever so slowly to face me.
My heart is pounding, panic coursing through my veins.
But Huxton…
“Us?” he grunts, his lips ever so slowly curving into a smile. “There’s an… us?”
Huxton’s face is so close to mine. I’m mid-panic attack, but somehow, staring into those steely eyes makes everything go away.
We move towards each other at the same time, and our lips collide. The tray goes flying off the bed as Huxton wraps his big arms around me, lifting me up and tossing me beneath him. My hands slide down his ridged body and he grunts against my skin.
“Elise, I was going to wait to tell you,” Huxton nuzzles into me, biting and nibbling as his voice vibrates against my skin. “But I can’t. I can’t wait.”
“What?” I breathe, lifting his handsome face to meet his heated gaze. “What is it?”
He shakes his head, something like disbelief in his eyes. “Elise, I’m in love with you. It sounds ridiculous, but I don’t care. The moment I saw you, I knew it. I knew you were the one for me. And I don’t expect you to-”
“I love you too,” I interrupt, grabbing both sides of his face. “Oh my god. I thought I was crazy, because it’s too soon. It’s too soon, right? But I love you. I love you too, Huxton.”
We stare at each other for a moment. Hudson smiles and we just sit there, gawking like some kind of loved up fools. It’s all happened so quick, but maybe that doesn’t matter.
We can enjoy this for what it is.
But then a buzzing noise breaks the silence.
Huxton pushes off the bed and grabs his cell. He stares at the screen and then to me. One side of his mouth lifts in a sardonic smile.
“It’s your boss,” he teases, turning the screen so I see ‘Tracy’ reflected. My eyes go wide as he swipes and answers the call. “Tracy, how’s the morning going?”
I shake my head. Typical Huxton, straight to the point.
Did he just tell me he loves me? He loves me!
I should be shitting myself that I’m late for work. Tracy is probably reporting me right this second.
I slide out of bed and go to grab my work shirt. But something in Huxton’s tone catches me in my tracks.
“Shit,” Huxton says, his tone sounding unfamiliar. He paces back and forth, the hand at his side clenching to a fist. “Fuck. Alright, I’ll be down as soon as I can.”
Huxton hangs up and slides his phone into his pocket.
“Huxton, is everything ok?” I ask, buttoning my top quickly. “Is she mad I’m late?”
He shakes his head. “No, no. It’s not that.”
I move over and grab his hands, pulling his frazzled eyes to mine. “What is it?”
When his eyes lock on mine, I see something I’ve never seen before. My blood runs cold the moment he catches my gaze, a frightening feeling that I never want to experience again.
Fear.
“There’s a storm coming. A big one.”
***
“Everyone is accounted for,” Tracy tells Huxton as they march ahead of me through wild winds. “The bureau is forecasting the storm to hang around for at least a few hours.”
Huxton’s carrying an axe over his shoulder, his sleeves rolled up his forearms. He’s wearing a face of pure determination, lines furrowed across his brow, every muscle tense.
“Make sure no one leaves,” he says, yanking the door to the restaurant open. He holds it as blast of wind shakes the windowpanes overlooking the retreat. Tracy moves inside and Huxton looks at me, gesturing for me to join her. “It’s not safe outside. Stay in here and I’ll be back.”
Tracy waits for me, but I take a step towards Huxton. “What about you? You’re coming inside too, right?”
His expression doesn’t change. “No.”
“But Hux-”
“I need to secure the cabins. If this storm is as bad as they it is, I’ll need to be on alert.” He looks over his shoulder at the dark clouds moving up the valley. “We’re too close to opening day for everything to be ruined now.”
Tracy waves me inside but I ignore her.
“Let me come with you then,” I plead, but Huxton’s shaking his head before I finish the sentence.
“No.”
“Huxton, please-”
“Elise, I’ll need you to move inside.”
I continue to plead my case, but suddenly his voice is different. He’s not my Huxton right now. He’s my boss.
My clenched fists loosen. My heart deflates and I take a sorry step backwards.
I stare into Huxton’s eyes as Tracy grips me by the shoulder, leading me into the safety of the most secure building on site. Huxton closes the door without another word, his expression hardened.
Tears well at the corners of my eyes but I suck in a harsh breath. Tracy opens her mouth to speak, but sees the emotion streaming from me. With a rub in the center of my back, I bite my lip, unsure of how to go on.
There’s a scary silence inside the restaurant. It’s unnerving. Eerie. It’s usually so noisy in here, the clattering of pans and soft trinkle of knives and forks.
Looking around, I move towards the window where I had lunch with Huxton on that very first day. I can see the storm beginning to take hold of Mountain Lodge Retreat. Dark clouds move quickly, like an ominous shroud over the land. The first crack of thunder echoes in the valley, bringing a gasp from all the employees Huxton has whisked to safety.
My heart feels like it breaks, thinking about the lonely man outside. He built this haven with his bare hands. Every nail, every perfectly stacked log. Each cabin, built so beautifully, such detail in each one. Every employee he’s taken on. Every family he’s helped.
The woman he’s brought hope, change and new life to. He’s helped me.
It’s all him.
The whipping treetops look dangerous as they move from side to side in a frenzied dance. The weather is getting worse, changing rapidly just like Huxton said it would.
But this is nothing yet. It’s about to get a whole lot worse.
I bite my nails as the shutters on the cabins rattle, holding on for dear life already. The fireplace behind me casts a warm glow throughout the room, but the howling wind whistles down the chimney, reminding us just how dangerous it is out there.
And then the downpour starts.
Raindrops, heavy and relentless, pounding against the roofs and windows, sounding like a thousand bullets firing at once. The wind picks up, angry whipping winds that show no mercy. Tears fill my eyes, my heart breaking and that’s when I see it.
The carving of Huxton and his father crashes into the mud. My entire body clenches as I see it break before my eyes, splitting right down the middle along with my heart.
Without thinking, I turn and run for the door.
He’s not doing this alone.