Chapter Eight
Holden
I can’t see much out here but I know the only person in front of me is Maya, so when headlights spin in two full circles then smash against a pine tree in the ditch, I know she’s gone off the road.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The solitude.
Now, I can see a few benefits to living closer to town.
Wet snow pounds against my face as I slide down into the ravine and toward the smoking truck. I shouldn’t have let her leave. I should’ve moved faster. I should’ve told her my truth before we even started dating. Then, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
Pushing back a snow dusted pine branch, I pull open the door, my heart hammering hard against my chest. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to her. Hell, I might not forgive myself anyway. I didn’t keep her safe tonight.
“My baby,” I say, leaning into the driver’s side door. “Can you hear me?”
I land my hand on her neck, checking for a pulse before reaching over the top of her to unbuckle her seat belt. She’s got a steady heart rate, and her breathing is intact, but the airbag is deployed and she’s looking a little out of it.
“Hey,” she perks a little and turns toward me as her eyes flicker open, “did you know that I’m pregnant?”
“Pregnant?” I repeat, happy to hear her voice. “How did you get pregnant?”
“I don’t know.” Her eyelids flutter closed again. “I think it’s the woodsman.”
“The woodsman?” I say, my hands roaming her body for any serious damage. “I haven’t heard that story in years. Didn’t realize he was getting women pregnant. I thought he was haunting the woods, looking for revenge against those who betrayed him.”
“He’s a thirsty woodsman too.” She cracks half a smile and shakes her head gently before landing her hand against her temple. “Oh, that hurts.”
“You’ve got a little lump there,” I say, brushing strands of her red hair back to get a clearer view. “We’ve got to get you to town to the emergency center. I’m going to lift you out of the truck, okay?”
She rolls her head toward me and reaches out with half a smile, despite the pain she must be in. “Okay.”
I hate that she’s hurt but I’m glad she’s letting me help. Leaning in, I lift her soft frame into my arms, breathing in the scent of cranberry on her skin as I trudge out into the snow.
I’m not sure how she manages to always smell so damn good, but she does. No matter the circumstance, she smells like the sweetest berry. Hell, I remember her helping with a project a few years back before we were dating, and even after a long day’s work she still smelled angelic.
I tuck her in tight, sheltering her as well as I can as I sidestep up the ravine toward the truck. It’s slippery, and the wind is blowing the accumulated and fallen snow in circles, blurring out the path, but one step at a time and we’ve made it without further damage.
Thank God!
Breath fogs in the cold air as I set her on the passenger seat, buckling her belt before making my way around the headlights to the driver’s side door.
“You smell like pine trees,” she says, leaning her head against the window. “You smell like pine trees and so does your truck.”
The kids on this mountain have always played this game where we’d race each other to the top of a tree.
It was never short trees. It always had to be the biggest, tallest ones.
On more than one occasion, someone walked away with a concussion.
We should’ve learned our lesson and stopped playing, but we never did.
We just got used to the symptoms of the fall, and it was always a good sign if someone was talking, even if it sounded loopy and a little messed up.
“Oh yeah? You like pine trees?”
“I love pine trees. They’re my favorite kind of tree. Right after apple. I love a big, juicy, tart, little apple tree.” She glances toward me. “Do you like apple trees?” There’s barely a pause for me to answer. “My head hurts. Are we going to the hospital?”
I land my hand on her thigh, though I keep my eyes on the road. “We’re going to the emergency center in town. I’m sorry your head hurts, my baby. We’ll be there as quick as possible.”
“Your hands are big.” She lifts my palm and drops it again on her lap. “I like big hands. Oh wait! You…”
My chest tightens as she glares at me. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before she remembers the secret from earlier. Hell, I hope she remembers so I don’t have to tell it again.
“Me?” I flick on the high beams as we turn on a dark passage of road. “What about me?”
“You and me… we were about to do it.”
I grin wide. “Yeah, we were. I didn’t want to stop touching you.”
“But you had to because my brother came.” Her voice is sounding less and less confused. “And… you told me you stole sixty grand from Blackrock.”
Well, that was fast.
I drag in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “If it’s any consolation, I’ve spent every day since trying to be a better person.”
She rubs her fingertips over her temple. “You’re not a bad person. You had a choice to make, and you did your best with it. Alice needed you, and you protected her. Plus,” she glances out the window then back towards me, “you paid it back. How many people would’ve done that?”
“It was still messed up.”
“Sure, but I wouldn’t tell anyone else. You’re a good guy. You’ve done a lot for Rugged Mountain. A lot for your sister. A lot for me.” She glances into the back seat. “Where’s Wyatt?”
“I took the truck and tore off. I assume he’s stuck at my place. Your car was buried in the back. It’s going to be a few days before we dig it out, I think.”
“That’s okay.” She leans over, stretching the seatbelt as far as it will go as she rests her head on my shoulder. “I was thinking I would stay with you for a while. I love you, Holden. I don’t want to do life without you.”
My heart warms and I squeeze her hand tighter. “I don’t want to do this without you either, sweet girl. You’re my everything.”
“And you’re mine.”
As the light for the emergency station comes into view, I hold on to my girl tighter than ever, hoping this moment is real, hoping it’ll last, hoping it’s not the concussion talking.
It’s a heavy prayer, I know. I’ve done a terrible thing, and truth is, I don’t deserve a sweet girl like Maya, but I’ll do whatever it takes, for however long it takes, to earn her love each and every day.
No matter what life throws in our direction, I’ll be grateful for every bit of it as long as my baby is by my side.