Chapter 16 #2
She didn’t let him finish. Didn’t give herself time to overthink. Instead, she reached up, clutched fistfuls of his jacket, and tugged him closer. Then she brushed her lips across his, tentative at first. The smell of his cologne enveloped her. Spicy. Outdoorsy. Familiar.
He pressed his hands into the small of her back and pulled her closer. Then he kissed her back. It wasn’t wild or desperate. His touch was full of memories. And maybe a little bit of everything they’d both been too afraid to say.
She let her hands roam up the base of his neck and tunneled her fingers through his hair. Then he wrapped his arms around her as if he’d been waiting almost twenty years to hold her again.
Everything else fell away.
There under the stars, she finally stopped running from Redemption. From her past, and from him. He deepened the kiss, and she got lost in the warmth of his touch. For the first time in a very long time, she felt seen and known. Cherished.
Yeah, okay. It wasn’t so bad being a loser. Not when it led her right here.
Right back to him.
He couldn’t stop replaying that kiss.
Sunlight streamed in through the kitchen window, golden and warm—a welcome reprieve from the cold front that had just blown through. Maybe spring wasn’t that far away after all.
Luke stretched his arms over his head, the click in his shoulder a reminder that he wasn’t a young guy anymore. After the Easter egg hunt yesterday, he’d helped a buddy hang drywall in his house. Today his body protested.
Not that he cared. Not today. Not after that kiss.
Emma.
He smiled, then poured coffee into his mug and headed for the resort’s front door.
People were beginning to stir. A young couple in cabin three had already pulled their snowshoes from the back of their SUV and were heading for the trails, laughing.
A family, dressed in their Easter finest, stood by the massive evergreen in the front yard, posing for pictures.
And the ruined cabin—the one that had gone up in flames weeks ago—was partially rebuilt.
Tate must have figured out how to get things up to code because the framing was finished and new roofing materials sat in a neat stack off to the side.
The local crew, friends or friends of friends, had agreed to work this week, and maybe they’d get the thing ready to rent by May.
But none of that good news compared to what had happened last night.
He stood at the porch railing and sipped his coffee, savoring each detail. The whisper of her lips against his. The way she’d raced toward him. The faint vanilla scent in her hair. Her fingers skimming his shoulders and then twining behind his neck.
His pulse sped.
He hadn’t expected it—not really. Sure, they’d been sort of circling around each other during dinner. The banter. The flirting. The lengthy looks. But there’d been a hesitancy in her eyes, and he hadn’t wanted to push her.
He hadn’t felt like this in years. Not since before she left. Not since before his dad’s injury and life got hard. But last night, with Emma in his arms—even for a few minutes—he’d felt weightless.
Not because all of his problems were solved. Far from it, really. His family was still going to struggle to make ends meet until the summer season came.
But somehow, today, he didn’t feel like that was his burden to carry alone.
Birds flew overhead, and water dripped from a partially melted icicle still clinging to the roofline. He checked his watch. He still had a little bit of time before he needed to get ready for church.
Emma would be there. Hopefully.
He could picture her now, wearing something sweet and floral and understated, sitting in a pew in the sanctuary.
He couldn’t wait to see her.
Not just because of the kiss.
Well—mostly because of the kiss.
He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. He was acting like a teenager. Distracted. Downright useless, really. But he’d take it, because he deserved a little joy.
They both did.
Still, he wasn’t going to rush this. She’d been through a lot. He respected that. But she wouldn’t have kissed him like that if she wasn’t ready to move forward. And when she’d pulled back, she hadn’t looked scared.
She’d looked hopeful.
Grinning, he took a sip of his coffee and savored the taste of the rich warm liquid.
The door creaked open behind him. He turned. Megan stood in the doorway, her face blotchy as if she’d been crying. Her dark hair was twisted into a messy bun, and she wore a gray hoodie with a coffee stain down the front and jeans with two giant holes in the knees.
“What are you doing back in town?” He set his mug on the porch railing, then gave her a hug. “I thought you were in Fairbanks.”
“I drove in late last night,” she said, her voice muffled against his sweater. When she pulled back, her face crumpled. She covered her mouth with her hand, and her whole body trembled.
“Hey, hey,” he said gently. “What’s wrong, Meg?”
“He broke up with me,” she sobbed. “Says he met someone else and he’s moving in with her in her apartment in Germany.”
The words tumbled out in a rush. Luke’s stomach clenched. “Oh no.”
Poor thing. He pulled her in for another hug. She clung to him, clamping her hands onto his arms. He rested his chin on the top of her head.
“Is this the guy with the dogs? The one who’s deployed?”
She nodded, her shoulders still shaking.
He winced. “Yeah…I didn’t like him very much.”
Another sob wracked her. “Not helping.”
“Okay, okay. You’re right. I’m sorry.” He patted her back. “It’s…it’s going to be all right.”
Except it wasn’t. Not really. She had the worst taste in guys, and every time they broke her heart, she came crawling home. Distraught.
“I feel so stupid,” she choked out.
“No.” He pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. “You are not stupid. He’s the idiot. You hear me? You deserve so much better.”
Drawing in a ragged breath, Megan swiped at her tears with the cuff of her sweatshirt. “I just…I couldn’t stay there, you know? I had to come home.”
“Of course,” he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “You’re always welcome here. You know that.”
She gave him a watery smile. “Thanks. But Mom and Dad are going to have a cow.”
“Yeah, probably.”
She leaned against him again, her sobs quieting.
Then she pulled back, sniffling, and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
“You’re gonna think I’m bonkers for saying this.”
“Uh-oh. What now?”
She hesitated, then looked past him, out toward the snow-dusted yard and the half-rebuilt cabin.
“I stopped for gas in Glennallen on the way home. I also needed some coffee and to use the restroom. Anyway, I saw a guy I used to know.”
“Meg.” He fixed her with a warning glance. “I’m not sure now’s the best time to—”
“Let me finish. He was standing by the register to pay, and I only saw him for a few seconds, but he reminded me of Trevor.”
His scalp prickled. “Trevor? As in Trevor Kelly? The missing pilot from the plane crash?”
“I know. It’s wild. But the way he carried himself. Something about him…very much reminded me of the Kelly brothers. And I can’t shake it. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
A gust of wind picked up, blowing snow from a nearby tree branch.
Luke gripped the porch railing, then reached for his coffee cup and plucked it from its perch.
“I didn’t get a chance to speak to him,” she said. “When I came out of the restroom, he was gone. But I thought about him all the way here. Now I’m telling you. What if that was him? Or what if somebody out there knows what happened to Trevor and nobody’s ever said anything? Can you imagine?”
“Typically it’s Ethan that’s obsessed with finding these answers. I didn’t expect you to hop on board too.” He checked the time on his phone. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe mention it to Ethan later? Are you coming to church?”
She shook her head.
“All right.” He leaned in and kissed the top of her forehead. “The plot thickens, huh?”
His thoughts turned back to Emma. Church started in thirty minutes, and he wanted to catch up with her. Sit beside her. Make sure she was coming to brunch at the café afterward.
Megan’s words stuck with him as he went to finish getting ready for church.
Glennallen. Less than two hundred miles from here. Could Trevor really be alive?