Chapter 8 Dove
Dove
Valentine's Day - Two months later
Isit in my rental car outside the Darkmore Lodge, engine running, hands shaking on the steering wheel. Through the windshield, I can see the same rustic timber and stone, the same snow-covered grounds. But everything else has changed.
Including me.
I stare at the lodge, thinking about the past two months.
The miserable weeks in Tokyo, watching Mia and Bentley adapt to yet another new country while their parents worked eighteen-hour days.
The sleepless nights in a sterile apartment, dreaming of snow-covered mountains and hazel eyes.
The growing certainty that I was living someone else's life.
The breaking point came three weeks ago. Mrs. Ashford had casually mentioned extending their Tokyo stay indefinitely, maybe making it permanent. "The children are adapting well," she'd said, as if Mia and Bentley were just another business asset to relocate.
That's when I'd found my voice. That's when I'd finally said the words I should have said months ago: "The children need stability. They need to go home. And so do I."
It hadn't been easy. There had been arguments, negotiations, threats about references and future employment. But for the first time in my career, I'd put my own needs first. I'd resigned, helped the Ashfords find a replacement, and booked a flight back to the States.
The teaching job at Mountain View Elementary had been a long shot.
I'd applied from Tokyo on a whim, never expecting them to call.
But they had, apparently, my experience with high-needs children and international families made me an attractive candidate.
The interview had gone well. They'd offered me the position starting after spring break.
I just had one more thing to do first.
The lodge looks busy, even on a Tuesday afternoon. Valentine's couples, probably. I take a deep breath, grab my overnight bag from the backseat, and head for the entrance.
Helen stands behind the reception desk, and her face lights up when she sees me.
"Dove! What a wonderful surprise!" Then her expression grows cautious. "Please tell me you're not here on business for the Ashfords."
"I'm not with the Ashfords anymore," I say, my voice stronger than I feel. "I'm here for me. Is Tannon... is he around?"
Helen's expression grows carefully neutral. "He's here. But honey, I should warn you, he's not been himself since you left. Won't talk about what happened, just throws himself into work like a man possessed."
My heart clenches. "Where would I find him?"
"Probably at the old ski patrol cabin. He's been spending a lot of time there lately, fixing things that don't need fixing."
Of course. Our cabin.
"Helen? Before I go... has he mentioned me at all?"
Helen hesitates, then reaches under the counter and pulls out a worn piece of paper. "Jake found this in his truck last week. Fell out of his wallet."
I unfold it, my breath catching. It's a job listing for Mountain View Elementary School. The position I just accepted. The listing is worn soft from handling, with notes scribbled in the margins.
"He's been carrying this around?" I whisper.
"For weeks, according to Jake. Been researching schools near here, looking into teaching programs." Helen's eyes are kind. "That man's been planning a way to follow you, honey. He's just too stubborn to admit it."
Hope blooms in my chest, warm and terrifying. "Thank you."
The drive to the cabin feels like the longest of my life. What if he doesn't want to see me? What if too much time has passed? What if I've misunderstood everything?
But then the cabin comes into view. It’s small and perfect, smoke curling from the chimney, warm light glowing from the windows. Tannon's truck sits in the same spot where he parked it that magical Christmas Eve.
I sit in my car for a moment, gathering courage, then force myself to walk to the door. My knock echoes in the quiet evening air.
Footsteps approach, pause. The door opens slowly.
Tannon stands there, and my heart breaks at the sight of him. He's thinner, shadows under his eyes, beard slightly unkempt. He looks like a man who hasn't been sleeping well.
"Dove." He speaks like he doesn’t believe his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to ask you a question," I say, my voice shaking but determined. "And to tell you something."
He steps aside to let me in, and I'm immediately flooded with memories. The smell of wood smoke, the handmade furniture, the braided rug where we fell in love.
"What did you come to ask me?" he says quietly.
I turn to face him, this man who holds my heart even though he let me walk away. "I came to ask why you didn't fight for me."
He flinches like I've hit him. "Dove."
"You told me you loved me. You made love to me like I was the most important thing in the world. Then you watched me get in that car and didn't say a word to stop me."
"You had a job. A career. Those kids needed you."
"Those kids have their parents now. Their parents who finally learned how to be present because I threatened to quit if they didn't." I step closer. "I didn't need that job, Tannon. I needed you. And you let me go."
"I thought it was best for us."
"For who?" My voice breaks. "Because these past two months have been hell. I've been sleepwalking through someone else's life, dreaming about a cabin in the mountains and a man who was too scared to fight for what we had."
He runs his hands through his hair, pain etched across his features. "I was terrified of holding you back. Of being selfish. You could have anyone, Dove. Someone with education, with prospects. Someone who could give you the life you deserve."
"The life I deserve?" I shake my head. "You want to know what I deserve? I deserve someone who thinks I'm worth fighting for. Someone who doesn't make decisions about my life without asking what I want."
"What do you want?" he asks quietly.
I reach into my purse and pull out a folded contract. "I want to show you this first."
He takes it, his eyes scanning the letterhead. "Mountain View Elementary School?"
"I got the job. Second grade, starting after spring break." I watch his face carefully. "It's only two hours from here."
Hope flickers in his eyes, quickly suppressed. "That's... that's great, Dove. You'll be an amazing teacher."
"I will be. But I didn't take the job just for me.
" I step closer. "I took it because I'm still in love with you, Tannon McKenzie.
Because I've tried for two months to forget what we had, and I can't. Because some things are worth fighting for, even if you're too scared to fight for them yourself.
" I pull the job listing Helen gave me from my pocket, holding it up.
"Helen showed me this. You've been carrying it around for weeks.
Researching schools, making plans. Were you ever going to tell me?
Or were you just going to show up and hope I'd take you back? "
He stares at the worn paper, his face flushing. "I didn't know if you'd want to see me. After the way I handled things..."
"You handled things like an idiot," I say bluntly. "But that doesn't mean I stopped loving you."
"I love you too," he says, his voice rough with emotion. "God, Dove, I've missed you so much. I've been dying without you."
"Then why didn't you call? Why didn't you write? Why didn't you fight for us?"
"Because I'm a coward." The admission seems to cost him everything. "Because I'd rather lose you to my own fear than risk having you leave me later. Because I'm broken, and you deserve better."
"Stop." I reach up, framing his face with my hands. "Stop deciding what I deserve. Stop making my choices for me. I'm a grown woman, and I choose you. I choose us. Broken pieces and all."
He sucks in a breath, listening.
"I came here to tell you something else.
I love you. Not just Christmas magic love or situation love.
Real, deep, change-your-whole-life love.
The kind that makes you quit a good job and move across the country on the chance that maybe, just maybe, the man you love will be brave enough to love you back. "
His hands come up to cover mine, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "I do love you back. I love you so much it terrifies me."
"Good," I whisper. "Love should terrify you. It should make you want to be braver than you've ever been."
"I want to be brave for you," he says. "I want to be the man you deserve."
"You already are. You just have to believe it."
When he kisses me, it tastes like coming home and starting over all at once. Like second chances and forever promises. Like the future we almost threw away because we were both too scared to fight for it.
"Marry me," he says against my lips, the words surprising us both.
"What?"
"Marry me. I know we still have things to figure out, but I can't lose you again. I won't make that mistake twice."
I laugh, tears streaming down my face. "You don't even have a ring."
"I do, actually." He pulls away, reaching into his pocket to extract a small velvet box. "I bought it three weeks ago. Been carrying it around like an idiot, hoping maybe someday I'd be brave enough to find you." He opens the box to reveal a simple, perfect solitaire. "It's not fancy."
"It's perfect," I breathe. "But you should probably actually ask the question properly."
He drops to one knee right there in the middle of our cabin, holding the ring up with hands that shake slightly.
"Dove Williams, will you marry me? Will you build a life with me here in these mountains?
Will you let me spend the rest of my life making up for being too scared to fight for you the first time? "
"Yes," I whisper, then louder: "Yes, yes, yes."
He slides the ring onto my finger with reverent care, and it fits perfectly. Like it was made for me. Like I was made for this moment, this man, this life.