8. Chapter 8
eight
J ulian turned when he heard a voice. He walked back around the parked car, calling out, “Hi, there!”
When the poor woman yelped in terror and just about threw her phone, he skidded to a halt.
“Oh, shit, sorry!” He raised his hands up. “Sorry. I scared ya, didn’t I? Didn’t mean to.”
She splayed her hand over her heart. “Oh! Yeah, I wasn’t expecting anybody, then nobody was out here.
” Her expression went from one of relief before she eyed him, picked up her phone, and took a step into the threshold.
The door closed up around her so she had just enough room to stick her head out.
“I gave up. Was goin’ back to my cabin.” He pointed across the sparsely-treed stretch of land that was in the center of the half-mile long driveway loop that connected all the cabins.
He’d met the daughter of the couple who owned this cabin, but this wasn’t her…
No… Then it dawned on him. “You bought wood from me yesterday.”
She raised her dark eyebrows so high they disappeared into her platinum blonde bangs. Recognition flashed in her eyes. “Yeah!”
“Right on.”
She made a gesture with her hand to the cabin. “My friends are letting me stay here. ”
“Right on. Well, nice to meetcha... er...” Did she give me her name? Did I completely forget it?
“It’s Annie,” she offered, nodding. As if reading his mind, she added, “I never got the chance to tell you my name. And of course I know yours: Julian.”
He smiled, pleasantly surprised that she remembered. “Nice to meetcha, Annie. Again.” He tucked his hands into his pockets.
She put something down inside the doorway and tapped on her phone for a second. With the light from the inside of the cabin framing the soft curves of her body, she leaned against the doorframe.
Her face was pretty and reminded him of Maisie Williams, especially her eyes and lips.
When they’d met in town, he guessed she wasn’t a natural blonde.
He wondered then how she’d look look with her real hair color.
Her mouth turned up at the corners in an easy, friendly smile that made him feel seen.
You’re staring. Say something!
“Well, er, I was coming over to see if anyone needed some extra firewood. Nobody’s been here for months.” He’d noticed the dwindling woodpile several times on his drives home. “Any interest? And of course, no pressure.” Crap… now I just feel like some door-to-door salesman…
“Molly–”
Ah, yes, that name’s familiar…
“—actually asked me to go talk to one of the neighbors about their stockpile.” Annie tilted her head to the side. “Said your cabin would be the obvious choice? Which one is yours again?”
He pointed. “She’s not wrong. It’s the one with the Kubota, mill, and splitter.”
“So it’s safe to say you chopped all this stuff, too, then. ”
“Yup. I think Mr. Reed was having some back trouble, right? Didn’t want to do it himself last year.”
Annie let out a wry laugh. “Or maybe Vanessa didn’t want him squished under a tree? Tom’s never had a back ache in his life.”
“But it’s okay if I get squished.”
Annie’s eyes widened. “Well, of course not! You don't go to the Prometheus School of Running Away from Things. And I’m sure your family would be just as worried if you were a pancake, too.”
Julian’s smile faltered. He nodded at her cabin and pulled his hands from his pockets. “Well, holler when you’re ready. I’ll leave ya be.” His eyes went up to the cabin roof before he pivoted on the heel of his steel-toed boot. He waved goodbye. “Nice to meetcha.”
“Oh, um, nice to meetchu, too!”
No sense in lingering and spooking her further, although he got the sense that his company wasn’t minded too much. Pausing, he pointed again at his cabin, and immediately felt silly for doing so. “I’m over there if you need anything. Other than wood.”
"Thank you," she called back. "Have a good night."
"Good night."
Another thought popped into his head. He spun on his heel again and snapped his fingers. "Oh! Thanks for the tip about the pie. Ellie had a couple pieces left. I grabbed ‘em quick after you left. Ate both on the way home. Couldn’t help myself."
Annie grinned and nodded. "Hey! I'm glad!"
He gave her a little awkward wave before he walked back to his cabin, hoping she didn't think he was some creepy mountain stalker.
He knew some women read steamy books about being kidnapped or saved by lone woodsmen, but this was reality.
And if she was skittish, he didn't want to be a threat. He’d already given her a fright.
He hadn't expected to see Annie again. When he stood on the deck of his cabin, he looked across the mini meadow.
I'll be sure to keep an ear open in case there's any funny business on the mountain, he thought uneasily. An unexpected, unwarranted sense of worry settled in his stomach, despite knowing she wouldn’t have come up alone unless she felt somewhat comfortable.
He of all people knew how getting away from it all was the best cure from the chaos and hurt of the world.
He went inside and made himself a snack of cheese and crackers to eat at his laptop. Before going to Annie’s, he'd been searching the local ads for used skis, just to keep himself occupied during the next winter. When he refreshed the page he was in luck.
A pair was available right in town. They were bright orange with black accents.
He smiled. He liked going for walks, but walking in thigh-deep snow wasn't his cup of tea. If he could spend more time outside, tiring his body out, giving his mind time to drain itself, too, that was a win in his book. He DM’d the ad poster.
At half-past midnight, he shut out the lights. Glancing at the window again, he couldn’t help but glance across the way. Annie’s cabin was dark as well.
Annie smiled as the darkness consumed Julian.
Even in my wildest fantasy, I can’t picture Chris chopping down a whole ass tree.
He couldn’t even be bothered to decorate for Christmas.
She locked up for the night. As she warmed her hands and thighs by the fireplace, more thoughts of Chris and the ruins of their relationship intruded on her mind.
When they’d come up to the cabin the previous summer, Chris had complained about how itchy he was, and had spent the whole trip watching sports. Sure, they’d cuddled on the couch, but all she’d wanted to do was walk hand in hand through the trees or visit the nearby lake.
Annie climbed into the cozy but cramped twin bed in Molly’s childhood room.
Restless, she read emails to distract herself from the ache in her chest. Then she moved on to social media.
The faded unicorn flannel blankets were soft as she hugged them, but they couldn’t chase away the deflation and grinding loneliness.
Her fingers trembled as she scrolled through Chris’s main social media profile. She was torn— wanting to forget the awful but still clinging to the good. Which… she did find once she dug far enough.
Each recent picture and status update felt like a jab to her chest. His profile said they were dating. He just hadn’t mentioned her in six months. No photos together. She’d even tagged him a few times, but he’d neglected to approve them for his own feed. He’d approved posts by his friends, though.
Had she really sleepwalked for this long? Through a time of her life that now felt like it had gone by in the blink of an eye? Three years together wasn’t insignificant; but holding on only prolonged her suffering.
With a heavy sigh, Annie mustered the courage to scroll to her own profile. Her finger hovered over the “edit relationship” button.
Would removing Chris make her feelings more clear? Or would this only infuriate him more? She hated hurting him, but …
It has to be done. Just do it. Focus on yourself. Move forward. Don’t let Chris consume you. You’ve already let him take more than you should have. She couldn’t dwell on what Chris might think or feel. God knew he wasn’t doing the same for her.
After changing her status to single, she placed her phone on the nightstand, cocooned herself up in her blankets, and finally fell asleep.