Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 20927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
My heart splinters into a million pieces. Can he hear the sound of my heart cracking open? I shake my head. “Bullshit. I saw the way you looked at me last night. You felt it too. You’re just a coward.”
“A guy will say and do anything to get into your pants.” He laughs and it’s a cruel sound. “Did you really believe it was my first time? Were you naïve enough to believe what I said?”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. I will not cry in front of him. I will not let him see me break down. Our night together was so special. He was so gentle with me and it was all an act. “You were lying about that?”
He finally looks at me. His face is a mask of indifference. “You didn’t think you it meant something, did you? Hell, you write fairytales for a living. You should know better than that.”
“Yeah, I guess I do know better than that now. Thanks for the lesson.” With that, I stalk across the room. My back is ramrod straight and I don’t even let myself look at him as I step around his bulky frame to leave the room.
I know better than to navigate that mountain road at night, so I go to my room and I pack my things. Then I sit in front of the window and wait for the sun to rise. I won’t let myself cry. I won’t give him the satisfaction of hearing my tears through the wall.
As the first ribbons of light begin to break through the darkness, I grab my suitcase. My vacation is over. It’s time to go home.
8
PIPER
“Checking out so soon?” Iris frowns at me. “I thought your reservation was for longer.”
I give her a serene smile and reach for the same calm I do every time a call from a panicked resident comes in. “Turns out I’m needed back home. Police department can’t function without me.”
She hasn’t stopped frowning, but she seems to accept my answer. “I hope everything is all right. We’d love to see you again here.”
My cheeks ache from smiling but I make chit chat with her until the transaction is processed. But it’s not until I’m sitting in the airport that I can breathe. I will myself to hold it together for a few more hours.
The plane ride is the longest one of my life and when I finally touch down back in California I know I’m home. But I don’t feel like I’m home. Because home feels like Gray’s arms around me. Except he doesn’t want me.
The moment I’m at my house, I take a shower and throw my clothes in the wash. I need the smell of this lodge off of me. When I’m done, I send out a text to Zoey and Cleary. I don’t tell them what happened, just that I’m home already.
Within fifteen minutes, they’re on my front porch. They’ve brought ice cream and wine. I must look pretty rough because they wrap their arms around me in a group hug and that’s the moment that the dam finally breaks.
We settle on the couch together and I pour out the whole story. From the start with the black bear all the way to Gray’s sudden change in behavior. “I don’t understand him. I couldn’t have misread it that badly, could I have?”
Before they can answer, there’s a knock on my front door then Brock is barreling in the house. He’s wearing his big brother scowl and I realize that Zoey must have texted him. He takes in my tear-stained face. “Fuck that loser. He doesn’t deserve you. I’m going to call him. What’s his number, Zoey?”
“Don’t do that,” I protest. My heart is bruised but I’m not going to get my brother to bully Gray into saying he likes me. That would be humiliating. More humiliating than the current situation.
“You’re right.” Brock nods decisively. He yanks his phone from his pocket and calls his assistant at the police station. “Marge, I want the first plane ticket out to Asheville and rent me a car at the airport. I’m going to kick ass for my sis—”
I look to Zoey and she stands from the couch. She snatches the phone from Brock. He’s so much bigger than her. He doesn’t have to surrender it to her, but he’s wrapped around her little finger. She only has to give the word and he does whatever she commands.
“Marge,” she says into the phone, “Cancel that. Yeah, everything is fine. I’ll call you back later.”
Brock turns his focus back to me. “What did he do to you?”
I shake my head sadly. “He didn’t do anything. He just…doesn’t feel the same way about me.”
Gray
“You’re moping,” Iris says as she flops down in the chair across from my desk. This is the lodge office where I handle all the official business. Lately though, I don’t handle much. I just stare off into the distance.