“Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. I still have a bunch of work to get done and locations to film!” She leans her head back against the headrest while tears fill her eyes.
“Relax.” I reach over and give her thigh a gentle squeeze as I turn onto Snowberry Lane toward her parents’ house. “You can take my truck.”
“I can’t drive your truck!”
“You could always call Joe McGillicuddy. I’m sure he’d taxi you around town,” I tell her, jokingly.
“You are not funny. I think you’ve spent too much time with me. Each idea out of your mouth is worse than the last.”
nine
. . .
Tessa
I usedto think goodbyes were clean. You pack your bags, you shut the door, you leave.
Moving from Mistletoe Bay to New York City for college and then my job? No big deal.
Turns out, the hardest departures happen when you don’t actually want to go.
The documentary team’s waiting for me in the city for a mid-project check-in, and I need to be on the road within the hour if I’m going to make the late evening production meeting. But instead of packing, I’m standing in Nathan’s kitchen, barefoot, wearing one of his old sweatshirts that smells like him.
He leans against the counter in his uniform pants and a black Henley, arms folded, that unreadable expression back on his face. “You sure you don’t want to just borrow my truck?”
My car? Turns out it was totaled. Whoops. I’ve been using my mom’s car to get around for the last week while I do some car shopping online between work and spending time with Nathan— under the radar, of course.
We’ve actually avoided telling anyone about us …yet. Enjoying being in our little bubble … and the sneaking around part, too. Turns out Nathan has a little mischief inside of him after all. Though I do think my parents are starting to get suspicious. I shake my head. “The rental will be fine, Chief.”
His jaw ticks. “That tiny little car won’t handle well in bad weather.”
He’s been quiet all morning, the kind that indicates there’s more behind the silence than words can fix. I know he’s trying to be practical—Chief Hale, always in control—but I can see it in his eyes. The doubt. The what-ifs.
I reach for my camera bag. “It’s just a few days, Nathan. And there are no pending snow storms that I’m aware of.”
“Just a few days,” he echoes, the words coming out rough.
When I cross the space between us, his hand catches mine. Warm, calloused, steady. “You’ll come back.”
It’s not a question, but it feels like one.
I nod. “You can count on it.”
“Never thought I’d say this,” he whispers, holding me close. “But I’m going to miss the hell out of you, Pope.”
“I’m going to miss you too, Chief. What am I going to do without you bossing me around and keeping me out of trouble?”
Nathan chuckles gruffly. “I’m sure they’ve already sent out a BOLO in the big city.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not on a first name basis with the chief of police in New York.”
“Not sure that’s as comforting as you think,” he replies before kissing me on the forehead.
“Okay, big guy. The sooner I get on the road, the sooner I can get back here.”
He leans down and kisses my lips, making my toes curl and my heart flutter. “Love you.”
“I love you, too.” I kiss him back, hands fisted in his shirt and wishing I didn’t have to let go.
