Jamie didn’t answer right away. He didn’t trust kindness. Not anymore. But he also didn’t want to sleep on a snowbank.
“Thanks,” he said finally, “I appreciate it.”
“You’ll like the cabin. It’s got a fireplace and a killer view.”
“So, does this cabin belong to you?” He worried other people would be there. The very idea of someone else staying at his cabin was more than he could bear.
“No. I rented it for the week, but I’ve been to this particular cabin before, years ago.”
They pulled up to the cabin tucked between tall pines just as the sky turned a soft lavender. Spencer helped Jamie out of the truck, his hand warm on Jamie’s.
Inside, the cabin smelled like cedar and cinnamon. Spencer moved with easy confidence, tossing logs into the fireplace and striking a match. Flames crackled to life.
“Wait here and I’ll get my suitcase and give you something dry to wear.” Spencer left him alone and returned with a large suitcase and a guitar. He put the guitar on another chair, then threw the suitcase on the coffee table, and went through it. He lifted a pair of sweats and handed them to him.
“Put these on.” Spencer pointed to the bathroom. “Hang your wet clothes on the shower rod.”
“Thanks.”
Jamie quickly changed into the soft, oversized sweats. He had to roll up his pants and shirt because they were too long, then he hung up his wet clothes. When he came out, Spencer handed him a pair of thick socks.
“Do you like hot chocolate?” Spencer asked, already heading to the kitchen.
Jamie nodded, sinking onto the couch. His body felt heavy, like it had gotten permission to stop pretending everything was fine. The thick, warm socks went on his feet, instantly making them feel cozy and warmer.
Spencer returned with a steaming mug and handed it over. “Extra marshmallows. Hope that’s okay.”
Jamie took it, fingers curling around the warmth. “Perfect.”
Spencer draped a thick comforter from the recliner over him, tucking it around him like he’d done it a hundred times before. He removed his heavy jacket at last and hung it on a wooden hook.
Then he sat across from him, not too close, just enough to be there.
Jamie let the silence settle. For the first time in hours, he didn’t feel like he was about to break. Spencer didn’t ask more questions. He just let Jamie be.
Jamie sat curled under the comforter, the mug of hot chocolate cooling in his hands, untouched. The fire crackled softly, casting flickering shadows across the cabin walls, but none of it reached the storm inside him. Spencer’s kindness and his quiet, steady presence were too much. It made everything real. Daddy Tom had really left him. In the middle of a winter storm, he had no coat, no wallet, and a dead phone. Just a hoodie and a broken heart.
Why? Why would Daddy Tom do that?
Jamie’s vision blurred as the first tears escaped his eyes. His chest tightened, breath hitching. He didn’t even realize Spencer had moved until he felt the couch shift and a warm arm wrapped around his shoulders.
“Hey,” Spencer said. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
Jamie shook his head, unable to form words. His throat felt like it had closed. He didn’t want to say it out loud. Didn’t want to admit how stupid he’d been, how much he’d trusted someone who clearly didn’t care.
Spencer took the mug from him and put it aside, pulled Jamie closer, guiding him into his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. Jamie didn’t resist. He couldn’t. He folded into Spencer’s chest, sobbing quietly, the comforter slipping off as Spencer held him.
“You’re safe now,” Spencer murmured, rocking him gently. “No one’s gonna hurt you here. Not while you’re with me.”
Jamie clung to him, fingers gripping the front of Spencer’s flannel shirt like it was the only solid thing left in his world. Thewords, simple as they were, hit something deep. Safe. He hadn’t felt that in a long time.
Spencer’s hand crawled up and down his back, soothing. “Whatever happened, you didn’t deserve any of this.”
Jamie cried harder. He wanted to believe it. Wanted to believe he wasn’t just some disposable thing Daddy Tom could toss aside when he got bored. But the ache in his chest said otherwise.
“Those guys dumped me… in the middle of nowhere… with nothing on me.”
“I didn’t know Big Bear had thugs running the streets during a snowstorm,” Spencer said.
