Before I can even turn to Sam, another reply pings into my inbox.
Char, Where are you again? Did that lead pan out?
-F
Seriously? I exhale slowly and type.
Frederick,
It did not.
Best,
Charlotte
P.S. My name’s notChar, nor has it ever been. That should have been my first sign that this job wasn’t right for me.
Send.
The weight that’s been dragging at my shoulders loosens. I turn in the chair, looking at Sam.
He hasn’t said a word, just stands there, watching me with that same steady expression he always seems to wear, like he knows I’ve got this but he’s here just in case I don’t.
His eyes search mine. “You good?”
I nod. For real this time. “Yeah. I am.”
Then I stand and slide my hand into his.
“Let’s go home.”
19
We meet Liam and Phern back at Knot and Spur, the sun now high enough to make the town shimmer with that post-snow glare. Everything’s wet, slushy, but warming like the world itself is thawing out right along with me.
Phern hoists our bags like its nothing, tossing them into the back of the truck with the kind of efficiency that only comes from being raised on a ranch. I glance at Sam, and he just shrugs with a grin.
“Don’t try to stop her. She gets violent when you offer to help.”
We pile into the truck, and this time I slide in first. Sam follows; thigh pressed against mine. It’s casual. Natural. The kind of closeness I never thought I’d feel with anyone again. Not after Kurt.
Liam starts the engine, glancing at us in the rearview. “People should be out to work on the bridge by Wednesday. Weather’s gonna be perfect for it.”
“That soon?” I blink. “It amazes me. First the flood, then the snow, and now you’re saying it’ll all melt in a few days?”
“That’s Wyoming for you,” he says with a knowing grin. “We like to keep people on their toes.”
“Oklahoma was the same,” I say, watching the fields pass by outside the window. “Ice storm one day, tornado sirens the next.”
Phern twists in her seat to glance back at me. “Guess you’ll fit right in then.”
It’s a simple statement. Not warm, not cold. But there’s something in her voice, like maybe the walls are lowering just a little.
Sam’s hand slides into mine again. I squeeze his hand, and we ride in companionable silence as the town disappears behind us and the mountains loom once more, steady and unchanging.
Home.
Liam drops us off at the bridge, the tires crunching over gravel and slush.
