By the time I made it up the mountain to Kingston’s cabin, the sky was turning lavender-gray. The snow had been plowed from the road but clung to the shoulder and trees like it wasn’t ready to give up its hold yet. I wasn’t ready either.
I parked and sat for a minute, the engine ticking, my hands clutching the steering wheel tight. Every instinct screamed at me to turn back. To avoid the look I knew he’d give me. The one that said he hoped. The one that might break me.
But I didn’t come here to hope. I came to end whatever this was before we both got in too deep. The porch light flicked on before I even knocked.
He opened the door a second later, his frame filling the space like he’d been waiting there the whole time.
“Hey,” he said, his voice cautious.
“Hey.”
He stepped back, and I walked inside. The heat wrapped around me immediately, and with it, the scent of cedar, spice, and something achingly familiar… him.
I didn’t take off my coat. Just turned to face him in the entryway. “I heard what’s going on,” I said. “About the parents and the petition.”
His jaw tightened. “Yeah. Kacen called. I want you to know,” he said, his voice low, “I didn’t ask Ruby to out me. I didn’t want this to touch you.”
“But it is touching me,” I snapped before I could stop myself. “I’m the one fielding whispers in the staff lounge. I’m the one being looked at sideways. My students’ parents are calling the school asking if I’m fit to teach because of who I’m dating.”
His head jerked like I’d slapped him.
“I’m not even sure we are dating,” I added, quieter.
He ran his hand over his jaw and looked past me. “I see.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” I pulled my coat tighter. “I spent years trying to rebuild my life after you left me. I tried to heal my broken heart by throwing myself into after-school tutoring sessions and PTA bake sales. I tried to forget you.”
“I never asked you to forget me,” he said, his voice raw.
“No, but you made sure I had no choice but to try.”
Silence stretched thick between us.
“I thought we were starting something again,” he finally said. “You were here. We—hell, Scarlett, we made love.”
“Don’t,” I said, my voice catching. “Don’t say it like that.”
“But it’s true.”
“And what does that mean, exactly?” I asked, stepping closer. “Does it mean I go to work and take the heat while you stay uphere on your mountain, safe and silent? Does it mean I pretend not to care when people say my judgment is clouded? That I shouldn’t be trusted with their children because the man I’m sleeping with went to prison?”
He winced like my words caused him physical pain. “I never wanted it to be like this.”
“But it is,” I whispered. “It’s not your fault. But it’s mine if I let this go further knowing how much it could cost me.”
He turned away, his shoulders tense. “So this is goodbye?”
Why did that word feel like it was slicing into my chest?
“No,” I said, barely able to breathe. “I need time. I need space to think. To figure out if I can be the woman who loves you out loud.”
He turned back slowly, his eyes dark with emotion. “I won’t push you,” he said. “But I need you to know I’m not running. Not again. If you come back… I’ll still be here.”
I nodded, my throat burning too much to speak.
He reached for my hand, his fingers brushing mine like a promise. Then he let go.
I stepped outside and forced myself not to look back.
