The hurt was quickly rushed by fury, but before she could get out a rebuttal or publicly declare her love for Conner—which she very nearly did—she caught the gorgeous woman leaning in and whispering something no doubt seductive in Conner’s ear. If he really cared about Sadie, he would’ve been here by now. He would’ve walked away from his ex so no one got confused about any of this.
Sadie bit her tongue and spun on her heel, losing the ability to keep herself in check by the second.
When Haylee jumped up from her chair, she shook her head and sent a silent plea for her to watch Boomer.
Sadie didn’t know where she was going. Only that she needed space to breathe in the most desperate way. Somewhere quiet and private to have her meltdown. This one was going to be ugly. Her walk turned into a jog, then a run, then an all-out sprint. Her feet raced along the pavement that turned to gravel until she reached a deserted end of the park. One that was more thick trees than anything else on the outskirts of town. A remote area few ever came to because there was nothing to see and signs warning to stay away. The farther in the woods she went, the darker it became.
Lungs burning from overexertion, she caught the trunk of a tree with both arms to stop her forward momentum. She pushed her back against the tree and focused on her breathing.
The tears came anyway.
Hot, heavy, uncontrollable ugly tears.
Her heart hurt. If she wasn’t so familiar with these stupid anxiety attacks, she might think she was having a heart attack. But no. It was just her stupid out-of-control emotions and inability to do anything right that brought her to her literal knees.
She wanted to believe that everything wasn’t one giant mess, but things weren’t exactly looking great for that fairytale.
As she swiped at the moisture on her cheeks with the back of her hand, her phone pinged. No doubt Conner wondering where she’d run off to. Or Haylee wanting to know what to do with Boomer. Or any number of people who were expecting answers she didn’t have the bandwidth to give. She yearned to be her old selfish self. To lean into that flight instinct. Get in the car and head north without telling anyone she was leaving. She envied Old Sadie who could just disappear and pretend like no one cared. Old Sadie had it so much easier.
Her phone pinged again, reminding her she’d ignored the text. She considered throwing it into a marshy stream. Who needed phones anyway? But when she caught a glimpse of the text on her screen, her hands began to tremble violently.
Unknown:I’m here, Love Bug.
Sadie searched around the deserted area, gasping at every little movement and noise as her panic shot right up. No way Aaron wasrighthere. Him being in Sunset Ridge was unbelievable enough. But here? At the festival? Or in the dark woods surrounding her? Not a chance.
Unless he saw her running away from everyone.
She hadn’t exactly slipped away without turning heads and causing concerned murmurers. They probably thought she was hiding from the humiliation of the bidding war gone wrong.
If Aaron was in the park . . .
“No,” she muttered. “He can’t be.”
If she just snuck back through town through less-traveled residential streets, she could lock herself in her parents’ basement for a few days. Aaron wouldn’t have the audacity to show up there. No one would welcome him. In fact, Dad might wave a shotgun in his face and even fire a warning shot in the air.
The image allowed Sadie the briefest smile.
It also helped her gather her wits enough to function. She slipped her phone back in her pocket, forced herself through three deep inhales and exhales, and identified a direct path to the residential area. And did her best not to panic at the growing darkness caused by an overcast sky.
If Aaron was idiotic enough to show his face in Sunset Ridge, it was because he was in his unhinged state. A side she was unfortunately too familiar with but had kept secret from everyone she knew. She thought she was protecting him, but really, she’d only endangered herself.
She made it ten steps before she screamed.
Ed marched into her path, as if he were purposely blocking her escape, appearing twice the size as when he backed her up against her parents’ house. She flattened her back against a tree, wishing she had the ability to camouflage herself from him. Was the moose out to get her or what?
“If this is about your moose wife, I already apologized.” But the humor didn’t do much for either of them. Sadie felt her stomach twist in anxious knots as Ed snorted several times, digging his front hoof into the ground.
This was it.
This was how it ended.
Sadie blew everything up, and as punishment, Ed was about to flatten her like a pancake. Or toss her around like a rag doll with those enormous antlers. Neither scenario gave her much hope for survival.
There was nowhere to run.
What irony.
“Thereyou are.” The voice from her past chilled her to the bone. She wanted to believe she was imagining it, set off by the text message and fear of dying. Aaron was clapping as he moved around a tree. “What a performance you put on, Love Bug.”
