I nodded. “That’s where he lives. In the Ozarks. At Coyote Canyon Road, number twelve.”
Jan’s lips tilted up, giving her a devious glow I hadn’t seen since we were in school. “You’re getting kind of invested in this guy.”
“No, he’s just a fantasy. I can build up a reality in my mind that’s not true. I imagine him as the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. A gentle giant carrying a wound in his heart.”
“You always did like that Disney story the best.”
I gave her an eyebrow lift. “Youknowthat Beauty and the Beast didn’t originate with Walt Disney, right?”
It was one of those fairytales spun through time. The first surviving written version of the story was from seventeen-forty, written by a woman with the exotic-sounding name of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in France. And before that, it had been an oral tale spanning the centuries.
Being a librarian, I’d picked up all kinds of lore about the written word.
But that story had captured my heart. I’d always imagined that was what true love looked like. When two souls connected, regardless of differences, their hearts entwined, impossible to separate.
I’d always dreamed of finding my beast. A tall giant of a man, with a depth in his heart that common men wouldn’t have the capability of understanding.
“You’re getting really involved in this Christmas letter, aren’t you, Robin?”
A tiny laugh burst from my lips while I nodded. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
Jan grinned at me. “Why don’t you go find him? Meet him? Have a coffee? Then come home and tell me all about it.”
She was being crazy.
“He lives all the way in Arkansas. And that would benuts.”
“Mm, I don’t know. You could do with an adventure. Get your nose out of your books and go see the country.”
I shrugged a shoulder as Cocoa snuck up and snagged one of the cookies off the tray I’d put out for us. “He’s probably nothing like what I’m imagining. And he said it himself that he just wants to be left alone.”
Jan leaned over and squeezed my hand. “And this is why you’ve never fallen in love. You don’t ever take a risk. Be wild for once in your life. Go into it with no expectations other than having an adventure. You deserve one.”
Could I do that? Should I?
The school library where I worked would be closed for the holidays. I had the time off.
“What about Cocoa?”
“Take her with you. She deserves an adventure, too.”
Chapter 3
Levi
I woke up the same way I did every morning, with a burn of anger deep in my chest.
I got up and headed straight outside, only stopping to put on my boots, an old hat, and a pair of underwear.
It had only taken one time for a wood chip to flick out and hit me in the dick to realize why I shouldn’t chop wood naked. Sometimes clothes had a purpose other than just making us presentable to society. Now I kept the goods protected.
My dog, Comet, followed me outside, whining about the delay in breakfast.
But he knew the routine.
I’d chop wood for a few hours until my arms were burning and my shoulders were on fire. The physical exertion would cover up the pain inside me long enough to help me get through the day. That’s when we’d have breakfast.
I picked up my axe and headed out the door. I chopped wood for everyone on the mountain, splitting it fine so it would fit in even the smallest of woodstoves.
