As sleep took me, moments with Brody trickled through, like a blanket being tucked around me.I let it hold me.Not because it fixed what had happened, but because, for the first time in a very long time, I had trusted my own voice enough to let it be heard.I had sent it out into the world.And if that was a form of choosing myself, quiet, stubborn as a weed, then I would own that choice.
And maybe if I could trust my choices again, other choices wouldn't seem so scary.
Chapter 42
The big maple was older than any of us, roots sunk deep, bark scarred with time.It stood at the center of my property like it had been waiting for me, waiting for tonight.
We pitched camp beneath its canopy, the fire crackling low, sparks lifting toward the stars.I sat cross-legged on a blanket, letting the sounds of the nearby creek soothe me.I should’ve been exhausted, wrung out from finishing the draft and sending it off, but instead I felt wired, my body alive with something I couldn’t name.
Brody leaned back on his elbows beside me, one boot crossed over the other, firelight licking the edges of his jaw and painting his hazel eyes gold.He looked like he belonged here, like the forest bent itself around him.
“It feels… strange,” I admitted, staring into the flames.“Finishing the draft.It feels like I set something down I’d been carrying forever.But now that it’s gone, I keep reaching for it like I forgot I’m not supposed to hold it anymore.”
He didn’t laugh.He didn’t tell me I was overthinking.He just nodded, slow, thoughtful.“That’s how finishing anything important feels.Like you’ve carved out a piece of yourself and sent it walking into the world.”
I huffed a laugh, tugging my sweater tighter around me.“Yeah.Like a piece of me is out there, naked and unprepared.”
Brody’s mouth curved, just a little.“It’s not naked.It’s your voice.Stronger than you think.”
The words caught somewhere deep inside me.I had to look away, out toward the shadows where the firelight didn’t reach.
“What about you?”I asked quickly.“What’s been taking up your headspace?”
He shrugged, picking up a stick and nudging at the embers.“Orders keep stacking up.Big ones.I’m proud of it, but if it keeps going like this, I’ll need my own shop.I can’t keep running everything out of Dad’s barn forever.”
I smirked before I could stop myself.“You could always build one here.”
The stick stilled in his hand.He looked up slowly, eyes locking with mine.For a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe.
“Here,” he repeated.
Heat climbed my neck.“I mean, if I build a house here, I’ll need furniture.Shelves.A desk.You’d have a permanent customer.Plus… you’d be close.”My voice trailed off.Too raw.Too honest.
What the fuck was I saying?
He set the stick down and sat up, brushing his palms on his jeans.Then he leaned across the small space between us until we were eye-level.
“Cass.”
My chest tightened at the way he said my name, low and steady, like a vow.
He reached out, fingers brushing a strand of hair from my cheek, tucking it behind my ear.His thumb skimmed just under my bottom lip, featherlight, and my whole body went still.My breath stuttered.I closed my eyes, waiting, aching, for his mouth to claim mine...
But it didn’t come.
When I opened them, his grin was soft, dangerous.“I’m not going to kiss you.”
The disappointment must’ve flashed across my face because his grin widened.He leaned in just enough for me to feel the heat of his breath across my lips.“Yet.”
Something trembled inside me, equal parts relief, ache, and frustration.
“Cassidy,” he said, voice thick now, thumb still hovering at my mouth.“I’m not looking for something quick.I think I’ve always known...if this ever happened between us, it would be a forever kind of love.That we would both need to be ready for what that would mean.”
I froze, because forever was dangerous.Forever was what Andrew had promised me, what he had dangled like a glittering prize until it shattered in my hands.My throat tightened, old panic whispering that I wasn’t built to trust forever again.That I wasn't worth that kind of love.But Brody didn’t flinch, didn’t back off.He nodded slightly, as if he saw me; he saw what just ran through my mind.
“So I won’t rush you,” he continued.“I won’t push.Not until you’re ready for me.For us.”
My lips parted, but before I could say anything, he pressed a finger lightly against them, silencing me.
