Why did she have to be so…everything?
I’ve spent years missing you. The pain’s just become a part of me.
Her words killed him. But wasn’t that the same for him? And wasn’t that a huge reason he was home?
With gritted teeth, he forced himself to step around the coffee table and into the first room off the hall. Her bedroom. Hedidn’t need her confirmation to know. The pale pink sheets gave her away.
He crossed the space between the door and her bed and laid her down. She wore yoga pants and a T-shirt, which would be comfortable enough to sleep in. He’d just pulled the sheet and blanket over her when five whispered words released from her lips.
“Jace…don’t leave me again.”
Her words gutted him. Tore the insides right out of his stomach.
Unable to stop himself, he lowered his head and touched a light kiss to her temple. “I already left you once, and it was the hardest thing I ever did. I don’t have the strength to do it again.”
Another sweet moan from her, and she snuggled into her bedding. For a second, he felt rooted to the spot. Unable to leave her. Unable to shift closer. He was just…stuck.
Without thinking, he reached under his shirt and traced the tattoo. Traced her handwriting. Her words. He didn’t need to look at it to know exactly where every letter sat; he’d looked at it every day for the last ten years, since he’d had it inked onto his skin.
A few more minutes passed, and he finally forced himself to turn toward the door and walk out of the room. He grabbed his phone before stepping into the hallway. He waited until he was halfway down the hall to call Cody.
Even though he was sure his brother was asleep, Cody answered on the second ring. “Jace? You okay?”
“Yeah, can you come get me and drive me home?” Even if Cody didn’t have his keys, there was no way he’d drive himself when there was a chance the alcohol was still in his system. He didn’t do reckless shit like that.
“Of course. You still at Elle’s apartment building?”
“Yeah, but I’ll walk back to the bar. See you in ten.” He hung up before his brother could respond, because he knew Cody would offer to pick him up from Elle’s. He didn’t want that. He needed the ten minutes of fresh air to get his head on straight.
He’d told himself he’d come back to Misty Peak because this was home. But every day that passed made that glaring lie more obvious. He’d come back forher. Only her. And now he needed to figure out what he was going to do about it.
CHAPTER 7
“Jace, sweetie, this is gorgeous. And just what the visitors center needed.”
Jace smiled at Ali Stapler. She was a local who owned rental cabins here in town. “Thanks, Ali. It’s been great so far.”
“And you,” she said, touching his arm, “are the perfect person to work the skywalk. Charming. Friendly. You’ll draw in the tourists.”
“I think the mountains do that all on their own.”
He glanced back at the rest of his group. There were five other people. A mother and father, their young son, an older man, and the redhead he’d met a couple weeks ago who’d asked him about the skywalk. The woman had said she was from out of town, so he’d assumed she’d have left already. Had Misty Peak drawn her in and gotten her to extend her trip like it did so many others?
Ali leaned closer. “She’s pretty.”
Jace frowned, turning back to the path in front of them. “What?”
“Her name’s Stephanie and she’s on vacation from Charlotte. Nursing student. Loves dogs.”
“You got all that from one conversation?”
Ali lifted a shoulder. “Must be my Southern charm.”
Yeah, it probably was.
They stepped off the end of the skywalk and he turned to face his group as they came to a stop. “That brings us to the end of this tour. Thank you for coming. There’s a café off the deck that serves great coffee if anyone wants to head there next. And if anyone’s interested in booking a rappelling session, stop into the visitors center and Nikita can help you with that. Any questions?”
The boy lifted his hand.
