“I’ll give you a hand,” he forced himself to say before taking a sip of his own coffee. “And then I’ll help you carry it all up to your truck. Plus, we need to make sure your truck even starts. It’s been a few days, and you've already had issues.”
“Damn, I forgot about that,” she murmured.
“It won’t be a problem. We have plenty of people here, and I’m sure there won’t be a shortage of jumper cables.”
Her brows furrowed, but she didn’t say anything.
Axel walked around and began slowly gathering her belongings. He didn’t want it to look like he was too eager to get rid of her, but…now he was. It was crazy how it was hitting him—how he hated feeling vulnerable. It was like he was suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of PTSD thanks to his shitty childhood, and he wanted to hate her for making her feel this way.
In a matter of minutes, he had everything by the door and ready to go. “Give me five minutes to get dressed, and we’ll head out,” he said before walking into his bedroom and shutting the door.
Which was really a dumb thing to do considering how much of their time together had been spent naked.
Still, he stripped off his jeans so he could actually put on underwear.
No need to be walking around all commando…
Underwear, jeans, socks, T-shirt, sweatshirt, and boots…raking his hands through his hair, he decided he didn’t give a fuck about how it looked. Stepping out of the bedroom, he went and quickly brushed his teeth. When he walked out, he spotted Maisie out on the porch and dreaded having to go out there and say goodbye.
“I should be used to this shit by now,” he murmured before letting out a long breath. Grabbing his sunglasses, he grabbed all of her bags and stepped out onto the porch. “You ready?”
Her eyes went wide when she turned to face him. “I can take some of that.”
But Axel was already shaking his head. “I’ve got it. Come on, let’s make sure your truck’s gonna start.”
“Don’t worry,” she said with just a hint of heat. “I’ll take care of it if it doesn’t.”
“Maisie…”
“No,” she snapped. “I get it. You want me gone. You’re pissed at me and you want me gone. Well, I’m working on it. And if the truck won’t start, I’ll call the mechanic in town or see if one of the workers can help me out. Don’t worry. I won’t be a burden, okay?”
Axel stopped in his tracks. “Are you serious right now?” he demanded. “I never once accused you of being a burden, Maisie. Not once. I’m just trying to make this as quick as possible rather than drag things out. You were right; we both have jobs to do and obviously there’s a lot to be taken care of around here. Plus, the guys are waiting for me up by the lodge, so…”
“Oh.”
They walked the rest of the way in total silence.
When they reached her truck, Axel stood back and waited for her to climb in to see if it would start.
It did.
He felt so relieved.
Maisie climbed back out and then worked with him to load her bags in. When there was nothing left to do, she slowly turned and faced him.
“Thank you for everything, Axel,” she said with a sad smile. “I’m glad I got stranded here with you.”
Deep down, he was too, but if he was going to make sure he didn’t go down into a dark, downward emotional spiral, he had to simply nod and not talk about it.
“Take care of yourself, Maisie. I hope things get better for you.”
She nodded, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
“I’ll tell Walker to be on the lookout for your email,” he said stiffly, taking a step back. “We’re all looking forward to seeing your designs come to life.”
“Thanks.”
He took another step back and watched as she climbed back into the truck and closed the door. And then he continued to watch as she gave him a small wave before driving away.
