Finally, when we’re halfway down the mountain road, she decides to break the silence. “Girl, you gonna be okay?”
I shake my head, the tears still spilling over. “No. I’m not. Aubrey, I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life.”
She pulls over, throwing the truck in park, and turns to me. “Annie, what happened? I swear…if Garrett did something, I’m going to beat his ass.”
“No. It’s not Garrett’s fault,” I choke out, my voice cracking. “It’s mine. I have to leave and go back to Charlotte. Besides, I can’t just… stay here. I have a job, a life. But I love him, Aubrey…I think…No, I know I’m in love with that man, and I just left him anyway. And I don’t know how to go back to anything else.”
“What did he say when you told him you were leaving?”
I just look at her and choke on a sob.
“No…Annie…please, tell me he knew about this.”
I wipe my eyes, shaking my head. “I didn’t tell him. I waited until he was asleep. I just…I couldn’t face him. So, I wrote him a note like some coward and snuck out.”
Aubrey’s expression softens, and she takes my hand. The guilt is so heavy and raw. “He didn’t get a chance to say anything because I didn’t give him one. I just left him there, in that bed, after everything we shared. God, what the hell is wrong with me?”
The silence sits between us; me thinking about everything I wish I’d done differently.
Aubrey reaches over, pulling me into a hug. “You did what you thought you had to do, babe. But love doesn’t just disappear. If it’s real, if it’s meant to happen, you two will find your way back to each other. But I will say this, when that man wakes up, and finds out you just up and left…” She lets out a low whistle. “Crystal Falls better watch out.”
“Oh, god, Aubrey. What have I done?”
“Look, Annie,” she says, voice gentle, “you’re not the first female to fall head over heels for Garrett. But you are the first I’ve seen to really get under his skin.”
I sniff, blinking back at her. “He just… he’s so caring, and he tries so hard to hide it. I felt it every time he touched me, but he never really talked about himself. Why is he so closed off?”
Aubrey sighs, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. “Garrett’s always been the strong, silent type, but it got worse after what happened with his best friend.” She glances at me, making sure I’m listening. “A few years back, Garrett and his buddy, who was pretty much his brother from another mother, built cabins together. Hell, everyone in town thought they’d end up being millionaires one day, owning some big successfulconstruction company building homes, or some shit like that.”
I nod, remembering how Garrett’s voice would change whenever he mentioned certain things. “What happened?”
“His bestie screwed him over,” Aubrey says bluntly. “Stole a big job right out from under Garrett’s nose and ran off with the money. Left him holding the blame for an unfinished project and all the debt. Word spread fast. Small town, you know? Garrett never really trusted anyone after that. Built his walls higher…secluded himself from everyone. Stopped coming to town. Most people think he’s just some grumpy mountain who lives in the woods, but really, he’s just hurt. He lost his best friend and half his reputation all at the same time.”
My heart breaks for him. “He didn’t tell me any of that.”
Aubrey squeezes my hand. “He wouldn’t. That’s not how he rolls. But you…” she gives me a knowing look, “…he let you in. And girl, that’s a big damn deal. Doesn’t matter how long you were here, Annie. You matter to him. Probably more than he knows how to say.”
I let all that sink in, feeling both worse and better at the same time. Worse, he finally trusted someone again, and I just left. Better, because there’s a slight chance he would let me back in if I found my way home.Home. I can’t believe I’m thinking about his place that way.
Aubrey pulls the truck back on the road, her tone softer now. “Give yourself some credit, city girl. Youcracked the mountain man. That’s something nobody else has ever been able to do.”
Tears start to burn my eyes again, but this time I feel there might be a tiny bit of hope underneath all the pain. Maybe this doesn’t have to be ‘goodbye.’
But a ‘see you later.’
Chapter 8
Garrett
I roll over,reaching for her, expecting Annie’s warm body to be next to me. But her side of the bed is empty…cold. There’s nothing but twisted up sheets, and that familiar emptiness I used to get in my chest rears its ugly head.
For a second, I just lie here, pretending she’s in the shower, or maybe on the porch. But it’s too damn quiet. Not a footstep, or a giggle, not the sound of her humming along to a song I’d never admit I like.
Something’s not right.
I jump up and grab my jeans from last night off the floor, pulling them on, not even bothering to button them.
“Annie?” I yell, my voice already cracking.
