God, I wish it were as simple as he’s making it sound.
I wish my mistakes were minor ones that could be washed away as easily as what I spill on the floor at the diner, but my life has never been easy.
Absolutely nothing about it has been.
And what brought me to McBride Mountain, what sent me walking down that highway that night, will eventually find me.
It’s only a matter of time.
Some things can’t be outrun. Some mistakes follow you forever. Some decisions haunt you for the rest of your life.
This is one of them.
But I’m so tired.
Of running. Of hiding. Of constantly looking over my shoulder. Of being alone…
He brushes his thumb across my cheek, wiping away the single tear I’ve let escape. “You’re going to stay.”
I nod.
“As long as I can” goes unspoken because if I said those words to him right now, it would break the spell.
He would say it’s not enough.
He would make me promise to never leave.
And that’s something I can’t promise because if it comes down to it, if it comes to him, or Willow, or Raven, or Elaine, or anyone else being put into danger because of me, I will hightail it out of McBride Mountain so fast they will wonder if I was ever here.
But for a moment, in this tiny, quiet North Carolina mountain town, I’m going to take a moment to just breathe. To breathe in his pine and spice scent, the fresh air, and the ease with which people have accepted me here.
Because after so many years walking, so much time searching for something, anything, to ground me, somehow the man in front of me managed to do it in the span of a week with his easy smiles, his gentle nature, his kind words, and the way I saw him interact with everyone that came into the diner.
Liam McBride is the real deal.
Nothing about him is an act.
That makes everything about this even more terrifying.
I collapse in his arms, burying my face in his neck, and he pulls me against him, holding me steady. Keeping me from completely coming apart like I want to right now.
Seeing the sheriff up close and personal shook me far worse than I imagined it could, and relishing in the warmth and comfort this man provides for a few moments will be my new guilty pleasure.
One I could definitely get used to.
I don’t know how long we stand like this, wrapped around each other, silently saying so many things we never could verbally, but eventually, Gizmo clambers up and starts pawing at my legs. His insistence makes me drag my head back and glance down at him.
Liam releases me, then bends down and scoops up the dog, scratching behind his ears. “I think he’s happy that you’re staying.”
“I’m sure he is.” I watch Giz lick Liam’s face. “You’ve become his new favorite person.”
He raises a reddish brow at me. “Just his?”
I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips because apparently I’ve been doing a shitty job of hiding my reaction to the man standing in front of me.
Liam McBride is going to be a problem for me.
But maybe, for the first time in my life, it’ll be a good one.
