I stand there in the snow, watching his taillights disappear, and let myself hope.
Chapter 14
Nate
Idon’t know why I said it.
Tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at noon. We’ll try again.
The words have been rattling around in my skull since they left my mouth, mocking me. I’d been so close to driving away clean. So close to letting her walk into that house and out of my life again.
And then I’d opened my damn mouth.
I stare at the ceiling of my bedroom, same as I’ve been doing for the past four hours. Sleep didn’t come. Hasn’t come in days, if I’m being honest. Every time I close my eyes, I see her face in the passenger seat of my truck. The way she looked when I wouldn’t talk to her. The way her scent went thin and hurt when I drove her home in silence.
The way she still smelled like honey and citrus, even after ten years. Like nothing had changed.
Everything changed.
I roll over and check the clock. 6:23 AM. Almost six hours until I have to pick her up.
This is fine. I can do this. I’ll take her somewhere, sit in silence for an hour, and then it’ll be over. Debt paid. Auctionobligation fulfilled. And then I can go back to pretending she doesn’t exist.
That’s the plan, anyway. That’s what I keep telling myself.
Except she does exist. She’s here, in Honeyridge Falls, staying at Eileen’s house three miles from where I’m lying. She’s here, and she’s been on dates with Lucas and Theo. I know because I had to watch them get ready. Had to listen to them talk about it after. Had to smell her on them when they came home.
Things went well. Obviously. Lucas and Theo know how to talk. Know how to open up and share their feelings and all that shit that comes so easily to everyone except me.
I throw off the covers and head for the shower. Cold. I need it cold.
The morning drags.
I try to keep busy. Clean my gun, even though it doesn’t need cleaning. Organize my closet. Do push-ups until my arms shake. Anything to keep my mind from circling back to the same thoughts.
Cara’s back. Cara’s here. Cara is going to be sitting in my truck in a few hours, looking at me with those green eyes, wanting things from me I’ve never been able to give.
At 9 AM, Liam texts.
Liam:Heard you’re taking her out again today.
I don’t respond.
Liam:Mrs. Patterson called the station. Said she saw Cara walking into Eileen’s house yesterday looking “absolutely devastated.” Her words.
Still nothing.
Liam:You know you don’t have to do this alone, right? You could actually try talking to her.
I turn off my phone.
At 10:30, I catch myself standing in front of the mirror, staring at my own reflection. Dark circles under my eyes. Jaw tight. The same face I’ve worn since she left—closed off, guarded, giving nothing away.
I’ve always been the quiet one. Even before she left. Theo was the charmer, Lucas was the talker, and I was the one who showed up. Fixed things. Did the work. That was how I loved her—not with words, but with actions.
Apparently that wasn’t enough.
I turn away from the mirror. Enough brooding. I’ve got a date to survive.
