"I'm not good with words. You know that. But I need you to understand something." I hold her gaze, making sure she hears every word. "I'm not asking you to shrink. I'm not asking you to be quieter or smaller or less yourself. I'm asking you to let me build a life that has room for both of us. Whatever that looks like."
"You really mean that."
"I really mean that."
She kisses me. Soft and slow, her hands sliding into my hair, her body warm against mine. When she pulls back, her eyes are bright.
"Okay," she says.
"Okay?"
"Okay, I'll stay. Really stay. Not because I'm scared to leave, but because I want to be here. With you." She grins. "And your fancy new internet."
"It's not fancy. Mace said the upload speeds are mediocre at best."
"Wolfe Hendrix, making jokes about upload speeds." She shakes her head, laughing. "Who are you and what have you done with my grumpy mountain man?"
My grumpy mountain man. I file that away, letting it warm me from the inside.
"Come on." I stand, bringing her with me. "Help me figure out where to put this thing. Mace said it needs a clear line of sight to the southern sky."
We spend the next two hours installing the satellite dish. Or rather, I install it while Sadie provides commentary, suggestions, and increasingly creative profanity when things don't work the way they're supposed to. By the time the router lights up green and her phone pings with a signal, we're both sweaty and frustrated and covered in a light dusting of snow from the roof.
"It works." She's staring at her phone like it's a miracle. "Wolfe, it actually works."
"You sound surprised."
"I mean, a little bit? No offense, but you looked like you wanted to throw that router into the forest at least three times."
"Four. But I controlled myself."
She laughs and launches herself at me again, her phone forgotten. I catch her, lifting her off her feet, and she wraps her legs around my waist.
"Thank you." She kisses my cheek, my jaw, the corner of my mouth. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I'm going to post so much content about this. My followers are going to lose their minds."
I tense slightly. "About the cabin?"
"About the location. The mountains. The snow. The whole aesthetic." She must see something in my face because she softens, running her fingers through my hair. "Not about you. Not if you don't want. I know you're private. I would never share anything without your permission."
The tension drains out of me. "I don't mind being in the background. Just not my face. Not my name."
"Mysterious mountain man it is." She grins. "My followers have been speculating anyway. Someone called you 'hot flannel shadow' based on the corner of your shoulder in one of my photos."
"Hot flannel shadow."
"It's a compliment."
"It's ridiculous."
"It's accurate." She kisses me again, deeper this time, and I stop thinking about upload speeds and follower counts.
Later, after dinner, after I've cleaned up the installation mess and she's posted her first piece of content from the cabin, we sit on the couch watching the fire. Her head is on my shoulder, her hand in mine, her breathing slow and content.
"Wolfe?"
