six
He shouldn’t have written it. Should’ve just left her alone after the disaster of their meeting. Let her figure out that the man in the letters was a lie. Or at least, a version of himself that only existed on paper, in the safety of distance and the forgiveness of time to choose his words.
Night air cut through Anson’s flannel, but he didn’t move. Just watched. Waited. Held his breath like a man stepping onto thin ice, not sure if it would hold.
Bramble reached her door, dropped the note, and scratched once at the wood with his massive paw before stepping back. Good dog. Smart dog. The paw signal meant message, not just another stick or pinecone offering. Anson taught him that two years ago, after Bramble started carrying notes between him and Walker when they were at opposite ends of the property.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Then again. And again, with the rapid-fire insistence of the group chat. He ignored it, eyes fixed on Maggie’s door, willing it to open, dreading the moment it did.
The phone buzzed again, and he yanked it from his pocket, thumbing the screen to see what the hell everyone wanted.
X: HOLY SHIT River just spent 20 minutes making your girl laugh while you hid in your workshop
River: She liked me better. Can’t blame her. I have actual social skills.
X: We’re witnessing the lamest love triangle ever
He scrolled up to the five messages he missed.
X: River just went to the cabin with dinner from Jo
Ghost: Bold move
X: 10 bucks says he steals her right out from under Sutter
River: I do have that effect on women
Boone: Leave the man alone. All of you.
Anson’s jaw tightened. Of course River went over there. Of course he charmed her. River could charm a rattlesnake into tap dancing if he put his mind to it. And Anson had left her alone—vulnerable, disappointed, probably regretting the trip here in the first place—the perfect setup for River to swoop in and be everything Anson wasn’t.
Funny. Talkative. Whole.
New messages cascaded across his screen.
X: Sut, you seeing this?
Ghost: He’s watching from the forge. I can see him brooding from here.
River: It isn’t like that. Just brought her Jo’s lasagna. But she is pretty great.
X: Did you tell her about Anson’s bedwetting problem?
River: He doesn’t have a bedwetting problem
X: I KNOW but you could have told her he did
Bear: Both of you shut up
Jax: X, I swear to god if you fuck with him like that, I’ll tell Nessie to tell Mariah about that tattoo on your ass that you’re ashamed of.
X: LOW BLOW
River: Wait, what tattoo??? And why has Jax seen it?
X: There is no tattoo. That’s the point. But she’d believe it because she’s looking for any excuse not to fall in love with me.
Bear: This is why I mute notifications
