“You don’t get to barge back into my life after all this time and decide you miss me. You should have missed me when you had the chance.”
Her hands clenched the steering wheel so hard her knuckles hurt and she vibrated with anger. Taking a shaky breath, she looked through the windshield and took her foot off the brake, easing down on the gas.
The tension in the car was beginning to suffocate her. She’d seen the surprise in his eyes when she’d mentioned him not answering her calls or texts. Between being homesick after transferring to UC Denver and missing Luke, she’d broken down and tried calling, texting, and sending emails in an effort to figure out how they could make it work. All she’d gotten back was silence. Now she wondered if he’d ever gotten any of her messages.
She turned a corner and slowed to a stop. A huge freaking pine tree blocked the entire road. The trunk looked like it had been struck by lightning. Not that it mattered how it fell, it only mattered that there was no going around it.
Her eyes stung. She put the car in park and dropped her head on the steering wheel, closing her eyes as tears spilled over through her lashes.
“Rowan—”
“Get out.”
“Row—”
“Please. Get out.” She couldn’t go anywhere and she didn’t want tofeelhim anymore. The door opened and closed softly and she took a shuddering breath. More than anything, she wanted to be numb. To not feel the hurt, the rejection, the disappointment, or the overwhelming sense of failure.
She didn’t know how long she sat there trying not to think of how off track her life had become in the last two days. Eventually, she let go of the steering wheel and rested her hands in her lap, but she kept her head on the hard circle.
The passenger door opened and closed. “Is there another road out of here?” Luke asked.
She moved her head back and forth on the steering wheel. Nope. One way in. One way out. At least until after they got across the bridge.
“Are there tools at the cabin? A chainsaw or axe?”
She shrugged her shoulders. Maybe. She vaguely remembered Claudia’s dad using one during one visit, but she wasn’t sure and it took too much energy to explain that to him.
“All right,” he said softly. “When you’re ready, head back to the cabin.” He got back out of the car and left her alone.
Where else was she going to go?
