Grayson
Ten days had passed since Marla seated Amelia at my table.
Ten days of waking up with her soft body pressed against mine.
Ten days of falling hard and fast for her.
But it had also been ten days of silent dread while I wondered when she’d drop the news on me that she was leaving Iron Peak for good.
And today was that day, even if I didn’t know it yet.
I’d gotten behind on construction at the survival school. The bathroom tiles sat in their boxes, untouched. The kitchen remained a concrete shell. And I’d turned down six requests for tours, something I’d never done before in my entire career.
The only thing I’d kept up with was my search and rescue duties, dropping everything when a call came in because lives depended on it.
But everything else?
Everything else had taken a backseat to Amelia Edwards, the woman who’d stolen my heart.
I knocked on her door at the Summit House, already anticipating the way she’d rise up on her toes to kiss me the second she saw me.
But when she opened the door to her room, my heart stopped.
Her suitcase, which had sat open, spewing its contents every day I’d been here, was primly zipped and sitting by the door.
Her plants filled cardboard boxes lined up against the wall. The heart-shaped leaves of her philodendrons spilled over the edges, their variegated patterns of green and cream crowded together. Her monsteras with their distinctive split leaves, sat in a separate box, carefully wrapped in newspaper to protect their delicate fenestrations. Even her trailing pothos vines had been coiled and tucked away, ready for transport.
Ready for leaving.
Leavingme.
The floor seemed to tilt beneath my feet.
I’d known this torrid love affair wouldn’t last forever.
I’d told myself from the beginning that she was just passing through, that I shouldn’t get attached, that temporary was all this could ever be.
But I’d had no idea it was ending today.
My chest felt like someone had reached inside and squeezed it hard until there was nothing left.
The devastation hit me in waves. I thought about waking up tomorrow alone. Eating breakfast at the Ridge Diner by myself, staring at the empty booth across from me. I thought about hiking out to the hot springs and remembering the way she’d looked rising out of that water, droplets streaming down her curves.
The idea of going back to the life I’d had before her felt like being sentenced to prison.
My eyes roamed the room, taking in the stripped bed and the empty nightstand.
Then my gaze met hers.
“Are you leaving?”
Amelia bit her lip and sank down onto the edge of the bed. Her hands twisted in her lap, fingers knotting together.
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” she stammered. “I can’t afford to stay, Grayson. I looked into cheaper rentals in Iron Peak, and I couldn’t find anything available. I even looked up job listings, but the only thing hiring right now was the search and rescue team, and I’m obviously not cut out for that.”
A dry laugh escaped her, but there was no humor in it.
“The truth is, I only planned to be in Iron Peak for one night. I was going to leave after getting breakfast that first morning.” Her voice cracked. “I delayed my departure because of you. But I’ve already spent eleven hundred dollars staying at the Summit House for eleven days, and I can’t justify blowing through my entire savings just to get a few more weeks with you.”
