A few minutes later, we’d dropped all four bags on the floor inside the small apartment.
“This is cute,” Adele said. “It’s perfect for one or two people.”
“It is.”
As my gaze arced about the space, a wave of memories crashed into me. This apartment represented a painful time in our family’s life, loaded with emotions with all of us swimming through our own waves of grief.
“Cole?” Adele’s voice brought me back to the present moment.
“This is where we stayed after the fire for a while.” I surprised myself. I hadn’t intended to explain, but something about her whisked away my guard.
Her gaze was somber. “Your mom mentioned that.”
I took a quick breath, steadying myself inside. “A while ago, Haven and Elsa were staying here, but they built their own place next door.”
“Wow,” Adele breathed, her tone solemn. I watched as her gaze circled the space. “This must have been crowded.”
“It sure felt crowded.” I chuckled. “The bedrooms are all small. It was okay. We were family, and we needed each other then. As hard as it was…” Pausing, I cleared my throat. “We needed to be here.” I gestured out the windows, tracing an arc of the view outside with my hand. “This is our home, our land. I know that from a technical perspective, borders, lines on a map and so on, might sound meaningless, but this place?” I curled my palm into a loose fist and thumped it over my heart. “It’s our heartbeat. Heartfire Falls is home for us, and it always will be.”
When I met Adele’s gaze again, there was a sheen of tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry for all you went through.”
“I didn’t mean to get so deep,” I said quickly, trying to dodge the moment and make light of it.
But she shook her head. “It’s okay. Big things happen in life. Sometimes we just have to let ourselves feel them.”
The silence that followed felt loaded between us, but not uncomfortable. Somehow, in the space of a short time, Adele had become something I didn’t quite know how to define. But I felt it. It was something I’d never experienced and didn’t know what to do with.
She gestured toward the front of the barn. “The sign outside is beautiful.”
I smiled. “It is. Elsa painted it.”
“Oh, she did?”
“Yeah. Somehow it survived the fire. Although so did this whole barn, which is kind of a miracle, but maybe not because it was in a clearing. Anyway, she and Haven live on the property next door now. She knew what it used to look like. I think she’dsay she’s not an artist, but she had a nice touch with that, and we love it.”
“That’s so cool. I love that.” Adele fell quiet again, her gaze thoughtful before she blurted, “Are you okay that your mom offered me a job?”
Her question took me aback. “What do you mean? Of course I’m okay.”
“No, I just…” She paused, nervously sliding her fingers together in one hand while twirling the end of her ponytail with the other. “I mean, this place is obviously your family’s. It feels a little weird. But she offered.”
No matter what reservations I had about Adele—which really had nothing to do with anyone or anything other than my own damn inconvenient, roaring lust for her—I felt compelled to reassure her. I knew, for whatever reason, this was something she needed. Even if I didn’t fully comprehend why.
“You absolutely belong here. If my mom wants you to be here, then we all want you to be here. I’m not saying that just to be nice. Plus, you’re not the only non-family member that works here. Chloe works here. We’ve got contractors who come and go, and we hire people from town to help with local trips when we’re too busy.” I held her gaze. “But Adele, I mean this. I don’t know why, but I think it’s good for you to be here. I already know you can hike.”
She blinked and let out a quick sigh. “I know, but…” Uncertainty flickered in her gaze. “Your mom offered me the job, and I jumped on it. But the reality is, I can’t do any of the longer hikes unless one of you guys is with me, because…”—clearing her throat, she gestured toward her chest—“because of my heart.”
“That’s okay. We never lead longer hikes alone. Maybe a day hike, but even those are only a few hours, and you never know what’s gonna happen on a hike. Frankly, your situation is easierto plan for than an unprepared customer—or me, or one of my brothers—being stupid.”
She bit her bottom lip and let out a soft huff of a laugh. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
Before I knew it, I stepped closer and put my hands on her shoulders. I meant it to be reassuring. But touching her felt like touching a live wire—not her specifically, butus, and whatever this was that burned between us.
She blinked up at me, a flush rising on her cheeks.
“I’m sure,” I added, my tone husky and low. Yet again, I wanted to kiss her. Because for fuck’s sake, I always wanted to kiss her when I was close to her.
