She thought about Tyler’s hands, always stained with grease no matter how much he scrubbed them. The way he’d looked at her that first day on the mountain, calm and steady when she was panicking. How he listened, actually listened, when they talked. The way he’d kissed her, like she was something precious.
She thought about the note on his truck. The attack on the trail. The murders of two women who’d gone to high school with him all those years ago. About the death of hiswife and child and how she knew he still loved them and missed them.
She thought about Adam Boverman’s certainty. The evidence. The timeline. All the reasons staying away made sense.
She thought about Joe’s words.You’re the one who asked me to investigate. You wanted to know the truth.
The truth. That’s what this came down to. Not what people thought. Not what the evidence suggested. But what she knew in her bones to be true.
Tyler was innocent.
And she loved him.
The realization hit her with sudden clarity. She loved him. Not despite the danger or the suspicion or the gossip. Not because she was trying to prove something to herself or the town.
She loved him because of who he was. A man who’d lost everything and kept going. A man who’d come back to face his past instead of running from it. A man who looked at her like she was worth fighting for.
A man who’d agreed to let her go because he thought it’d keep her safe.
She hit the key fob and unlocked her car. She didn’t care what the town thought. She needed to be with him and tell him she’d made a mistake, that they were stronger together than apart.
Brooke started up her car and began to pull forward. That’s when she saw it. The coffee cup sat on the hood where she’d left it. “Brilliant, Brooke,” she muttered, putting the car back into park and retrieving the now-cold coffee. She made a face as she took a sip.
“Life’s too short,” she said, taking the cup to the dumpster. “Too short for cold coffee and pretending I don’t want him.”
*****
Brooke stepped out of the shower. Her run was exactly what she needed, an easy half hour. Her body handled it well. She knew she had a lot of training ahead of her if she was going to complete the Moose Range Run 100.
Ifwas the big question.
Registration opened in a week and a half. She’d need to be ready the minute it opened to guarantee herself a spot and not be waitlisted. If she got in, she’d have a little over eight months until race day. She was still in what she considered the base building phase. Her hard training wouldn’t start until late January. And, unlike last year, she needed to make sure to build some flexibility into her plan.
She’d definitely learned a hard lesson about how crazy training could make her, and she wasn’t going to let that happen this time. She was even thinking about taking Tyler up on his offer to train with her. He admitted he may not be able to run the distances she did, but he could bike alongside her. The idea of it sent a warm feeling through her.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she told her reflection in the fogged-up mirror. “See how it goes tonight. Maybe he won’t even want you anymore. You’re too wishy-washy. Besides, maybe you don’t even want to do that stupid race. There’s no reason you have to put yourself through that torture.”
She gave herself a nod, knowing that even though it’d be smart to forget about running a hundred miles up anddown the steep mountainsides, giving up that dream felt almost as hard as giving up Tyler.
Brooke rushed to get ready, putting her hair up instead of styling it while taking a few minutes for her makeup. A skirt, blouse, and sandals would do. At the mirror by the front door, she gave her makeup a final check. “Here goes nothing.”
The drive to Joe’s townhouse took less than ten minutes. Brooke parked on the street and sat for a moment, gathering her courage.
What if Tyler didn’t want her back? He really might think she’s too wishy-washy—or had already moved on? What if seeing her again just made things harder for him?
Stop it, she told herself firmly.I don’t get to make decisions for him. If he wants space, he can tell me himself.
She looked up and down the street. Not seeing Tyler’s truck anywhere. “Hmm. Maybe I’m not the one who has cold feet. Might as well see this through.”
She climbed out of the SUV and headed for Joe’s door. She didn’t see Phil’s car anywhere either.
Joe answered on the first knock. “Knew you’d come.”
“Yeah, well . . . ” Brooke stepped inside. “Tyler’s not here?”
“Not yet. He should be here any time.” Joe gestured toward the couch. “Phil’s on his way too. He had a late job come in, but said he’s wrapping it up and will be here in fifteen minutes or so. Want something to drink?”
“No, thank you. I’m good.”
