Page 88 of When The Mountains Held Us

He nods his head once and gathers another bite of his pasta. “You’re welcome.”

The rest of the meal is spent catching up on the last few days, and it’s nice to speak comfortably with him about mundane things. It already feels like we’ve been doing this forever, and the ease with which we talk and eat together warms something deep in my chest.

A part of me was worried that, with sex in the mix, things would feel awkward, as if everything we thought we were feeling for each other was this crazy, built-up sexual tension and nothing deeper. But that’s not the case. If anything, things feel easier, more comfortable, and being here with Levi feels like where I was meant to end up all along.

We clean the kitchen together; Levi clears the plates, and I load the dishwasher. Once everything is put away, I follow him into the living room and settle next to him on the couch right into the curve of his arm when he opens for me.

His chest is hard and warm, and I sink into him as he mindlessly flips through the different movie options. I don’t care what we watch, but he pauses on a few titles he thinks I’ll like before settling on a rom-com.

Ugh.

“You like rom-coms?” I ask, looking up at him and trying to keep the bewilderment out of my voice. He hesitates only briefly.

“Yeah. Yup. Sure do.”

“You dirty liar.” I shake my head in disbelief.

“Yeah, I actually hate rom-coms.”

My laugh turns into a snort, and he chuckles as he pulls me closer.

“Me too,” I say.

“Let’s watch it anyway.”

Exhaustion weighs us down as we stare absently at the screen. Bandit curls up next to me and places his fuzzy head on my thigh, and I can’t help but give him extra scratches behind the ears.

“What are we going to do about your ex?”

Levi’s question is so quiet, I almost miss it.

At the mention of my ex, it all comes flooding back. Unease pools in my stomach and makes my palms sweat.

Something changed between us tonight, but something else changed too, and I can’t put my finger on when exactly it happened. Maybe it’s the feeling of being safe with Levi, or maybe it’s delusion, but I’m not as afraid of my ex as I was earlier.

Sure, there’s still a healthy amount of apprehension, and I certainly don’t want to run into him, nor have a conversation with him. But if my time here in North Creek has shown me anything, it’s that I deserve to live and thrive somewhere safe.

North Creek has become my home. And in the shadow of the mountains, I’ve found my true friends. Along the way, Levi has become someone I can easily see myself building a life with.

If only it were that simple.

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “But I’m tired of hiding. I’ve been running for far too long, and I think… I think I owe it to myself to stop.” I shouldn’t have to live my life in the shadows, always looking over my shoulder and waiting for the other shoe to drop. What kind of person would I be if I kept allowing a man who has no place in my life to command my fear?

“I’m so proud of you.” Levi presses a kiss to the top of my head. “But I’d be lying if I said I’m not still scared shitless of what could happen.”

“I don’t think he’ll try anything.” My words are pensive but not argumentative. I want Levi to know I value and accept his opinion, but to also know that I know my ex better than anyone else here in North Creek. “I’ve been scared, yeah. But besides the break-in, which happened while I was out, he hasn’t tried to make any physical contact with me. Why would he now?”

“It’s odd to me. The fact that he hasn’t tried to see you now that he’s in town. That can’t be a coincidence, Oakley.”

He’s right. When I arrived in North Creek, I could barely make it through fifteen minutes without my phone vibrating with texts or calls or both from unknown numbers. I still have the threatening voicemails and texts saved on my phone. God forbid I need them to pursue anything legal. As for Travis being back in town? I don’t think the gravity of that has sunk in yet.

“It is weird,” I concede. “But I’m going to take it for what it is until I know otherwise.”

“And if he makes an appearance?”

I sigh. “Then we’ll deal with that if and when it happens. I promise. I’ll still be careful, and you can still come and babysit me at work. But I don’t want to hide anymore. I won’t.”

“Attagirl,” he says, pride lacing his words and making me smile softly. “Just don’t go getting a big head and thinking you don’t need me.”