Seriously?That was all he had to say?The park needed her?Not him?NotI need you?
And another four weeks would make any difference?
She crossed her arms in front of her.“I’ve talked to Virgil, and I agreed not to leave him in the lurch.He’s posted the position and will start interviewing come Monday.The park will be just fine.”
Something seemed to shutter in his eyes.He stared out the window for a moment, watching rain sheet down the glass.“I guess you have it all figured out.”
The silence hung heavy in the room.Then she took a half step toward him.“Is there another reason I should stay?”
He blinked at her, mouth opening slightly.But before he could respond, the door swung open with a rush of cold air and the smell of wet earth.
Teague and Liam walked in.Water dripped and pooled on the floor.Mud was splattered up to their knees.They both dropped their packs by the door with heavy thuds and stayed on the industrial rug by the entryway.
“The rumors of our demise were greatly exaggerated.”Teague kicked off his boots, mud dropping off, and shed his coat.Then he looked at Noah, taking in his appearance.“The good news is, we were able to get to the cave and rope off the entrance.It’s nothing permanent but hopefully enough to dissuade most hikers from getting curious.”
When Noah didn’t respond, just stared blankly, Teague’s voice rose to a falsetto.“Wow, Teague and Liam, you are amazing.I’m so glad I hired you.”
Noah seemed to shake himself back to the moment.Rolled his eyes.“You are amazing, but never make me sound like that again.I’m feeling better, so let’s meet in the morning and discuss trail cleanup.And we can talk about going back to the cave to give it a more permanent seal.”
“I can go with you when you do go back and look for the chest.”Meg took a step toward them, chin raised.
“You don’t need to go.”Noah’s words were clipped, dismissive.
Not this again.
But she didn’t have to fight him this time.Liam spoke up.“If the weather is good, we could use her.She could take us right to where she thought she saw it.It would speed the whole process.”
Noah stared at Liam for a moment—jaw working—before he nodded curtly and turned away, back rigid.“We’ll let you know.”
She couldn’t help but feel that her announcement had broken something in him, shattered whatever fragile thing he’d been holding.But shouldn’t he be glad?He had been the one to say they needed to keep their distance, to build those walls.
She was just giving him a country’s worth of distance.
Across the continent.
Away from her forever.
The chainsaw’s growl echoed off the canyon walls, harsh and mechanical.It reverberated through the ponderosa pines that lined the trail and bounced back from ancient rock.Noah cut through another section of the fallen tree, muscles burning.The teeth biting through bark still damp from last night’s storm released the sharp scent of fresh-cut wood.Wood chips sprayed across his boots like confetti as the twenty-foot trunk finally gave way.It split clean down about eighty percent of the way, then the remaining twenty finally gave with a satisfying crack.
He killed the engine.Sudden quiet rushed in—just wind through the trees and the distant call of a raven somewhere in the canyon below.
His shoulders ached.His eyes burned worse, gritty and dry.
Sleep hadn’t come last night.Just hours of staring at the ceiling of his small cabin, counting water stains while Meg’s voice from yesterday played on repeat in his head.
I’m moving to Pennsylvania in two weeks.End of story.
He’d just stood there, swaying slightly.Still fog-brained from the illness that had knocked him flat for twenty-four hours.Completely blindsided.She’d stared him down, chin raised.Tension crackling between them.
She’d even given him the opening.Is there another reason I should stay?
Yes.
But the word had lodged in his throat like broken glass.
The crazy thing was, he’d convinced himself to take the leap.He’d lain in bed in his cabin that afternoon, sheets tangled around his legs, fevered and miserable, head pounding.And he’d finally decided.
He was done pushing her away.Done rejecting the best thing in his life right now.Done being stupid and scared and locked behind walls he’d spent years building.
