Chapter10
Cassidy woke to the sound of rain drumming against the cottage windows and every muscle in her body staging a protest.Her shoulders ached.Her palms burned.Even her calves complained about yesterday’s sprint across the dock in three-inch heels.
She sat up slowly and winced.The bedside clock read 6:47 AM, which meant she’d actually slept past her usual 5:30 alarm.When was the last time that happened?
Her phone sat on the nightstand, mercifully silent.No urgent emails from the office.No passive-aggressive messages from Steve about campaign strategies he was implementing in her absence.Just a weather alert about continued storms through the afternoon and a text from Mayor West thanking her for “heroic tent rescue efforts.”
Cassidy set the phone down and examined her hands.Raw rope burns crossed both palms, the skin angry and red.She’d refused Bryan’s offer of first aid supplies last night, too exhausted and rain-soaked to do anything but accept the ride home and collapse into bed fully dressed.
Well, almost fully dressed.She’d managed to peel off her ruined blazer before falling face-first into the pillow.
She stood and caught her reflection in the mirror.Her hair stuck up at odd angles.Yesterday’s mascara had migrated south.The white blouse she’d chosen so carefully was wrinkled beyond salvation and spotted with what looked like rust stains from the tent poles.
She looked absolutely terrible.
The thought made her smile.
She grabbed her robe and padded to the kitchen.There was a note taped to the window:Open the door.
She opened the door and discovered Winnie had left a covered plate of blueberry muffins on the table.A note in elegant handwriting read:Heard you had quite an adventure.These help with everything.—W.
The muffins were still slightly warm.She broke one open and took a bite, then carried the plate to the sunroom.The windows were all soft morning light despite the gray skies.
She settled into the cushioned chair and looked out at the rain-swept courtyard.Winnie’s garden bent under the wind but didn’t break.Everything looked wild and alive, completely indifferent to schedules or productivity metrics.
She ate another muffin and tried to remember the last time she’d sat still without her laptop open.The last time she’d looked at something just to look at it, not to analyze or optimize or extract value from the experience.
Her mind kept circling back to yesterday.To Bryan’s face when she’d grabbed those ropes.The way he’d run toward the danger instead of away from it, no hesitation, just immediate action.How they’d worked together without discussion, each anticipating the other’s movements.
Her phone buzzed.She almost ignored it, then glanced at the screen.
Bryan:Checking if you survived the night.Also checking if you need medical attention for those hands.
She looked at her palms again.They really did hurt.
She typed:Survived.Hands are fine.How’s the tent?
The reply came quickly:Dry.Unlike everything else in this town.Committee meeting’s postponed because of the weather.Thought you should know.
She answered:Thanks for the update.
Three dots appeared, then disappeared, then appeared again.Finally:The apology yesterday.I should’ve said this then, but I was too wet and tired.I appreciate it.Takes guts to admit when you’re wrong.
She stared at the message.In her corporate world, apologies were strategic maneuvers, carefully worded non-apologies designed to deflect blame while appearing conciliatory.
She typed:Takes guts to accept help when you don’t want to need it.
She could almost hear his laugh:Yeah.Working on that.
She smiled as she replied:Me too.
The conversation ended there, but she kept looking at the screen.Something had shifted yesterday on that dock.Some wall she’d built between herself and everything that wasn’t work had developed a crack.
She set the phone aside and pulled her laptop onto her lap.Muscle memory.It felt comforting and familiar.She opened the screen and stared at her desktop, organized into color-coded folders with labels like “Q3 Strategy” and “Phillips Pitch Materials.”
Her cursor hovered over her email.
Just to check.Just to see if anything urgent came through overnight.
