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Chapter10
Eden
Idon’t know why I feel so hot under the collar as I wrap up in a raincoat and slip into Wellies two sizes too large. I’m a hot mess and more stressed than I’ve ever been, but somehow, the only thing my brain is latching onto is the way Maddox looks at me and smiles. And how warm his touch was, and how he’s been so damn kind.
As we slog through the mud under the constant drizzle from the gray sky, I try to tell myself that Maddox would be like this with any guest. I fully believe that, but somehow, that makes my tiny crush even worse, knowing he’d be so wonderful to anyone who got stuck the way I did.
It takes the edge off my humiliation, but when I catch a glimpse of Sage’s car, I feel defeated all over again. It’s not his or Flor’s fault that I’m stuck here, of course. I don’t blame Sage for not thinking when he left. His wife—my best friend—had fallen from ahorse.
It makes me feel slightly better to know it’s not just me though. Everyone at the lodge is in the same boat.
I feel for Zara, who never got to her kid’s play and is now stuck up here until the ground isn’t basically a mud bog. It’s bad enough that work is going to ream me for missing time—never mind that I haven’t taken a vacation in years—but if I had a family?
Of course, I like to think I wouldn’t work the way I do, or live the way I do, if I had someone to come home to at night. Someone tall, with dark hair, and a broad chest, and—
Fuck. I have to stop. I can’t deny that Maddox was sweet and a little flirty over breakfast. I can’t even deny that he looked at me with heat in his eyes.
But it can’t go anywhere. He lives up a damn mountain in the middle of nowhere, for Christ’s sake, and I work sixty hours a week, two hours away in the city.
I brush a few soggy wisps of hair off my forehead as Maddox manages to get the stable doors open, and we step inside. It’s a little chilly but not too bad, and it’s a nice relief from the rain. My hair is thoroughly soaked, and at this point, all I want is a hot bath, but I know that isn’t going to happen until we get some power.
I glance over at Maddox, who had immediately walked to the first stall and started cooing at the horse there. They seem entirely unbothered, so I’m guessing the building did its job in keeping them safe and dry, but it’s sweet, watching him worry and fuss over them.
Most men would at least try to put up a front, but he doesn’t seem to give a shit.
“You wanna check on your best friend?” His words cut through my thoughts, and I blink at him before nodding.
“Yeah. What should I do?”
“Just make sure she’s up and breathing normally. Oh, and that the floor of her stall is dry,” he adds with a small smile.
His grin makes me hot all over. Jesus, I’m such a mess. I need to get laid ASAP. I can’t fall apart at the sight of a crooked smile on a total stranger. That’s how people make bad decisions.
I turn my back on him as quickly as I can without looking suspicious, and I make my way to the last stall, where Clover is peeking her head over the little door. I soften the second I see her, and she quickly nudges my hair and neck the moment I’m close enough.
She really is like a giant puppy. I had no idea horses could remember people—or that they’d be so affectionate. They still vaguely terrify me with how massive they are, but all I really want to do is put my arms around her and cuddle in.
She doesn’t seem to mind that either. She huffs through my hair as I scratch her neck, and she nibbles at the buttons on my coat for a second.
“You can’t be hungry enough to eat that,” I scold. She huffs again, and I rub over her long nose as her big, black eyes meet mine. When I have the sudden realization that I’m going to leave this place and it’s not likely I’m ever coming back, my heart gives an almost violent lurch.
Part of me wants to chalk it up to the fact that I’m finally away from home and letting the stresses of the last month slough off my shoulders, but I know myself better than that. Getting distance just means that I can now see with a bit more clarity, and I can’t deny that I am miserable.
I hate my job, I don’t have any feelings about my little apartment, and I’m pretty sure my career is a dead end.
My eyes feel hot, and I quickly blink back any hint of tears because I amnotcrying in front of this man. I’m not having some quarter-life crisis in the barn of a mountain man stranger.
Suddenly, there’s warmth next to me, and I find I can’t pull away. In fact, it’s far easier to lean in, and Maddox doesn’t seem to mind that. He presses his bicep against my shoulder, and while he’s looming over me, it somehow feels like I’m being protected instead of intimidated.
“Can I do anything?” he asks.
And shit. I guess I was obvious. I shake my head and make sure my throat is clear before I speak. “It’s just life, you know?”
He huffs a quiet laugh and nods. “Yeah. I do.”
I wonder how true that is. I mean, obviously he’s got a lot on his shoulders. I’d realized at breakfast that he didn’t just work at this lodge but ran it and has guests coming and going all year long. My guess is that he never gets to turn off or get away. But he also seems happier—or at least more content—than most of the people I know.
“This is probably going to make me sound like a serial killer,” he says with a small smile, and I roll my eyes. “But I was wondering if you wanted to come back to my apartment and hang out. Most of the staff will be in their own places, and it’s going to be quiet and cold up there in the rooms.”
