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She’s as beautiful as I remember. Long blonde hair and blue eyes that had always been able to see straight to my soul.
We’re in this weird trance when she steps back from the threshold of the door. “Oh my gosh, please come in, it’s freezing out there.”
"Thanks," I kick the snow off my boots and place them next to the door before taking off the layers one has to wear in the winter when they work outside. "Maggie said some pipes need to be wrapped, and there was some weatherproofing on the back door that got damaged in the last storm?"
When she doesn’t say anything, I look back up at her. Those eyes are on me, but whatever it is she’s thinking is guarded. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t expect to see you walk through the door today.”
“I didn’t expect you to be the person Maggie was lending her cabin to, so we’re even.”
Her cheeks turn pink. “It’s not a bad thing. I’ve wondered a lot about you since I left. I’m sorry to hear about your Dad.”
This is the last thing I want to talk about. “Life has to keep on going, right? We’re figuring out how to get by without him.” Those words are the biggest lie I’ve ever told. There’s no way I’ll ever figure out how to do life without him by my side.
“Still I’m sorry,” she reaches out, touching my shoulder. Sparks I haven’t felt in years go through my body.
“I appreciate it, I’m gonna go get started on the pipes.”
“Sounds good,” she smiles softly. “I’m here if you need me.”
Shaking my head, I stalk over to the kitchen sink and wonder what in the hell is happening. How did I walk into the cabin that house the one who got away?
CHAPTEREIGHT
HOLLY
I never expectedto see him again, especially not how we left each other the night of graduation. He’d let me go in a way that was much more mature than the one in which I left. To know he’d been so selfless, that his father had been sick? That guts me. The fact he hadn’t been able to share that with anyone and had taken it within himself? I should’ve been the person he could confide in. The one he could count on, no matter what it was.
My eyes follow as he stalks around the cabin. It's small to begin with, but his large body is filling it up even more. Back when we'd been dating, he'd been a lean high schooler. Now he's grown into a strong man. One who looks like he could take charge wherever he's needed. Whether that be in the bedroom, or when it comes to fixing things around the house.
His shoulders are broad and what would be baggy jeans on most men aren’t on him. They show off the muscles of his thighs.
He hasn’t said he’s needed me yet, but I can’t stop watching him, admiring the man he’s become in the years since we parted.
"I think this is what she was talking about," he says as he takes a tool out from under the sink. "The temperature in there is about twenty degrees less than in this part of the cabin. I need to talk her about coming up here in the summer and getting some more insulation on these outside walls. You're definitely going to have a mess on your hands if I don't wrap these. Are there any more on the outside walls like this?"
He’s looking at me like I should know the answer. I shrug. “I think the bathroom off of the bedroom is on an outside wall.”
“Let me go check it. I don’t want to have to go out twice to get the wrapping material.”
His longs legs are eating up the distance and I forget what I have lying on the bed until he walks in, and comes to a complete stop. Glancing back at me, over his shoulder, those mischievous eyes of his are dancing. "Planning on having company up here?"
“No,” I brush past him, taking the negligee off the bed and stuffing it into a drawer. “It’s pieces I bought for my honeymoon. I was thinking of burning it in the fireplace later.”
The mischievousness is gone from his eyes, replaced with sadness. “I heard about what happened at your wedding. I’m sorry, Holly. For what it’s worth, that guy is a fucking dumbass. Anyone would be lucky to marry you.”
Feeling knocked sideways, I cross my arms over my chest. “How do you know? You haven’t seen me in years. Who says I haven’t turned into a major bitch who takes money from the Salvation Army bucket?”
He throws his head back laughing. “I might not have seen you in a long time, but I know you. The type of person you are,” he reaches out, curling up his finger, and placing his knuckle over my heart makes me lose my breath. “In here, it never changes. You’ve always been one of the best. “
Emotion clogs my throat. “Thanks. It’s been hard not to think all of this has been my fault. If I were a better woman I could’ve kept his ass at home, if my family were well off we would’ve had more in common. It’s done a number on my self-esteem, so to hear you say those words? It means a lot.”
"Hey not all of us can have the same amount of confidence we had in high school. Life is hard and we have to figure out a way to get through it. Sometimes that's easy, other times it's messy. Either way it doesn't matter; you have to keep moving forward. If you can do that, then whatever's weighing you down will eventually turn loose."
It surprises both of us when I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. His arms go around me, hugging tightly and immediately I know I never want him to let go. When he finally does, he clears his throat. “I should get to work.”
“Yeah, but like I said, I’ll be around if you need me.”
