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The brunette glares at Xavier and he nods sheepishly. “I’ll let you get some sleep, I have to get back to the office anyway.”
Xavier taps my leg and leaves. The nurses are quick to follow after telling me they’ll be back to keep track of my hydration levels and apply some ointment to my wounds.
Slowly, daylight fades in my bedroom. The air cools and I’m pulling the blankets to my neck, holding them close. My thoughts drifts to the unconscious dream, the feeling of warmth and comfort overpowering.
A tear catches in my eye and it’s then that I realize I’m not warm at all – I’m freezing cold. My body is shaking and all I want is…
Colt Brander.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Colt
Ihaven’tbeeninFalls Creek for over five years. The streets are still just as small as I remember. The green parks are filled with life – small children playing and laughing in the gleaming morning sun. Their happiness oozes enthusiasm for life while their dreary-eyed mothers sip coffee from takeaway cups like it’s an endless supply of life.
A storm brews in my stomach. It’s nothing like the one I weathered last night, but the sight of a tiny piece of Hannah’s shirt, ripped and shredded, tossed to the ground like a sign of life from above. My heart flashed the moment it caught my eye.
Drenched and soggy, I was awoken by the earth shaking beneath my defeated frame. There wasn’t any time to waste. The storm clouds were thundering down, the forest doing nothing to stop the downpour around me as I followed my smart girl’s trail.
“Mommy! Mommy, look!” I hear the cry of a small child nearby.
“Hudson, don’t point!” A hushed voice snaps as I pass by a park bench.
I glance at the child, expecting him to be shivering at the sight of a bearded sasquatch trudging through the middle of a middle-class town. Instead, he’s beaming, his hands clasped together like he’s just seen fucking Santa Claus.
“Bigfoot! It’s Bigfoot, Mommy!”
“Hudson! Stop!”
I would laugh, but a fierce determination to find Hannah has me grunting through a grumpy expression. The mountain has pushed me to my limits, but now I’ve surfaced and I’m forcing myself to once again mingle with the people of the town, I’m not giving up.
I roam the streets, dodging the judging looks and disparaging comments thrown my way.
I have no idea where I’m going.
I know Hannah works for her brother. I know he has a real estate business. I can’t ask anyone for directions because they either scream in my face or run away before I can open my mouth.
Fuck.
I smash a fist on the pole at the traffic lights, waiting for some cars to pass through the green light before a green walking signal allows me to cross. The gray clouds have passed over, the bright sun that usually drenches my garden with valuable heat on the mountain is scorching down here.
My skin burns, but my heart burns hotter.
Why didn’t I ask her more questions? Why do I know nothing about her life in Falls Creek? I mean, shit, I don’t even know the name of her workplace.
Frustration begins to build as I move up and down the rows of streets, searching for any sign of Hannah. I’m racking my brain for any hints, recalling the conversations we shared. But they’re all about me and my life on the mountain.
And then, like an angel glowing before my eyes, I see it.
“Mell Estate and Planning,” I grunt under my breath, recalling the way Hannah introduced herself in what feels like an eternity ago now. “Of course it is.”
Across the street, a red car pulls from the sidewalk that runs parallel with a multi-story building. It’s dull and boring – just like most things on this side of the mountain if you ask me. But one thing about this building has my heart hammering inside my chest. It has me racing across the road, unaware of the cars honking wildly at me as I dash in front of them, staring up at the company logo that I’ve seen before.
The sight of her eyes flashes before my mind. I can see her scribbling on that clipboard, her face glowing so beautifully, hair blowing in the wind. I’ve been so stupid, but now, as I look up at the logo that matches the one on the paperwork Hannah filled out about my cabin, I’m about to make up for everything.
I storm forward, pushing past some men in suits to force my way in the front door.
“Sir! Excuse me, sir!” A voice calls out, but I keep moving through the lobby. “Sir! I need some ID please!”
