AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We will destroy them,” she whispered in my ear.
* * *
“I want to say something, but I’m worried it’ll upset you,” Hazel said, munching on a slice of dried mango as she drove. Since Stowe, Vermont, was a little more than four hours from Lovewell, we were taking turns behind the wheel.
“Go for it,” I said, leaning back in my seat. Right then, I didn’t think anything could upset me. I was tired, sure, but energized and still in awe that I’d qualified. And now the real work began.
“I need you to make me a promise.”
“Okay.”
“After… you know.” She gripped the steering wheel hard with both hands, her attention fixed on the road ahead. “After we get divorced or whatever. Promise me you’ll find someone worthy of you. Please don’t let yourself get sucked into a relationship with someone who doesn’t value you.”
I laughed, though it was hollow, because I didn’t want to talk about what came after this. What came after Hazel was gone. And I definitely didn’t want to talk about Crystal.
“I mean it,” she said, finally peeking over at me. “Don’t sell yourself short. You are a beautiful person, inside and out. And she is…”
“Bratty,” I offered.
She shrugged. “I was going to say a sociopathic demon with a perverse princess complex, but bratty works too.”
I swiped the bag of mango from her lap and grabbed a piece. “You think I’m beautiful? I’ve never been called that before.”
Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Oh please. You saw those execs drooling over you today. You know you’re hot.”
My breath hitched at her comment, and all I could do was stare straight ahead while I processed her words. Hazel thought I was hot? For weeks, I’d caught her looking at me when she thought I wouldn’t notice. And I’d noticed the way her pulse sped up when I was close. But here she was, saying it out loud. I considered pinching myself to make sure I hadn’t dozed off in the car and fallen into a post-competition fantasy land.
“You’ve got that whole country boy charm, plus the chocolate puppy dog eyes, the dimples, the arms…”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean”—she blew out a breath and turned her head, piercing me with a glare so powerful it was obvious even lit only by the light of the moon above us—“you should cut the sleeves off your shirt. You’d probably gain another hundred thousand Insta followers if you did.”
I almost choked on my mango. “Mrs. Gagnon.” I gasped. “Are you implying that I should be displaying the guns in public?” I held up one arm and flexed.
“Oh, Mr. Gagnon, I certainly am. What kind of timber wife would I be if I didn’t want to show off those axe-throwing, log-chopping muscles?”
My smile almost cracked my face in half.
“Don’t read too much into this,” she said, eyes locked on the road again. “It’s just a suggestion.” She patted my shoulder. “Now rest up while I drive home. Because tomorrow, we start training.”
Chapter22
Remy
Iwanted this. I wanted to be the best at something. No longer the idiot little brother, the bad student, the guy who used his charm instead of his skill to get through life.
Paz’s words echoed in my brain.Half-assed. Shortcuts. I wasn’t that guy anymore. Life had handed me an opportunity, the chance to do something with my talent, and I was going to see it through. I was going to nationals. And I’d give it everything I had.
Because I was good at this.
Chopping and climbing and throwing. They’d all come naturally to me my whole life. For years, I had competed, but never seriously, never pushing myself fully. But I wanted it. The next level.
And it wasn’t until Hazel called me out that I realized why I had held back. I was afraid to fail. I was self-sabotaging, just like I did with every other fucking thing in my life.
I wasn’t living to my potential. But my time with Hazel was showing me what true determination looked like.
I’d leave for work, and she’d be hunched over her desk, making spreadsheets. When I got home, she’d be on the phone, trying to track down information, or she’d be typing furiously, glasses on, pencil stuck in her hair, and headphones in place.
