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My heart skips a beat as I hand my glass back to Diana. This is it.
"Don't worry, sweetie." Diana gives me a soft pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure you two will get along just fine. Jordan's been working hard with his dad and the rest of the pack to get the cabin ready for your arrival. I think you’ll be happy here."
Her certainty is somewhat reassuring, and it gives me the strength to walk back through the front door. And there, sitting in the front seat of a beat-up old pick-up truck, is Jordan.
This time, he meets my gaze. And for a moment, I swear, the world stops spinning.
Everything else seems to fade away around us. He's handsome, strong, and confident. His hair is long and wavy, emphasizing his broad, masculine features. He's wearing jeans and a black t-shirt that hugs his muscular frame nicely.
As I climb into the truck, his scent reaches my nose and my nostrils flare. He smells wonderful. Like fresh pine and rich soil.
"Hey." He flashes me a quick smile. "I'm Jordan."
"Nice to meet you." I nod awkwardly and give him a half-smile. "I'm Caleb."
"It's only a short drive to the cabin." He backs the truck away from the house as I try to keep my breathing even. "I’m sure you're probably sick of car rides by now."
"I've honestly never had such a long car trip before." I try to chuckle, but it comes out a little flat. "But a few more minutes won't kill me."
"Sorry about my mom abducting you like that." Jordan glances at me before pulling the truck onto a narrow track that heads away from his parents' cabin and deeper into the woods. "I hope she didn't bore you with family photos or anything."
"No, she was nice. She gave me something to drink and tried to make me feel welcome."
"And do you? Feel welcome, that is."
I glance at Jordan. It's hard to read his expression as he focuses on the dirt road before us. The truck bounces along the uneven trail while branches and ferns slap against the battered metal exterior.
"You can be honest about it," Jordan continues. "You're not going to hurt my feelings if you're not exactly thrilled to be here."
"I'm just trying to keep an open mind." I take a deep breath as I look away from him. "I'm not sure how I feel about anything right now, to be honest."
"Well, that makes two of us," Jordan says with a light laugh. "There she is." He nods toward the road ahead. "Home sweet home."
6
JORDAN
The cabin I picked out is situated in a small clearing just a few yards away from a shallow creek. The sun streams through the gap in the trees overhead and keeps the canopy from feeling too oppressive. To be perfectly honest, the cabin itself was in rough shape. It hadn't been occupied in decades. Most potential couples opted to move on to other cabins that required less work to make them habitable, and some even decided to build a new one from scratch.
But something drew me to this place. It seemed quaint and oddly sentimental to work on it with my own two hands, but once we started on the repairs, I definitely questioned my sanity a few times. The sheer amount of work that had to be done was daunting, but...it all came together in the end.
"Is this really it?" Caleb’s voice is soft as I park the truck alongside the cabin. "This…is really...my...I mean, our...I mean..."
"Yup." I kick open the truck door and exhale heavily. "I know it's probably not what you were expecting. The registry rep said your pack owns a whole trailer park or something like that. That sounds pretty convenient."
"O-oh, yeah. It's...nice, I guess." Caleb's brow furrows slightly. "But it's nothing like this. This is better than anything I could've imagined."
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Well, don't say that until you see the inside. Come on, let's get you moved in."
Caleb follows me to the front door. The little porch is covered in moss and ivy and an old hanging swing sways gently from the beams. There's a freshly chopped pile of firewood near the front steps. The grass is lush and green around the cabin, though it's a bit overgrown.
"It's beautiful." Caleb turns in a circle. "It looks like it's been here forever."
"It kinda has. We can clean up the moss and stuff if you don't like it. We focused our repairs on making the inside livable."
"No, I like it. The ivy and the moss give it charm." Caleb laughs nervously.
"Good. I like it too." I grin at him and start to relax a bit. "Let's get you settled in."
