AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Everything was progressing nicely. And Janie had nearly made the two-week mark.
How could he be so angry with her and proud of her at the same time?
With energy equal to the eight-hundred-meter races he used to run in high school, Hunter made the bristles of that tool swish-swash across the already clean surface until he came to the framing for the wide window that overlooked the pond.
It was the perfect view, just like he’d envisioned. And on this evening, with the lowering sun catching the iridescent light of the snow dusting the trees across the ice-covered water, it would be spectacular.
It should be spectacular.
But Hunter’s damaged lungs were burning, and his shortness of breath wasn’t due to the view, even if the gold-gilded sparkles were perfect. With the broom in his left hand, he propped the tool vertical against the floor and leaned against it. The wheezing from his lungs hummed into the air between his spot and the window a mere foot away.
So many mistakes.
Hunter squeezed his eyes shut, the pain in his chest more than the spasming of his damaged lungs. A series of recent replays scrolled through his mind.
You wouldn’t last five days.
Such a stupid, cold, arrogant thing to say.
If winning her back was your plan, you took a wrong turn. This isn’t going to get it done.
Bennett’s blunt words hadn’t been news, but their sharp accuracy sure did pierce like an arrow.
Come home.
Plain demand. One more reason Janie would never allow her heart to turn back to his. Why would a beautiful, successful, kind woman want a man who did and said such stupid, condescending things? He despised himself for them—there was no reason to think she wouldn’t as well.
Opening his eyes, he caught the last layer of golden light fade from the shoreline across the pond as the sun sank behind the hills at his back. Darkness would fall fast, as it always did, leaving the canyon in a lightless chill that felt very much like the valley Hunter found his heart in.
And he had no one to blame but himself. “God, I can’t seem to let this go.” Every time he thought he had surrender down, another willful surge would roll.
If only he’d never made such an impetuous bet. If only he’d been successful in talking Janie out of it.
If only God would hurry up and make him the better man he longed to be.
Shadows enveloped the pond, the unfinished lodge, and Hunter himself, folding him in another lonely night. So much majesty and beauty surrounded him, but standing there alone, he felt only the vastness of emptiness. The plans for the Splendor that he’d made were moving forward with efficiency. The future seeming promising. But to go into it alone . . .
A shuddering breath left his lungs. Defeat pressed hard against him.
God, how can I live like this?
This plan he’d forged hadn’t been for himself. Not from the beginning. Yes, he wanted a life that was purposeful and fulfilling. But this lodge wasn’t intended to be all about him. He’d thought carefully about how he could provide for his sister with this. How they could someday pass on a better legacy.
And in his mind, he wouldn’t be going forward with his hands empty. In his mind, there was Janie. Beside him, her hand in his, facing the future together as they’d promised so long ago. This lodge was for her. For all of them.
A chilled draft stirred at his back, followed by the sound of a door shutting.
Likely Hazel, or maybe Bennett. Hunter remained unmoving, staring at the nearly frozen pond while he labored to tuck away his broken heart.
“You win.”
Hunter’s spine snapped straight. Breath caught. Slowly he turned, letting the broom clatter to the floor.
A tear trickled from those beautiful blue eyes. When she tried to speak again, her lips trembled.
Hunter’s heart fell to pieces all over again. He’d thought the last thing he’d wanted was to witness Janie walking into happiness on the arm of another man. Not so. As he watched this beautiful woman fight against tears of defeat, truth became very clear:Thiswas the last thing he wanted.
With two cautious steps, he moved nearer. “I . . . what?”
