Page 19 of Her Mountain Man Rescuer

“Stay here and rest that wrist, okay?”

She nods reluctantly. I’m about to head back for the kitchen when she grabs my hand, pulling me down to her level and pressing a sweet kiss on my lips. “Thank you, Weston,” she says. “For everything.”

Those big blue eyes melt my heart, and I smile at her before heading into the kitchen. Audrey insists on getting up to lay the table, and eventually, we each sit down to a stack of fresh pancakes coated in butter and syrup. But for the first time in my life, I don’t have much of an appetite. All I can think about is theclock on the wall, my time with Audrey ticking away. It feels like it’s moving at double speed.

I wish like hell she didn’t have to leave.

I’d give anything for Audrey to stay here with me, but I know in my heart that I can’t ask that of her. She’s a city girl with her own life back in Denver. I can’t expect her to give all that up to stay with an old grump in the woods, and I couldn’t live with myself knowing I was holding her back, keeping her from her true goals. She’d be miserable here. And that would be on me.

But fuck, what am I going to do without her?

Part of me is furious with myself for letting this happen. Audrey told me from the start that she would be leaving. Hell, she even said it before we kissed, told me outright that this could never be more than a brief fling. But I buried my head in the sand and let myself fall anyway. I guess now it’s time to deal with the consequences.

We don’t talk much while we eat. We’re both lost in our own thoughts, ignoring the birds twittering outside and the tick-tock of the clock on the wall. Eventually, once we’ve cleared our plates, there’s nothing left for me to do but help Audrey pack. It doesn’t take long—just a few clothes and toiletries to put back in her suitcase. I carry it out to her car and she follows, both of us dragging our feet. Once it’s in the trunk, I slam it closed, the sound ricocheting through the trees.

“Well…” Audrey wrings her hands, looking at her feet. “I guess I better get going. Lila is waiting for me.”

My throat is too dry to speak. The forest seems to narrow around me, closing in until it’s hard to breathe.

“This doesn’t have to be goodbye,” she says, taking a step toward me. “I could come visit sometime, if you want me to? Or…well, if you’re ever in Denver…”

It’s better than nothing, but fuck, I want so much more. With a groan, I reach out and pull her into my arms, squeezing hertight. There are so many things I want to say. I want to tell her how much I’ll miss her, how much she means to me, how she’s lit up my life in the time we’ve spent together. But the words won’t come.

Eventually, we pull apart. Audrey rises on her tiptoes and kisses me softly, a gentle goodbye that makes my stomach clench.

Fuck, this feels so wrong.

All I want to do is carry her back into my cabin and keep her with me forever. But I can’t. I knew what I was signing up for when I fell for a city girl, but hell, that doesn’t make this any easier.

“Bye, Weston.” Audrey draws back, her eyes red. “And thank you for everything. I know I keep saying it, but truly, I mean it. Thank you.”

I can’t bring myself to say the word ‘bye’. I can’t do it. Instead, I lean down to kiss her again, one last time. It’s passionate, desperate, and I draw it out for as long as possible, pulling her against me, never wanting to let go. But eventually, she pulls back, smiling sadly up at me. I watch as she gets in her car, closing the door behind her. The engine whirs to life, and our eyes meet through the windshield. Then suddenly, she’s driving away from me, the car vanishing down the dirt track until it’s swallowed up by trees. I stare at the point where it disappeared for a long time, feeling my heart crumble like rock inside my chest.

How the hell do I go back to life without her?

9

AUDREY

I finally hitthe share button on the graphic I’ve been working on all morning, then I stretch my limbs and stand up, shaking the soreness out of my legs from sitting so long. My head hurts from staring at the screen, and I walk to the window, pressing my forehead against the cool glass and looking down at the busy street below. It’s lunchtime on a Saturday, and a line of traffic is crawling by. Familiar buildings rise around me—glass and concrete. Somebody honks their horn in five long bursts, and I pull away from the window with a sigh.

It’s been a week since I left Weston’s cabin. After we said goodbye, I headed straight for Lila’s. I was happy to see her, but it felt like I spent the whole time forcing a smile and acting like leaving Weston was no big deal. I only stayed for one night, promising to visit again in a couple of months. Since then, I’ve been throwing myself into my work, practically chained to my laptop day and night as I pump out content for my clients. But no matter how much I distract myself, I know something is wrong.

Everything feels…different.

Ever since I came back to Denver, it’s as if the city has lost its sparkle. I used to look out at the glinting skyline and feel somuch possibility. So much freedom. Now, all I seem to feel is emptiness. I’m in a city full of people, yet somehow, it feels far lonelier than the empty forests of Cherry Mountain, where the silent trees stretch for miles.

Obviously, the city hasn’t really changed. It’s still beautiful, still vibrant. I’m the one who’s changed. Ever since my trip, something has shifted inside me. I find myself longing for the quiet again, the wilderness, the rugged beauty. But most of all, I’m longing for Weston. I miss him so much it hurts. It’s a constant ache I can’t ignore. I miss Lila, too. Heck, there are lots of things I miss. Feeling at home in this apartment, for example, the way I used to feel before it was broken into. But it’s not just because of the burglary. Heck, I wish I could blame it all on that. But these feelings run so much deeper.

God, I need a coffee.

Ice caramel macchiatos are the only thing getting me through the day right now. One of the perks of living across the street from Starbucks. At least there’s one thing I still appreciate about living in the city. I pull on my wool coat, catching the scent of pine. It’s the same coat I wore the day Weston took me to the waterfall, and it still smells like the forest. For a second, it’s like I’m with him, back there on Cherry Mountain, the water rushing down, the sunlight streaming through the canopies. I can picture Weston’s warm brown eyes crinkling slightly as he looks at me, his beard grazing my chin as he leans in to kiss me…

Stop it,I tell myself firmly.Stop torturing yourself with these memories.

Just as I’m about to walk out the door, my phone beeps. I left it in the bedroom to charge while I worked, and I run to grab it, seeing Lila’s name light up my screen. My mood lifts slightly as I answer the call with a smile.

“Hi! You just caught me. I’m heading out the door right this minute.”

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