Page 103 of All We Need

“You’re the most driven personI’veever met.Sometimes, though”—he sweeps my hair off my face and stares at me fondly—“it’s okay to let others take the wheel.Letme take the driver’s seat for a while.Andwhen you’re ready,I’llbe right by your side when you want to take over again.”

With him,I’munderstood.Hechallenges me without questioning my character.Mytemper doesn’t faze him; it fuels him.He’smatched me every step of the way.

As blue meets silver, it dawns on me.

Booth doesn’t just stare at me; heseesme.

SoItake my foot off the pedal and relax into his embrace.

I don’t trust easily, but with him,Icould.MaybeIalready am.BeforeIdrift to sleep,Iimagine it’s easy to do a lot of things withBooth.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

booth

“C’mon, my little ice queen,”Iholler over my shoulder.

Not one second later, a flurry of cold white powder explodes in my face.

“Oops,” a sweet voice says.

Blinking away the snow from my eyes,Iturn to look atAly, twenty yards down the trail, with the prettiest death stare aimed my way.

“There’s my girl.Nowhurry.Thesun is gonna set soon.”

Powering ahead,Ismile to myself when the crunch of her snow boots nears closer.

Aly was…well,Alywhen we woke this morning.

Her story astonished me.Thehurt in her words was obvious, no matter how hard she tried to mask it.It’sunfathomable that someone wouldn’t want to know her.Towitness her opening up like she did last night was monumental.Therewas a beauty in her vulnerability.

Aly’s strength is a castle.Afortress never weathered by the elements.Brickby pristine brick, she dropped her walls and let me inside.

Martin was her grandfather.Nother father.

She took a huge step visiting him yesterday.Today, however, her walls are up again, and underneath her stoic expression, she’s frustrated.

So when we rolled out of bed, coddling her was not an option.Iwelcomed her fire and let her do what she needed to do.Iunderstand why she guards her heart with ferocity, and last nightIgot a glimpse inside before she sealed it shut again.

“Where are we going?” she asks breathlessly, her legs finally catching up to me.Sheblends in with the snowy landscape in her beige suede coat and cream knitted scarf and gloves.

“There’s a spot close by.Thestorm stopped me from showing you around last time.”Iheft the large backpack over my shoulder and she eyes it suspiciously.

“And you’re not going to tell me what’s in there?”

“Nope.”Iflash her a grin.

“I’m not helping you bury a body.”Sheblows a curl off her face.

“Unless it’s mine?”Ibump shoulders with her.

She cuts me a side glance. “I’mstill on the fence about that.”

Her sharp wit and banter are a good sign; it’s her silence that’s unsettling.

After breakfast,Iwanted to distract her before we headed back to reality.Whenshe wasn’t looking,Istuffed whatIneeded in a bag, told her to dress comfortably with plenty of layers, and steered her out of the cabin.

Now, we’re surrounded by towering evergreens, their branches bowing with the weight of the snow.Thereisn’t a single cloud hanging in the crystal blue sky.Underthe afternoon sun, the forest sparkles as the rays catch on the white canopies.It’swhimsical, like something out of a fairy tale.

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