Page 7 of Rebuilding with the Mountain Man

A couple minutes passed and there was no answer. Maybe she wasn’t home even though I was pretty sure her car was parked in the lot.

I buzzed again, this time for longer, when finally, her sweet voice sounded over the speaker. The mere sound of it sent my mind into a tailspin. “Can I help you?”

“Hey, Amara. It’s me, Thane. Can we talk?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I know I’m the last person you probably want to talk to. But can I please explain?”

Silence.

Seconds turned into minutes. I swallowed over the lump in my throat.

“Okay, fine, I’ll explain right now. It sounds crazy but I swear it’s the truth. Somehow, I lost my phone, and I hadn’t done a recent backup so when I saved your phone number, it didn’t transfer onto my new phone. Then work got insane, but in a good way, as I’ll explain in a second. It took some digging, but I found your business and your address, and I came here to apologize for ghosting you, but I honestly lost my phone and then I worked day and night on a project. A special project. For someone who means a lot to me.”

“If I meant that much to you, then you would’ve come a lot sooner.”

“I should’ve but the reason I waited was because I was working on something. For you. I want you to come with me so I can show you.”

“Thane, I don’t think that’s a good idea. We should just cut our losses and move forward. I found a new contractor to help me.”

Her words were like a stab to the chest. It was as if the wind was knocked clear out of me, a throbbing wound. “You…you did?”

“Yeah. Goodbye, Thane.”

Her words were so abrupt. So final. I couldn’t manage my own goodbye, so I said nothing.

My arms fell to my side and my shoulders slumped. I hung my head low and turned away from her door. Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of never seeing her again. Never showing her what I built for her.

This was what I deserved. I did her wrong. I didn’t deserve a second chance. I deserved nothing.

I slowly walked back to my car, desperately trying to hold back my tears. But it was no use.

My heart was breaking.

CHAPTER FIVE

Amara

I stoodin front of the window and watched him walk down the pathway like a guy who just lost his dog. My own tears streamed down my face. My heart and mind battled in a duel, and I didn’t know what I should do.

These past couple of weeks were torture. I couldn’t go through it again.

But how could I just let him walk away?

Thane got inside his truck.

This was it.

My last chance.

Before he left.

I didn’t think anymore. I turned around and booked it out of my apartment. I flew down the stairs and out the front door, running down the sidewalk just as Thane began backing out.

When he saw me, he slammed on his breaks and threw the truck into park, not caring that he was half hanging out of a parking spot. He jumped out of his truck. We met in the middle. He lifted his arms, but I took a step back.

His face fell. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry for hurting you. I should’ve contacted you sooner. Instead, I got caught up in the project and I hurt you. I waited too long to find you. Please forgive me.”

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