Page 17 of Mystery in the Mountains

“We’ll get it fixed for you.”

“You don’t have to?—”

A big, calloused hand covered her own. “Sunny, stop. Let me help you.”

She smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re happy you’re back.”

“Are you sure it’s ‘we,’ not just you?”

“Yeah, he’ll come around.”

“Thanks, Abe.” She wrapped her arms around this big bear of a man.

He gave her a short squeeze and pulled back. “Don’t mention it. I’ll see you around.” With a small nod, he headed back to his truck, carefully skipping the broken stair.

After loading the ladder and tools back into his truck, he set off down her drive. While there was still a hole in her roof, for the first time since she got back, she could breathe a little easier. Maybe she could actually pull this off.

Later that night, after going through boxes for hours, she made herself a turkey sandwich and a glass of tea. The sun was starting to set, and she decided to eat on her porch. As she sat on the swing, the rain started to gently fall, and she gave a thankful thought to Abe because she could sleep easy.

As the rain gently fell, she heard another rustle from her bush on the side of the forest line. She turned and, once again, saw something in the shadows.

“Hi,” she said.

The black wolf lowered its head.

“Asher . . .” She stood to go to him.

But as she did, he stepped back into the forest. He didn’t leave, though, which was a good sign.

She sat on her steps and blew out a breath. If this was how she could talk to him . . . she would talk.

“I know nothing I can say will ever make up for leaving the way I did.”

She carefully eyed the wolf staring right back at her.

“When I left,” she continued, “I just planned on getting out of the Hollow and clearing my head. I felt like I was suffocating here. After the accident, then having to watch it slowly drive my dad insane trying to figure it out, I just didn’t know what to do. As I got farther away, it was like I could breathe. The weight of all of it lifted. But I always planned on coming back.”

The wolf gave a small huff.

“I did. I never thought I would be gone longer than a few days . . . but days turned to months, and months turned to years. The longer I stayed away, the harder it felt to return.”

The rain had stopped, and the sun was low, giving over to the eerie glow of twilight as she poured her heart out to a wolf.

“I was just driving, trying to outrun my past here. I ended up in New Mexico for a while. I was in LA for a while. I worked odd jobs and slept in my van . . . but I never settled anywhere. I always knew I wanted to come back . . . Come back to you,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes. “I never meant to hurt you, Asher. I hate so much that I did. I was so selfish. I’m so sorry, and I hope you can forgive me.” She swiped the tears away. “Even if you don’t forgive me, which I understand, I’m here. I’m going to fix this if you’ll let me.”

She closed her eyes and took a breath. A cold, wet nose found her hand, nudging it. When she opened her eyes, a big black wolf was by her side. Tears streamed down her face as she scratched him behind the ears.

“Please, say I can fix this.”

The wolf licked her tear-stained face before turning and walking back into the woods.

Sunny sat there, taking in what had just happened. While she knew the wolf was easier to win over than Asher, it was a start. Between Abe and the wolf, she felt like she had stopped the hemorrhaging. It was time to assess the damage, roll up her sleeves, and set everything straight. The belief she could actually do it settled over her. She wasn’t there yet, and there was still a lot of work to do, but she could do it.

As the wind blew, it carried a song with it. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was playing again.

Standing, she realized it was, once again, coming from her living room. She turned it off and decided to get back to the wall of boxes. She’d made it through three stacks that day so far, only one more to go.

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