Page 37 of Fight Or Flight

“By our estimates, the number of mice is a hundred and seventy times what it should be. The mice decimated the foodsupply. With no food, the birds disappear. When the birds disappear, the bug population increases. Eventually, you end up with what we’ve got now: a flooded, buggy, rodent-filled mess. If it were to be heavily developed, there would be no recovering.”

He watched her as she looked out across the low-lying area, deep in thought.

“I get you want to sell, but, please, consider selling to anyone other than a developer.”

She stared at him longer, her eyebrows coming together, then eventually her face fell, but she remained silent. It was the same internal debate he saw play out over her features in Speeler’s office when Chelsea quietly begged her to stay.

“Can I ask you something?”

“No,” she said, with no resolve.

Ethan smiled. “Why do you hate it here so much?”

“I don’t belong here.”

“Where do you belong?”

She shrugged. “Nowhere.”

Ethan let the words sink in and found himself speechless. He watched her tip her chin up defiantly, as if what she said didn’t bother her. But he wasn’t so sure.

“Why exactly did you move here when you were younger?”

She glanced at him, stared into his eyes for a moment, then sighed. “My mom died, and I was going to be homeless. Like, really homeless. Not like I am now. There was no way I could afford the rent on our apartment and stay in school. Elizabeth showed up and offered me a place to stay. I’d never met her before, and I hated Robert, but she seemed genuine, and I had no other options, so I moved into the manor with her. But it caused more problems than it solved. For me and for her.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. The position made her look vulnerable, like a devastated angel. He half expected wings to break through her back.

“What happened that made you decide to leave?”

Natalie huffed out a breath and dropped her cheek onto her knees, peering up at him on an angle. “Anne told Elizabeth she didn’t want me here.”

“Well, that’s not your fault.”

“I know it’s not my fault. But I don’t want to be the cause of someone’s pain. My mom kept up the affair long after she found out Robert was married. I think Anne has been through enough without me here causing trouble. Every single person in this town had something to say about me. They made up wild stories about why Elizabeth took me in.” She paused and seemed to shudder at the memories. “So I decided to leave after graduation and start over on my own. And my life is great now. People out there in the world judge me for what I’ve done, not who my parents were.”

For the first time, Ethan finally got a glimpse of the real Natalie. Not the sharp-tongued girl who acted as if she didn’t care, but the outcast who stood up for defenceless people because she knew what it was like to be all alone. He couldn’t really relate to feeling alone; he always had a supportive family growing up. But he could relate to feeling judged by everyone in town.

He acted on instinct, reaching his arm around her and pulling her body into his as if he could shield her from whatever was harming her. She stiffened, but after a moment, she relaxed into the embrace and dropped her sweaty forehead onto his chest. They sat for a while like that, in silence, looking out over Mapleton. He thought back and forth about it, analyzing, debating, and came to the conclusion that he was asking way too much of her.

“Sorry, I know the gossip around Mapleton can be vicious. To be honest, I was planning on hiding out at the pond all summerto avoid hearing everyone’s take on the mess with Lindsay. I didn’t know that people were unkind to you.”

She waited a beat, then pulled back and looked up at his eyes. Her face softened with a look he’d never seen on her before. “It’s not something I talk about,” she said. “Ever.”

“Why did you tell me?”

She huffed out a soft laugh. “Because you’re so damn persistent?”

He looked down at her, and she was wearing that dazzling smile he first saw at the wedding. He took in her dark eyes, long eyelashes, and full smiling mouth, then forced his gaze off of her and looked out at the distance.

“Or maybe because you’re a good person. And you feel safe. And I like your family.”

He glanced back at her and was surprised to see that she was looking at him almost as if she wanted him. Was that even possible? She leaned in closer, then reached her hand around his back and dropped her gaze to his lips.

His heart rate kicked up, and he leaned toward her out of instinct. When she didn’t back away, it removed all doubt about what she wanted. And he realized how much he wanted her. How much he wanted to pull her to him, lay her down on the cool ground, bring his mouth to hers. His heart was racing as he imagined tasting her lips and feeling her soft curves under his hands.

But then he remembered that she was entirely wrong for him.

And she hated everything he loved.

And, worst of all, she was leaving.

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