Page 9 of Find Me Again

CHAPTER FOUR

Ryan had had no intention of coming here today. After he'd last been up the hill with Neil, he'd sought this place only a handful of times over the years—the day Neil had left for Chicago, the day before shipping out for his first deployment, and then right after he was done with the military and was about to start a new job in DC.

Today, he had no big, life-altering decisions he was struggling with. He was in a good place with his job, he had great friends, and he was settled in his life in DC. Yet he found himself taking a turn as he was driving from his parents' house to his brother's, and here he was.

It was around noon and the weather was relatively mild, but he still tucked his scarf tight around his neck before leaving the car. The snow had fallen at night and it crunched under his boots as he walked around the truck to lean against the back of it and take in the view of the forest in the valley below him. He'd always loved the expanse of it, the seemingly endless mass of trees. It was peaceful, and beautiful, and serene.

He'd never understood why it wasn't the most popular spot in town, but then again, having this place for just him and Neil had been very convenient years ago.

Although Ryan might have praised the solitude aspect of the place too early, because in the next second he heard the car engine behind him and the sound was getting closer.

He tensed briefly, but then relaxed and stayed in place. He had nothing to hide, and if another pair of teenagers had somehow found this place, then he would get out of their way and wish them better luck than he'd had in that regard.

From the sound of it, the driver paused close by but theengine was still running, as if they didn't know what to do with someone else being here, too. Maybe they were considering leaving, but the road was narrow enough that they would have to drive further up to where he was, anyway.

Unless his car was blocking the way.

Ryan didn't think so, but it was enough to get him moving up and around the car to see what was happening.

He registered a rental first, and from that, he instantly knew who it was going to be.

As if in slow motion, Ryan blinked, looked up, and saw Neil Hopkins in the flesh, staring at him from the driver's seat, probably thinking about running away.

Again.

The thought slipped out of a dark corner of his mind where Ryan had thought he'd packed all his old anger and pain away.

There was no use of being angry anymore, though, and there definitely didn't have to be any spite. If he'd managed civility twelve years ago, heart-broken and hardly breathing through it, he could manage it now, too.

After taking a note of the fact that his car wasn't, in fact, blocking the way out, Ryan returned to his seat at the back of the truck. Neil could do whatever he wanted.

He always had.

Okay, so maybe Ryan wasn't handling it all that well, internally. Maybe he was allowed some anger and some spite, if only for as long as he had to deal with the guy being in the same town for the next few weeks. Ryan wasn't going to pick a fight, far from it, but his thoughts were fair game. He would give himself that much.

Hearing the car driving closer, he expected Neil to just make the turn and leave, but to his surprise, Neil parked his rental right next to Ryan's truck and got out of the car.

Ryan's whole body was instantly on high alert, more than ithad ever been on any assignment.

Still, he remained in place.

"Hi," Neil said, and Ryan couldn't hold back anymore—he looked at him then.

He was taller and bigger than the last time they'd seen each other in person, obviously, but he wasn't as big as the hockey gear made him seem, especially when he shoved his hands into his winter coat pockets and hunched his shoulders. His short blond hair was sticking out in every direction, probably due to the hat he'd taken off, and yet, it wasn't a bad look.

Of course it wasn't.

"Hey."

What else was there to say?

Neil hesitated for another few seconds, then came up to the front of his car and leaned against it as he took in the view.

"I didn't expect to see you here," he offered quietly after a while.

Would you have come if you had?

Ryan pushed the question away, fairly certain what Neil's answer would be and knowing that his would have been the same.

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