Page 26 of The One With the Mountain Man

"Is that so?" It was really quite sweet the way they were talking him up.

Jackson glared at Sharon and Maeve. "What is it Scottie calls you all? Murderous little book nerds?"

Sharon sniffed. "He does. What business is it of yours?"

"I'm amending the nickname. You're murderous,meddlinglittle book nerds. Annie, is our dessert ready?"

She held up a small box. "Sure is. Have fun you two."

Jackson snatched it from her hands, then nodded at the group. "Marley and I are going to catch up. Alone. That means none of you follow us, got it?" Then he held his free hand out towards the green door. "Marley?"

"It was so nice to meet you all. I look forward to getting to know you better." And I meant it. It was nice to simply be Marley, a fellow book nerd, to these people.

"You are so welcome. Remember book club!" Sharon said.

"See you at the TBR Pile." Willow waved.

"I have breakfast here every morning if you want some company." Maeve pointed to the table by the window.

"We'll see you soon," Harrison said with a kind smile. Liam simply nodded.

I let Jackson hold the door for me. He shot one last warning glare at the group and then followed me out. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. They just care about you."

"They need to care less. It's not okay to grill you like that."

A cool breeze whipped through the air as we crossed the parking lot to the road. Two cars passed on the two-lane road and then we were clear to cross. A wide sidewalk lined the road from the store on up to the first bend in the river above us.

"There are some stairs just there." Jackson nodded to the break in the railing.

I quickly stepped down the concrete stairs and closer to the rushing waters of the river before I paused and realized I felt perfectly safe walking around in the open. I felt perfectly safe meeting all those strangers. But most bizarre of all, I felt perfectly safe going off alone with a strange man.

My life had pulled a one-eighty. I'd gone from hiding in my own home, afraid to even stroll my own lawn, to walking around Lost Creek without a second thought. Charley was right to push me out of the cabin. I'd gone from hiding at home to hiding here without realizing what I was doing. I'd come here for the safety every bit as much as the mental reset. I wassupposedto be able to walk around freely. No one here knew me.

I was free.

"You look like someone who's been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders for too long." Jackson lingered on the last step, giving me space.

But I didn't miss the worry in his eyes. Like he was afraid if he pushed me, even just a little, I would run.

How did he know?

"I have. That's why I'm here." Wind tossed my hair across my face, so I scraped it off and twisted it back, braiding it slightly to tame it.

He came down from the step, holding our dessert against his chest. "If and when you want to unload it on someone, I'm all ears."

Could this man I barely knew actually want to hear about my problems? Or was he just another person who wanted me to be something for him? I was so tired of being demanded of and not being allowed to demand anything back in return.

But everything here was different. From the smooth rock I stood on to the cool water rushing by. So I decided to trust Jackson with the tiniest morsel of why I was here. "I have some big obligations at work that I haven't been able to fulfill, which is making a lot of people very angry."

"And that all rests on you and you alone? That doesn't sound fair."

I loved how adorably he frowned. He did it with his whole body. Every part of his face turned down, his eyes lost focus, his shoulders dropped along with his posture.

This was a man whofeltthings.

My job as an author meant that I was constantly observing people and the way they interacted, so I was usually fairly good at reading people. I wasn't wary of Jackson. From the moment he stopped to check on me, I trusted him. He was kind and empathetic. Even now he seemed more concerned about my mental state than anything else.

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