Page 48 of The One With the Mountain Man

"But it's on private property!"

"And I know the owner. I already called and got permission."

Marley stood there staring at me for a full ten seconds with her mouth gaping open before she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms tight around my neck. "Oh my god,thank you!Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She smacked kisses on my cheek.

I held her close. "I haven't taken you anywhere yet."

"But you are. You have no idea." She leaned up and kissed me on the mouth. "Let's go!"

The entire trip to the little cabin was surreal. The excitement vibrated out of her as she bounced in my passenger seat like a kid on the way to the fair. I always found it a privilege to witness anyone deeply enthusiastic about something. And Marley was very enthusiastic about Sammy.

The property with the cabin was just outside of town, just like in the books. I turned off the main road onto a gravel path that was only wide enough for my truck. To the cars on the road this was a wall of trees. It hid the magic from prying eyes. As we passed over a small creek the trees thinned out and there at the top of a green slope sat the old log cabin that inspired Sammy's home.

"Jackson," Marley gasped, her hands over her mouth, eyes as big as saucers. "It's real."

"It's real," I agreed, eating up the pure joy on her face, knowing it was partially there because of me.

I could make her happy. Ineededto make her happy. It was a compulsion stronger than anything I'd ever felt before. Even stronger than my desire to stay far, far away from Lost Creek.

Which was a dangerous thing to realize.

No one had lived in the little log cabin in decades, but the owner kept it in good condition because it was Sammy's inspiration and because it had been in the family for generations. The new family home sat about five hundred feet above us, also hidden behind another stand of trees. The owner expected me to park here for the day because I planned on showing Marley much more than the cabin. So I pulled the truck off the side of the gravel path and put it in park. "Do you want to do this alone or would you like company?"

She froze for a second, like someone caring was surprising. And that fucking gutted me because all I did was offer her support, whichever way she needed it.

"I, uh, well, if you want to come with me, that would be nice, but only if you want to."

Like I would miss this. "I just know that sometimes people like to experience special things alone. I'd love to be part of it."

Marley blinked back fuckingtears.Jesus, what was going on in her life that basic participation was a shock?

"That would be nice, Jackson. Thank you."

I reached across the console to cup her face, strumming her cheek with my thumb because it was so soft and because I couldn't stop touching her every chance I got. "You're very welcome. Let's go."

Marley approached the cabin like a live bomb. Slowly, taking in every detail, and with a shaky hand she was trying to keep steady. I took the other one to anchor her down. When she squeezed it and gave me a soft smile, another thread slammed into my chest, linking me to her.

Then, she opened the door and burst into a ray of joy. "I'm inside Sammy's house." Her eyes sparkled as she took in the tiny one room cabin. "I'm...inside...Sammy's....house."

I couldn't look away from her. I didn't want to miss a moment of this unadulterated version of Marley. Underneath all her troublesthiswas who she was inside. She was joyous, hopeful, so goddamn beautiful it made me ache.

She rattled off dates and times. She knewpage numbers.

"And then after they found the dog, they made him a bed right here." She ran to one corner and then back across the room. "Cousin Marta taught them to sew at this table." Then she caressed the stones that made up the fireplace. "Granny cooked the stew that saved them all in book three, chapter eight." And then for a while she just sat in the center of the room in front of the fireplace. She didn't say a word. And I didn't dare interrupt whatever communing was happening with the real past and her fictional one. I didn't dare move until Marley sniffled, wiped her cheek, and stood up. "Thank you."

I pulled her into my arms. "I barely did a thing."

"And yet it's something so huge I couldn't even dream of it until this morning."

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and realized I wasn't just falling for Marley. I'd fallen. In the back of my mind were Gus and Karis, but I didn't care about work or where I needed to be next. I didn't even care if I ran into every member of my family because the only person that mattered was right here.

Marley made me want to be in Lost Creek because that's where she was. I wanted to be near her because she made me feel good. She made me feel seen.

And god, did I want to make her feel that way too. "You up for a hike?" Sammy could walk from her house up to the bald and have her "quiet moments." I wanted to show it to Marley, to let her walk the same path as the character she clearly loved so much and let her see the world from Sammy's perspective.

"Is it a long one?" She peered up at me.

I shrugged. "It'll take a little over an hour to get there." And then we'd have an epic picnic she'd never forget.

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