Page 162 of Shadows of You

I grinned at Cady. “Be back in a minute, Katydid.”

“Okay, Mama.” But she was already distracted by something Charlie was showing her.

Roan guided me out the door and toward his truck.

“We have to drive to this something?”

He opened the passenger door and helped me in. “It’s not far.”

I slid in and fastened my belt. The air was cold and smelled like snow. I wouldn’t have been surprised if we got a few inches tonight.

Roan got behind the wheel and started the engine.

“Are you going to give me any clues?”

He grunted and shook his head.

The reaction only made me smile. Too many people for one day.

Instead of turning toward town, he went in the opposite direction. He guided his truck up Huckleberry Lane until we reached a gate with several cameras. He rolled down his window and punched in a code.

“Is this your property?”

He nodded. “Bought it not long after my attack. Made it as secure as I could. No one’s ever been up here but me.”

And he was letting me in. The simple action had tears gathering in my eyes.

As the gate slid open, my gaze searched for the house. It took a minute for it to come into view. A simple but gorgeous A-frame cabin. With some snow, it could’ve been a Christmas card.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, pulling to a stop.

Roan slid out and came to help me. He took my hand and led me up the walk to the front door. He slid a key into one lock after the other and then guided us inside.

The space was minimalistic, but the walls had gorgeous photographs of nature and animals. There was also a massive stone fireplace and a back wall that was all windows.

I gasped as I headed for it. His view was jaw-dropping. You could see all of Cedar Ridge. The town, the lake, the beautiful mountains surrounding us.

Roan slid open the door and ushered me out onto the balcony, shutting it behind us.

I instinctively moved toward the railing, wanting to take it all in.

“This is where I first saw you.”

I looked up at the sound of Roan’s voice, right into those beautiful blue eyes.

“It was just a flash of red.” His lips twitched. “I was annoyed at first. I never saw the old guy who lived there before you. It was like I had this whole mountainside to myself.”

My mouth curved.

“But then I saw your kindness. The animals you added, one after another. How patient you were with your daughter. At times, I swore a light shone straight out of you.”

My heart jerked in my chest as my breaths came quicker.

“You were the light in the shadows. A glimmer of hope when I felt like all mine had been burned out. I think maybe I loved you even then.”

My lips parted with a sharp inhale. “You love me?”

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