Page 34 of Ember Meadow
Codie gives me a sad smile. The kind I usually hate because they make me feel small. But for some reason, it feels different with her. Not so much pity, but empathy. “I’m so sorry.”
There’s a tug in my chest as we walk along the sidewalk. I had Hazel in Juniper Ridge. And Aunt Millie. And sometimes even Wade. But I’ve never had a group of friends. I’ve always been a best friend sort of girl. It was Hazel and I all of the time, or just me.
But, I’ve always secretly wanted a friend group. Maybe this could be my opportunity. Even if it’s just for the summer. If Codie’s friends are as cool as she is, I’m sure I’ll have a blast at the hike.
“How long do you have left on the cabin renovation?” She asks, kicking a pebble across the sidewalk in front of us.
“Probably over a month still. We’ve got most of the big things done, but it always takes a lot longer to put back together than it did to break it apart,” I laugh.
“And after? Will you go back to Juniper Ridge, or is there another cabin out there waiting for the magical Katie MacPherson touch?” Codie asks with a smile. I can’t help but giggle.
“Yep, back to Idaho it is.”
“Wow, don’t sound too excited.”
“It’s not that I’m not excited to go home, it’s just–” I sigh. Boring? Lonely? Back to real life, where I had nothing permanent going for me? “I’m just not sure it’s what I want anymore. But that’s really intimidating, you know?”
“Sure,” she nods.
“I don’t want to just hop around from project to project either. I’d love to settle down somewhere. Eventually build a place of my own. Make friends and all that shit. And I love Juniper Ridge, don’t get me wrong. I guess I’m just thinking more about those things lately.”
“That makes sense,” Codie says. “I love Jackson Hole, but I’m not opposed to leaving one day if the need strikes.”
“I’ve been gone for a while, so it’s probably just that.” It’s like a dam has broken inside of me. I’ve never thought about leaving seriously, much less talked to a near-stranger about it. It’s not like I can talk to Hazel about moving away, she’d be heartbroken. “Maybe I’ll follow my Aunt Millie to New Mexico. She seems to like it.”
Codie laughs, linking her arm through mine as we turn a corner in the square. “I feel like I would thrive there. Creepy alien abductions, desert for miles, turquoise jewelry.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Millie moved there for thoseexactreasons.”
I can’t help but smile as I pull into the guest cabin a bit later, my tires coming to a stop on the dirt road right in front of the porch I’ve decorated with a couple of flowers and a welcome mat I found at the local grocery store.
Even if it’s just for a little while, this place is starting to feel like mine.
Chapter 12
Muscle Memory
Sweat beads on myforehead as I lay in the quiet darkness of the middle of the night. My heart is racing, my lungs trying to suck in as much air as they can get.
It felt so real.
I roll out of bed and over to the window, opening it as much as I can to let in the cool night air at the ranch. The last thing I remember before waking up was the heat of Miles’s touch on my skin. He runs so goddamn hot all of the time.
I’ve never had such a vivid dream in my life. When I first woke up, disappointment hollowed in my chest. All I wanted to do was tug on that fleeting memory of it until I fell back asleep and back into the illusion.
Then, my brain woke up enough to realize what it was I was trying to get back to.
Miles.
Whispering things into my ear, fingers skating ever so slightly across my back, looking at me with those deep brown eyes. I can still remember his eyelashes, the flecks of gold glowing in the dark. A shiver breaks out across my shoulders as I remember it, the ghost of Miles’s face skating across my vision. A feeling I can only describe as yearning. For a version of him I’ll never have again. Not in this life.
He’d whisper he was waiting for me all along into my hair as he held me close. We’d ride off into the sunset, spending our days together wandering in the mountains and our nights snuggled up together by the fireplace. We wouldn’t have to worry about things like distance because we’d always be together.
With a sigh, I fall back into the soft, mussed covers on my bed. A crisp mountain breeze rolls in, cooling me down a bit more. My gaze stalls on the wood planks of the ceiling as I replay the vivid dream over and over again in my head. I think it’s safe to say I won’t be getting much sleep tonight.
I let out a frustrated groan and hop up out of bed again, pulling on a pair of running leggings. Maybe going for a night run will tire me out a bit. Let off some pent-up energy.
The night air is cold on my cheeks as I step out of the cabin. The stars are out in full force tonight, a full moon lighting up the fields surrounding me. Wooden fence posts pass by as I run down the gravel road, tension melting off with every step I take.
