Page 28 of Liam James
Forest studied me for a long moment before a slow smile tugged at his mouth. “And what about Jenny?”
I glanced toward the door where she disappeared inside, sunlight catching in her hair. “She’s stronger than she thinks,” I said. “But… yeah. She needs time too.”
“Time,” Forest repeated, like he didn’t believe me for a second.
I ignored him.
Inside, Jenny sat on the edge of the bed while Poppy sat next to her. She looked up when I stepped in, eyes soft, like she didn’t quite know how to thank me for all of it—for the rescue, the protection, the long drive back here that felt like leaving a nightmare behind.
“Liam,” she said quietly.
I crossed the room, crouched in front of her so we were eye to eye.
“We’re safe now,” I said.
She nodded, but I could see the storm behind her eyes. Relief. Exhaustion. Something else I didn’t want to name just yet.
Poppy hugged me, as if she didn’t want to let go. I hugged her back.
Jenny smoothed the girl’s hair back, her hand trembling just a little, then looked at me like she wasn’t sure what came next for any of us.
Neither was I.
But I knew one thing.
I wasn’t letting either of them face it alone.
22
Liam and Jenny
The cabin smelled like pine and fresh coffee, sunlight sliding through the windows in golden stripes across the worn wooden floors. It felt safe here.
Maybe too safe.
Jenny sat on the edge of the bed while Poppy did her home work at the table, the stuffed rabbit beside her. Every few minutes, the girl looked toward the door like she needed to make sure it was still locked.
Liam stood on the porch talking with Forest, his broad shoulders silhouetted in the afternoon light.
Jenny tried not to stare, but her heart did that stupid thing again—the uneven flutter it had been doing since the hotel. Since him.
She’d spent her entire adult life saving other people. Cancer had taken her best friend in high school. She’d fought her way into medical school, through residencies, fellowships, until she was one of the youngest oncologists at the hospital.
And now?
She didn’t even know if she could go back. Her partner called and told her Troy would be okay. He asked Jenny if she would beback. By now, the entire town and the entire country knew what had happened. It felt safe here on Fraiser Mountain.
What if leaving the mountain ripped Poppy open all over again? What if the little girl thought she was being abandoned like before? She had made so many friends here. Good friends.
Jenny’s fingers twisted in her lap as she watched Liam laugh at something Forest said, his hand raking through his hair before he glanced back at the cabin.
Did he love her?
She didn’t know.
Last night had felt like love. Every night they were together felt like love. Like more than just needing each other after everything. But he hadn’t said the words.
And she was terrified to ask.
