“Who says it ended?”
I studied him with questions written all over my face.
“Who says it ended? Do you think that just because you moved away, everything stopped? That people avoided talking about you? About me? Us? Do you think they just stopped like that?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I’m not mad at you. You did what you had to do. For you.”
“I’m furious with myself, Brooks. I knew what I needed to do, or what I should do, and I chose to just take off.”
“I didn’t come here to call you out, or hurt you, or make you feel worse. I didn’t come here to bring up past hurt emotions. I just needed to see you since I was passing through. But you know, Erika...” He took a deep breath, stretched back on the couch, put his elbows on his knees, and stared back at me. “You hurt me. Bad. The way you left hurt me deep. It was like I was divorcing you instead of her. You walking away almost killed me. And hell, an hour away? I would have driven an hour if that meant I could see you. You know that.”
“I’m sorry...”
“I was so in love with you. Guess I was more in love with you than you were with me. Don’t take that the wrong way, I’m just saying how I felt. How is it you always get me to reveal my feelings, and I can never open up to anybody? But when it’s you, I can open my entire soul up to you so easily.” He laughed. “Explain that.”
Sleet pitted against the window as a burst of wind blew like it could lift the roof off the cabin.
“I should get going,” he said as he stood. “Thank you for answering your door. I contemplated for a good half hour down the road if I should even pull into your driveway.”
“Well, I’m glad you stopped.”
“Sure?”
“Positive. It was nice to catch up and nice to see you. Tell Jaden I said hi when you get back.”
He said nothing—just stood from the couch and folded the blanket before following me towards the kitchen. I set my glass on the counter and closed my laptop, noticing that Margo had not returned my video call.
My heart plunged into my chest when Brooks placed his hands on my shoulders and squeezed. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I needed this.”
“Thank you for stopping by.”
He grinned as he put on his boots and zipped his jacket. He lifted off his ballcap, ran his hands through his hair, put the cap back on, and opened the door. A forceful gust of air blasted the door against the wall as snow flew inside. Brooks grabbed the door and closed it. “So, what are the odds you have a shovel inside here?” He chuckled. “It looks like it snowed a solid four feet already!” He expressed more in shock.
I just giggled at him. “It couldn’t have snowed that much.” I stepped towards the door and glanced outside. “Oh, my...”
“See?” he roared. “Is that not four feet or close to it?”
“That came down fast. I can’t believe it snowed that much. You haven’t even been here that long.”
“So, do you have a shovel in here?”
“Oh, yeah. No.” I grinned. “I wasn’t planning to go anywhere, so I didn’t grab it.”
“Where is it?”
“In my garage.”
He shook his head and grinned. “If I would have thought it would snow like this, I would’ve worn something other than work boots.”
“That is a lot of snow,” I repeated as I stared out the window. “Maybe you should just stay here for the night.”
He peered at me.
“It’s also expected to get worse. As in trapped inside for a week, worse.”
“What?” he replied. “That’s just what they say to keep the idiots off the roads.”
I chuckled. “Is that what you think?”
He winked.
We listened to the wind howl as the ice pelted the glass. “Just stay here for the night instead of driving in this.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s just snow.”
“It’s also almost seven o’clock and dark out. Plows won’t be out in this.”
“Are you sure you want me to stay? I only meant to stop for a quick...”
“I’m sure. I have an extra bedroom upstairs. It even has its own private bathroom. At least stay for the night, and you can head out in the morning when it’s light out. Maybe they’ll have some roads plowed by then.”
“Okay. Well, let me attempt to get my bag out of my truck.” He turned to smile at me, opened the door, and forged his way through the snow towards his truck.
It would be nice to have company for a change. No one had dropped by since I moved here. Well, I shouldn’t say no one. Margo came by when I was unpacking. And Easton, the neighbor who lived in the nearest cabin, dropped by sometimes. But that was it. I was alone up here. To say I felt lonely wouldn’t be true. I loved every minute of the solitude. It was a good thing I got along so well with myself.
I watched Brooks struggle against the wind and blowing sleet. He made it to his truck and once he could get the door open, he dove inside, closing it. He flipped on the cab light, and I could see him fumbling around in his truck.
Things were messy. Life was chaotic. We had a good thing, he and I, but it was the wrong time for both of us. He always told me I would have loved him had I met him first. He was wrong. I loved him. I still loved him more than I could explain. Things moved fast that summer. That’s all it took—two weeks to rebound on the road to complete destruction. It was like taking hold of string and tugging down the sky all around us as we lingered away—our life shattering on the ground. But we were too blind in passion to notice the destruction.
Chapter
