Page 16 of Chased By the Mountain Man

“Good morning!” I exclaim.

“Morning, princess.”

I plant a quick kiss on his lips and pull back to look at him. Immediately, my excitement fizzles, turning sour in my gut. Trent looks…sad. Somber, almost. His expression is always pretty grumpy and serious, but usually there’s a twinkle in those intense brown eyes when he looks at me. But right now, there’s nothing.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my heart plummeting as I step back from him.

He shakes his head. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s good news. I went to see Danny this morning and he’s confessed everything.”

I stare at him blankly. “What? I…how?”

“I told him he had to confess or I’d come after him. He decided he’d rather take his chances with the cops. I watched him go to the police station, and then a couple of minutes ago, Dave Goodman called me. He was one of the cops chasing you yesterday; he called me up and said ‘The girl we were chasing yesterday was actually innocent all along’, so Danny must have convinced him.”

I’m so shocked I can barely speak. “S-so…so they’re not going to come after me? They know the drugs weren’t mine?”

“Yes. Maybe you’ll have to go in at some point and give your side of things. I can come with you. But I’m confident you’ll be okay now. If they decide to test those drugs for prints, they’ll have all the proof they need in black and white, along with Danny’s confession.”

I’ve never felt such a crazy mix of emotions before. Relief comes first, so strong it almost brings tears to my eyes. Then gratitude for Trent, this incredible man who has saved my neck twice now. But then sadness starts to clog my throat. If the cops aren’t looking for me, then I have no reason to stay here with Trent any longer. I’ll have to go back to my old life—a life without him—and that thought immediately drowns out all my positive emotions.

“Thank you,” I say shakily, trying to smile. “I’m so grateful.”

I fling my arms around him again, my heart thudding painfully in my chest. I owe Trent so much, but part of me wonders if there’s a deeper reason why he did all this before I woke up, the morning after we were intimate. Does he want me to leave? Was this his way of getting rid of me as quickly as possible after what happened yesterday? Does he regret opening up to me? Does he regret what we did in his bed?

My anxious thoughts start snowballing before I can stop them, making me second-guess everything.

“Well,” I mumble as I pull away from our hug, “I guess I should probably get going then. Thank you for everything, Trent. You’ve been so good to me.”

“Stay for breakfast,” he says quickly in that deep bossy voice. Then he frowns at his tone and adds, “If you want to, I mean.”

I nod. “Thank you. I’d like that. I can make it if you want?”

“No, I’ll make it.” He looks at me and presses a surprise kiss on my forehead. “How about French toast?”

I force a smile. “Sounds great.”

Trent heads for the kitchen, but I don’t follow him straight away. Instead, I sit at the table and try to figure out why I feel so strange all of a sudden. I should be thrilled. The police know I’m innocent. Danny will get the punishment he deserves. He’ll lose his job, no doubt, and then I can go back to my normal life. My normal job. Things will be simple again: boring, easy, and risk-free, just the way I’ve always liked them.

But Trent…

I know that leaving his cabin doesn’t mean we can never see each other again. My apartment in Winterdale isn’t so far from Snowfall Ridge. Yet for some reason, it feels like Trent is pulling away. Saying goodbye. I can feel the walls going up around him again, blocking me out, and it hurts so much more than it should. I only just met Trent. I shouldn’t have fallen so fast. But most of all, I shouldn’t have expected him to fall for me back.

I blink back tears, discreetly wiping my eyes before Trent comes in a few minutes later holding two stacks of French toast. It smells delicious, but I barely taste it as I scoop a forkful into my mouth. My jaw chews automatically, but my thoughts are a million miles away, trying to imagine going back to life without Trent.

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

You’ve only known him for one day but you fell for him anyway, and now you’re getting upset that he didn’t fall for you too? You’re upset that he wants you to leave his home so he can get on with his life after everything he’s done for you? After all the trouble your crazy situation has caused him?

“I feel like I haven’t thanked you enough,” I say, my voice wobbling slightly.

Trent grunts. “You’ve thanked me plenty.”

“Well, I just want you to know that I really appreciate what you did for me this morning. Confronting Danny for me and making him confess…I don’t know how I can ever repay you for any of it. Thank you.”

Trent looks at me then, his eyes burning with an intensity that makes my heart stutter.

“You don’t need to thank me, Jasmine. I just want you to be happy. Safe and happy. That’s all the repayment I need.”

I want to tell him that being with him makes me happy. Being with him makes me feel safe. But I can’t get the words out. My anxious thoughts are still gnawing at me, so I settle with mumbling a quiet thanks, my throat constricting painfully.

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