Page 73 of The Firefighter's Fate

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“Did you get construction crews out here or did you buy it from someone or...”

Connor looks at me with the most patronizing expression.

“Ember, I built it myself. No one else was involved.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to talk down to you. It’s just that no one else has ever come out to this place, so it’s incredibly sensitive for me. I’ve put a lot of work into it. I bought the land and just... built it. That’s why literally no one else knows about it here.”

“You did it for yourself?” I ask him.

Connor nods.

“I did it for me.”

I smile.

“I can see why it’s your place to relax,” I say. “It’s lovely.”

“Want to come and have a look?” he asks.

I nod enthusiastically.

We both get out of the pickup truck and wander over to the cabin. Connor unlocks the front door and gestures me eagerly inside. It’s so warm and cozy inside. Rustic in the best way possible. There’s a little stone chimney leading down to a stone fireplace. There are a few comfy armchairs scattered around. A single bed. The kitchen is tiny but good enough. It has a vintage stove and a small sink.

It’s everything you want from a cabin in the woods.

It’s like it has been ripped straight from the pages of a fairytale.

“This is so nice, Connor,” I remark, gazing around.

“Yeah?”

He’s so shy showing me around. He really cares what I think of the place. It’s cute.

“How often do you make it out here?” I ask him.

“Whenever I can,” the man replies. “I try most weeks on my days off.”

“And what do you do out here?” I ask. “What do you do on your days off?”

Connor shrugs.

“Sleep. Eat. Be alone. No modern technology at all. I like to go on long hikes and swim in the river. Just... be myself, away from the world and all its problems.”

“That sounds amazing,” I reply.

“It really is.”

“And you’ve brought me here?” I ask him.

Connor nods. He seems so vulnerable. So open. So pure.

This is a side of him I know he doesn’t reveal to anyone else.

“I’ve brought you here,” he says. “You wanted to get to know me... well, this is my soul.”

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