Page 64 of Won’t Let You Get Away

With a soft tap on her rear, he directs her towards the farm and Rosie bolts off.

He opens his truck door, reaching in for something, but I turn away. Shaking my head, I step through the opening in the fence and start towards the cabin.

“Where are you going?” Noah calls out after me.

Without turning around, I reply, “I’m getting out of the rain before I catch a damn cold!”

His heavy, wet footsteps follow behind me, closing the distance until we reach the cabin together. We remain silentwhile I rummage through my purse for my keys, relieved to find them dry.

Once inside, I toss my belongings onto the kitchen island and immediately shrug off the sodden flannel shirt, and finally look at Noah.

“I borrowed this,” I say, gesturing towards the shirt. “I’ll wash and dry it before giving it back to you.” I walk around the island and drape it over the back of one of the stools.

Noah just stares at me, the silence between us stretching long enough to make me uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry I took it without asking. It wasn’t this cold yesterd?—”

“What were you even doing out there?” He interrupts, crossing his arms and watching me from across the room.

“I told you,” I reply defensively. “Rosie was stuck and I didn’t think I should approach her while she was scared. I was going to text you once I was inside to ask you to come get her.”

He shakes his head. “No, I mean, why were you evenhere?”

Before I can answer, he continues, “You shouldn’t have even been outside! Let alone climbing a fence and putting both you and the baby in danger.”

“I was fine. I had everything under control,” I reply tersely, anger rising within me at his insinuation that I was intentionally putting myself at risk.

“But what if something had happened and I wasn’t already on my way to find you?”

“Noah—”

“You were safe in my bed! That’s where I thought you were. I don’t understand why you left!”

Frustration simmers in my chest and I let out an exasperated groan. “You weren’t there when I woke up!”

NOAH

“You weren’t there when I woke up!” she exclaims, slamming her hand down on the counter.

Shaking my head, I gesture towards the door. “There was a storm rolling in! I had to help?—”

“I’m not talking about this morning, Noah!”

A silence descends between us as I stare at her, trying to decipher her words.

Bri sighs, distancing herself from the counter and pacing along its length as she absentmindedly rubs her stomach. “I’m referring to your disappearance the day after Christmas.” Her head shakes, tears pooling in her eyes as she continues. “Waking up this morning to find you gone just reminded me of that. I needed to get out of the empty house and find some space to clear my head.”

Pausing, she finally halts her pacing and leans on the countertop for support before continuing in a whisper. “I’ve tried to ignore it, to forget how it felt to discover you had left in the middle of the night. But…”

She inhales a shuddering breath before continuing. “It hurt, Noah. Granted, we barely knew each other, but it doesn’t change the fact that I had started falling for you.”

Brushing wet hair from her face, she finally looks at me.

My chest constricts painfully at the sight of tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I wasn’t acting rashly or without considering myself or the baby. I’m capable of taking care of myself,” she states with a pained chuckle and a shrug. “If it weren’t for the random coincidence that you live behind my parents’ vineyard, I would be handling all this alone.”

I blink at her, struggling to find the words to say. Questions about why she would choose to have the baby alone, why she wouldn’t simply call…

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