Page 29 of When the Woods Go Silent

RUBY

My head is a swirl of conflicting thoughts as I walk the rest of the trail to the street in front of the bookshop.

It sounds like Torrence is definitely the man I saw in the back of the restaurant, and he’s even more gorgeous than I imagined. I’d recognize those amber eyes anywhere, glinting like golden sunlight through the forest branches.

But wow, is he ever hot and cold.

A girl could get whiplash trying to follow him from flirty to asshole and back again. Even though he acted like I was an inconvenience, I sure didn’t miss the sizable bulge in his jeans. He was interested, but I think he was telling himself no. And it only makes me want to figure out why.

Hopefully, he isn’t already dating someone, because I refuse to go there.

I also suspect that he’s the guy Rose met with Arlo, since he’s the restaurant owner. I can see why she clocked him as an asshole. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really deter me. If anything, I’m a moth drawn straight into the flame of those amber eyes. I want to see what the light can show me, even if I get a little burned in the process.

I wish I’d asked him to grab coffee, or at least gotten his phone number.

Physically, he’s perfect, really. The type of man I like the best, if I could only have one forever. Tan skin, like he hikes a lot. Dangerously sexy smile, especially when I surprised him into a laugh. Dark hair streaked with golden highlights, and those eyes like a solar eclipse, darkness ringed in amber fire.

Maybe it’s the romance reader in me, but he looked like a fallen angel in the afternoon forest light. And maybe it’s thedarkromance reader in me, but every time he snapped cold instead of hot, it made me that much more aware of a delicious dark side that I’d kill to play with.

I can’t wait to tell Rose.

ROSE

I hadn’t meant to take a nap, but at some point during the afternoon, my spreadsheets began to blur and a rare midday sleepiness tugged my head down on the tabletop anyway. I wake feeling groggy and disoriented, blinking my way back to reality as I brew myself yet another mug of coffee.

The dreams I’d had during my unplanned nap seemed to run backward through time, like flipping through a photo album in reverse. Except the moments I’d dreamed about weren’t the kind you photograph.

I stare blankly out a window at the overcast day and the foggy woods beyond, breathing through the bittersweet ache in my chest as I try to shake off the dreams.

My childhood wasn’t bad compared to many, but every family has its trauma. There’s a heavy weight in my stomach after reliving the highlights, and I wonder what caused me to dream of those things now, after so many years of feeling free of their weight.

The image that refuses to shake loose as I stare into the trees is one from the day my mom left. My childhood self had watchedwith nose pressed to the kitchen window as she and my dad screamed it out in the driveway, then she slammed the car door and peeled away.

I didn’t realize then that I’d never see her again.

They’d fought like that before, and she’d always returned after a few days, bringing a big bag of candy for me and silent glares for my dad.

I used to wonder if she would have done things differently, knowing she would be killed by a drunk driver before she could repeat the toxic pattern. I want to believe, but I’ll never know for sure if she would have said goodbye to me. My dad shut down afterward, and in the end, it was like I’d lost both parents.

Years of therapy have mostly healed that wound, but in the hazy aftermath of today’s dream, I find it hard to shake the sting of abandonment. I recognize the beginning of a spiral, and I immediately swallow some of the too-hot coffee, then force myself to recite some mantras.

“I am more than my past. All parts of me are good parts. I accept them all, and I love each part. I’m more than my past,” I repeat under my breath as I hear the front door of the bookshop slam.

“Rosey?” Ruby’s voice calls out, the sound of her boots on the bare floors echoing toward me.

“There you are,” she said, bouncing through the office door. Her cheeks are flushed from the outside air, and she looks like she has a story to tell. Her dark eyes crinkle as she tilts her head, examining me. “Were you sleeping?”

“Sorry, yeah. I don’t know how I even...” I shut down my rambling. It’s not important - Ruby isn’t some grumbling boss who has caught me napping on company time. “Spreadsheets,” I offer as a way of explanation, gesturing at my laptop as I remove my smudged glasses to clean them.

She makes a gagging noise. “I’d rather be dreaming, too. I haven’t had a good one in ages.”

“What’s up?” I ask. She’s practically vibrating with excitement, and I have no desire to keep the attention on me.

Ruby paces the office space with way too much energy to sit. “I met someone! In the woods,” she adds, as if that’s a perfectly normal place to meet someone.

“A man, I’m guessing?” I give her a teasing grin as I realize the flush on her cheeks might not just be from the cool air.

“Obvi. He’s gorgeous, Rose. Kind of shy, maybe, but nice. I think you’d like him, actually, despite... But wait. I felt - don’t laugh - but I felt some sort of spark. Like magic. Or, like what I imagine magic would feel like. And there was a fairy ring. You know, all the plants and mushrooms growing in a circle?”

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