Page 11 of When You Saved Me

When I opened my eyes again, I looked forward to where the small dock reached out over the water. Planks were missing from the foundation, and I found myself envisioning what it might be like to watch Deacon work on rebuilding it.

Back home, my parents always hired a handyman to come and fix things around their house. My dad had never been the type for homemade projects. He preferred to spend his time playing sports or chasing after a new marathon record for himself. My mother was the same way. We always joked that I must have been mixed up with another baby at the hospital because I was so dissimilar to my parents in the big ways.

Creation was in my blood, and I was excited to be around someone else who had the ability to create something from scratch. Even if he was a grumpy asshole. Art wasn’t just in the finery of paints or sculpture. It was in one’s ability to make something new out of what already existed. To breathe life in an undiscovered way.

Squatting, I ran my hand over Casper’s fur, giving his back a good scratch. He rolled over onto the frozen ground and with a few wiggles decided it was much too cold and sprung back onto his paws.

“See, I told you the booties would come in handy.” Mist gathered in front of my mouth as I spoke. The light rays coming through the tree line across the river were starting to dwindle as the sun sunk lower into the horizon.

Meow!

I chuckled. “I think you’re right. It’s time to head back inside to warm up.” I took one final look around the forest that surrounded my little cabin and felt my chest swell with gratitude. There was a time when I thought I’d never see another day in my life. Now, seven years after the fire, I washere. In the cutest little town with my furry best friend by my side and a wealth of inspiration before me.

Life is good.

Steam rose from the hot chocolate on the coffee table as I lit the starter log in the small fireplace. It didn’t take long before the starter log got going and the rest of the logs caught.

Settling onto the loveseat, I lifted the side of my sweater and rubbed at the scar lining my ribcage. The cold was really starting to irritate it, especially around the edges. I made a mental note to call my doctor on Monday to ask him what ointments might be best for it during the cold. The air was much drier here compared to Charlotte and if I didn’t get the itching under control, I was going to drive myself crazy.

Casper chirped at me from the ground. I patted my lap to invite him up and he immediately jumped. Making two circles, he finally settled in and started kneading the blanket I had draped over my legs.

I let my head fall to the back of the sofa and took a moment to look around the space. The inside of the cabin was chic—modern even. It almost seemed to have a woman’s touch, especially given the fresh flowers that were decorating the coffee table and both nightstands from the first day I’d walked in.

Sarah had said she’d helped Deacon renovate the place, but did she help him freshen it up with these flowers too?

My mind strayed to thoughts of Deacon having another woman help him with this place. Someone he might also share a bed with. My stomach turned sour. Some visceral part of me hoped there wasn’t a woman in his life. Not that there was any chance I’d have a shot with him given his reaction to seeing me here. Not that I was even sure Iwanteda shot with him.

I typically preferred men who didn’t slam doors in my face.

Still. I didn’t want to think of him with someone else and the feeling kind of bothered me. I shouldn’t care what he does in his spare time and who he does it with. His life was none of my business.

Somehow, my mind still wandered to what it felt like to be held in his arms. The strength that surrounded me when I awoke to those beautiful green eyes and the guttural sound of his voice as he called after me. Tethering me to life when I was on death’s doorstep.

It might have been the adrenaline or the simple fact that the man had saved my life…but I swore something transcendent passed between us that day. Beyond what words could describe, but I felt it. A divine connection that I was sure wanted us to be near one another given that we both had ended up in Pebble Brook Falls.

Pop!

Crack!

I startled at the sound of the dry wood catching fire in anew spot. Letting out a long sigh, I stroked Casper’s back and said, “I’m being ridiculous, huh, boy? Thinking there’s some grand plan at work that brought us here.”

He tilted his head back and looked at me with narrowed eyes, like he didn’t care what I was thinking about as long as I kept scratching his back.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you. I wish I had someone to scratch my back too.”

Deciding to keep my thoughts away from tall, dark and handsome, I turned my attention back to the barren walls of the cabin. A misty forest scene flooded my mind. I could see every part of it. The way the sun’s rays at dawn shone through parts of the mist through the branches of the large pine trees.

More and more details played out in my mind as I imagined where I might start with the mural. Before I knew it, I was so lost in my own imagination I didn’t notice the room was starting to look hazy and the air smelled like...

SMOKE!

“Oh no!” Turning toward the blazing hearth, I realized black plumes of smoke were billowing forward, not up through the chimney like they were supposed to.

Grabbing Casper from my lap, I hopped off the sofa and ran toward the fridge with my phone. Dialing Deacon’s number as fast as my fingers would let me, I headed out the front door to stay away from the soot filled air.

“Hello?” His gruff voice came through the line.

Taking a calming breath, I tried not to sound toopanicked. “Deacon, I think there’s something blocking the chimney because smoke is filling the entire cabin.”

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