Page 24 of Stranded with the Mountain Man

The news should be a relief. I can finally leave, check on Millie's house, maybe find a hotel in Riversend until I figure outnext steps.Instead, I feel a strange reluctance to abandon this temporary sanctuary, even with Rosco gone.

"What do you think, Bear? Should we stay or go?" I scratch behind his ears, earning a contented groan."Not much help, are you?"

I've spent the morning cataloging soil samples and organizing my research notes, trying to focus on work rather than replaying last night's argument.It hasn't been entirely successful.Every few minutes, I find myself glancing at the door, half-expecting Rosco to walk in with some gruff explanation.

But he doesn't, and the silence of the cabin is both peaceful and oppressive.

A knock at the door startles me.Bear is instantly alert, moving to stand between me and the entrance, a low growl building in his chest.

"It's okay," I tell him, though my own heart is racing."Stay."

Through the window, I spot Mrs. Havers on the porch, a basket over one arm.The tension drains from my shoulders as I open the door.

"Thought you might need supplies," she says without preamble, pushing past me into the cabin."Earl mentioned Rosco got called away back to Serenity County on business."

The euphemism might be funny if it weren't so understated."MC business," I correct, closing the door behind her."But yes."

"Hmm." She sets the basket on the counter, unpacking bread, fresh vegetables, and what looks like homemade preserves."That boy never could say no to Tank, even after leaving the club.Loyal to a fault, that one."

"Loyal to everyone except me, apparently," I mutter before I can stop myself.

Mrs. Havers pauses in her unpacking, shrewd eyes assessing me."So that's how it is."

"How what is?"

"You're upset he left." She resumes arranging items on the counter with practiced efficiency."Think he chose the club over you.Again."

The accuracy of her assessment is unnerving."It's not that simple."

"Never is with matters of the heart." She pats the stool beside her."Sit. I brought coffee cake too."

I comply, accepting the plate she hands me."How do you know so much about us?"

"Small town, long memory." She cuts herself a slice of cake."I remember when you two were inseparable.Summer before you left for college, you were at every town event together.Planning your future on that old ridge up by Miller's Creek."

The memory squeezes my heart."That was a long time ago."

"Not so long." She sips her coffee thoughtfully."Not when you measure it against real love."

"We were kids," I protest weakly."We wanted different things."

"And now? Still want different things?"

The question catches me off guard.Do we? The Rosco I've rediscovered these past days is different from the reckless young man I left behind.He's more grounded, more mature.But still tied to a world I walked away from.

"I don't know," I admit. "I thought maybe we could figure it out, but then Tank showed up, and--"

"And history repeated itself." Mrs. Havers nods understandingly."Except it didn't, not really.You know why he left the club, don't you?"

I shake my head. Rosco's reasons for walking away from the Saints have remained a mystery, one of many topics we've skirted around.

"Almost got killed on a run gone bad, I hear." Mrs. Havers' voice drops, as if sharing a secret."Some rival gang set up an ambush.Tank took two bullets, and Rosco somehow believes he should’ve done more to protect him.Rumor is Tank did the whole run for love and nearly bled out before they got him to a doctor."

My stomach clenches. "I didn't know."

"Three years ago. After that, Rosco walked away.Said he was done with violence, done watching brothers die." She studies my reaction carefully."He's not who you think, Deena.He's not choosing the club over you.He's honoring a debt to the man who saved his life."

The revelation shifts something in my understanding.Not enough to erase the hurt of his departure, but enough to complicate my anger.

---