Page 31 of Mountain Man's Valentine
I pick up the frame carefully, and my fingertips brush against the glass. She is under the glass, and she will be there forever. She will never breathe in the fresh mountain air again, she will never feel the dirt under her boots like when we used to go hiking in these mountains when we were kids. She’ll never throw another snowball at me or scream at me with gleeful delight when I throw a snowball right back at her. She’ll never laugh and my stupid jokes or make a hot, soul warming, stick-to-your-ribs veggie dinner for us again.
And no matter how many times people have told me that I can’tthinkthe way I’ve been thinking, that I can’tput myself through what I’ve put myself through, I can’t help but blame myself for it.
So I hold the photo in my hands, and I keep her under the glass. I want to keep her safe, keep her here, keep her frozen in time. Keep myself locked up, because if I canjustget through another day, the sting will lessen.
But it’s lessening now, because of Val. Like an arrow shot directly into my fucking heart with the antidote to all my pain, she’s begun tosaveme.
I shake my head, placing the picture frame down carefully on my desk, thinking about how fucking wild this is.
And I cannot imagine my life without Valoria in it again.
It’s wild and crazy and fuckinginsane,but the more insane part would be not having her in my life.
Not now. Not that I have her. Not now that she is mine.
I sigh, and I am so fucking content right now. I quickly make the final phone call to the last staff member on my list, and as I hang up, I hear my door clicking behind me.
But I don’t want Val in here. I don’t want her to see how fucked up I am. I don’t want her to see the photo of Cassie - not yet - and I don’t want her to see the security monitors. I don’t want to remind her of the prick who wanted to hurt her, and I want to introduce my memories of Cassie to her slowly, in due time.
But not today. Today is the time for celebrating what we do have. To enjoy the day, the warmth between us, the cold outside, and fresh air and the breeze in her hair and the wind whispering around us when I hold her close and wait for the next fresh snow.
“Valoria,” I say, crossing my dark office and going over to the door, slipping out and closing it behind me. “How did you sleep?”
“Cole,” she says, throwing her arms around my waist. She nearly knocks the wind out of me with her embrace, she is so fucking eager to press herself against me. “It was wonderful. It was like adream.”
“Then you have to tell me all about your dreams, sweetheart. And leave no detail unsaid.”
“I will,” she says, looking up at me. “What were you doing in there?”
Val’s eyes drift past me curiously.
“That’s my office,” I say, pushing her hair away from her face. “It’s nothing interesting. I was just calling my staff to tell them not to come in today.”
“The last time you told me somethingwasn’tinteresting, it ended up that you are this life-saving, computer genius guy.”
“Not quite, sweetheart. And it’s just computers and stuff in there. I promise it’s nothing interesting.”
She looks up at me again sweetly, shrugging her shoulders.
“Okay,” she agrees.
“Now let me get a hot bath ready for you. You grab a cup of coffee, it’s already brewed, and take your time. Come to the bedroom whenever you’re ready. I’ll have the bath ready for you in the ensuite.”
I take her face in my hands, and I kiss her, and I feel so sure.
