Page 107 of Wrecked on the Mountain
"Jamie, I haven't decided—"
"Then I'm coming with you."
The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, but I don't want to stop them.
They're the truth. The only truth that matters.
Because right now, I feel like I've been preparing for this moment since I caught her watching me chop wood. Even when she was laughing at the festival before I pulled that leaver, even when she fit so perfectly into Sunday dinner with my family, even when she said she loved me at sunrise…
Some part of me always knew this was coming.
That's why I've been trying so damn hard to make sure it never did.
The ring sits in my truck's glovebox like a loaded weapon. Mom handed it back to me with that smile that suggested she knew this was about to happen. Like she predicted this exact moment and she was trying to protect me.
"Sometimes you just know. Love at first sight exists, Jamie."
But what do I know, really? That I've spent four weeks trying to convince Brooke that Stone River is enough. That I've been showing her spa weekends and fancy dinners like I'm some kind of mountain real estate agent trying to close a deal.
Selfish bastard.
All those romantic gestures, all that talk about our future… I wasn't helping her heal at all. I was just trying to keep her. Building a cage around her just to trap her in my life, a life made of heated blankets and homemade cookies.
She worked for years for this opportunity.
And here I am, asking her to give it all up for what? A guy who's afraid of being abandoned again?
Brooke stares at me like I've lost my mind. "Jamie, no. You can't leave Stone River. This placeisyou."
I reach for her hands, pulling her closer until our knees are touching on the blanket.
"No.Youare me. If you're going to Chicago, I'm going too."
"Jamie—"
"I'm serious. We'll get an apartment. I can do private security, maybe work with the Fire Department or some shit. They have water rescue teams, mountain climbing walls for training..."
I'm already planning it in my head because that's what you do when the most important thing in your world is about to slip away.
You adapt quickly. You improvise. You fucking survive.
"Jamie, you can't be serious. Your family is here. Your team needs you. The community you love so much needs you."
"It would all mean nothing without you now."
The truth of it hits me as I say it.
Stone River Mountain has been my whole world for thirty-five years, but these past few weeks with Brooke have shown me what my world could actually look like.
And it looks like her.
I don't need to give Brooke some shitty second-hand piece of jewelry to prove I love her. I don't need grand gestures or fancy weekends or promises of forever.
I just need to give herme.
"We'll figure it out," I continue, my voice gaining strength. "I can learn the city life. Hell, maybe I'll like it. I wouldn't know, I've never tried it. Maybe I'll turn out like you and fall in love with a place I never expected. Traffic lights, greasy takeout food, neighbors you don't have to wave at..."
"But I don't want you to sacrifice everything you love."
