Page 12 of Mixed Up with the Mountain Man
"Leo..." Her voice catches. "I miss you already."
"Miss you too, sweetheart. But it's only two weeks."
"Thirteen days, actually. I'm counting."
That makes me smile. "Get some rest. You've got a lot to handle tomorrow."
"I'm giving notice first thing. My boss is going to flip."
"His loss."
Day three, she video calls me during her lunch break. She's sitting in some Vancouver café, looking polished in her lawyer clothes, but her eyes are sad.
"My colleagues think I've lost my mind," she says quietly. "They keep asking if I'm having a midlife crisis."
"At twenty-eight?"
"Apparently falling for a mountain man and abandoning my career counts." She tries to smile, but I can see the doubt creeping in.
"Hey." I wait until she looks at the screen. "You sure about this? About us?"
"Yes." No hesitation. "They don't understand, Leo. They've never felt what we have."
"Damn right."
Day five is harder. She texts that she's having dinner with friends who are "staging an intervention." I pace the cabin all evening, checking my phone every few minutes until she finally calls near midnight.
"How bad was it?"
She laughs, but it sounds tired. "They had a PowerPoint presentation about why this is a terrible idea. Complete with statistics about rebound relationships and rural isolation."
"Emma—"
"I told them about the bookstore. About you. About how for the first time in my life, I'm choosing what I want instead of what looks good on paper." Her voice strengthens. "They still think I'm crazy, but it doesn't matter. I know what I want."
Day seven, she calls crying.
"What's wrong?" I'm already grabbing my keys, ready to drive to Vancouver right now if she needs me.
"Derek showed up at my apartment." Her voice shakes. "With flowers and an engagement ring."
My blood turns to ice. "What?"
"He says he made a mistake with Miranda. That he wants me back. That we should get married and pretend none of this happened."
"And?"
"And I laughed in his face." She hiccups through her tears. "Then I told him about you. About us. He said I was throwing my life away for some rebound fling with a lumberjack."
"That bastard—"
"I told him that my 'rebound fling' makes me happier than he ever did. That you see me, really see me, not just some convenient girlfriend who fits into your life plan." She takes ashaky breath. "Then I gave him back the spare key and told him if he ever showed up again, my mountain man boyfriend would use him for firewood."
Despite my rage at Derek, I laugh. "That's my girl."
"Always," she whispers.
Day ten, she's packing. I watch through video chat as she wraps dishes and folds clothes, her entire life fitting into boxes.
