Page 59 of Broken on the Mountain
Nora disappears and Piper and Brooke descend on the basket like raccoons the minute she's out of sight.
"I'm having the sweet stuff!" Brooke shouts, hip-checking Piper on the way across the room.
"Touch the dark chocolate and I'll tell Jamie about your secret stash of romance novels," Piper threatens, snatching three bars.
Jamie spits in his coffee as the girls continue their assault on the basket. I watch them, trying to ignore the tightness in my throat as Piper cheers when she lays claim to the block of dark chocolate.
Jamie catches my eye and tilts his head toward the deck. "Time for a chat?"
I follow him outside, while inside, Piper laughs at something Brooke does with the empty basket. Jamie closes the door and my chest does that achy stretch that's becoming too familiar.
"You good, man?" Jamie leans against the railing, studying me for a moment.
I keep my eyes on Piper through the window. She's gesturing wildly with a croissant, making Brooke crack up. "I guess."
He waits, because Jamie's learned that silence gets you further than more questions.
"What choice do I have?" I throw my arms up, unsure on what else to do. "She's leaving and there's nothing I can do."
Jamie nods quietly, showing the gruff strength that actually made it through the military training I never could. The man took three tours of Afghanistan and came back knowingexactlywho he is.
Why can't I be more like that?
Jamie doesn't spiral. Doesn't obsess over text messages or count down hours until someone comes back. He's just…confident. Complete. Whole without needing someone else to fill the gaps.
And here I am, literallyguttedover a woman I've known for two weekends.
Two weekends!
What kind of pathetic excuse for a man falls this hard, this fast, over someone who keepsleaving?
The Army knew. They saw it early.
Saw I'm too soft, too needy, toomuchfeeling for a world that requires you to shut it down and soldier on through.
Jamie would never beg someone to stay. Would never plan his entire week around Friday arrivals and Sunday departures. Would never lie awake at night wondering if he's enough to make someone choose him over their real life.
She leaves every Sunday because I can't give her what she needs. Can't be successful enough, established enough,manenough to make her stay.
If I were stronger—if I were more like Jamie, like Beau, like any of the actual heroes on this mountain—maybe she'd want more than stolen weekends.
I glance at him, staying silent because… what's the point?
"Look, Chase… I know you're pretty new to these parts," Jamie finally finds his voice and continues, steady as the mountain beneath us. "But around here, we don't bleed out alone. In Stone River, there's always something you can do, whether that's today… or later. When it's appropriate."
I grip the railing harder, knuckles going white. "What if there isn't a later? What if she gets back to Chicago and realizes this was just a fun escape from her real life?"
Jamie shifts his weight, that tactical patience settling over him like armor. "You think Brooke came here planning to stay?"
I blink. "What?"
"She showed up running from burnout, convinced she'd do a few months and bolt back to Chicago the second something better came along." He takes a long pull of coffee. "She told me straight up she wasn't staying. Made it real clear this was temporary."
"But she—"
"Stayed," Jamie finishes. "Because somewhere between fighting me on protocols and falling in love with this community, she realized home isn't always the place you started. Sometimes it's the place that sees you for who you truly are... inhere."
He presses a firm finger into my chest, directly over my heart.
