Page 81 of Broken on the Mountain
"The Harvest Dance. At Wildflower Meadow." He glances at me, casual and easy. "It's a whole town thing. Kinda like the cook-off. You'll get used to it, it's what we do in Stone River to keep ourselves busy."
"I like all the events. They're fun."
"Well, you'll like this one ever better." He smiles, but his tone is different. Like he's notreallyasking me, just checking in. "Live band, dancing under the stars, Betty makes her famous apple cider. I thought maybe you'd want to go. With me."
Oh God.
I can't.
I can't tell him.
Not when he's looking at me like that… hopeful and open and so genuinely excited about the idea of me being there.
If I tell him I'm not coming next weekend, it will crush him.
I know about his mother leaving, his sister moving to Germany, his fear of being abandoned by everyone he cares about.
"I…" My throat closes around the words.
Liar. You're a liar.
"Yeah." I feel my heart crumble. "Yeah, that sounds… really nice."
His entire face lights up. Like he's just as surprised as I am. "Yeah?"
"Definitely." I force brightness into my voice, hating myself with every syllable. "Wildflower Meadow under the stars? How could I say no?"
"Oh, baby… You're going to love it." He sits up, suddenly very animated now. "The whole meadow gets strung with these lights, and there's a wooden dance floor they set up every year. Charlie brings his guitar and sings. He's actually pretty good, not that you'd know by looking at him."
I laugh, the sound hollow in my own ears. Chase suddenly finds another gear and keeps talking like we didn't just hike up a giant fucking mountain.
"And Knox does this thing where he challenges everyone to line dancing—which sounds terrible but it's actually hilarious. And fun. I'm actually kind of good at that, too. Jamie pretends he's too cool for it but he's secretly the best dancer." Chase grabs my hand, squeezing. "Oh! And last year, Betty won the apple pie eating contest. Seventy-three years old and she destroyed everyone. It was legendary."
His enthusiasm is contagious, his eyes bright with excitement.
"We could practice dancing before then," he suggests, already trying to pull me to my feet. "Right now. I'll teach you."
"There's no music."
"Fine." He leans forward so his forearms rest of his knees, grinning down the valley. "But we can practice when we get back to my apartment. Naked if you want."
He reaches for the gummy bears, offering me another as he winks suggestively. His entire mood has shifted, and our fingers brush as I take a green one.
"You always have these," I say, holding the gummy bear up, desperate to change the subject away from the dance. "But you never really talk about Lily. Does she ever visit you here?"
His hand pauses halfway to his mouth, the yellow gummy bear frozen between his fingers.
And just like that… all that playful enthusiasm I adore so much about this man, evaporates instantly.
"Sorry, that was—"
Chase shakes his head, mumbling around a gummy bear. "No. It's fine. Really."
"You sure? I mean… she obviously still communicates with you, so I thought…" I gesture to the packet. "She sends you endless supplies of these amazing German gummies. But you never mention calling her. Or visiting. Or…"
I trail off, suddenly worried I've overstepped.
Chase is quiet for a long moment, staring out at the mountains. Then he sets the gummy bear down carefully, like it's made of glass.
