Page 22 of Dare to Fall
My fingers are intertwined with Gabby’s, reminding me how little sleep the two of us got last night. But sleep was much lower on the priority list than exploring her body, learning every little thing that turned her on, and memorizing and cataloging all those delicious noises she made when I discovered a new favorite spot.
“I see why you love it here so much,” Gabby says as we round the bend and Cinnamon Creek appears before us once more. Her gaze is glued to the windshield, and I’ve never been more thankful that Montana is showing off with its vibrant autumncolors. If I weren’t driving, I’d steal a cinnamon-roll flavored kiss from her.
“You could love it, too.” I squeeze her hand, excited to talk about our future.
I’ve been saving the conversation until after she takes care of logistics. Despite the temptation to keep her naked in my bed all day, she insisted she had to talk to Erin before the bridal party heads to the airport in a couple of hours.
When Fred drove away with Gabby yesterday, I was angry. I felt pulled back to that night in the park, watching that stupid fucking kiss play out before me. I was ready to feel nice and sorry for myself, chasing away my pain with manual labor, but then in the middle of chopping wood, I spotted that fox.
And wouldn’t you know, the fucker still had Gabby’s phone clenched in his jaw. Had he not dropped it once and picked it right back up, I might have worried it was stuck.
It was a sign.
The only problem was, my only method of transportation was still parked at the rafting headquarters in town. Because I couldn’t get a hold of any of my buddies, I called Winnie and begged a favor. I needed my truck so I could get to Gabby.
But then, Gabby came to me.
“I do love Cinnamon Creek,” she admits, her cheeks stretching with her smile.
Maybe this is it. The moment I ask her to turn down that job in California so she can stay here and put down some real roots with me for the first time in both of our lives. If we figure this out now, she can tell Erin and everyone else about the new adventure we’re starting before they leave.
“Gabby—”
“Come with me, Tucker,” she says as I pull into the lodge’s parking lot.
“I thought you wanted to talk to Erin alone?” I ask, confused.
“Come with me to California.” She unbuckles her belt when I park and turns in her seat, her face beaming. “Let’s do what we always talked about. Let’s travel the country—hell, theworld—together. I applied for a rafting job at the Grand Canyon next summer. Maybe you can get?—”
“You want me to come withyou?” The words feel like nails scraping the inside of my throat.
“Yes! We can pick up right where we left off, before that misunderstanding?—”
“Gabby, I’m not leaving Cinnamon Creek. I thought you understood that?”
“You can keep a home base,” she says, as though it’s no big deal. “Imagine all the places we could go?—”
“I have logs being delivered tomorrow.” And a meeting with Reid, Hudson, and Mason that may or may not make me a partner in the lodge. It would be a shitty look for me to pick up and leave right after I convince them I’m invested in the future of the lodge. Reid would see it as a sure sign I was falling back into old patterns. He wouldn’t believe I was done running. That with my father gone from this world, that urge has passed for good.
I drag my hand through my hair in frustration. “I can’t go to fucking California, Gabriella.”
“Can’t or won’t?” she asks, her voice now trembling and soft.
“Both.”
“Then where does that leave us?” she asks, any trace of her earlier happiness dropping completely from her expression.
“Stay here, Gabby. Withme.”
“Maybe you’re ready to settle down, Tucker, but I’m not.” She shoves open the passenger door, slamming it behind her as she marches toward the lodge.
Well fuck.
I sit there for several minutes, just staring at the sliding doors she disappeared through.
This can’t be it, can it?
Why would fate bring Gabriella back into my life after all this time only to strip her away from me again? It feels like a cruel joke.
