Page 42 of Behind the Cascades
He sighs, but he doesn’t deny it. “You’re going to move back home, right?”
“This is my home. I love it here. I work for a woman named Olivia, and she’s the best?—”
He cuts me off. “Charlie, are you serious? You just told me you were done hiding up there!”
Scoffing, I go right into defending myself. “It’s not hiding now that you know where I am! I have family, friends, a career!”
“Family? We’re your family..” I lose all steam at the sound of his voice breaking with sadness.
“Yeah, Drew. You are and you always will be. But I love these people like family as well.”
“Okay. I don’t know what to say here, Char.”
“Me either. I know things will be weird for a while, but I hated not talking to you. Let’s just see how things go for now.
He agreed and after thirty more minutes of catching up, we ended the call with promises to start talking more. Actually, he made me promise I'd text him every day and if I didn't, he’d kick my ass.Siblings.
The next call is to Olivia; she answers on the second ring with a squeal. "Tell me everything! I heard he carried you out of SnowPeak over his shoulder, fireman style. Then again, I also heard you slapped him across the face."
I laugh, setting the town gossip straight. "It wasn't quite like that, but it was definitely eventful. Dan cuffing him will be forever ingrained in my memory."
Olivia listens eagerly as I recount the whole story. From when I first saw him sliding into the booth, looking every bit as sexy as I remembered him. To him falling asleep in my bed while I tried to make myself presentable. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have cared as much, considering Hayes has never once cared about stuff like that. I think I just needed the time to wrap my head around everything happening.
"Does this mean we forgive him?"
I chuckle at her use of “we.” "Yes. He asked me to move back to South Carolina with him."
I hear her gasp through the phone, but she doesn't say anything.
"Don't worry, I told him no."
"Dammit, Charlie. You scared me! So, do you think he'll stay?"Million dollar question.
"I don't know. I hope so." Thinking about him leaving again makes my heart physically ache. I know that I can survive without him, but I don't want to. Nor do I want to leave Three Sisters.
My heart belongs here.
Hopefully, his decides it does too.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Charlie
Saturday, January 5.
Hand in hand, I half-dragged Hayes into the Cascadia Winter Festival. Every year, the town throws a winter festival, and it's one of my favorite events. There are booths with baked goods, food carts, and local beers for sale everywhere. Kids games, hand-carved ice sculptures, and live music fill the streets. My favorite part is the skijoring, though. Our version of a snow rodeo, where skiers are pulled behind horses competing for the fastest time. It’s always chaos, but the participants have a good time and don’t take it too seriously, at least.
I can't wait for Hayes to meet Olivia, Ben, and Ellie. Along with the rest of Three Sisters. These people welcomed me from the start, embracing me as part of their community. I knew they would do the same for Hayes. As we walked through the festival, I pointed out familiar faces and introduced him to everyone I knew. Despite the frigid air, the sense of belonging and warmth were evident, making me even more excited for Hayes to experience it all.
"Everyone here loves you." He comments with a smile after the tenth person has introduced themselves.
"Looks like they love you too." He's the new hot commodity, and everyone is falling over themselves to meet him. Especially the women. They all stare at him like he's a piece of meat for the grabbing.
He wraps his free arm around me, pulling me in closer. "Forgot how much I like that little jealous streak."
Honestly, I almost forgot I had a jealous streak; however, it was quite severe back then. I was young and willing to throw down with anyone to assert my dominance. Hard not to when you’re dating a guy who looks like Hayes and women have no shame.
“Remember the time that woman gave you her number in front of me?”
