Page 28 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

When I didn’t see anyone I knew in passing, I turned onto the almost-hidden access road shrouded by several pine and aspen trees. I stopped on the rutted dirt road in front of the gate, telling myself it was probably a bad idea, but the pain overrode my senses. I got out of the car to see if the code I had still worked. If it didn’t, I was just going to sit in my car right where I was and cry.

Walking toward the metal gate secured by a digital lock pad, I barely felt the cold due to my emotions running so high. With some trepidation, I punched in the old code. To my relief, and surprise, it worked. I unhooked the lock and pushed open the gate until there was enough room for me to drive my car through.

Back in my car, I stared at the envelope with the utmost disgust before driving through the entrance toward the trailhead. The dirt road was well worn, with deep tire grooves. I hoped it didn’t mean someone had already used the road today and I would get caught. Hopefully, if I did, John Holland would have some mercy on me. I would take any sort of mercy right about now.

The beauty of this piece of property never ceased to amaze me, even in my unstable state. It was right out of an outdoor magazine spread, with the sunlight peeking through the dense forest of pine trees. It reminded me of a fairy tale forest. Except I knew there was no Prince Charming coming to rescue me in these woods.

I pulled into my old spot, by the large blue spruce that I always thought would make the perfect Christmas tree. I’d even teased Brant once that I might come out and decorate it. He’d offered to help. Obviously, that had never happened. That kiss had changed everything between us. No more running together, no more being friends. All that was left in the wake of it was a bunch of awkward interactions.

I rested my forehead on the steering wheel, trying to work up the courage to open the envelope that was screaming at me from the passenger seat. The tears finally came. One by one, then hundreds by hundreds, until they were dripping onto my yoga pants and seeping through to my skin. After several minutes and completely soaked cheeks, I picked up the envelope and opened it. I carefully pulled out the mini-novel and began to read through it. Most of it was a bunch of legal jargon that reiterated the terms of our partnership. I remembered when we formed it, how smart I thought we were to make it as easy as possible to sell our share of the business and dissolve our partnership. That was coming back to bite me. I scanned through the papers until I got to the evaluation and offer. I grabbed my stomach when the figures jumped off the page and slapped me in the face.

On top of everything else, bankruptcy loomed in my near future. Their offer wouldn’t cover the loan I had taken out to join this venture in the first place. I was in trouble. Lots of trouble. I threw the stupid papers on the floor of my car before spilling out of the door. I didn’t care that I wasn’t properly dressed to run in the frigid morning temperature. My sweatshirt and yoga pants would have to suffice.

I took off without stretching or thinking. All I wanted was to push myself and feel my feet connect to the uneven ground littered with aspen leaves and pine needles. The trail started off with little elevation change, but it didn’t take long before I started to climb and my breathing became more labored. And though the cold air burned my lungs, I kept going. With every breath I took, I cursed Giselle and Carter, but mostly myself. I should have known better than to go into business with them. I should have known better than to believe I was destined to rise above the station I had been born into. Between berating myself, I lamented about why I was so hated. Was I really so awful?

I pushed and pushed myself up the trail until my legs started to cramp and I realized, like the idiot I was, I had left my water bottle in the car. My throat burned, and my body ached from the grueling pace I had kept for the last hour. Finally, I had to stop and bend over, trying to calm my racing heart. While I took deep breaths in and out, I began to shiver from the cold. It was foolish of me to work up such a sweat in these temps without the proper gear. Wasn’t that the story of my life? One foolish choice after another. I couldn’t get anything right—work, men, life.

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