Page 48 of Beneath the Mountain Sky

I shake my head. “No. Thanks for bringing me along to your ‘office’ while you work.”

She snorts and purses her lips, returning her focus to whatever is on her screen and typing away rapidly. “What I wouldn’t give for a real one again.”

Her disdain for the fact that Old Man Murray finally decided to close our tiny town paper three years ago still lingers even now, despite the fact that she’s done very well for herself as a freelance journalist and with her social media page to keep everyone local up to date on the goings-on here in McBride Mountain.

I scan the large windows that give a wide view of Main Street, watching people occasionally walk past. “It’s good to see town and everyone…”

And I really do mean it, despite how jumpy I am.

As much as I love the cabin and the feeling of familiar comfort it provides, without Killian there, it just isn’t the same. Any tension that exists between us—given our unusual circumstances—doesn’t seem to in any way affect that he still feels like safety.

Like home.

He still carries that protective instinct, the one that made him incredibly reluctant to leave me this morning, especially given the flash of memory I had last night and the subsequent meltdown he held me through.

But the opportunity to head out with his brothers, the sheriff, and a dog crew from Asheville means a chance at finding answers both of us so desperately need.

Something he couldn’t pass up, despite his trepidation.

Raven glances up at me, like she isn’t sure she believes my statement about how great it is to be here.

I take a sip of my black tea with honey and shrug. “I knew it would be a long day of doing nothing but worrying and letting my mind run off to dark places if I had stayed there.”

Very dark places…

That same darkness that has overwhelmed my mind since the moment I woke.

Thick.

Inky.

Immovable.

Something about it gives me goosebumps and sends a shiver of dread down my spine each time I try to delve into it. And without Killian at the cabin, that’s exactly what I would have done. Here, with Raven, I’m surrounded by familiar sights, sounds, people, and even though I’m jumpy as hell, it’s better than the alternative.

I take a bite of one of Claire’s famous chocolate croissants and issue a groan of approval as the buttery, rich flavors dance across my tongue. “I’ve missed this. They taste exactly the same.”

Raven snorts and grins. “I should hope so. I think if Claire changed the recipe, there would be a town-wide revolt.”

I return her smile and glance at the woman in question behind the counter, her graying hair tied up in a bun at the top of her head. She bustles behind the display case, pulling out various confections for the few people in line—Betsy O’Brien, her children who have grown shockingly since the last time I saw them, Jake Swanson and his wife, Maureen, and a man I can’t quite place but know I’ve seen around town before.

Several sets of eyes peek over at me, but as soon as they see I’m looking, they dart their gazes back to the display case.

My stomach sinks. “People know already…”

Raven follows my line of sight, and she releases a little sigh. “This is McBride Mountain. Everybody knows everything about everyone else. You should know that.”

“I do, but…” The man looks over at us again, and my skin prickles at the way he examines me. I quickly look away. “I don’t even know what happened to me, and now, everyone’s speculating about it.”

Raven pushes her laptop away from her and leans closer to me across the table. “Look”—she glances at the people in line—“obviously the rumor mill has already started churning, which I expected it to, given the way you made your reappearance. So, you have two options. You can ignore it, or we can get ahead of it.”

Ignoring it sounds amazing.

Just burying my head in the sand, pretending everything is normal, and getting back to the life I had before…all the things I can remember. The ones I can’t recall don’t need to control my life.

Theoretically…

But Killian said that wasn’t possible last night.