Page 10 of Soul of the Mountain (Curves in Hope Mountain #2)

SULLIVAN

“ S o, I have one last favor,” Gabby says as she joins me in the kitchen.

“All you have to do is ask,” I tell her over my shoulder while I finish laying out all the fixin’s for sandwiches.

The smile drops from my face as soon as I turn around and look at the woman who has crawled under my skin and taken up residence in my heart.

She has her purse over one shoulder and her neatly packed duffel bag over the other.

“Grady just called. My car is done.”

I knew this moment was coming, but I wasn’t expecting it to hurt this much. The air drains from my lungs, and it takes a moment for my brain to kick in. “Oh,” I choke out. “Yeah. Right. Of course.”

Gabby looks away from me and nibbles on her bottom lip. Her right hand is curled around her phone while her left is choking the strap of her purse. Damn, she must really want to leave if she’s this antsy. I thought maybe she would ask for my number to stay in touch, but clearly, I was mistaken.

Rejection and a chilling sense of loneliness sits heavily in my chest. I try wrangling my thoughts enough to form a cohesive sentence, but I’m finding it hard to breathe at the moment. I know we shared something special over the last few days, but I see now it wasn’t enough to get her to stay.

“We can–”

“I’ll just–”

Gabby and I speak at the same time, and both pause awkwardly. I rub the back of my neck, then busy myself with cleaning up what was supposed to be our lunch. I’d ask her to stay for one last meal, but it’s obvious she’s ready to get back to life in Denver.

“I’ll meet you in the car in a few minutes,” I tell her without sparing her another glance. I don’t think my heart can take it. Is she really not feeling what I’m feeling? Isn’t her heart splintering into a thousand pieces at the thought of waking up alone tomorrow?

After splashing cold water on my face, I head out to my truck, where Gabby is sitting in the front seat.

Her back is straight, her chin is held high, and her eyes never meet mine.

The ice princess is back, her mask firmly in place.

Whatever sweet and intimate moments we shared over the weekend are gone from her memory.

Too bad I’ll never be able to forget her.

We ride in silence to Grady’s place. Every so often, I steal a glance at Gabby, who has her gaze firmly fixed straight ahead.

She hardly even blinks. Does she regret what happened between us?

Am I really that repulsive? The hurt and betrayal twist and knot together in the pit of my stomach, morphing into bitterness.

I pull up next to Grady’s garage, ready for this all to be over so I can go back to the inn and chop down an entire goddamn tree instead of feeling my feelings.

Gabby rests her hand on the door handle, taking a deep breath before looking at me over her shoulder.

“Sullivan?” she whispers.

Hope flares up in my chest for a brief, fleeting moment. Is she going to tell me she quit her job and wants to live with me forever?

“Thank you for everything.”

I clench my jaw and give her a tight nod. That’s it? Thank you for everything? It’s not that I want her praise or gratitude; I want her. I want her to tell me it mattered, that I matter.

Her hazel eyes catch mine, a kaleidoscope of emotion reflected in the various shades. Is she missing me? Or missing her big-city life? Is she sad to be leaving? Or sad she was away for so long?

Gabby opens the door and slips out, taking my tattered heart with her.

Two hours later, I’ve gathered the remains of limbs and debris around the property from yesterday’s storm and chopped them down into smaller pieces for firewood. My muscles ache from the hard labor, but the pain is nothing compared to the turmoil in my head and heart.

Stepping inside, I rinse my face off and lean against the kitchen counter. Everything feels heavy and sluggish, like I’m walking through mud. Is it colder in here than usual? Darker? Or is my world just that much bleaker without Gabby next to me?

The front door chime breaks into my thoughts, alerting me to a new guest. I roll out my shoulders and take a grounding breath before plastering on a friendly smile.

I blink a few times when I see who is standing at the check-in desk.

“Heath?” I ask as I take a few steps closer.

“Sullivan,” he greets me with a smile. “I was hoping you still ran Willow Tree Inn. God, how long has it been?”

“Five years? Six?” I answer before shaking his outstretched hand.

Heath has more muscle than the last time I saw him and a bit of gray hair on his temples, but I’d recognize his grin anywhere.

His familiar green eyes have faded slightly, which is the only outward sign of his time overseas.

I have no doubt my friend has seen a lot of shit during his time in the military.

Heath pulls me in for a hug and pats my back. “That sounds about right. Damn, it’s good to be back in Hope Mountain.”

“Are you here on leave?”

“Not this time. Officially retired from the Army Rangers.” My old friend has a grin on his face. He’s earned it. Fifteen years in the military, multiple deployments, and even a close call a few years ago with a roadside bomb.

“Well, congrats, man. And thank you for your service. Are you planning to stay here long? Or just passing through?”

“I’m ready to settle down, and I figured there’s no better place than the small town I grew up in, you know? I have my eye on a few houses, but I need a place to crash in the meantime.”

I nod, though my stomach curdles at his words. I also thought I was ready to settle down. Hell, I thought I had found the woman I was going to build a life with.

“What’s wrong, Sullivan? Did I say something?”

“What? No,” I’m quick to say.

Heath raises an eyebrow at me skeptically.

“I understand wanting to settle down.”

He continues to stare at me. Damn him and his ability to read any situation. I’d say it’s his military training, but Heath has always been intuitive.

“I… Well, the thing is… I kind of was with someone,” I stutter. “Someone I thought I had a future with.”

“Oh?”

I look away from Heath and focus on pulling up the reservation program on the computer. “It’s over now, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, sure sounds like you’re totally over her,” he says sarcastically. “When did you end things?”

“Just dropped her off at her car a few hours ago. She was stranded here while her car was being worked on. I thought we had something… but it turned out to be nothing, at least on her part.”

“Did she say that?”

I snap my head up and stare at my friend. “Did she say what?”

“Did she say it was nothing?”

My brow furrows at his question. “Not exactly. But she sure didn’t ask to stay or ask what I was feeling about the situation. She didn’t even ask for my number, so I took that to mean she wanted nothing to do with me,” I grumble.

“But she didn’t say that, right?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Shit, Sully,” Heath says while shaking his head. He has a stupid smirk on his face, one I remember from our high school days. “You’re in deep, huh? Too deep to see what’s right in front of you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let’s get you set up with a room,” I say, changing the subject. I can tell that Heath isn’t going to drop it.

“Did you tell your woman that you wanted her to stay? Did you ask for her number?”

“Well… no,” I admit. A vision of Gabby standing in the kitchen a few hours ago flashes across my mind. She was anxious to leave. So anxious that she couldn’t even look at me. Unless… was she anxious about not wanting to leave? That thought pierces my heart.

“How do you know she wasn’t waiting for you to say something first?” Heath asks.

“I… I guess I don’t,” I answer hesitantly. “But she’s the one who left,” I point out.

“And you’re the one who let her.”

I frown at him, but Heath doesn’t back down.

“Listen,” he continues. “I know I just blew into town, and we haven’t talked in years. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but I can see that you’re hurting. This woman obviously means a lot to you. Are you really willing to give all of that up without so much as a discussion?”

“What if she rejects me?”

“What if she doesn’t?”

I open and close my mouth a few times before deflating. “Fuck,” I mutter. “ Fuck ,” I say again, more forcefully this time. Why didn’t I say something to Gabby? What the hell was I thinking? I was so wrapped up in my own insecurities, I didn’t even consider hers.

More of our conversations over the last few days fill my head.

Gabby lost her parents at such a young age, and then she was abandoned and used by her remaining family.

Of course, she took my silence as a betrayal.

Fuck, it hurts knowing I hurt her. I played right into her biggest fears, and I’m going to have to fight like hell to win her trust back.

“Looks like you have some groveling to do,” Heath says with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” I agree.

Heath claps a hand over my shoulder and grins at me. “Good luck, buddy. I can’t wait to meet her.”

I nod and try to return his smile, though inside I’m worried sick that I missed my opportunity. “Thanks.” I shake Heath’s hand and give him his room key. “Welcome home. Thanks for kicking me in the ass.”

He laughs, and I join him, despite the ever-growing pit in my stomach. It will be good to have Heath around again. I just hope I can convince Gabby to stick around, too. I have my work cut out for me.