Page 20 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies (Men of Medford #4)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Garrett

“Well, we’ve done all we can.” I rested my hands on my hips. “But the damage runs deep. We might need to take a few days on this so we can rebuild some of it.”

Lucy wasn’t going to be pleased, but what else could we do?

Finally, Beckett blew out a breath. “It’s bad. Worse than I thought. From a distance, it didn’t look too bad.”

“Way worse,” I agreed, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “The water got into the walls. Floors are shot in at least two rooms. Mold’s gonna be a problem if we don’t act fast.”

Asher let out a low whistle, tugging his hoodie over his head as we walked back to the truck. “We should just go down to Medford. Tell Lucy in person.”

Beckett glanced at me. “Today?”

I thought about it for a second. “Yeah. Better we show up and talk it through. Pictures won’t do it justice. We can take Riley, too. Put Lucy’s mind at ease.”

Something about that made me nervous.

It was too much reality. But we had to face it eventually.

The cabin welcomed us with the smell of coffee and wood smoke. Riley was in the kitchen, wearing soft leggings and an oversized sweater, stirring something on the stove. Her face lit up when she saw us.

“You’re back,” she said, setting the spoon aside.

“We are,” I said, brushing a kiss to her temple. “Got a minute?”

Her brows pulled together. “What happened?”

“It’s bad,” Beckett said. “Like, full gut job in parts.”

I leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “We’re thinking about heading down to Medford. Let Lucy see it for herself.”

Riley went still. “You’re telling her today?”

“Just about the cabin,” I clarified quickly. “We’re not saying anything else. Not yet.”

Relief softened her shoulders a little. “Okay. That makes sense.”

Asher stepped closer. “But we wanted to check in with you first. See if you want to come?”

Riley hesitated, her eyes flicking between the three of us. “Yeah… yeah, I’d like that. It’s been ages. I miss her.”

She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“You sure?” I asked, watching her closely.

Her chin lifted. “Of course. She’s my best friend.”

Asher caught it too, that flicker of tension beneath her words. He brushed his fingers lightly down her arm. “You can stay here if you’d prefer.”

Riley laughed, short and a little too quick. “Of course I want to see Lucy. It’s going to be strange, leaving here.”

None of us said anything for a beat, because we knew exactly what that meant.

Leaving here might mean leaving it all behind.

But what else could we do?

So we got ready to make a move into town.

In the truck, Riley was quieter than usual, her gaze fixed on the winding road ahead. But when we hit the turnoff that would take us into Medford, her fingers curled around mine where our hands rested between us.

But only for a second.

Of course, she couldn’t let anyone see us. Least of all Lucy.

I wasn’t sure what was more unsettling, the sudden shift back to reality, or the way Riley lingered in my thoughts like smoke that refused to clear.

Sitting beside me in the truck with her hand slowly drifting back onto her own lap, she felt so much farther away than she had the night before, curled up between us, laughing in the firelight as if nothing could touch us.

Medford came into view slowly, all melting snowbanks and slushy sidewalks. The streets were waking up again, life returning to normal like the storm hadn’t ever happened.

But it had.

And we all knew nothing was the same.

The inn was warm when we stepped inside, the scent of cinnamon and old wood wrapping around us. Lucy was at the front desk, chatting with Nancy Hayes. The second she saw Riley, everything else faded.

Lucy crossed the lobby in three long strides and pulled Riley into a hug that nearly lifted her off her feet.

“Oh my god, finally,” Lucy said into her shoulder. “You look… why do you look amazing? I look like I’ve been scraping ice off roofs for a week straight.”

Riley laughed softly. “I’ve had nothing to do but sleep and drink coffee. Cabin life agrees with me, apparently.”

“Unfair,” Lucy muttered, stepping back to look her over. “Cabin life never does that to my skin.”

Beckett and Asher held back a little, giving them space, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Riley. The way her posture shifted. Just slightly. Like she didn’t quite know where she belonged anymore.

“It was warm. Safe,” she said after a moment. “And honestly, I needed the quiet. You were right about that much.”

Lucy’s expression softened. Then she glanced at the rest of us. “So? What’s the damage to my place?”

Beckett pulled out his phone and brought up the photos. “Water damage in the walls. Floors are gone in at least two rooms. There’s early mold in a few places.”

Lucy winced with each picture. “Shit. That’s bad.”

“Yeah,” I said. “We’ll need to gut parts of it if we want to keep it from spreading. And we’ve got to act fast.”

“Okay.” She straightened, all business. “I’ll call the insurance guy and see if we can get an adjuster up there by next week. Maybe even sooner if I press.”

“We’ll work around their schedule,” I said. “Whatever helps.”

There was a pause, and then Lucy looked back at Riley.

“You don’t have to go back up, you know,” she said gently. “Not while all that’s going on. Stay here. I have a suite.”

It was a reasonable offer. The logical next step.

But something in my chest tightened at the thought.

Riley opened her mouth, then hesitated. Her eyes flicked to me. Then to Beckett. Then to Asher.

“I… yeah,” she said. “Maybe I should. Until we figure out the next steps with the repairs. But I need to get my stuff. And car.”

Asher offered to take care of that.

Lucy grinned, clearly pleased. “Perfect. I’m dying to catch up. And steal all your skincare, obviously.”

Riley smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

I didn’t say anything. Neither did Beckett. We all knew what it meant, even if no one wanted to say it.

Our time in the cabin, our bubble, was over.

The drive back up the mountain was quiet. Tense. Asher tried to put on music at one point, but I shut it off after two songs.

The silence suited me better. Or maybe I didn’t want to hear anything that might remind me of Riley’s laugh.

When we pulled into the clearing, the cabin looked smaller than it had a few hours ago. Colder, somehow.

Like it had already started adjusting to her absence.

I didn’t wait for the others. I climbed out of the truck, slammed the door a little too hard, and headed straight for the tools.

If I didn’t move, I’d think .

And if I thought, I’d see her again, standing barefoot in the kitchen or curled under one of the blankets that still smelled of her shampoo.

Work. That was something I understood.

By the time Beckett and Asher came inside, I was already loaded up with my tools, headed out to the garage.

“You’re working?” Beckett asked. “ Today ?”

“I need to do something,” I muttered, not looking up.

He let out a sigh but didn’t argue.

I knew what they were thinking. Hell, I was thinking it too.

It wasn’t just about the work.

It was about her, gone from the house, her mug still in the sink, her sweater still tossed over the arm of the couch like she hadn’t decided if she was staying or going. As if she could still change her mind.

But she wouldn’t. Not now.

She had her best friend back. A warm bed in town. A world that didn’t involve three brothers with too many feelings and no idea what to do with them.

Still, every time I passed the window, my eyes drifted to the driveway like she might suddenly reappear.

She didn’t.

So I kept my head down, my hands busy, and the ache in my chest locked away behind drywall and splinters.

Let Asher pace around the porch like a restless dog. Let Beckett make dinner for three instead of four.

Me? I had shit to do.

And maybe if I worked hard enough, for long enough, I could convince myself she hadn’t taken something with her when she left.