Page 134 of The Mountain Echoes

“I’m not asking you to pretend the past didn’t happen.” I kiss her forehead. “I’m asking you to give the present a chance. Giveusa chance.”

She hesitates, then asks, “Did you ever love Celine?”

“No.” I shake my head, sure and steady. “We werefriends—no more. What I feel for you is like nothin’ I’ve ever known. And yeah, it scares me, too.”

She lets out a shaky laugh. “I hate that this feels like a leap off a cliff.”

“Then we jump together,” I murmur.

There’s a long, weighted silence. It’s the quiet that only exists between two people deciding the course of their whole damn lives.

Then, as if making a decision, Aria reaches out and takes my hand. Her grip is sure.

“I believe you,” she says softly. “But…I may fly off the handle from time to time. This time, I had good reason. And…who knows if I will the next time. Then, what?”

I shrug. “Then we talk and clear the air.”

“That easy?”

I smirk. “Darlin’, nothin’ about bein’ in love is easy, yeah? But we have all the time in the world to get to know each other better, understand one another, and trust fully.”

“This is happenin’ really fast.”

She’s still unsure, and for the first time, I see the difference in our ages.

She doesn’t know how rare what we have is—how fragile, how precious. She’s never really been in love. Not the kind that makes you reach for more than survival, the kind that makes you want to be better because someone sees the best in you.

I doubt what she had with Hudson was that. It was achild’s affection.

But what we have now is different. It’s messy and hard and full of sharp edges.

But itisreal, and I’d rather have one day of that than a lifetime of anything less.

But I love her enough to wait and let her wrestle with her fear and her pride and whatever ghosts still whisper lies in her ear.

Her shoulders sag, relief mixed with exhaustion. And I know this isn’t the end of her hurt—but it is the beginning of her healing.

I pull her into my arms. She doesn’t resist. She leans into me like she needs it. I hold her because I need to.

“I was wonderin’, darlin’, if you’ll let me sleep in your bed tonight.”

She laughs. “Yeah.” She nuzzles my chest. “I need your help tomorrow anyway.” Then she giggles. “And it’ll burn Celine’s ass. Too bad she and Hudson left for Aspen.”

Thinking of Celine makes bile churn inside me. Monsters come in all shapes and forms, I know that, but when they’re family, the hurt is deeper.

So, tonight, we’ll hold each other close.

Tomorrow, we’ll haul cattle to Gunnison.

And the day after, we’ll deal with Celine.

trigger warning

The following chapter contains intense and emotionally distressing content, including the sudden death of a mentor/father figure and a violent act of sabotage involving an explosion. The scene depicts traumatic loss, emergency response, and graphic aftermath.

Reader discretion is strongly advised.

CHAPTER 31