"What about you?" He raised a brow as I looked at him, not sure what he was asking. "What do you do? Is there a time you need to be back to the city?"
His tone had shifted from playful to serious. Like he really wanted to know the answer.
"Um, well," I hesitated, a little embarrassed by the truth. "I don't actually. When I graduated from college, I planned to get a teaching job. But my fiance didn't want me to work. He thought I should just focus on planning the wedding."
11
OREN
An icy chill flashed over me. Fiancée? She was engaged?
My teeth ground against each other and my jaw ached from the tension.
"You're getting married?"
Ayla looked at me in confusion and her eyes went wide. "Oh, no. I'm sorry. No, I'm not." She traced the empty finger on her left hand. "I mean, I was engaged. But I found out my fiancée cheated on me during a trip for his bachelor party. When I confronted him, he said it was his last moment of freedom, it would never happen again."
I scowled, wanting to punch the fucker I hadn't even met for simply hurting her.
Her face fell and I instantly tried to school my expression. If she was opening up, I wasn't going to do anything that might make her stop. I needed to know. "I didn't want to go through with the wedding. But my parents, his parents, even him - they all said it was so close to the wedding that if I called it off, everyone would be embarrassed. People had made plans,booked trips. So much money had been spent that it would be selfish of me to call it off."
My hands wanted to curl into fists. The urge to punch that guy, and every single person who'd pressured her like that, was strong. It took every ounce of willpower I possessed to just stay there, listening, and not give in to the temptation to hunt them all down.
"But then, the week before, he called me up. Said he couldn't go through with the wedding. He didn't want me to tell anyone until he made calls to his family, his friends. He wanted them to know first. I waited three days, but then I had to tell my parents. My dad and step-mom, they were devastated. They thought he was so wonderful. Perfect. I felt like they thought it was all my fault. I failed."
She took a deep breath, and then a small, sad smile curled her lips up. "You won't be surprised to hear this, but Grandma told them they were idiots. That if that boy couldn't see how lucky he was and didn't want to treat me right forever, he didn't deserve me. She'd come down early to help me get ready for the wedding, and she was the best support. Even my friends, they were upset for me, but they didn't know what to do. And they all had their own lives to focus on. Grandma, though, she stayed with me. When I worried about what people were saying, the rumors and gossip, she reminded me most people are too worried about themselves to care about anyone else for very long. That she'd known from the start that Caden wasn't a good man and she was glad I found out before I married him. She's the one that got me through that."
"And then ...?" I wait for her to finish, because I know what's coming. At least, I can guess.
Ayla's pretty eyes go wet, and she blinks, trying to force the tears away.
"She got sick. And I stayed with her. Every day in the hospital. It was the one time I was grateful that I didn't have a job. Because I could be with her when she needed me. Like she did when I needed her." The sadness on her face was replaced by a small half smile. "Even when she was ill, though, she was still the same. "Tough. Sassy. She called a jeweler to come to her room, convinced me to sell the engagement ring. For my future, she told me."
Smart thinking, Margie. Wouldn't have expected any less from her.
"We talked about the cabin, reminiscing about the times I'd spent up here with her and my mom. After my mom died and my dad remarried, I didn't have as many chances to travel to see her, so she'd come to me. But I never forgot how happy I always was up here on the mountain. When she told me the cabin was going to be mine, I almost didn't believe her. It was like it was too good to be true. Once her affairs were all settled, I sold my car, packed a bag, and bought my ticket out here."
Her voice slows and she shrugs, looking back to me. "And you know the rest. Wrecked cabin, bear," she hooked her fingers into claws and scowled, and the adorable sight made me forget my anger over how she'd been treated. "And a very nice man who can cook and fix things. Looking back, I think I'm doing all right."
I laughed then, surprising both of us. "Just all right?"
"Better than all right." This time, when she smiles, the sadness has eased away and she's more relaxed. It was a beautiful sight.
"By the way, your bear face? You should do that all the time."
She repeats it, giggling. "Like this?"
"Perfect."
Just like her.
12
AYLA
I work at cleaning, trying to chase away the memory of waking up snuggled against Oren's side on the couch. We'd talked for hours, even after he'd started a fire and we shared a blanket, neither of us ready to let the connection between us end.
When I came awake in the morning, warm and rested, it had felt so normal and natural. Until I remembered it was Oren and worried that he might think it was weird. He'd just grinned down at me, run a hand through his hair, and given me a squeeze with the arm that had wrapped around my waist while we slept.