The observation catches me off guard. “What do you mean?”
“The Emily I first met would have either shut down or pursued an explanation.” He comes around the table to wrap his arms around me, his cheek rubbing against mine. “This middle path suits you.”
Heat rises to my cheeks, not from embarrassment but from the realization he’s right. I have changed, learning to accommodate others’ needs without sacrificing my own. And a lot of that is thanks to this Alpha.
“I’m the older one here, so why are you so wise?” I ask with a quiet huff.
He rubs his nose behind my ear. “I’m an old soul.”
When he mouths at my throat, tickling me, I giggle and elbow him. “Stop it, and go back to your seat. The soup is getting cold.”
“Yes, Alpha.” With one more playful nibble, he returns to his chair, leaving me lighter and more settled.
Whatever pulled Leif away today may bring him back tomorrow, or it may not.
I can’t control the outcome.
As we continue to eat, though, I can’t shake the sense that whatever pulled Leif away today isn’t finished. This is only the beginning.
And if he’s facing it alone…
If he’s folding inward the way I once did with Auren…
I know where that road can lead.
But I can’t force my way in. I can’t chase him without repeating old mistakes.
All I can do is leave the door open.
Chapter Fifteen
Emily
Areturn to work doesn’t come with the excitement I expected.
Around me, my work crew talks about their weekend while drinking coffee and eating the muffins that arrived with the Monday morning water taxi.
Leif never cashed in his rain check, and I had busied myself knocking projects off my list, catching up on the blanket I was in the middle of crocheting, and the wood carvings for end-of-year gift donations.
The empty seat near the helm, where Leif always prefers to sit, draws my attention. With Quinn now attending school in Pinecrest, there’s no way to casually bump into Leif to check in with him.
My phone burns in my pocket. I could check it. I could text him again. I could pick at this wound until it bleeds afresh.
Instead, I curl my fingers tighter around the railing, the vibration of the engines rumbling through the metal and into my bones. Thirty yards out, a seal breaks the surface, sleek head gleaming in the morning sun before it disappears again, and the sight breaks through my heavy thoughts.
With a mental shake, I unlock my tablet and pull up the material manifest, calculating the quantities of rebar and concrete needed for tomorrow’s pour.
This, at least, I can control.
“Approaching the dock in five,” Kyle calls from the wheelhouse.
I tuck the tablet away and turn toward the bow. Misty Pines grows larger with each second. Four cabins sit up the hill from the waterline, and pride fills me. We built those, and soon, we’ll build half a dozen more.
As the ferry comes up to the dock with a solid bump, I gather my gear and secure my tool belt, its familiar weight settling around my hips.
“Happy to be back at work, boss?” Clint comes up beside me as Jared anchors the water taxi. “Did you manage to relax at all?”
“Got some things done around the cottage.” I grab the side of the boat and jump over, landing on the dock. “What about you?”