“Tommy’s still harassing you, isn’t he?” her mom guessed immediately.
“Yeah. He’s not happy that he can’t find me. Riggs checked my messages—he had to drive down the road a ways since there’s no cell service at the cabin, I’m using his satellite phone to talk to you—and there are even more messages and texts than I had before I left. So I’m going to stay here for a while. And pray Tommy gets over his obsession sooner rather than later.”
Her mom sighed. “I understand, but I hate this for you.”
“I know. And you need to be careful. I guess he . . . he hinted that he’d go after you if he couldn’t find me.”
“I can take care of myself. You know that,” her mom said firmly. “I may have stayed with your father way too long, but I learned a lot from that. I’m a different person now. I’m just sorry that it took me so long. That you had to suffer because of my decisions.”
“I don’t blame you. I understand. If I’d had a child with Tommy, it would’ve been much harder to leave. And I know that you’re tough, but if anything happened to you because of me, I’d never forgive myself.”
“None of that. I’ll be fine. You stay put. Keep on getting to know your man. It sounds like he’s well aware of what’s going on, and hopefully he’ll keep you safe.”
“He will,” Carlise said without a shadow of a doubt.
“Good. Thank you for calling, sweetie. I was really so worried.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know when I’ll call again, but please know that I’m safe.”
“Okay. I’m going to want to meet your Riggs at some point.”
“You will. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, sweetie. Take care and be safe. We’ll talk soon.”
“We will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Carlise hung up, feeling a ton better. She’d been worried about what her mom would think of her loving a man after just days. But she was right, Carlise knew what a relationship should be—and what it shouldn’t—and so far, Riggs had far exceeded her every dream.
She stood up and wandered over to the window. The sun was out, and it was the first day since she’d arrived that it would warm up to above freezing. It was still chilly, but the sun shining made it look almost balmy.
A snowball flew past the window, followed by Baxter, who jumped and caught it in midair. Of course it disintegrated as soon as he chomped down on the lightly packed snow, but that didn’t stop the silly dog from leaping about in victory as if he’d vanquished a villain.
Carlise looked to the right, where the snowball had come from—and nearly swallowed her tongue. Riggs had stripped down to a T-shirt, and the muscles in his arms rippled as he swung an axe and split a log in two.
She watched for a few minutes, noting the sweat at his temples as he labored to cut the wood for the fireplace. He would swing the axe, cut a log, then throw a snowball for Baxter. His actions were mesmerizing, comforting, and it wasn’t until Riggs paused to run an arm over his forehead and wipe away sweat that he looked in her direction, and she realized she’d actually been staring at him for quite a while.
“You okay?” he mouthed, his brow furrowed as he stared back.
She smiled and nodded. He gave her a chin lift and went back to chopping, this time with a small grin on his lips. Carlise swore he was flexing a bit more than he had before, simply because he was now aware she was watching.
She chuckled. It was extremely difficult not to put down the phone and go outside to join him. She was drawn to Riggs in a way she couldn’t understand. When she was around him, she was content, and this morning, when he’d left to check her phone, she’d missed him the moment he was gone. It was a strange feeling, but not a bad one.
Carlise vaguely wondered if it was merely a result of them sharing such a small space and being around each other for essentially twenty-four hours a day. All she knew was that the more time she spent in his presence, the more she wanted to be around him. Which was a new thing for her.
Honestly, she was relieved the call to her mom was done. She’d called her first because she’d wanted to get it over with, sure her mom would try to convince her to come home. It had gone so much better than she’d expected.
After one more lingering glance at Riggs, she turned back to the room. Returning to the couch, she dialed Susie’s number, the only other one she knew by heart, looking forward to some girl talk with her bestie.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Suz, it’s Carlise,” she said when her friend answered.
The ear-splitting screech that came through the phone line was so loud, Carlise winced, even as she smiled.
“Oh my God! I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for almost two weeks!” Susie exclaimed.
“I know. I’m sorry! There was a huge storm here, and I don’t have any cell signal where I’ve been staying.”
“Where are you? I’ve been so worried!”
“You aren’t going to believe everything that’s happened.”
“Well, you’ve only been gone about a week and a half,” Susie said. “Now that I know you’re alive—thank God—what could’ve happened in such a short time?”
“I wrecked my car, I almost froze to death, was saved by a dog, and found the man of my dreams,” Carlise said simply.
“What?” Susie asked, shrieking again. “Start at the beginning and don’t leave anything out!”
Carlise laughed and did just that. She told her friend everything about her adventure, which really only took about ten minutes. Susie didn’t interrupt, simply letting her talk.
When she was done, Carlise waited a minute or so before asking, “So? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
After a beat, Susie sighed. “I’m honestly not sure what to say. Now I’m even more worried about you, Car.”
“What? Why?”
“Because this isn’t like you. First you leave town without telling anyone where you’re going, worrying your mom and me, and now you’re shacking up with some lumberjack you met a week ago as if you’re going to live happily ever after? That’s just . . . that’s not how life works.”
Carlise frowned. She’d expected this exact argument from her mom, actually, but she’d hoped her friend would be happy for her. “Who says we aren’t going to get an HEA?” she asked a little shortly.
“Look . . . I know you’re in the throes of this new relationship, and you think you’re happy, but you’re in Maine. In some backwoods cabin. You don’t like bugs, you’re a city girl, and you said you’d never rush into another relationship after what happened with Tommy. It sounds to me like you’ve done just that.”
“You don’t understand—” Carlise began, but Susie interrupted.
“Then explain it in a way I can understand. Because all I know is that my best friend is on the run from one man and most likely now in a similar dysfunctional relationship with another and headed down the same road.”
“That’s not fair,” Carlise told her. “Riggs isn’t Tommy. Other than the three days he was unconscious, everything he’s done has been with my happiness and safety in mind.”
“Honey, you were just as happy with Tommy in the beginning,” Susie reminded her gently.
Carlise was getting frustrated. Riggs was nothing like her ex, and it irritated her that her friend was being so hardheaded . . . even if she reluctantly admitted her arguments were valid. If their positions were reversed, she might say the same things to Susie.
She took a deep breath, then did as her friend requested—explained in a way she might understand.