At the bottom of the cover letter was Theo’s signature.
She packed up her bags in Washington and moved back to Virginia the following week.
Be calm, Skye. Be cool.
“Have a seat, Theo,” her father said. “Let me get you a drink—” He let go of his arm and made to push aside a couple couch throw pillows, then groaned as he gritted his teeth and doubled up his grip on his elbow.
“Sit down, Dad.” Skye moved around the coffee table and lowered him to the couch before he could protest. The firmness in her own voice must’ve startled him enough to obey. She sat on the edge of the coffee table, eye level. “That’s it. You’re going to the hospital. Now.”
“I’m fine—”
“You’re not fine. You’re clearly not fine and if it’s broken you’ll need a cast, maybe even surgery—”
“Oh, and I’m sure you would’ve thought my knee needed surgery fifteen years ago, too, but look at ’er now.”
Skye squeezed her eyes shut as he slapped his knee, the same knee with the torn ACL that slid out on occasion and caused him to fall and roll on the ground like an NFL player with—well, a torn ACL. “All it needs every now and again is a little tune-up—”
“Rubbing Vaseline on your knee every six months isn’t a tune-up, Dad. If I had a word to express how unhelpful that is—”
“Inutile would serve well, I believe,” her mother chimed in as she passed them, handing Theo a cup of lemonade, then moving toward the closet.
“You bet your bottom dollar it isn’t helpful,” her dad said, giving it another slap. “In fact,” he said, struggling once more to rise, “I think I’ll give it a little tune-up right now . . .”
Skye felt the groan growing within her, threatening to erupt any moment. She clenched fists and teeth as her body tightened. She was going to have to do it. She was going to have to haul this man over her shoulders, throw him into the truck, and drive him down the mountain. Or worse, call an ambulance.
“Mr. Fuller, did you get a chance to pick up that Lowe’s order I requested?”
The crackling in the room faded.
Skye and her father peered at Theo.
Her father frowned. “What Lowe’s order?”
“Oh, you know. The one for the lumber for the new tree shed. I believe I called it in last week.”
“Last week?” Her father’s frown turned urgent. “You made an order at Lowe’s last week? Well, I didn’t—they’ve had it a week?” He started reaching behind him, feeling for the “going out” jacket so often laid on the back side of the recliner.
Theo, cool as a cucumber as he sipped the lemonade, watched Mr. Fuller rise from his chair. “Well, if you haven’t gotten to it, I could run down myself—”
“Maggie!” he called, stretching his neck toward the kitchen.
“Right here, dear,” Skye’s mother said, standing at the front door, raincoat on and a duffel bag over one shoulder. She held open a second raincoat for Skye’s father. “Skye, I’ve switched over the laundry, moved the Crock-Pot into the fridge, packed an overnight bag, and made some sandwiches for the ride. Can you be sure to lock up after we leave? Theo, do you mind assisting Ralph to the car? It’s slick out there.”
He nodded. “Certainly.”
They passed a smile to each other as she turned toward the door after her husband. Skye could practically see the high-fives they were making with their eyes. Lowe’s was all the way down in Abingdon, quite conveniently all but next door to the hospital. All her mother had to do at this point was stop at the hospital and throw the passenger door open beneath the emergency-room sign while hospital staff handled the rest.
“Oh, and Theo?” Her mother turned as if a thought just occurred to her.
“Yes, Mrs. Fuller?”
“The seedlings came in today and a heat wave is expected next week. Those seedlings, as I’m sure you’re aware, will need to get in the ground immediately.”
Theo looked slightly startled. “Oh. Yes. Of course.”
“And the tractor will need to be seen to.”
Theo’s uncertainty deepened. “Oh, sure. Right.”
She flapped her hand. “But I’m sure you can handle an upturned tractor.”
Theo swallowed.
Skye’s mother let the silence linger, her smile making a panoramic move around the room until it landed on her daughter. “Although even the hardiest of farmers would no doubt appreciate a second pair of hands for the job.”
Skye’s eyes narrowed.
Do not say it. You do not have to say it.
You are a grown woman who is perfectly capable of not saying it.
“I’ll help.” Skye shut her traitorous mouth the second the words flew from her lips.
Her mother gave a short nod, as though she was the conductor of this little play and her flautist performed the solo right on cue. “Terrific. Now that it’s settled, Theo, I went ahead and turned up the heat in the cabin and slipped an egg casserole in the fridge for you in the morning. Let’s be off, then, shall we?”
Theo’s startled gaze turned from her mother to Skye, and Skye did her best to avoid his eyes.
If Skye wasn’t so peeved at the turn of events, she would’ve laughed.
Instead she followed her parents and Theo outside and stood on the gravel driveway, watching her parents’ truck swing onto the road and the taillights fade until they disappeared. Her all-consuming thought was that she was exactly in the one place she had told herself she never wanted to be.
Alone. On a mountaintop. Beside the man who broke her heart fourteen years ago.
Chapter 3
Theo
She was exactly as he remembered.
Her hair was shorter now, the thick auburn waves curling around her chin instead of trailing long past her shoulders. The loose sweater ornamented her natural attributes; the olive color offset her brown irises. She used less eyeliner now, but the subtle black line framing her almond-shaped eyes highlighted her best feature in a more refined way than it had in those days of oversized plaid shirts and ripped jeans. She looked . . . positively radiant.
Skye stood in the driveway watching the road, both hands tucked in the back pockets of her slim jeans. That stance. Another thing that hadn’t changed about her.
The full moon and a thousand stars hung directly overhead. A few were blocked by the occasional cloud, but the sky was free of light pollution and the air was thick with dew from the rainfall. Theo inhaled, feeling as though his lungs were being purified. The gurgling creek on the other side of the road was the only sound for miles. Nothing but forest lay behind them. The single road in front of them took the occasional traveler up and down the mountain on either side, and to Evergreen Farm ahead.
Where rows and rows of Fraser firs and white pines glinted in the moonlight.
A rush of wings overhead caused Theo to wonder if the pounding in his chest was so loud it had caused the bird to flee.
He took a step forward. “Skye.”
Skye dropped her head and turned. Smiled, but it looked forced. As though he was blocking her way. As though she had been trapped and now she had no choice but to converse. “So. Exploiting a man’s weakness for his own good. Nice play. Tell me, are you actually planning on building a new shed?”