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He turned to look out the windshield and I noticed a tic thu jawline
"I told you I was ready to talk" I crosseda chastised
"You also told ain and that’s exactly what you did this week"
It was true and I couldn’t deny it
"I just needed a o anywhere I was here the entire ti look out of the corner of his eye "You were here but you couldn’t have been farther away if you tried"
The SUV pulled onto the interstate and headed north I watched the city fade into the background and asked hi if he wanted to tell me or not just to spite me but eventually his innate kindness won out
"Phil owned a cabin out in the woods on a private lake in Boulder that he passed on to Nash Nash keeps it because he can’t bear to sell it, and I think he wants to convince Saint to take time off this winter and hide out with hi all the tiet our shit straight There’s no electricity and no modern amenities, so all there is to do is fish, fk, and talk" He lifted an eyebrow atpoles"
I looked out theat the rapidly darkening sky and muttered, "I can’t believe ive, Sale this or we’re not, but I have to know one way or the other Poppy just wants you to be happy Hell, she just wants me to be happy after all this tih you"
I wasn’t sure what to say to that but I did know one thing that was stunningly, perfectly, absolutely crystal clear to be after the last few days without hi it right all of the tiht have a speed bump or two"
At least the tic in his jaw died down after I said that and his hands loosened so wheel It must have appeased him some because he turned the radio on and the HorrorPops filled the silence instead of us snapping and griping at each other
Boulder wasn’t really far outside of the city limits, but once we started to head into the s that looked like barely there trails, I realized it was going to be well into the night before we got wherever it ere going It was still warh out that I could roll the n and listen to the sounds of the forest and ss that made Colorado such a beautiful place to be The pine, the hint of fall in air, the way everything felt so untouched and natural, even the dust the tires kicked up made it feel like someplace I had never been before and was lucky to be now The night crickets and the call of the anih to put me to sleep, but I didn’t want to irl but the peacefulness and serenity of this place was really welcoe of doubt and confusion
When Rowdy finally stopped over an hour and a half later, I decided calling this place a cabin was being generous It looked more like a wooden shack in the center of the woods and I would bet my best pair of heels that no wo All I could think was that if it looked this bad at night, I really didn’t want to see it in the daylight
Rowdy clis to the stairs and dropped them in front of the door He moved around to the back of the vehicle as I cli cooler and went to deposit it by the rest of the stuff He looked at hed and delicately , careful not to break an ankle on the uneven ground in my tall heels
"I’m not exactly dressed for this, Rowland"
He sot the door open and ushered me inside the tiny space I almost turned around and ran back out the door There was nothing there Four walls, a woodburning stove, no lights shining, which led to everything being cast in creepy shadows A beat-up chair that looked like it had dropped froe truck and an old-style ars I balked and turned to tell hi on the floor and there better not be bats"
He laughed out loud and hauled all of our stuff inside He disappeared to the back of the SUV again and brought in a giant Rubbermaid container that he set down by me with a thud He popped it open and pulled out a couple of lanterns that he lit up right away and an air arette lighter in the car He also produced several blankets and offered to letto eat There was plenty of beer, some bottles of water, and stuff for sandwiches and breakfast I had to give it to him, he was superprepared for this venture