Chapter Fifteen

Savannah walked deep into the woods, ignoring Jo’s look of concern as she rifled through her car for whatever Nick had originally sent her outside for. She just needed to get away. Everything was changing so fast, she had so much new information to process. She wasn’t really sure how to move forward. Tilting her head back, she took a deep breath of the woodsy breeze, working to calm her thoughts.

“Everything okay?” Savannah’s eyes snapped open to a mildly concerned Tom standing before her. His head tilted in confusion. “Savannah?”

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and focus on the conversation Tom was attempting to have with her. Letting out her breath in a long sigh, she finally said, “I’m just… confused, I guess.”

His dark eyes flickered. “Yeah, I got that feeling.”

She ran a hand over her face, wanting to tell Tom everything, but knowing she couldn’t. She felt completely helpless. “I’m sorry, Tom.”

He frowned. “What for?”

So much. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “For everything, honestly. For complicating your life by coming to work here. For stressing you out.” She hesitated before finishing, “For running away from you last night.” She leaned against the thick trunk of a nearby tree, sliding down to sit on the cool forest floor.

Sitting next to her, Tom looked deeply into her eyes. He didn’t seem angry, or even suspicious. Only concern for Savannah marred his strong features as he gazed at her, and she could see him working to continue the conversation.

“Why did you run away last night, Savannah?” he asked, quietly.

“Because I was afraid,” she answered, immediate and honest. “I’m afraid of what moving forward would mean for us. I’m not even a part of your pack.”

Tom blinked. “You could be,” he said matter-of-factly.

Savannah silently cursed herself, remembering that she was supposed to be packless and therefore not bound to anyone. “It’s just, I don’t think that pack life is for me, Tom. “

“Why not?” he asked, voice tinted with hurt.

She shrugged. “I’ve always been a wanderer. And this… this has been great. Better than great. But I feel like if I commit to settling down here, our differences would end up clashing. I don’t know if… whatever is budding between us right now can survive that. I don’t think I could risk it.”

Shaking her head, she whispered, “I was never meant to fall for you.”

Tom gave a worried smile. “That’s why it’s called falling, Savannah. People rarely plan for it.”

“And I know that,” she agreed, “but I just can’t...” She let her voice trail off, unsure how to continue.

“I can’t help what I feel,” she restarted. “I really do want to be with you.” She watched Tom’s eyes light up at her confession, and allowed herself a fleeting moment to feel a lightness in her own heart as well as she finally admitted to herself what she’d desired from the day she met him. “But it’s tough not to have doubts. My body and my mind are on different wavelengths, and I’m not really sure what instinct to listen to. So much could go wrong, but so much could go right, too.”

“I want to be with you, too, Savannah,” Tom murmured, laying a gentle hand over hers where it rested on her lap. “And I’ll admit that I’ve been scared, too.”

“You, scared? She asked, voice slightly incredulous. “Of what?”

Tom shook his head softly. “I’m sure you already know by now, but I’ll try to explain.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, breathing out a large sigh before continuing.

“Look, I don’t… trust, easily. That was always more Nick’s forte. I was the big wrought-iron gate that kept people from getting to the super welcoming front door, if that makes any sense. So naturally, you could assume that ‘falling in love’ wasn’t something that I’d ever looked forward to.

“And that was true, even after I met you. I can admit now that I’ve felt… things since the moment we met, but the idea of pursuing them or even acknowledging them, defaulted me to the one emotion I know I can count on most in my life.”

“Distrust?” Savannah quipped softly.

“Bingo,” Tom answered, flashing a quick grin. “You always hear that love is a distraction. Well I believed that.”

“You don’t anymore?” Savannah asked, and she couldn’t help but feel hopeful.

Tom shot her an apologetic look. “Oh, no, I still do.” He smiled a bit. “But now I wonder if a bit of distraction isn’t such a bad thing every once in a while?”

Savannah’s heart nearly burst while listening to him. She still had so much doubt and so much fear, but she wanted to believe that maybe Tom’s hope was the first step they needed to grow what they had into something that could beat the hold Lucas had over her.

Tom rubbed the back of his neck ruefully. “But I mean… it’s love. I don’t have the expertise that other men do when it comes to this stuff. How do I know I’m doing all the right things to express love?”

Savannah grinned. “How many times will you say you love me before you let me kiss you?” she whispered. Tom’s eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn’t noticed he’d used the word once, let alone several times. In a bout of bold resolve, Savannah leaned forward and pressed her lips to Tom’s before he could say otherwise. A single tear slid down her cheek, but she wasn’t sad. For once in her life, something was going right. In this moment, only Tom was certain. She’d deal with Lucas and all the problems he brought with him later.

“Savannah,” Tom breathed when she pulled back, looking deeply into her eyes. “Please don’t run away from me again.”

“I won’t,” she promised as he gently brushed the tears from her cheek. “I won’t run ever again.”

***

Savannah and Tom had allowed a bit of time to pass as they shared their alone time together in the woods, basking in the confession of love they’d been avoiding for weeks. A delicious shiver ran through Savannah’s body as she recalled curling herself in his embrace and thinking about being able to do so on a daily basis. Everything about the time they’d shared on the forest floor felt right. She’d do whatever it took to preserve the new life she’d choses to begin with Tom.

“Savannah?”

Turning in her chair, Savannah gave Jo a quick smile. “What’s up?”

Jo grinned in return. “Nick and I have to make a quick trip just outside of town. We won’t be gone long.”

“That’s no problem at all,” Savannah replied.

Jo’s gaze shifted towards the back door, now left unlocked after Dan’s revealing. “Dan will still be here,” Jo continued. “But Tom’s around, too. If you want, we can lock the door before we go. We don’t think Dan’s would try anything, but I want you to feel safe.”

“No, no, I’ll be fine,” Savannah assured. She needed to set aside time with him away from prying eyes. Jo really was too nice for her own good sometimes. “Now go, I don’t want to keep you.”

“Okay, okay,” Jo minded, still glancing back reluctantly before the office door closed shut.

Savannah let out a small breath as Jo loaded herself into a car with Nick and they took off down the street.

She allowed herself a moment to collect her thoughts before standing. As she stepped back from the computer desk, the back room door swung open. “Are they gone?” Dan’s voice whispered.

“Yeah, but Tom’s still in the garage,” Savannah replied quietly.

They listened in silence to the muffled sounds of auto machinery and the tiny signal of some classic rock song playing in the garage. Dan nodded. “This is the closest to alone we’ll get.” He limped over and, without warning, threw a large cordial arm over Savannah’s shoulder.

“Now can you tell me what the hell is going on?” he asked, pulling her into a strong hug.