HANNAH
I began to see the ribs about my car were completely valid. I only managed to get fifty miles away before the radiator burst. Luckily, I had already pulled off the highway to get gas when the smoke began to billow from under the hood. The mechanic at the gas station said it would only take an hour or two to get the hose replaced and fix up the radiator well enough to keep going. The only trouble was, the labor alone ate up half of what I had stashed in my purse. The parts took a good chunk of the rest. If Mr. Bard didn’t let me work out a deal to pay for the cabin, I’d be homeless real quick.
The texts from Carter started right after I got my car back on the road. Took him longer than I thought to figure out I wasn’t coming back. At first he just asked where I was. Then he started to demand I get back home. By the time I turned my car into the narrow road headed up to the cabin, he was slinging threats. Why he thought I’d come running back after he threatened to slice my throat for being disrespectful made no sense to me, but then again it was Carter. He never made any sense to me.
The only person I worried about was Brandon. I still had no idea where he was or what he was up to. I hadn’t texted him, not wanting to mess up whatever job he was doing. I knew he’d be mad when he got back and found me gone. He had told me to stay put, and I had done the exact opposite of that.
“Hey! Hannah!” Mr. Bard grinned at me with his wide mouth grin. He’d always had that smile for me when my mom and I would come up to stay in the cabin. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
He stepped out onto the porch and gave me a big hug. He’d always been a huggy type of person. Not in that old man creepy way, just in a genuine nice to see you way.
“No, I didn’t make a reservation. I was sort of hoping the cabin was free, though?”
He looked over my shoulder at my car. “Where’s your ma?” He got that worried look on his face. I’d seen it before. He knew she’d been sick the last time we had used the cabin, and now he was bracing himself for the news.
“She passed. A few months ago.” I took a deep breath.
“You in trouble?” He narrowed his eyes and looked me over.
“No. Not really. I’m just looking for a place to relax for a few weeks, while I look for work and an apartment or something,” I explained.
He gave me a slow nod. “The cabin’s open. I’m real sorry to hear about your mom. She was such a great lady. Never understood why no man ever snatched her up.” He felt around his pocket then pulled out a key ring. “Do you remember how to get up there?”
“Sure do. Thank you so much. I can pay you—”
“No. I won’t have it. I don’t have any reservations until next month. Stay until then. Everyone needs help getting back on their feet now and then.” He shifted his feet and looked back at my car. “You sure that will make it up the road?”
“It will have to.” I grinned. “It’ll be fine. Thank you so much.” I gave him a quick peck on his cheek and jumped off the porch. If only I had thought to go to the cabin months ago, I wouldn’t have needed so much of his help at that moment.
The car rattled the entire way up the mountain. Several times I worried I was going to slide back down, or roll off the side and into the trees. Finally, the cabin came into view. The two-bedroom log cabin looked as cozy as it ever had when I came up here with my mom.
I parked, thankful I had been smart enough to stop at the grocer before making my way there. I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to get back down and up again more than once a day. I mentally put new car on the list of things I needed to get, and soon.
Once I dragged in the groceries and my bag of clothes, I plopped down on the couch and took a deep breath. Mr. Bard kept the cabin in good repair and even kept fresh potpourri in the bedrooms to keep the place from smelling like mildew.
My phone vibrated on the coffee table.
On my way home
Brandon. It hadn’t even been a week. Did something go wrong? I stared at the screen, tempted to let him know what I’d done. I needed to stay strong. I hadn’t just left to get away from Carter; I’d gone to keep Brandon from making a mistake. He needed his life the way it was, and I was just a distraction. Him coming after me, that would start a war between the MCs that would only leave both sides full of blood and death.
You doing okay?
I turned off the phone and went to the master bedroom. I needed a nap. A month long nap.