Chapter 24 - Aiden
I wrap my arms around Maddy and hold her tight against me. Ever since I found her in the woods, I don’t want to let her out of my sight. I hardly know the woman, but I’m drawn to her in a way that I’ve never felt before. I pull away and kiss her one more time, lifting her up so she’s sitting on the kitchen counter in front of me. She makes the sexiest little giggle as I lift her up, and she wraps her arms around my neck.
“How’s the ankle this morning?” I ask.
She shrugs. “It’s fine. Better. Still might be a couple days before I can walk right.” She grins at me. “But that might have something to do with last night as well.”
A growl passes through my chest and I bring my lips to hers again. Her lips taste like the sweetest strawberries, and every time I look at her I just want to press them to mine. She slips her tongue into my mouth and I groan, pressing my body against hers. I wrap my arms around her waist and slide her forward until she’s on the edge of the countertop. She melts into me, kissing me harder and tangling her fingers into my hair. I groan as my cock starts to pulse between my legs. Anytime she’s near, I can hardly control myself.
I pull away from her and run my finger along her jaw. “What’s bothering you?” I whisper.
Her face contorts and she looks away. Her eyes get a distant look in them and her brows knit together. She shakes her head slightly and takes a deep breath.
“I feel like I don’t know myself anymore. I’ve spent so much time trying to make my own way.” She pauses and looks back at me. “My father owns a company, and it was always expected that I’d go and work for him. Pursuing environmental engineering was a big deal. It’s been my entire identity since I was a teenager. I’ve always been the tree-hugging daughter of the oil and gas mogul.”
I try to keep my face steady as she takes another deep, raking breath. She looks at me again and shakes her head.
“Ever since I’ve come here…” She pauses, putting her hand on my chest. “Ever since I saw you speak at that town hall meeting, everything seems like it’s crumbling down. I don’t know who I am anymore. Dad is sick, and I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, and – ”
Maddy’s voice breaks and her face scrunches as she brings her hands up to hide it. I stroke her arm, opening my mouth to speak but not knowing what to say.
“Maddy…” I say slowly. She drops her hand and shakes her head.
“This is embarrassing. I’m sorry. I hardly even know you. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.” She lifts her face up to mine and I see the pain in her eyes. I want to ask her about her dad, ask her about her life, but she shakes her head.
“I went up the mountain to try to figure all this out. I’ve been going into work and doing all the things I’ve done for years, but suddenly it feels fake. I was walking, looking at these forests and thinking I’m making a mistake.”
I nod, feeling my heart grow in my chest as she speaks. I thought she was one of them, one of those corporate vampires that just feed off small towns like Lang Creek. But the look in her face – it’s so genuine. She gets it. She gets the power of the mountains and she understands how precious they are.
Maddy takes another deep breath and lifts her eyes up to me. Her eyebrows draw together. “Do you hate me? Do you hate me for being one of them?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think I could hate you. Even the fact that you’re thinking all these things makes me think more of you than I can say.”
She nods slowly and I see tears gathering in her eyes. I want to comfort her. I want to tell her that it’s okay, but what can I say? On Monday she’ll go back to her job and the hotel will be built. In a few months, she’ll leave. I’ve only known her a couple weeks, I can’t ask her to change her whole life just because she’s spent a bit of time walking in the woods. I move my hand up and down her thigh and clear my throat.
“What’s wrong with your dad?” I ask. She flicks her eyes up to me and then back down. She shakes her head from side to side.
“He’s sick.”
There’s a finality to her words, and I can tell she doesn’t want to talk about it. My chest feels heavy and I open my mouth. I want to tell her about my dad, about how he raised us and how he died, but the words won’t come out. Mara McCoy’s face flashes through my mind and the black anger in my heart starts to grow.
I look back at Maddy and wrap my hands around her waist, giving her a gentle squeeze.
“You just have to figure out what you believe in,” I say. “And follow that.”
A tear rolls down her cheek and I worry that I’ve said the wrong thing. It was a stupid thing to say anyway, it’s just a platitude that doesn’t mean anything. I open my mouth again but she speaks first.
“What if what I believe in is exactly the opposite of what I’m doing? Even if I walk away, the hotel will still be built. They’ll get someone else to do the paperwork I do and the corporation will still make their money. And plus, if I walk away then my career is finished. Everything I’ve worked for years to build will be gone.” She takes a deep breath and rises a bit straighter, brushing her eyes and forcing a smile.
“I’m sorry. You want some coffee?”
I nod my head, ignoring the lump in my throat. She hops down from the counter and hobbles to the coffee machine. She pours me a mug of coffee and grabs her own and I can tell from her face that our conversation is over. Our fingers brush against each other when she hands me the mug, and her eyes linger on mine for a moment. The depth of her pain is obvious to me and all I want to do is make it go away.
She hops towards me and puts a hand on my shoulder. She kisses my cheek and pulls away, smiling gently at me.
“Thank you for saving me,” she says with a smile. “And for listening to my quarter-life crisis.”
I chuckle and press my lips to hers. She tastes like coffee, and I open my mouth to kiss her deeper. When I pull away, I tuck her hair behind her ear and smile at her.
“I’d listen to you all day long,” I say. I nod to the fire. “Let’s sit over there. We can watch the sun come up from the couch. It’s what I’ve done every morning for the past ten years,” I admit. She smiles.
“I’d love to.”