Page 52 of The One With the Mountain Man
His thumb brushed my lips. "That's why you came here, isn't it? Sammy."
I blinked in surprise. He couldn't pretend and maybe I couldn't either because Jackson seemed to know every thought in my head. "Yes. How did you know?"
"I just watched you have a religious experience over a two-hundred-year-old cabin. Those books clearly mean a lot to you. When I'm struggling, I go to the trails. I get lost because that's where I've always found my peace. But you...you're a writer. You get lost in books. You came here to write someplace that means something to you."
I was stunned silent. Ialwayshad to explain myself. And even then it usually went over their heads. My parents thought spending more time at my desk was the answer. Elora kept cheering for me, but there was no comprehension behind it. Eric sent me writing craft books. Charley was the most supportive, but her support was based in encouraging me to do what felt right, not because she understood what was happening in my brain. But here was Jackson, justknowingwhat Sammy meant to me, how that affected me as a person and a writer.
"Remember when I said you were too good to be true?"
He kissed me. Just once on the lips, then pulled back to look into my eyes. "You act like this is a one-way street. You know I feel the same about you, right?"
That couldn't be possible. It just couldn't. "In my experience, streets are usually one-way." Demand, demand, demand. Produce. Deliver.Perform.
He shook his head with a sigh. "I'm going to show you that way of thinking is bullshit. You need to start rejecting those kinds of relationships. You deserve better, Marley Tranquill. You've shown more care for me and my life than anyone has in a long damn time. Maybe ever. Has it occurred to you that I understand you because you understand me? That maybe there's something fundamental about us that we share? Something written into our souls that's exactly the same?"
He sounded like he was quoting someone. But I didn't care because it was beautiful and dangerously close to correct. There was just something about Jackson that felt right from the moment we met. Maybe it was my soul recognizing his.
And that was terrifying because, as I said earlier, good things didn't last for me. My best friends were gone. My success had turned sour.
The universe would eventually ruin this too.
But that didn't mean I shouldn't enjoy it while it lasted. "We should eat."
He didn't let me go. A cloud passed overhead, casting a shadow over us and then disappeared. Jackson's light eyes changed from blue to green, then back to blue again. It occurred to me that they were like a mirror, reflecting the world around him. His shirt, the sky, the light, it all transformed them. And right now they were reflecting me. Did I like what I saw shining back? This scared, hesitant woman hiding from her life?
Georgie would be so disappointed. Moses would tell me to fight back. Adam would tease me.
And Jackson? He didn't care about any of it. None of it mattered to him. All he wanted was me.
"There she is," he murmured, a smile slowly curving his luscious lips. "Yeah, let's eat."
He retrieved our sandwiches, handed me a fresh water, and a bag of homemade chips. "Annie makes those herself. They're delicious."
Everything was delicious. The turkey sandwich was fresh and light, but surprisingly filling, the chips were salty and tangy, and the cookie he surprised me with when I was done hit the sweet spot. "I could get used to this."
"What? A little exercise, gorgeous views, and delicious food?"
"That." I bumped his shoulder with my own. "And the nice weather. Back home I would have been carried off by ants by now. Not to mention sweating through all my clothes."
His eyes darkened. "Well, enjoy spring in the mountains."
I used to think nothing could beat an afternoon on the water. The family boat flat-out as it cut across the glassy waters between the islands and the mainland, finding a quiet cove to rest, and then finding a beach to comb before heading home.
But this? This cool breeze and the views for miles was something to behold.
"Want to know something cool?" He bumped my shoulder with his own, a mischievous grin lighting up his whole face.
"Absolutely."
"This is where Sammy came for her quiet moments."
Oh my god.I froze in complete shock. I hadn't put much thought into exactly where we were because all of it was amazing, all of it belonged to Sammy. But looking around it was obvious. The grass, the flowers, the views, thewind.This was Sammy's thinking spot. Where she sat and worked through her feelings, contemplated her problems or the clues to a case. This was where she found all her answers.
And maybe I'd just found one of mine. Jackson seemed to be the answer to everything.
I burst into tears.
Seventeen
