“A lot’s happened from then to today. Catch up.”
“Like what? How? You won’t tell anyone where you’ve been. You won’t say a damn word.” He spread his arms wide. “And the one time that you are upset, you tell me to get lost.”
“You’re not the person I confide in anymore.” She narrowed her eyes. “Not anymore and if that person is Jonah, it’s going to stay that way. You have no right to come here and order me around. So get out!”
Jake stood still, his eyes frozen on her.
“I’m not changing my mind, so stop waiting for it to happen.”
“I want you to stop seeing him.”
“Tough shit.”
Jake stuffed his hands into his jean pockets. He turned his back to her, but he didn’t move to the door.
Dani watched him from behind. “You know, as well as me, that Jonah can take care of whoever he wants to. That’s just who Jonah is. He’s always been like that, and I’m guessing he’ll always be like that. You might worry about me, and it might be justified, but this right here—between you and me right now—is not because Jonah’s into something that could turn bad. You’re here because you don’t like seeing me with him.”
Jake remained silent, then left, slamming the door behind him. Dani closed her eyes. She stood in place and when her phone rang, finally let out her breath slowly. Smoothing her hands down her pants, they were sweaty, but she didn’t move to answer her phone. She saw it. She had placed it on the kitchen table, but she just stared.
Her mind was still on that door, seeing it slam again and again in her mind. It was that night when he told her about Erica, except she slammed the door. Not him.
When the phone kept ringing, she answered. Mae didn’t wait a second. “I need your help at the grill. We’re packed.”
“I’ll be right there.” Dani hung up, changed again, and headed back out, ignoring the knot of dread that had taken root in her stomach. She took two steps outside of the cabin before she realized another car had pulled up.
She saw him first.
He was right there.
His mouth was moving, but she didn’t hear. Not right away. Her heart stopped, and then she heard Boone say, “Hello, Dani.”
He looked even taller than she remembered, but he couldn’t have grown any more than his six-five. He’d lost weight, maybe twenty pounds. His brown hair still curled just over his forehead and framed his angular cheekbones. His blue eyes still pierced through her.
It was funny. She hadn’t taken in the details when she saw him at the fair. Shock glossed over everything then, but she was soaking it all in now. “Boone.”
It felt like an invisible hand reached inside her, and gutted her.
Boone took in a deep breath, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “It was you who I saw before.” He looked around the cabin. “This is a nice place.”
The moment was surreal. She’d left him when he’d been out celebrating their engagement. And he commented on her cabin? “How’d you…”
“What?” His eyes whipped to hers. “Find you? Find this place? How’d I track you down like a hunter?”
She felt a headache starting. “Stop it.”
“I didn’t come to Craigstown for you, if you’re wondering that. This visit right now is about you, but not me being here, in general. Just so we’re clear.” His tone was clipped, bitter. “I asked around. Turns out that Dani O’Hara is quite famous around these parts. And she lives in the ‘most wonderful cabin’ on this godforsaken secluded lake.”
“Are you…did you…?” She just gave up.
“This was supposed to be my trip to get over you. My brother’s here on business, and I was just supposed to tag along. Heal my heart, something like that.” He sounded exhausted. “Can I come in?”
“Oh. Yeah.” She stepped back, letting him in. As he sat at the table, she asked, “Your brother?”
“Quandry, Inc.”
Dani connected the dots. “You’re the guys. You want to build here, but Jonah doesn’t want you to. I was warned about you.”
Boone shot her a confused look, but didn’t say anything. He rubbed a hand over his face. Exhaustion came off of him, from his slumped shoulders to the bags underneath his eyes, and even how he breathed. They were shallow breaths. Almost as if he weren’t capable of deep breaths any longer. They took too much energy.
“I don’t sleep, you know.”
Dani closed her eyes and shook her head. She thought she was getting better, but with this—with Boone in her kitchen. She stopped thinking. She had no idea now. Dani turned and poured two cups of coffee. “Cream or sugar?” She needed something to do.
Her hands picked up a creamer for her cup.
“No, but you’ll take one cream.”
Her hands paused.
“You used to.”
Dani finished and put both cups of coffee onto the table. Both were black, without cream or sugar. “What are you doing here, Boone?”
He stood and began to pace around the room. Hands stuffed in his jean pockets, he walked around, looking at nothing. “I never told you this, but my grandpa used to call me that. It was his nickname for me and when you just started calling me that—I liked it. It made me feel connected to him again. My family doesn’t remember that. I’m Mitch to them.”
Mitch Quandry.