Page 277 of When a Soul Cries

“I still don’t know where you’re taking me.”

“You ain’t supposed to.”

She groaned dramatically and went back to her phone, but the smile stayed.

Mine did too.

Yeah.

I was done waiting.

---

By the time we reached Dahlonega, the scenery had changed completely.

The road curved through thick stretches of trees, sunlight breaking through the branches in pieces. Mountains rose in the distance, and the farther we drove from town, the quieter everything became.

Sol finally put her phone down and sat forward, looking through the windshield.

“Rome, where the hell are we going?”

“Almost there.”

She turned her head slowly. “You said that twenty minutes ago.”

“I lied.”

Her mouth fell open, and she turned toward me so fast I laughed.

“You are irritating.”

“You still here.”

“Unfortunately.”

I glanced at her, catching the smile she tried to hide.

Eventually I turned onto a narrow private road that climbed gradually through the trees.

The bungalow appeared at the end of it.

Sol sat forward. “Oh.”

That one little word made every dollar worth it.

The place was tucked into the mountain like somebody had built it specifically to disappear. Dark wood and stone covered the exterior, with enormous black-framed windows reflecting the trees. A wide deck wrapped around the back, and beyond it stretched nothing but mountains and sky.

I parked and looked over at her.

Sol didn’t move.

“This is where we’re staying?”

“Nah. I just drove two hours to show it to you.”

She cut her eyes at me, lips pressing together like she was fighting a smile, before opening her door.

Inside was even better.