Page 114 of The Outpost (Jamison Valley 4)
When he slid inside without anything between us, a single tear escaped my eye. This moment deserved a tear.
It deserved all the tears.
Beau and I stayed in bed together for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. We lay cuddled together, mostly in silence. One or the both of us would drift off, then wake to reach for the other and make love, again and again. Finally, night fell and I slipped into a deep sleep with Beau’s arms wrapped around me like ropes.
When I woke the next morning, cold and untethered, I didn’t need to reach out to know that he was gone.
Beau
Staring out an airport window, I mindlessly watched a ground crew prepare for the day. It was only four thirty in the morning and I’d be waking Michael up with my phone call but I touched his name anyway.
“Hey.” Michael’s voice was rough with sleep. “Is everything okay? How’s Sabrina doing?”
“She’s fine,” I said. “Listen, I’m at the airport and should be home early afternoon. I’m going to swing by and pick up Boone from your place and then head out into the mountains for a couple days.”
“What? I thought you were staying for a week or two.”
“Things changed.”
“Oh, okay.”
I knew he’d be disappointed. Michael was worse than Maisy when it came to Sabrina. He asked daily when I’d be bringing her back, whereas Maisy limited her nosiness to once a week.
Months ago, I had spilled Sabrina’s whole story to Michael over a bottle of Crown. The moment she left Prescott, I’d turned into a grouchy and miserable son of a bitch. Michael had been the family nominee to intervene.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t stay longer?” he asked. “She might surprise you if you asked her to come back.”
“I can’t force her into a life she doesn’t want, Michael.” She didn’t want that life—my life—even if she wanted me.
He sighed. “But you love her.”
With everything I had.
“Let’s talk about this later, okay? See you in a bit.” I hung up and walked farther down the row of windows, taking a chair in a secluded corner near my gate. The second I got home, I was leaving again. I needed some time alone in the mountains to think clearly and make a plan.
I couldn’t force Sabrina into my life in Montana, but I could fit myself into her life here.
It meant I needed a plan to unload a lot of responsibility. It meant I would be choosing myself over everything and everyone else in my life.
Sabrina thought yesterday was our good-bye.
It wasn’t. I’d prove to her that she was more important than anything else. My job. My family. My mountains.
I’d say good-bye to it all, just so I could say hello to her every morning for the rest of my life.
The end.
Tears were streaming down my face as I typed.
For the last three weeks, the book that I’d started at the outpost, Holt’s Compass, had been my life. After Beau had left, I’d sequestered myself in my office and done nothing but write. Occasionally I’d shower, but mostly I sat in front of my computer, leaving only to answer the door for takeout deliveries.
And today, it was done. Finally.
The portion that I’d written at the outpost had been reworked and now it was my most powerful romance to date. I loved the hero. I was the heroine. And the elements of their love story were flawless.
None of my college papers or newspaper articles had ever given me this sense of satisfaction. This was my masterpiece.
I was proud of the story I’d written but my favorite part wasn’t the fiction. It was the dedication.
